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Trainers Jim and Greg Lee dare to dream of another Group 1 staying classic with emerging Convergent

More than 40 years since claiming The Metropolitan and Caulfield Cup with Hayai, Jim and Greg Lee have discovered a young stayer with the potential to catapult them back to Group 1 glory.

Ray Thomas
5 min read
June 5, 2025 - 1:40PM
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The trainer’s hut at the mile start of Royal Randwick is laden with history. If only the walls could talk.

Most mornings, you find Jim and Greg Lee watching trackwork from the hut, right alongside Hall of Famer Les Bridge.

The trio are the longest serving trainers at the famous racetrack. There’s nearly 200 years of experience between them.

Bridge started training at Randwick in 1964. Three years later, Jim and Greg were apprenticed to him.

“When we went to the track each morning to ride work, the ‘boss’ would say ‘here comes the Kray brothers’,’’ Greg Lee said.

“Jim and ‘me’ didn’t know who the Kray brothers were, we thought he had us mixed up with someone else. We still laugh about it to this day.’’

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For those who may not know, Ronnie and Reggie Kray were identical twins and infamous English crime figures before their arrest in 1968.

The Lees were often mistaken as twins, particularly in their youth, but they are “clean skins” and about as far removed from the Kray brothers as you can get.

They are old school and to this day still refer to Bridge rather quaintly as “boss” or “Mr Bridge’’.

The Lees started training in 1981. Training partnerships weren’t in vogue back so Jim Lee was the registered trainer but the brothers share everything. It’s always been this way.

Bridge turns 87 next month, Jim Lee is 71 and a year older than his brother. But the three men share two traits that will never leave them – their love for the thoroughbred and a desire to find the next good horse.

In recent years, Bridge has won The Everest with Classique Legend and a Doncaster Mile with Celestial Legend. Both horses are now retired so their trainer is searching again.

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But for the Lees, maybe their search could soon be over. There is something about the relatively unknown and inexperienced Convergent that excites the brothers.

“He’s a strong stayer and he can run time,’’ Greg Lee said.

“In his work, he runs times that others horses can’t. He’s a very promising horse.’’

Convergent puts his unbeaten record on the line in the Midway Handicap (1500m) at Royal Randwick on Saturday. He is rated a $15 chance in early TAB Fixed Odds betting behind the $4.60 favourite Engine Room.

A rising five-year-old gelding, Convergent has only been to the races once, making his debut at Kensington on Anzac Day and swooping from last in a small field to win comfortably.

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Lee only had Convergent in his stable for a few weeks prior to the horse’s winning debut.

The trainer had given Convergent two very different barrier trial hit-outs leading into his debut race to learn more about the gelding.

In the first trial Convergent led most of the way to win his heat comfortably, then he was ridden more conservatively in his next trial and finished at the rear of the field behind boom English import Sir Delius.

“I wanted him ridden on the pace in his first trial to see how much speed he had,’’ Lee said.

“Then in his second trial, he was ridden quietly to teach him to relax. He got back in the field and was inside runners so he was sort of ‘buried’ away there.

“But by this stage we knew he could gallop and we were confident he could win his first start.’’

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Convergent’s backstory is interesting. The modestly-bred gelding was passed in when he failed to meet his $15,000 reserve at the 2022 Magic Millions National Yearling Sale before finding his way into the Anthony Cummings stable.

Cummings gave Convergent plenty of time and the four-year-old gelding had not made it to the racetrack when the trainer’s licence was revoked in March. He then approached the Lee brothers to see if they were interested in buying the unraced horse.

“Anthony kept telling me he reckons Convergent was a Melbourne Cup hope,’’ Greg Lee said.

“He showed me the times the horse was running on the track and I believed him.

“Anthony gave us the horse for a month to trial him which was a very fair thing for him to do.

“When the horse won his first trial, I could see he was running the times Anthony was telling us he could run.’’

Lee’s long-time stable client Fred Khedoori agreed to purchase Convergent for an undisclosed sum.

The owner has had a lot of success with the Lee stable over the years with the likes of Fouardee, winner of five stakes races including the Group 3 Concorde Stakes, Group 3 Bill Ritchie Handicap and two Listed Satellite Stakes, and Keepin’ The Dream, winner of the Group 3 Hawkesbury Gold Cup, Group 3 Newmarket Handicap, Listed Gosford Gold Cup and Listed Scone Cup.

But Convergent is something else again. It has the Lee brothers thinking of the heady days with their best horse, outstanding stayer Hayai who won the 1983-84 Metropolitan Handicaps, 1983 Caulfield Cup and Tancred Stakes, and 1984-85 Craven Plates.

The Jim and Greg Lee-trained Convergent wins at Randwick in April. Picture: Bradley Photos
The Jim and Greg Lee-trained Convergent wins at Randwick in April. Picture: Bradley Photos

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More than 40 years since Hayai, the Lee brothers are daring to dream again.

“After Convergent runs on Saturday, we are going to give him a short break then bring him back for races like the Wyong Cup and Newcastle Cup,’’ Lee said.

“If he is as good as we think he is, we are hoping he gets to The Metropolitan and who knows where he might end up after that.”

But what makes the Lee brothers believe Convergent could be their next good horse given his lack of race exposure?

Well, when you have been working with horses as long as the Lee brothers have, you just know.

“The good horses are different, you can tell. They have a great set of lungs and a will-to-win,’’ Greg Lee said.

“Convergent has those qualities. He will run 2400m no worries at all, and he shows every sign he will get over further, too.

“He jumps out, puts his head over his chest, goes to ‘sleep’ and doesn’t move unless his rider asks him. We like the horse a lot.’’

The Lee brothers only have 10 horses in training and whatever they are doing, it’s working. They have had five winners from their past 10 starters – Convergent, Power Smash, Valiant Bomb and My Shalom (twice).

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They also have a very promising three-year-old Glorious Moments that won a barrier trial by nearly 10 lengths last week, and an unnamed two-year-old by sire sensation Wootton Bassett that Greg says can really gallop.

Even though Jim Lee stays at home more often than not these days, it was like old times at Randwick trackwork for Greg Lee this week.

Giving Greg a helping hand at the stables was Neville Voigt, who rode Hayai to most of his wins, Hall of Fame jockey Jim Cassidy, three-time Sydney premier rider Kevin Moses and trainer Bobby Pearse.

And Bridge is right next to Lee in the trainer’s hut at the mile start, both men sitting on the same chairs that have been for decades.

“They all have their own ideas and you never stop learning from them,’’ Greg Lee said. “With all these great horsemen around you, it’s hard to make a mistake.’’

Originally published as Trainers Jim and Greg Lee dare to dream of another Group 1 staying classic with emerging Convergent

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Original URL: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/horse-racing/nsw-racing/trainers-jim-and-greg-lee-dare-to-dream-of-another-group-1-staying-classic-with-emerging-convergent/news-story/1f598baed73a99cc8be0d55e0838ca62