How liquid courage inspired Nathan Doyle’s 2024 Victoria Oaks dream with Harlem Queen: ‘It was fate’
Nathan Doyle and the connections of Calibre Racing purchased Harlem Queen at the Magic Millions night sale, just hours after landing the biggest win of their career on the washed out card at the Gold Coast in 2022.
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There were very few winners at the Magic Millions in 2023, however Nathan Doyle might have won twice on a day widely remembered as a shambles when it was washed out in controversial circumstances.
The Newcastle trainer won the biggest race of his life in the $500,000 The Debut in what was one of just two races run on the day. Now he is looking to win the Group 1 VRC Oaks (2500m) with a horse that races in the same colours – one that was bought with the help of some liquid courage after the races.
Running on a high after collecting the $300,000 winner’s cheque with Rush Hour, Doyle and connections from Calibre Racing decided to let fly that night on a Brutal filly at the Magic Millions sale.
That filly turned out to be Harlem Queen, who is currently on the third line of betting at $6.50 for the $1 million VRC Oaks.
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“All the stars aligned – Rush Hour won in the same colours on the Saturday before it was washed out, she (Harlem Queen) was in that night, we had some cash to play with, so I guess you’d say it was fate,” Doyle said.
“The Debut was the biggest win I had at the time when it comes to money.
“If she had gone through any of the four days prior, there was a good chance we wouldn’t have bought her.
“She was the horse we wanted out of the sale because she was a half to Kipsbay, which they (Calibre) also owned, but we didn’t know what she’d cost.
“For what we were paying at the time – around $100,000 – she cost $180,000, so it was expensive for us, really.
“They had some courage throughout the day, so it is lucky they had the drinks after winning The Debut.”
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Doyle, a former boilermaker from Muswellbrook is yet to win a stakes race as a trainer, however he is yet to have a horse like Harlem Queen before.
He once pursued a career in the mines, but racing was never far away, with Doyle saying he took out his training license while boilermaking.
“Dads best mate was a horse trainer and pop worked on the studs growing up, the one which is now Darley.
“My family always loved a punt, so it grew from there for me.
“I quit school when I was 16 and hated it, became an apprentice boilermaker.
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“You grow up around a mining town, my family didn’t see much of a future in racing, so they wanted me to have a trade before I went back to the horses.
“I went out and trained a few horses while I was boilermaking, I got my license when I was 22 years old.”
Opting to go with a Victorian-based jockey, Blake Shinn will take over the riding duties on Thursday at Flemington, where she will look to make the Group 1 Sydney three-year-old form stand up south of the border.
Harlem Queen travelled to Melbourne on Sunday night with the filly set to be just his third Victorian runner.
Originally published as How liquid courage inspired Nathan Doyle’s 2024 Victoria Oaks dream with Harlem Queen: ‘It was fate’
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