Stockmanship and horsemanship are very close half- brothers. Truth known, full brothers.
To most there is a massive gulf between the glamour of Melbourne Cup victory and a huge milk fat cheque. They are the result of the same deep well of knowledge.
Paul Duncan can tell you. In the epicentre of farming and thoroughbred racing in the Waikato district a few years ago, Paul had the best of both in his upbringing.
Born into a dairy farming family, he followed the passion of his dad Max by competing in the show ring. “I needed to look around so I spent a year in England at Fawley Stud near Lambourne, which shared three stallions with cropping.”
Back home Paul rode in amateur riders races against a wily bunch including Bob Autridge, Dummy Myers, Denis Gray and Ken Browne.
“I bought a small 100-acre dairy farm and came to the conclusion I needed either to expand the farm or go training horses.”
Fate played its hand.
With no extra land available Paul was essentially guided to take on the horses, soon after which 50 acres behind his block became available, but it was too late. He had horses all around him and has never regretted the career path.
“For the first five years I was essentially pre-training for Cambridge trainers.”
Among them were the highly respected horseman Royce Dowling (1987 Brisbane Cup, Limitless) and the late Ken and Ann Browne, New Zealand’s jumping icons.
A mare to become a smart five-time winner named Autumn Queen entered the stable. After establishing herself at home, Paul brought her to Melbourne and her form was fabulous. She won first-up at Moonee Valley under Patrick Payne. and after a Gr 3 second to near champion Mannerism, Autumn Queen pricked a foot and was brought home.
Soon after an unlikely little staying type to be called Oarsman, arrived down the drive. With typical patience, Paul developed the chestnut quietly and launched when he thought the horse was ready. The training style paid off hugely — in a dashing spring, Oarsman flew through the grades and on January 1 was beaten a nose in the 3200m Gr1 Auckland Cup.
Three weeks later Oarsman easily took the Gr 1 Wellington Cup (3200m) with a typical driving finish. A Melbourne Cup campaign was put in place later that year, but anything that could go wrong, did.
“He was not much to look at and he had a lot of knee action, but he was a lovely stayer.”
Midnight Oil won Group 3 Lowland Stakes and then went on to win the Group 1 NZ Oaks for Paul two weeks later. “She was bred by some owners of mine and prepared for the sales, but she didn’t sell. Some friends and I leased her with a right of purchase. She was a big, strong Filly.”
Pinsoir was an opposite type – a real sprinter and he finished 3rd in the Group 1 Railway at Ellerslie (“should have won”) and 4th in the Gr 1 Telegraph at Trentham, both after winning the Gr 2 Concord Stakes lead-up sprint at Avondale.
Say No More won multiple Group 1’s in the Thorndon Mile and Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes and was one of the three horses to come to Queensland with Paul when he relocated.
The wheel has turned and Paul is right back where he needs to be – not trying to squeeze a win from a cast-off, but with a barn of talented, nice, young horses.
Listen for the noise.
