It s Started... Ponder s debut 2yo crop are hitting the track in North America and they are creating quite an impact! From just 61 foals he already has 33 starters, 17 winners, 13 in 2:00. His leading performers to this early stage include: IN DEEP THOUGHT (M) 1:54.6 LIZAS PRIDE (M) 1:54.6 WILLIE BOOTS 1:55.4 STRESS TEST 1:55.6 CAMARROW 1:55.8 HIGHLY THOUGHT OF 1:56 REAL TRELL 1:56.4 RAMPAGE JACKSON 1:56.8 Day To Ponder - Winner on debut in 1:58 by 16 lengths on a 1/2 mile track! Ponder 1:48.2, 1:49h - $1,686,134 When it comes to choosing a stallion for your mare Ponder ticks all the boxes. He is the richest son of The Panderosa. A slick gait is always important and Ponder was beautifully gaited as indicated by his world record performance on the famed half mile Delaware circuit. His maternal family is brilliant also. His mother won over $350,000 and is also the best horse in North America at the moment Shark Gesture 1:48.2 - $2,539,344. Aus Service Fee: $4,000 (incl GST) Aus Ph: (03) 5859 2201 www.alabar.com.au NZ Ph: (09) 232 1800 www.alabar.co.nz
A Man Of No Excuses Emilio Rosati has become a major force on the australasian racing scene while making some noise in North america along the way. He is quite simply a man who can make things happen. By Harold Howe Emilio Rosati is one of those people you usually can t miss when he enters a room. He s a robust figure with a commanding presence yet he was virtually anonymous last November at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex despite buying one of the highest priced horses in the sale. Rosati signed the sales slip for hip number 67, the Rocknroll Hanover half-sister to the top threeyear-old of the year in North America Well Said. One cannot usually buy a Standardbred horse anywhere in the world for $300,000 without some scrutiny but Rosati seemed to. Shortly after the purchase he was on his way back to Sydney and for the most part no one at the sale was much the wiser. But that is Rosati s way. He is his own man with his own very distinct ideas that do not require the approval or permission of anyone. At age 64 he is the driving force behind Form 700, one of Australia s leading construction companies. With a staff of 750 he has built some of the country s major landmarks including the award winning Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre and the $250 million Royal Women s Hospital in the same city. When there is any major project in Australia, we re one of the first people to get the call to quote on the project, he says proudly. His success has allowed him to pursue his passion for owning good horses. Today he grimaces when he admits that he owns 54 head. I thought it was 40 but my wife, who pays the bills on them, says it s 54. Rosati s life story is the stuff of movies. In 1961 at the age of 16 he accompanied his family to Australia from Italy. It was a journey he initially did not want to make. My brother came to Australia in 1957. Italy was not in good shape at that time even though it
EMILIO ROSATI A Man Of No Excuses was nearly 15 years after World War II. My father, who was a cabinet maker, wanted to find a better life for his family. He and my mother applied to Canada, the United States and Australia. We landed here because Australia was the first one to reply, he explains. It was my father, mother, two sisters and I, but I did not want to come. We lived in a little town called Lenola which is 110 kilometres south of Rome. I liked life there however after three months in Australia, I loved the place and adapted very quickly. Driven by the hunger for a better life that characterized so many immigrants of that era, Rosati left school and went right to work labouring in a mattress factory and then for a toy manufacturer. He then followed his calling to become a carpenter which required a five year apprenticeship. The first signs of that entrepreneur bend in his makeup emerged upon completion of the apprenticeship when he immediately opened his own business. That lasted 18 months but did not work out. So I went to work for a major construction company in Sydney for two years before going to Dolson Construction, which is still a large company. I began there as a foreman and 25 years later was the manager of that The star of the Rosatis' stable this season has been their twoyear-old homebred Aces N Sevens colt Excel Stride who won the $100,000 NSW Breeders Stake Final. company, he explains. Fifteen years ago it lost its way so I left and went to work for the company Structural Systems for three years. That was one of those places with far too many chiefs drawing big money when it was not necessary. Things came to a head and I left. The next day I went on my own again. Maria is Emilio s wife. She is not of Italian descent. She was born in Australia but her parents came from the