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Private Eye, the $62,500 bargain buy on the cusp of $12m in prizemoney, chases success in the Group 2 The Ingham

Private Eye, who was bought for $62,500 and is on the cusp of $12m in earnings, is proof every owner’s dreams of owning a top-class racehorse can become a reality.

Ray Thomas
8 min read
December 12, 2024 - 2:30PM
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Private Eye, racing’s very own chameleon, is keeping the dream alive for every owner.

In an era where the sport faces many challenges including the decline in wagering revenue, animal welfare issues and increasing competition from other sports, Private Eye is a reminder of what makes racing so intoxicating and compelling.

The seven-year-old Joe Pride-trained gelding is proof you don’t need to spend a fortune to buy success.

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He purchased for only $62,500 as a yearling but has already amassed $11,859,185 for his syndicate of owners during a lengthy career predominantly at racing’s top level.

And, if Private Eye can finish first or second in the Group 2 $2m The Ingham (1600m) at Royal Randwick on Saturday he will vault into the all-time top 10 list of prizemoney earners in Australian racing history.

It is fair to say the seven-year-old gelding won’t go down in the annals of the all-time greats but try telling that to part-owner and syndicator Jamie Walter of Proven Thoroughbreds.

“Personally and professionally, I love the horse,” Walter said.

“He has done so much for me and my business, he’s my very first Group 1 winner - changed my life really.”

Private Eye is currently 12th on the all-time prizemoney list but he will move to eighth if he wins The Ingham and takes his career earnings to $13,014,190.

A second placing in Saturday’s feature Randwick mile will give Private Eye total prizemoney of $12,239,190 and 10th on the rankings led by Hall of Famer Winx with $26,451,175.

A top two Ingham finish by Private Eye will mean he displaces former stablemate, the Pride-trained, Proven Thoroughbred-owned Think About It from the top 10 prizemoney rankings.

Think About It only cost $70,000 as a yearling and earned $12,163,050 on the racetrack before his retirement earlier in October so it is some achievement by Pride and Walter to have two horses competing at the same time and being in the top 12 all-time greatest prizemoney earners.

Private Eye, a last-start Festival Stakes winner, seems to have been around forever which is a source of admiration for Walter.

“I am a great believer in the longevity of a racehorse, it is an underrated quality,” Walter said.

“So many of the top class colts really aren’t afforded the opportunity to show whether they have that longevity or not because they are too valuable to risk.

“Once they have those stallion credentials no one wants to risk them racing, which I understand.

“It is left to our geldings and mares to have the prolonged careers at the top.”

An examination of the top 12 prizemoney rankings reveals only one stallion on the list – Godolphin’s champion Anamoe with $12,128,025 which currently has him ranked 11th.

There are four mares on the list including Winx at the top then Bella Nipotina next with $22,536,824, plus another seven geldings, most notably Nature Strip who is third on $20,765,008.

“Hats off to Godolpihn for having the courage to race Anamoe on as a four-year-old,” Walter said. “The horse had done enough as a three-year-old to go to stud.

“Racing aficionados and the public miss out on seeing these great colts race on as older horses but fortunately we have a lot of geldings and mares that are holding them up.

“Look at The Everest winner, Bella Nipotina, what an amazing mare she is?”

Bella Nipotina is a seven-year-old mare, she is racing better than ever, has banked more than $22.5m for her owners – and cost only $80,000 as a yearling!

The likes of Private Eye and Bella Nipotina prove yearlings purchased at a modest price and then syndicated are within reach of everyday Australians.

In fact, there has never been a better time to invest in racehorse ownership given the surge in prizemoney levels in recent years.

The Ingham is the 47th and final NSW race with prizemoney of at least $1 million this year, providing a wealth of opportunity for owners.

According to figures released by Aushorse, prizemoney in Australia has increased 92 per cent in the past decade and there are now a total of 104 races nationwide worth $1 million or more for the year – the equivalent of two a week. This compares to just 29 across the UK and Europe, and 69 in the United States.

Private Eye has taken a generous slice of that huge prizemoney cake in recent years – and there is more to come.

After five successive unplaced runs during the spring, there was a concern age might have been catching up with Private Eye but the gelding’s chameleon-like qualities have emerged again to extend his race career.

Private Eye proved he was far from a spent force last start when he raced away to an easy three lengths win in the Festival Stakes (1500m).

“The win meant a lot, I was thrilled to bits,” Walter said.

“From Joe, the owners to me, we were all pretty concerned with his form. He wasn’t running bad races, he wasn’t embarrassing himself or us, but he wasn’t performing to his normal standard.

“We were sort of debating whether we turn him out then go again or do we push ahead and see whether the horse is wanting retirement.

“Jay Ford, to his credit, had been telling us this preparation there has been nothing wrong with Private Eye’s effort, he was just wanting further.

“So, to see him win and in circumstances he doesn’t like – wide gate and wet track – it was terrific.”

Private Eye’s win ensured those retirement plans were shelved and means the gelding is returning to race distances that once seemed tailor-made for him.

There was a period early in his career when Private Eye was considered a possible Derby contender as a three-year-old before forging his reputation as an outstanding sprinter including minor placings in successive The Everests – second behind Giga Kick in 2022 then third to Think About It in 2023.

