“It’s so satisfying to win such a prestigious Group 1 race.”
The speaker is a successful Sydney businessman with interests in logistics, infrastructure and investment Mick Harvey, after seeing his homebred four-year-old Kingman (Always B Miki) defeated a top class running field in the $250,000 Victoria Cup (2240 metres) at Melton last Saturday evening.
Despite an early miscue, the Always B Miki covered the final 800 meters in a blistering 53.8 seconds to relegate Hi Managirlff and champion Leap To Fame to the minor places in the spring race’s signature event in Victoria.
Kingman has now won 13 of his 33 starts and $340,469 in stakes. In addition to his Victoria Cup victory, his major successes include the 2024 Tasmanian Derby and several Free-for-alls at Menangle.
“We have the idea of putting him in the New Zealand Cup. I’ve never had a runner in the NZ Cup. It’s one of the races I’d like to have a runner in,” Mick said.
“I’ve been pretty lucky. I’ve won most of the races, including the Hunter Cup, Miracle Mile, Blacks A Fake and Breeders Crown.”
Earlier in the day, Vivy Air, a galloping mare partly owned by Harvey, scored her most important win to date at the $160,000 The Big Dance Wildcard at The Everest meeting at Randwick.
“She’s going to compete in The Big Dance at Randwick on Melbourne Cup Day. It’s a $3 million race,” Harvey said.
“I used to have mainly thoroughbreds, but I fell in love with the standardbreds and have had a lot of fun with them.”
Kingman is the first pacer ever bred by Harvey.
“I really liked the great Kiwi mare Elect To Live. I played with Kingman’s mother Gotta Go Dali Queen, a granddaughter of Elect To Live,” he said.
Gotta Go Dali Queen won eight races, including five at Alexandra Park and one at Melton, and almost $90,000.
“I also bought her half-sister My Harmony Blue. Their mother was Gotta Go Harmony, who was also a good horse.”
The $106,000 winner My Harmony Blue left Menangle winner Harmony as her first foal.
Harvey also purchased two unraced Gotta Go Harmony siblings in Glenferrie Elect (from Christian Cullen) and Gotta Go Electowatch (from He’s Watching).
“Glenferrie Elect produced a Group 1 winner for me in Captn Me, while Gotta Go Electowatch threw a nice two-year-old in Rewatch this year, who won first in 1:53, was second in the Bathurst Gold Crown and then galloped in The Protostar.
“Just to see everything come to fruition is so rewarding and satisfying. I put a lot of time into identifying and selecting horses,” said Mick.
“Speed is very important in breeding. I pay attention to certain nicks and percentages. I put a lot of emphasis on the feminine side, that’s for sure.
“I’ve invested in a few families that didn’t have huge family tree pages at the time of their purchase, but now they’re going gangbusters. It validates everything I’ve done.
“Take King Of Swing for example. He was out of a good mare, but Bettor Twist and Mach Dan, who are part of this family, had not raced at the time. Bettor Twist has the most Group 1 wins ever for a female pacer in New Zealand and Mach Dan has won more than a million dollars.”
Harvey currently breeds from two close relatives of Bettor Twist in Bettor Give It and Spandau Ballet. The latter is the dam of this year’s Maryborough Pacing Cup and Menangle winner Le Twist.
Naiya Franco, a Mach Three half-sister to the great racing mare Nike Franco, is another member of Harvey’s broodmare herd. She left Group 1 Bathurst Gold Crown winner Ripples and double Melton winner Samkerr from just three racing-age foals.
All told, Harvey owns about 20 broodmares that reside at the family’s estate at Berrima in the NSW Southern Highlands and Woodlands Stud near Auckland.
Although King Of Swing is undoubtedly the best horse Harvey has ridden, the first ‘big headline’ horse he was associated with was the Dream Away gelding Hectorjayjay.
“He was incredible. Such an exciting horse to race and watch. He was erratic but unfortunately plagued with injuries,” said Mick.
The ill-fated Major Trojan, winner of the 2019 Western Australian Derby and The Chandon, winner of the Victorian Country Cups and runner-up in the NSW Derby, Can’t Refuse, and the smart racing mare Ripples have been other high achievers that Harvey has ridden.
And while the Sydney businessman’s eyes are firmly on the track at the moment, he’s keeping a close eye on a case on the other side of the fence.
“Last week I was approached to take over the Harnesslink website,” said Harvey.
“I would like to work in the industry again. It has been very good for me.
“Harnesslink has a strong and respected foundation, thanks to the dedicated work of John Curtin. My goal is to build on that legacy and introduce a few improvements to evolve the platform.”
“While the site has served the industry well, there is a great opportunity to innovate certain elements and bring new energy to the way users interact with the content.
“With social media playing such a big role these days, it is essential that Harnesslink strengthens its presence on platforms such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to reach and engage a wider audience,” said Mick.
“Harnesslink already offers a truly global perspective with strong coverage in North America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. I would like to see this expanded further into Europe, and we have already started discussions to make that happen.
“Our goal is to ensure that anyone who wants to follow a horse or stay connected to the sport has easy access to the information he or she needs.
“There is always room for improvement, and with some thoughtful updates I believe we can make Harnesslink even better for fans and participants alike,” he said.
Through Peter Whartonfor Harnesslink
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