Industry Mentors: Julian Blaxland

Cover image: Julian Blaxland and Kacy Fogden | Image courtesy of Bronwen Healy

Julian Blaxland counts himself fortunate to have enjoyed the wise counsel of a variety of thoroughbred identities during his career and even more blessed to continue to have them on speed dial.

Currently, he is fully immersed in the bloodstock and racing industries as Principal of Julian Blaxland Bloodstock while operating Newington Farm, a specialist agistment property located at Biddaddaba, in the Scenic Rim region of south-east Queensland with wife Kacy Fogden, who also operates as a successful horse trainer.

Blaxland had a thorough and varied grounding, both at home and overseas, with various mentors to guide him through different facets of the game before he struck out on his own 15 years ago.

He has learned at the feet of some of the most influential figures of the global thoroughbred industry. Names such as Gai Waterhouse, Neville Stewart, Dr David Pascoe, David Chester, Adrian Nicol, Anthony Freedman and Vin Cox.

“We all draw on mentors and it’s such an interesting subject because none of us would be where we are without them,” Blaxland said.

Blaxland’s first introduction to the thoroughbred game as a 6-year-old came to an inglorious non-start after he was told by his aunt and uncle, Eloise and Jim Hayden, to don a beanie for a raceday outing.

“The Scone Cup was on and it was the middle of winter and I was allowed to go if I wore a beanie and I refused so I got left at home. I never got to my first day at the races.”

Having spent his formative years in the city, Blaxland headed to the bush with his family and that is where the link to the horse world was this time taken fully on board.

“I grew up early on in Sydney and then we moved to a town called Bungendore near Canberra and lived on a cattle property,” he said.

“My uncle and aunt were into polo and equestrian and that’s really when I fell in love with horses, when I was about seven or 8-years-old.

“I went to school at Knox Grammar in Sydney, but I went back every holiday to work on the cattle and horse property and did that pretty much every school holiday.”

A destiny on horseback

At the end of his secondary education, Blaxland knew exactly which path he wanted to pursue, and it would be a path which would take him around the world.

“I wanted to be a professional bronc rider so I went to Canada and America for a few years and rode the rodeo circuit over there and worked on a ranch,” he said.

On his return to Australia, he came into close contact with a major influence on his subsequent career as a bloodstock agent.

“I came home and got a job with Gai Waterhouse when I was 19, mucking out and as a strapper. I did that for about 18 months,” he said.

“Working for Gai at that age was probably my first introduction to horse racing and it was funny then to work for her 15 years later as her bloodstock agent."

Hall of Fame trainer Waterhouse has always embraced her role in helping shape the thoroughbred careers of the next generation, and Blaxland is one of many who owes a lot to the 'First Lady of racing'.

“She has certainly been a mentor to me, less so in the early days, she was more of an inspiration then as I was wide-eyed," he said.

“Later on and working for Gai as her agent for four or five years, she was certainly a mentor to me and still is to this day.”

To Oaklands

After his first spell at Tulloch Lodge, Blaxland completed an Agribusiness degree at Queensland University and during that time got a job at Oaklands Stud in Toowoomba, which took his thoroughbred experience to another level.

“I was working for Neville Stewart. I only had to be at university for 14 hours a week so I managed to fit in a 40 or 50-hour week at the stud as well,” he said.

“That was a great education and they had Lion Hunter and Iglesia at the time, so they had a lot of mares going to those stallions."

Along with Stewart, Blaxland worked closely with legendary veterinarian Dr David Pascoe, who would also prove a major influence on him.

“I was 21 and soaking up all this information, Neville was great and Dr David Pascoe was the vet. I spent many hours annoying David, asking him a million questions while we were scanning mares," he said.

“He answered them all and probably drove him mad, but I was just so fascinated by the industry and it was great to work at a stud farm with so many mares. Those stallions were probably covering 150 to 200 mares, which at the time was a lot.

“It was a really interesting time and I went to work at the sales for Oaklands. I was at university and doing another degree in the racing industry.”

A Magic path

During his time at Oaklands, the door was opened to working for Magic Millions and a pathway to the next phase of his thoroughbred career.

It was a leap of faith for Blaxland, but one which he was willing to take with the encouragement of David Chester.

“Neville introduced me to David Chester and that’s how I got a job at Magic Millions,” he said. “I was very disappointed to find my salary was about half of what I was earning at Oaklands. Chester kept reminding me that it was a great opportunity so I took that on board.

“I did say to him, 'how can I earn a bit more?' and he said I could auctioneer and he said he would give me $10,000 a year extra. I went from $26,000 a year to $36,000 and I thought that was fabulous.”

Blaxland seized the opportunity to become familiar with all workings of the auction house, building further on his broad range of experience.

“It was a great team at Magic Millions and Paul Knight and David Chester were very good to me and put up with a few young fellas there like myself that were pretty wet behind the ears,” he said.

“It was a great experience and I got to meet all of the buyers and all of the vendors and learned about the whole sales process."

Still in his early 20s at the time, it was a schooling like no other for the future bloodstock agent.

“We bid spotted, got to know pedigrees and just soaked up information. If you were a fanatic like I was, you got to know what opportunities the industry had and the scope of it all," he said.

“I got to see it all at the coal face and got to go to Hong Kong for the International Sale for two years in a row. I was 23 years old and starry eyed and just learning all the time.”

Going global (again)

It was while he was on sale duty in Hong Kong that another door opened and another significant mentor came into the picture.

“I was fortunate to meet Nick Nugent from Goffs in Ireland and he asked me if I would like to do a year overseas for Goffs or whether I would like to work for an agent,” Blaxland said.