Ukraine. Emilio takes great pains to point out what a large part of his life she is. Maria, who I call Mary, has never, ever been a problem for me in doing anything I wanted to do. When I quit Structural Systems we took a five week holiday and then started Form 700. In effect, Emilio was setting up his own company to compete directly with his former employers. Hunger to succeed, an enormous capacity for work and an ability to embrace new technology were the strengths he carried into the fight. I was very well known in the construction industry. The only question that came up at the beginning was whether or not I had the financing necessary to take on jobs and I did, Emilio confirms. From the start I set about changing things. I introduced some new technology along with systems and ideas. I was never one to just accept things the way they were. I wanted to know how to improve things. The construction trade the world Photo by Graeme Prosser Spring 2010 The Harness Edge Downunder
Current World Champion Artistic Fella P,2,1:53.3; 3,1:48.4; 1:48F ($2,640,532) Pacific Fella Everything s Easy Artsplace b.h. 16 hands At 2 & 3-14 Wins for Earnings of $992,635 At 4 & 5-12 Wins for Earnings of $1,612,220 World Champion on a 5/8ths Mile Track 1:48f! World Champion over 1710 Meters in 1:49.3MR! Winner of 26 Races 52 Starts 12 Wins Under 1:50 7 Wins from 1:48-1:48.4 10 Straight Meadowlands Stakes Victories at 3 Averaged $50,779 per Lifetime Start EMPIRE WORLD CLASS SIRES 2010/11 Service Fees That Make Sense 4500 Discounts Available Vicbred, Breeders eders Crown, Bathurst t Gold Crown, NSW State Bred & Breeders ers Challenge eligible. 317 Tarcombe Road, Avenel, VIC 3664 Phone: (03) 5796 2122 Fax (03) 5796 2137 www.empirestallions.com
EMILIO ROSATI A Man Of No Excuses Photo by New Image Media Rosati attracted attention in North American harness racing circles when he shelled out $300,000 to purchase the Rocknroll Hanover sister to $2.6 million winner Well Said at last year's Harrisburg auction. Now named Emilios Stride, the filly is racing out of the Mark Harder barn and she recently broke her maiden at Freehold with a 1:58 victory. over is much the same. It is not a game for little boys in short pants. The various trade unions are front and centre which often makes life for the companies a struggle. But street-smart is a phrase that accurately portrays Rosati who has made a reputation as a man who knows how to deal effectively with the unions. He was also clever enough to recognize that he had to retain top people which was why he allowed two of his apprentices to buy into the company. Today they are partners sharing in 50 per cent ownership and with a white hot economy in Australia, business could not be much better. Which brings us to his interest in horses. As far back as I can remember horses were a part of my life. My mother s family were farmers in the mountains so I had uncles who loved the horses, I grew up around it, he says. Harness racing was, and is, big in Australia. I wanted to get a horse but it was not until I was 37 or 38 that I could afford to do it. I lost far more than I made. In the late 1970s Emilio and his wife dabbled in the breeding end of the game and came up with a useful horse named Stride High. He was a son of Tarport Lowe who was hardly a star but still managed nine wins while in their ownership. As a result they apply the Stride suffix to all of their horses names. Emilio rates Dominator Stride, a son of Armbro Operative who earned $194,000 in their ownership, as their best to this point in time. In addition to 23 wins, the horse was second in the $100,000 Vicbred Super Series final at three and then third in the $100,000 Kilmore Cup in 2004. This season the star of the stable has been Excel Stride, a homebred two-yearold Aces N Sevens colt. This colt won the $100,000 NSW Breeders Stake final over a distance of a mile at Harold Park at Menangle on June 27 defeating Sushi Sushi who finished second in the Australasian Breeders Crown last month. He s a very good colt and had it not been for the driver mucking up the drive in the Breeders Challenge we would have been in the Breeders Crown final. The Rosatis do not have a farm of their own... yet. Their breeding stock is stabled with Alabar, Pepper Tree Farm and others and their racehorses are spread around to various stables as well. Emilio notes that his trip to America last year that resulted in the purchase of the most expensive pacing filly to be sold at public auction has intrigued people. It s an interesting tale. It was Mary who started it all. She wanted us to buy a top colt but I said that at least with a filly if it does not work out we can bring her home and breed from her. A colt has no other option than to race. That strategy resulted in a trip to Spring 2010 The Harness Edge Downunder
