There were three breaths of fresh air to come out of an unremarkable winter meeting at Rosehill Gardens. Firstly apprentice Brock Ryan put behind him the horrors of a broken leg earlier this year, to ride four of the ten winners - a remarkable feat at such an early stage of his career.
Secondly the total honesty of Wyong trainer Kristen Buchanan in a post race interview left an indelible impression on Sky viewers. Moments after Kristen had won the Midway with Casino Mondial, she was asked by Richard Haynes whether or not she’d considered the horse a winning chance. “To be truthful I thought he’d need the run,” said the trainer. “I thought he’d be much better suited in an 1800m race in a fortnight’s time.”
You’ll rarely hear that kind of raw honesty from a trainer who’s been caught off guard. Fear of having their judgement questioned is enough for most trainers to declare that they had given the horse “some sort of a chance”. That kind of straightforwardness is one of the reasons Kristen Buchanan is gaining burgeoning support from owners - owners like Bruce Mackenzie who currently has ten horses in her Wyong stables.
Kristen is always happy to talk to the Sky Racing team. Here she is at Scone with Gary Harley - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
The third morale booster to come out of the meeting is the fact that Casino Mondial was recently purchased on the popular Inglis On Line Auction for $17,000 - an unheard of figure in a year of staggering price tags for yearlings, weanlings, tried horses and breeding stock. The gelding’s sale was prompted by the recent passing of one of the original owners. The remaining syndicate members decided to dissolve the partnership.
The horse was purchased by Ken Williams on the recommendation of Kristen who has had the horse in her care since November of last year. “He’d previously been with Michael Byers at Taree who’d won six races with him,” said Kristen. “He was beaten only half a head in a Country Championship Qualifier and although unplaced in the Final he was just over three lengths from the winner. Michael sent him to me in great order.”
Casino Mondial didn’t win for the new stable until start number seven when he scored in a BM 64 at Newcastle with Brandon Griffiths on board. Then followed an unplaced effort on the same track after which he was eased in his training and didn’t appear for twelve weeks. He went into Saturday’s race with just one soft trial under his belt, which was the reason for Kristen’s lack of confidence.
Casino Mondial completed a winning double for respected stallion Casino Prince, a Group 1 winning son of Flying Spur who banked more than $1.1 million dollars on the track. He also completed a treble in consecutive races for Hugh Bowman who hasn’t ridden a great deal in recent weeks. His flurry of winners on Saturday will immediately bring him under the notice of the many trainers who respect his talents.
“I don’t burden experienced riders like Hugh Bowman with instructions,” said Kristen. “I told him to go forward if he felt he could do it comfortably, but to play it by ear if the speed was hot. I must confess I was concerned when he was in front of only two horses at the 800m and hoped he could find some openings in the straight. Hugh found the narrowest of gaps between Fantastic Baby and Ashim and Casino Mondial let down really well to grab Arctic Thunder on the line.”
Casino Mondial dived between horses to snatch victory in Saturday's Midway - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
When Kristen Buchanan slipped quietly into a training career in 2009, many thought she was an expatriate West Aussie who’d simply found her way to the NSW Central Coast. She was in fact born and reared on the coast and was in her mid teens when her parents moved to WA. Her riding skills were considerable and her affinity with horses well established.
Soon after moving to Perth she enrolled for a Biomedical Science Degree at Murdoch University. By her own admission she simply didn’t have the application for the study involved, and after two years switched to a Biology and Exercise Physiology course which she successfully completed. To help cover her University fees the teenager arranged to ride trackwork for leading trainer Neville Parnham, and later pre trained horses for several Perth stables.
In 2004 an unthinkable tragedy turned the family upside down when Russell Buchanan took his own life after a battle with depression. His heartbroken family began the long journey to some sort of acceptance and emotional stability. These were dark days for Kristen, younger brother Justin and older sisters Michelle and Nicole. The siblings immediately threw their weight behind the total support of their stoic mother Lauraine.
“I often wonder which direction I would have taken had we not lost Dad,” said Kristen. “In view of my University Degree he may have wanted me to pursue an academic career. I was totally besotted by thoroughbreds by this stage of my life and took the decision to head in that direction. I actually hobby trained in WA for a while and won a handful of races including one at Ascot with a mare called Tingling Sensation. She was actually my very first winner.”
Kristen was twenty eight years old when she returned to NSW with thoughts of a training future pounding in her brain - but first she needed to learn more about the administrative side of running a commercial stable. She landed the perfect job with a burgeoning company called Iskander Racing and Breeding and would spend two happy years in the company’s Crows Nest office. “I learned about marketing, stallion nominations, dealing with owners including Hong Kong clients, and communicating with people in many facets of the racing industry. It was a wonderful learning curve under the tutelage of Sheriff Iskander and Suman Hedge,” she said.
A 2 year stint with Iskander Racing and Bloodstock completed Kristen's education for the role of professional horse trainer.
It was 2009 when thirty year old Kristen Buchanan took the first tentative steps on the path to a full time training career. She and her then partner Andrew Marshall secured boxes on Wyong racecourse, and a new life began. “It was pretty intimidating stuff at the time, but I soon settled into a routine on my beloved Central Coast. All I needed now was a handy horse.”