But now Private Eye is back competing over 1600m for the first time in two years when he lines up in The Ingham over the famous Randwick mile – the course and distance where he recorded his only Group 1 win in the Epsom Handicap three years ago.

“Private Eye is sort of backflipping in his career to when he was a three-year-old,” Walter said.

“I remember after he won the Queensland Guineas, his rider Brenton Avdulla was disappointed to learn the horse wasn’t entered for the Derby.

“Later that year, Private Eye won the Epsom and was a top class miler then a few months later he announced himself as an elite sprinter but now it looks like he is wanting 1600m, maybe even further.”

It seems Private Eye has reinvented himself again and goes into The Ingham as the 61kg topweight ahead of The Big Dance and The Gong winner Gringotts on 60.5kg.

Since The Ingham, formerly known as the Villiers Stakes, was first run in 1892, no horse has carried as much as either Private Eye or Gringotts and won since 1918 when Rebus set the race’s weight-carrying record under 9st 10lbs or 61.5kg.

There’s been some outstanding winners of Randwick’s premier summer mile, most notably the legendary Bernborough who won the 1945 Villiers under 9st 2lb or 58kg.

Since metrics was introduced in 1972, Monton set the modern-day weight-carrying record of 58kg when he won the Villiers in 2011. Utzon had 57.5kg when he scored in 2006.

Monton and Utzon are the last horses to complete the Festival Stakes-Villiers double which Private Eye is attempting this weekend.

If Private Eye does win The Ingham, he will become the fifth horse to claim the double after Monton, Utzon, Ike’s Dream (2004) and Castanea (1965).

“Private Eye has been a wonderful horse to me and his owners, and he’s still enjoying his racing,” Walter said.

“For all the great memories he has given us, if he can win The Ingham it would be one of the most satisfying moments of his career.”

LEADING AUSTRALIAN PRIZEMONEY WINNERS

1. Winx - $26,451,175

2. Bella Nipotina - $22,536,624

3. Nature Strip - $20,765,008

4. Redzel - $16,444,000

5. Mr Brightside - $16,393,402

6. Verry Elleegant - $14,886,619

7. Makybe Diva - $14,526,690

8. I Wish I Win - $12,776,803

9. Giga Kick - $12,649,700

10. Think About It - $12,163,050

11. Anamoe - $12,128,025

12. Private Eye - $11,859,185

Pride looks beyond the barriers with star trio

Trainer Joe Pride hasn’t let an unkind barrier draw dampen his enthusiasm for stable trio Private Eye, Estadio Mestalla and Lekvarte going into the Group 2 $2m The Ingham (1600m) at Royal Randwick on Saturday.

Private Eye has drawn barrier 14, Estadio Mestalla 19 and Lekvarte 23 although those starting positions will be adjusted slightly after Saturday’s 7.30am scratching deadline.

“You can over-analyse the barriers from the Randwick mile, it is not like Rosehill,” Pride said.

“Horses can sit deep and still win there, I don’t know how many times I’ve seen it happen – it’s a great track and distance.”

Over the last 30 years, no fewer than 13 winners of The Ingham (formerly Villiers Stakes) have started from barrier 10 or wider including Here’s The Prince (1995) from gate 19, Touch Of Force (1996) out of 19, On A High (2003) and last year’s winner Loch Eagle who both came out of the 18 barrier.

Pride believes his three horses are “proven at Randwick and I honestly feel they will run well.”

“Private Eye has never looked healthier, he looks fantastic in the coat and is bright and happy,” Pride said.

“I feel Lekvarte is a bit forgotten there as she has a very good record at Randwick with four wins from six starts.

“Estadio Mestalla rarely misses top three and I think he has a massive chance of doing that again. That’s the sort of horse he is, he tries his heart out and he’s dropping a heap of weight (9kg) which he will appreciate.

“I am going in with a bit of optimism although I’m mindful these big Randwick miles, I wouldn’t call them a lottery, but they are very open races so you can’t get carried away with your chances.”

In early TAB fixed odds betting for The Ingham, Private Eye is at $9, Estadio Mestalla $14 and Lekvarte $23.

Pride is also saddling up King Of The Castle ($12) for the Coolmore Spelling At Mount White Handicap (1800m), Aberlour ($26) is in the Jack Ingham AO Handicap (1400m), and Excelladus ($61) resumes in the Listed Razor Sharp Handicap (1200m).

“King Of The Castle always runs his best races at Randwick and Nash (Rawiller, jockey) has a good record on him,” the trainer said.

“I like Aberlour. I thought her first-up run was full of merit over a distance that was too short for her. She’s a nice mare on track to get to the Belle of the Turf Stakes (Wyong, New Year’s Eve).

“Excelladus is first-up over a trip that is short of his best but he does go well fresh and is very honest. He won’t be far away.”

Originally published as Private Eye, the $62,500 bargain buy on the cusp of $12m in prizemoney, chases success in the Group 2 The Ingham

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Original URL: https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/horse-racing/private-eye-the-62500-bargain-buy-on-the-cusp-of-12m-in-prizemoney-chases-success-in-the-group-2-the-ingham/news-story/48beab9354e7771ab4e2d38f09445ae6