Introducing to Australia for 2010 the exciting ART COLONY p,2,1:51s; 3,1;51s ($863,750) (race-timed in 1:48.8) Artsplace - Asleep Onthe Beach - Beach Towel The fastest 2yo son of artsplace imported to australia He s a beautiful horse... big, athletic and powerful. You ll really want to come to the farm to see this guy! Larry Drysdale, Manager, Winbak Canada I drove Mach Three and Real Desire at two also, and Art Colony is easily one of the best two-year-olds I've ever driven. He was flawlessly gaited, possessed high, high speed, and had perfect manners. Randy Waples ART COLONY winning first start as 2yo 2008 A wonderfully bred $157,000 yearling purchase with perfect conformation. He only missed the top two once in his injury shortened career (13-5 - 7-0) and that was the night he was injured in the final of the Meadowlands pace. He defeated MAjOR In ART, USA 2yo of the Year 2008 WEll SAId & If I CAn dream on multiple occasions Artsplace has the hottest siring sons in Australia, e.g. ArT MAjOr, MOderN ArT, GriNfrOMeArTOeAr. Bottom line broodmare sire excellence, BeAch TOWel, cam fella, AlBATrOSS, Bye Bye Byrd Associate Sires: UNiON GUy, SpOrTS TOWN, denver GifT, conch deville AT TWO 4 wins and finished 2nd by a nose to Nebupanezzar in the final of the Governors cup, and second to Well Said (parked the mile from post 10) in the final of the Breeders crown. AT THREE he finished 2nd to Well Said in the final of the North american cup, pacing his own mile in 1:48.8 Service fee: $3,000 loddon Valley stud john & Kay campbell 49 Alexander reef rd lockwood 3551 ph: (03) 5435 4144 Mob: 0427 551 226 0437 077 887 Fax: (03) 5435 3920 email: loddonvalleystud@hotmail.com Website: www.loddonvalleystud.com.au
EMILIO ROSATI A Man Of No Excuses Lexington, Kentucky for the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale. I was shocked after a couple days. Things did not work out like I planned. The livestock was fantastic but it was the people I had a problem with. There were two consignors that... well, should not be allowed in the breeding game in my opinion, he says. Let s just say it was a very bad experience in what they tried to do to me and I grabbed Mary and we went right to the airport to come home. Things like I saw should not be allowed. There was however one positive aspect of the Kentucky trip and that was the chance meeting with New York owner Skip Smith who races under the name W. Springtime Racing. Smith is best known for the great pacing filly Bunny Lake, a winner of $3 million in purse winnings and now has this year s world record setting filly Dancinwiththestarz p,3,1:48.4 ($725,302). I just happened to meet Skip there and we hit it off. After everything happened at the Lexington sale I told him I was going home. As I was getting ready to leave his trainer John Stark gave me a catalogue (The Black Book) for the Harrisburg sale to read on the plane. That s how I found the sister to Well Said, he relates. I got off the plane in Aussie and called Skip right away to ask him if he could look at her. He did and called me back a few days later saying she was a lovely filly but it was going to cost someone a lot of money to own her. Named Look And Listen, the Rocknroll Hanover filly was the fourth foal of the Artsplace mare Must See who earned $562,000 during her racing career which included winning the Sweetheart final at the Meadowlands as a two-yearold in 2002. Owned by breeder Fair Winds Farm and Steve Jones, Must See is a full sistser to $2.2 million winner Glowing Report and $746,000 winner Perfect Union. I thought about it and got back on the plane a few weeks later to go to the Harrsiburg sale. I must say the people at the sale treated me fantastic but I could not understand why it was so difficult for me to pay for the filly after I bought her. It was three months and they just didn t seem worried. Finally, they told me that I was the last of their worries, they had other people which were far greater problems. Because of the relationship he had forged with Smith, Rosati chose to leave the filly in the care of John Stark at Saratoga Raceway in upstate New York. But in June Smith and Stark came to a parting of the ways and Smith s horses and Emilio s filly were all moved to the New Jersey stable of former Kiwi Mark Harder. Now named Emilios Stride, the expensive youngster has made two starts to date, winning her most recent at Freehold Raceway in an overnight event in 1:58. She has qualified but is still growing. She s a big girl and may need some time. But regardless of what she does racing in North America she will come to Australia at the end of her three-year-old season. She will be the foundation mare for our breeding operation. The Rosatis were not done after they made that purchase. They surfaced in February in New Zealand for the Australasian Classic and New Zealand Premier Sales. We bought six in total to go along with four that we purchased in Australia. I love buying horses in New Zealand because they keep their best mares. In Australia we are running out of good mares, says Rosati. Spring 2010 The Harness Edge Downunder
