Pickford’s ownership experience Exceeds expectations

Cover image courtesy of Sportpix

Growing up, Craig Pickford was a huge fan of the Freedman brothers and their stable of stars. Be that Mahogany (Last Tycoon {Ire}), Naturalism (NZ), Super Impose (NZ) (Imposing), Schillaci (Salieri {USA}), Doriemus (NZ) (Norman Pentaquad {USA}), Flying Spur or one of their other topliners, Pickford would watch with great interest.

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Lot 1897, Statement (Group 3 winner), at Tattersalls December Mare Sale.

It was that connection that led Pickford to buy horses with Richard and Michael Freedman, first Forbidden Love (All Too Hard), then Stay Inside - not a bad start to their business relationship.

Forbidden Love, who is trained by Michael, has won eight races to date, including three Group 1s, for earnings of $2.2 million, while Stay Inside was the G1 Golden Slipper champion of last year and now stands at Newgate for $77,000 (inc GST). Pickford remains a shareholder in the son of Extreme Choice, who won $1.7 million in prizemoney before retiring to stud.

“In the 90s, they (the Freedmans) had so many champions,” Pickford told TDN AusNZ.

“I never really thought about ownership, but I started getting into it via a mate of mine, James Moss from Tricolours Racing, and we had a bit of luck with the likes of Fasika and Pecans.

“I liked Richard Freedman’s work in the media and I contacted him, I just cold-called him and away we went.

“We ended up with Forbidden Love and then (bloodstock agent) Rick Connolly bought a colt I was keen to go in, but he was fully subscribed within 20 minutes. He then told me about a colt by Extreme Choice and he said it would be an early 2-year-old; I didn’t know much about Extreme Choice because I was living overseas between 2011-2017. That horse ended up being Stay Inside, so it worked out rather well.”

Pickford said there wasn’t a great deal of interest in Stay Inside from prospective clients after the colt made $200,000 from the Newgate draft at the 2020 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.

“Nobody wanted to buy into him. When I named him, there was only one or two other shareholders, so I got a mate (Mitchell Skinner) into him and we’ve stayed in the whole way along,” said Pickford.

“We’ve got a whole bunch of broodmares and they’ve been covered by Stay Inside and are in foal.”

Pickford said the feeling of winning the world’s richest race for 2-year-olds with his childhood idols was beyond his wildest dreams.

“It was just the best, we had a box up the top and there were 25 of us,” he said.

“I watched the Freedmans win four Slippers in a row in the 90s and here I am winning one as an owner with them. To be there all those years later with guys that I used to punt with, was crazy.”

Both Forbidden Love and Stay Inside race/d in Pickford’s colours, which he and Skinner designed and are a nod to their time living in the States.

Watch: Stay Inside winning the 2021 G1 Golden Slipper

“We’re both Sydney guys, but we lived in Chicago for a while,” he said.

“We were racing Forbidden Love and Mitchell said, ‘Why don’t we design our own colours?’, so I went and started playing around. To honour our time in Chicago, I came up with silks that have the colours of the flag of Chicago.”

Forbidden Love and Stay Inside aren’t the only horses Pickford has raced with the Freedmans that have shown above-average ability on the track.

Backrower (Astern) is yet to miss a place from four starts and has won twice, and at his third start, he was second to subsequent G1 Victoria Derby winner Manzoice (Almanzor {Fr}).

Communist (Russian Revolution) has notched three wins from his seven starts and was runner-up behind Golden Mile (Astern) in the G2 Callander-Presnell last month.

“They both look pretty smart, so hopefully there’s some good times ahead,” Pickford commented.

The next star?

Pickford and Michael Freedman will unearth their next runner at Caulfield on Saturday – an Exceed And Excel colt named Fludway, who debuts in the Listed Merson Cooper S.

The colt is from Apamurra (USA) (Lonhro), who was placed at two in Great Britain and is a three-quarter sister to the three-time winner and Group 3-placed Mogador (Lonhro).

Offered by his breeder, Torryburn Stud, Fludway made $110,000 at this year’s Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, with Michael Freedman Racing/Julian Blaxland Bloodstock (FBAA) buying.

“Michael Freedman called me and said, ‘There’s an Exceed And Excel colt and we only paid $110,000 for him’. We had his vet look over him and he was fine, although apparently front on he doesn’t look brilliant,” Pickford explained.

“He’s a real little nugget and he might be a good 2-year-old.

“You don’t seem many Exceeds for $110,000 and he’s got a lovely pedigree behind him, as well.

“He is quite small and Michael has said from day one that he will go early. He’s pretty much been a speedball from day one and Michael has been keen to get him up and going.

“It’s one race at a time, but it would be great if we could get to a race like the Blue Diamond or even the (R. Listed) Inglis Nursery, which is worth $500,000 in December.”

Fludway looked the goods in a recent Randwick-Kensington trial, winning the 850-metre heat by 0.91l in 49.78s on a Good 4 surface.

The colt was a dual acceptor, but Freedman has opted to run him at Caulfield after drawing gate 12 in the 2-year-old race at Rosehill.

“With the bad barrier at Rosehill, we thought Caulfield would be a better option, and I think the 1000 metres rather than the 1100 metres is better for him first-up,” Pickford explained.

Bred to succeed

Being by a champion stallion, who is in red-hot form (Exceed And Excel already has 32 winners for a total of 43 wins, including two stakes wins this season) from a mare that is doing a sensational job, Fludway certainly has a pedigree to perform on the track.

Apamurra is from one of the best families in the Stud Book. Her dam is the G2 Magic Night S. victress Alizes (NZ) (Rory’s Jester). She in turn is a daughter of G1 The Galaxy H. winner La Baraka (Euclase), and her dam is five-time Group 1 heroine Triscay (Marscay). Other Group 1 winners that feature on the colt’s page are Alizee (Sepoy) and Astern.

Podium (Medaglia D’Oro {USA}), was Apamurra’s first foal, and he won two of his six starts in Australia before being exported to Hong Kong. Apamurra’s second foal, 3-year-old filly Nostalgia (Zoustar) is slated to make her debut in Race 1 at Canterbury on Friday night.

Apamurra has an I Am Invincible colt, who is set to be offered at next year’s Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, and a weanling filly by Exceed And Excel. She was covered by Home Affairs this spring.

Mel Copelin, stud manager at Torryburn Stud – said Apamurra, or ‘Apples’ as she is known at home, has been an absolute gem since they paid $300,000 for her (carrying Podium) at the 2018 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale.

“She’s not overly big, just a nice neat type, from that beautiful family that continues to do something every week,” Copelin told TDN AusNZ.

“We were a little worried that she was unraced and we didn’t know too much about her, but she was very athletic when she walked.

“Nostalgia is a lovely filly and Chris Waller holds her in high regard. She’s an absolute glamour filly and she’s won her two trials.

“Fludway was a standout colt from day one, always a real nugget. It didn’t quite go his way at the sale, he was a bit awkward in his knees, he was growing at the wrong time. We had the feeling he wasn’t going to make a lot compared to the rest of our draft. He’s ended up in brilliant hands and he’s been spelling at our farm. His knees have corrected themselves and he’s quite perfect now.

“Her Exceed filly is gorgeous and she’s (Apamurra) carrying a positive to Home Affairs. She’s been so easy; she just goes in foal and has beautiful foals. The staff love her, we call her Apples because she loves to eat them.”