“Nick got me 12 months working for the BBA and Adrian Nicol. I went to all the sales as Adrian’s assistant and I learned so much from him.

“Adrian is a fabulous judge and has bought numerous Group 1 winners up there and also in Australia. He was a great help on the horse selection side, but also on relationships."

What he learned from Nicol was the value of those interpersonal relationships.

“The bloodstock industry is built on performance, but equally as important are relationships. If you’re an agent and you don’t have the client you can’t buy the horse, it doesn’t matter how good you are," he said.

“You still have to have the capital to buy and Adrian is a master at relationships and also a very good judge, those things go hand in hand.

“If you can pick the best horse and then get a punter to come along and buy it you have a much better shot at being a successful agent.”

An agent on his own

On his return to Australia, Blaxland was able to continue working for Magic Millions as a contract auctioneer and launched Julian Blaxland Bloodstock in 2006.

“I’ve done colts’ funds and fillies’ funds and bought yearlings with probably a dozen trainers around Australia and mares for stud and breeders,” he said.

“I became the retained agent for Gai Waterhouse for five or six years and that was a fabulous experience. I had moved to Queensland to be with my wife Kacy Fogden, who is a trainer, and we bought Newington Farm."

Establishing a new major client led to Blaxland discovering another mentor, not just in business, but in life.

“It became too hard commuting to Sydney regularly to be with Gai, and then Anthony Freedman offered me a position as his retained agent," he said.

“I’m not exclusive to Anthony, but he would take up half of my work as a bloodstock agent.”

The importance of family

Blaxland can’t speak highly enough of Freedman and not only benefitted from his thoroughbred knowledge, but also learned personal lessons.

“Anthony is an introvert as many would know, but he is as good a judge of a horse that I have ever seen. He selected and bought most of the good horses the Freedmans raced over the years,” he said.

“Anthony is older than me with three grown up kids. I’ve got two young daughters, Eva is one and Isabelle is seven, and Anthony stressed to me about the need to spend time with your family and have that balance.

“We can all get so focussed on the racing industry and it’s a constant calendar to follow. It’s not always advice about your career, I’ve had good counsel from Anthony about stopping to smell the roses and have time with your family."

The importance of family balance is something that Blaxland looks to apply every day, despite he and Kacy's hectic schedules.

“Kacy trains and that’s a seven-day-a-week business and she’s out of the door at 4.30 every morning. It’s great getting that advice that the greatest gift you can give your children is your time and we have taken that on board,” he said.

The Blue Sky brand has also been at the heart of Blaxland's businesses, both through the Blue Sky Agency and Blue Sky Consignments which has successfully sold stock on clients' behalf at major sales.

Blaxland confirmed Blue Sky Bloodstock is now incorporated into Julian Blaxland Bloodstock.

“Blue Sky used to do a bit of syndication and it was only last year that Anthony Freedman suggested to me that I had been around long enough to go under my own name,” he said.

Many mentors

In his variety of roles across the thoroughbred industry, Blaxland has also leant on other respected thoroughbred identities for their guidance.

“On the bloodstock agents' side, Vin Cox and Mark Pilkington have counselled me over a number of years. They are a bit older than me and they’ve both been a part of big racing organisations," he said.

“Vin ran Magic Millions and they are two very smart and successful guys who have been a great help to me.

“The Kelly family from Newhaven Park have been terrific and I speak to John or Charles every week, and they were an enormous help to Kacy and myself in setting up Newington Farm. They know how to run a good business and deal with staff and general work-life balance. They have been fabulous mentors and such big supporters of ours."

Another key advisor along the way has been Arrowfield Chairman John Messara.

“When I was doing the colts’ funds in the early days with Arrowfield Stud, John Messara was an enormous help to me and I still talk regularly with John," he said.

“I feel very fortunate I can call John for advice on certain things and it’s nice they have supported us, Paul Messara was the first guy to send us spellers at Newington. Those relationships have been ongoing over a number of years.”

The shining light

Blaxland has purchased numerous young thoroughbreds who have gone on to black-type success, but it is the multiple Group 1 winner Sunlight (Zoustar) who, so far, stands apart.

She was purchased by Blue Sky Bloodstock in conjunction with McEvoy-Mitchell Racing and Aquis for $300,000 at the 2017 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale and would go on to amass over $6.5 million in earnings.

“She’s the obvious one. She was an unbelievable athlete with an incredible will to win and it’s not often you get a horse that has the attitude, physicality and the ability,” Blaxland said.

“She was just something else and it took me a long time to get a horse of her calibre. I’ve also got a very promising one in Artorius racing for Anthony and Newgate and the other owners.

“Those types of horses are very hard to find. What I have learned working with Anthony in the last few years is that it’s not necessarily budget related.

“Artorius was $120,000 and Sunlight was $300,000. It’s all about finding the animal and they don’t all look the same."

The success with Artorius (Flying Artie), who won the G1 Blue Diamond S., for Anthony and Sam Freedman this year, is another reminder of the importance of an open mind.

“I think we go to the sales and get stuck in a thing of trying to buy a good sale horse. Anthony made a great comment that they don’t all look the same in the mounting yard so why would all the good ones look the same at the sales,” he said.

Blaxland’s hands-on approach with Newington has hammered that train of thought home.

“After running a spelling property for the last three years, we would have 80 or 100 yearlings through the place in a year and then we get winter carnival horses from down south,” he said.

“We get Group 1 winners here to spell and Anthony’s right, they come in all shapes and sizes. It’s made me a lot more open minded when I got to the sales.

“The beauty of this sport is that a horse like Behemoth or Takeover Target can come along and make it interesting. They make it more relatable to the public.

“In Europe, it’s become the haves and the have not over there, whereas in Australia it’s still a sport for the people.”