Kristen and Andrew had to spend pretty freely to get that handy horse. They learned through Iskander Racing and Bloodstock that an Australian bred Testa Rossa gelding in Hong Kong had gone amiss and was in need of a home. He’d won two races under the name of Fantuzzi for John Moore before suffering a suspensory ligament strain.
“Following a lot of homework we decided to give it a shot,” said Kristen “We paid for his transport home and gave him twelve months of rehabilitation before getting him back to the track. We reverted to his original Australian name of Strong Gain and relaunched his career. He won three races including one at Canterbury and I still look at him as the horse to get me started. He’s now in a paddock enjoying retirement on the Central Coast.”
It would take a pretty special horse to supplant Two Blue as Kristen’s all time favourite. This daughter of Dubleo (USA) raced 42 times for 8 wins, 17 placings and $692,000 in prize money. She finished second in five stakes races before finally getting a richly deserved Gr 2 win in the Sapphire Stakes at Randwick. “She was a quirky mare who tried her heart out every time she went around,” recalled Kristen. “Even in trackwork she hated another horse to get near her. She resented restraint and needed a jockey who could understand her. Blake Shinn and Paul King got on well with her, and Damian Oliver was on board for a Randwick win. She actually had bone chips removed from a knee as a five year old, but got over it quickly. By the time she ran in the Doomben $10,000 and Stradbroke of 2016 she was over the top and we retired her immediately.”
After 5 seconds in stakes races Two Blue finally won a Gr. 2 - The Sapphire Stakes at Randwick with Paul King on board - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Interesting to note that Two Blue’s first foal, a three year old Zoustar gelding called Rigel Star is already an impressive Cranbourne maiden winner for the Hayes Brothers. Her second foal is a full sister to Rigel Star purchased for $70,000 at this year’s Inglis Classic Sale. There are no prizes for guessing whose stable she will join shortly. “She’s been broken in and looks a natural,” says Kristen. “Her resemblance to Two Blue is scary. I can’t wait to start work on her.”
Kristen’s training in Biology and Exercise Physiology probably explains her scientific approach to horse training. For some time now she’s been using a device called E-Trakka which is a heart rate and GPS monitoring system. “I have six E-Trakka saddle blankets and nothing gallops fast without one,” she said. “The information available after a gallop is very helpful, especially the data on fitness and soundness.”
Kristen with Sam Clenton after Lucky Liaison's win at Warwick Farm 2015 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
The dedicated trainer rides a number of horses in trackwork herself, and loves to have that hands-on involvement. She has nothing but praise for the training facilities at Wyong and is adamant she wouldn’t entertain the notion of training anywhere else. She was delighted to see a first class swimming pool installed a few years ago. Back in Two Blue’s day the absence of a pool forced Kristen into an alternative procedure that became a talking point around town. Several times a week the innovative trainer would don a wetsuit and take her star mare for a dip in the Wyong river.
The stable has produced a healthy strike rate over the last few months with horses like Casino Mondial, Margie Bee, Oakfield Cherokee, Oakfield Arrow, Oakfield Tepee, Big Surprise, Big Happiness, Alexeyeva, Lasting Grace, Fumiko, and Eye Witness. Oakfield Arrow has been sent to the paddock after an unplaced effort on Saturday, but Kristen looks forward to the filly’s next preparation. “I like this filly a lot and I think she’ll be one of Bruce Mackenzie’s best performers next time in,” said the trainer.
“Designated is another mare who should produce her best form next campaign. Her only two wins to date have been at Wyong, but I think she’ll make the step up to city class next time around.”
Kristen is the first to admit she could never handle the stresses of the job, without the support of the two most important people in her life. Lauraine decided to leave Perth after the passing of her husband and return to the familiar environs of the Central Coast. “For a lady who knew little about horses until recent times she has accumulated a surprising amount of knowledge,” said Kristen. “Her help at home and around the stables is invaluable. I’d never manage without her.”
Kristen with mother Lauraine and daughter Mackenzie - her two greatest supporters.
“The love of my life,” is the tender assessment Kristen reserves for her pretty eight year old daughter Mackenzie. The eight year old isn’t as infatuated by horses as her mother was at the same age, but enjoys visiting the stables and definitely has her favourite horses as a couple of accompanying photos will testify.
Kristen doesn’t have a single regret about her decision to join the professional training ranks. Now in her twelfth year, the 41 year old embodies the old adage that reputations don’t just happen - they have to be earned. This lady’s reputation stems from hard work, boundless talent and the pursuit of a dream which had its origins on the back of a pony when she was just nine years old.
Rarely does a day go by when she doesn’t wonder if her late father would have approved of her decision to train horses, rather than put her University Degree to practical use. “It’s a funny thing he always enjoyed the social side of life and wasn’t out of place at the swankiest party,” Kristen mused. “I honestly believe he would have been right in the groove by now.”
It’s a safe bet Russell Buchanan would have been first into the winner’s circle whenever Kristen produced a winner. You can picture him now, digging people in the ribs to make sure they knew the winning trainer was his youngest daughter.
Mackenzie with one of her favourites Jazzland.
(Banner image - Hugh Bowman makes it three for the day on Casino Mondial in Saturday's Midway - courtesy Bradley Photographers.)