Australian retail giant Gerry Harvey, the self-made billionaire, has made his own luck in amassing a personal fortune and a vast horse racing empire.
As reported by Adam Pengilly on www.smh.com, Mr Harvey is offering, as first prize in a competition, a one-day, 10 per cent share in the mare Royal Descent for the running of the Doncaster on April 4, with the winner having a chance to win up to $150,000 in prize money if Royal Descent wins the Doncaster.
The competition is being run, in partnership with Fairfax Media, by Aushorse, the marketing arm of Thoroughbred Breeders Australia.
Despite career earnings which could crash through the $2 million barrier this campaign, Royal Descent always seems to be out of luck.
Gerry Harvey – generosity
The mare has finished second in four group 1s – including the last three feature mile races at Randwick. Been beaten by a pimple here and a pimple there.
But Mr Harvey, who watched Royal Descent finish second in last year’s Doncaster as part of Chris Waller’s “Fab Four”, doesn’t care. He wants another crack at allcomers in the Doncaster with a mare he rates above any other in Australia.
“The Doncaster is a bigger and harder race to win,” Mr Harvey said. “She’s now a five-year-old and she’s maybe the best mare we have in Australia. Some people might argue she’s not and then you start arguing about distances and what she’s done, but I think it would be pretty hard to put anything above her. I can’t think of one that’s above her.
“That 1600-metre trip [of the Doncaster] at Randwick obviously suits and she’s certainly the best horse I’ve got at the moment. We’ll be there when the Doncaster comes around next month.”