THE SALE of CHAMPIONS Where you can buy horses that win major stakes wherever you race, like these 2 and 3-year-old Lexington Selected graduates! ROCK N ROLL HEAVEN p,3,1:47.3 ($1,523,601) PUT ON A SHOW p,3,1:50 ($1,360,863) FANCY FILLY p,3,1:49.4f ($1,080,806) ON THE TAB 2,1:57 ($490,097) HOLIDAY ROAD 3,1:52.4 ($426,200) FRED AND GINGER p,3,1:48.4f ($431,396) LOOKINFORADVENTURE p,2,1:51.3 ($157,250) JEZZY 2,1:57.3 ($131,552) TRIOMPHE DE VIE 2,1:57.3f ($68,066) PASTOR STEPHEN 2,1:56.1 ($50,479) 2010 SALE: OCTOBER 13-17 DURING RED MILE S GRAND CIRCUIT MEET CATALOGS NOW AVAILABLE If you would like to order a catalog, please visit www.lexingtonselected.com Randy Manges Geoffrey Stein U.S. (859) 255-8431, fax (859) 255-0302 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale Graduate ROCK N ROLL HEAVEN, the year s top-rated 3-year-old pacer, is among a trio of millionaires sold in Lexington in 2008. GSI, LLC 2010 / Michael Lisa/Lisa Photo
EMILIO ROSATI A Man Of No Excuses The Kiwis are very smart people about this. They continue to produce some really nice fillies and that interests me. In the United States it was very clear to me that you get what you pay for. Fillies with pedigree sell for big money. Fillies aside though, Rosati ended up topping the second day of the Premier Yearling Sale in New Zealand with the $140,000 purchase of the sale topper, a trotting colt sired by the French sire Love You. Mary wanted a trotter and we d become very good friends with Peter Lagan of PGG Wrightson who steered us this direction. His name now is Amore Stride and is training with Mark Hayes. Interestingly Rosati does not have his horses with the higher profile trainers. I look for horsemen who really understand horses. I don t worry if they are name people or not. Mary and I adore our horses and have found that the bigger name trainers try to spend their time telling us what we should be doing with them. That does not work with us. Eventually, Rosati will be owner of an exclusive broodmare band. Late last month, at the Cullen Breeding dispersal in New Zealand, he paid $100,000 for the Western Hanover mare Crown Counsel in foal to Christian Cullen. As this issue was being placed online, the Rosatis were making plans to attend the Little Brown Jug in Ohio in mid September. While I was upset with the events at the Lexington sale I would have liked to gone back this year. However, we cannot stay because of business commitments so maybe it will be back to Harrisburg instead. I would like a good trotting filly. It s clear that a small property is on the horizon for the Rosatis. A 50 acre plot of land would be ideal for their purposes says Emilio. I m 64 and it would be nice to get up in the morning, look out the window and see our horses while drinking a cup of coffee. I keep waiting for someone to buy me out of the business but all I ve heard so far from anyone is talk. Things in Australia look very good for the next five years, maybe even 10, he proclaims. I talk with people in America in construction and they tell me how low their margins are. We have it so good in Australia. This is the luckiest country in the world. Emilio Rosati is a proud Australian now but has never forgotten his Italian heritage. My father lived to see what I d accomplished. When he was 85 he moved back to Italy and died when he was 90. My mother died in 1994 of cancer and she was the driving force in our family. My father lost his father when he was seven. He did not have it easy and came here to make a better life for his family. This new generation does not understand that because they have had it too easy. They do not understand having to do things out of necessity, they have no edge to them. I think about retirement and spending more time in the breeding game of which I am very passionate. I m very proud of what this family has done. We had to adapt and that s what racing horses is a bit like. There are no excuses. A 1:49 $2 Million lion Honest Racehorse OHOKA PERUVIAN ARIZONA HANOVERH 1:56.2 p4,1:49.8 $259,532 $1,963,285 Winning ng in Now Winning in NZ Canada 31 individual winners. 3 in 1:53 incl: PICTONIAN N PRIDE p3,1:52.4 $153,038 2YO Winner Nickys Passion (c) Peruvian Lass (f) Seven Wishes (g) Lucy Lowe (f) Dont Tell Mum (g) Fifteen Four (g) We are ready to talk turkey on stud feee Wai Eyre Farm P: 03 312 6338 F: 03 312 6337 E: waieyre@xtra.co.nz e@xtra.co.nz Darryl ryl Brown P: 0274 732 250 Justin Le Lievre e P: 021 865 745 M: 0800 312 6338 E: stallionsales@waieyre.co.nze.co.nnz Spring 2010 The Harness Edge Downunder