Hawk spurs owners' trophy cabinet

FROM battling to win the Prostate Awareness Handicap at Kembla, Hawkspur's owners David and Puglisi have eyes on spring's two big prizes.

Lynlea and David Puglisi, the owners of Caulfield Cup favourite Hawkspur, after the barrier draw. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

THE work bonus had arrived, a tidy $40,000, and David Puglisi was already thinking about how to spend it.

"I walked across the road and had a coffee with my neighbour, Tony Santic,'' Puglisi recalled.

"An hour later, I walked back home without the bonus and 20 per cent shares in six racehorses.

"My wife, Lynlea, didn't mind as she has always liked the horses. My mates are pretty jealous as I have a wife that likes the races and doesn't mind the punt so I'm pretty fortunate.''

This was in 2000 and it was Puglisi's introduction to racehorse ownership.

A former Port Lincoln fisherman, Puglisi has been a work colleague and friend of Santic's for many years.

Puglisi had very modest success with his first foray into racehorse ownership while just a few years later, Santic became a national celebrity as his great mare Makybe Diva won three successive Melbourne Cups.

"I was sitting at Tony's house one day and he had all these Melbourne Cup trophies, Sydney Cup, Cox Plate,'' Puglisi said.

"All I had was a trophy from the Prostate Awareness Handicap at Kembla Grange. I've always remembered that race name, it has a ring to it. I said to Tony my place is looking a bit bare.''

These days, Puglisi's mantelpiece back home is starting to get a little crowded.

He is a part-owner of Hawkspur, the favourite for the $2.5 million BMW Caulfield Cup (2400m) at Caulfield tomorrow.

His wife, Lynlea, is the owner of Arinosa, one of the main chances in the Group 1 $1 million Manikato Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley next Friday night,

Lynlea and David Puglisi, the owners of Caulfield Cup favourite Hawkspur, after the barrier draw. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

Hawkspur and Arinosa are the only racehorses the couple have in work these days - but you would love to own either of them.

In the last 12 months, Hawkspur has given the Puglisi's their first Group 1 win in the Queensland Derby and also won the Chelmsford Stakes, Grand Prix Stakes and Rough Habit Plate, while Arinosa has taken out the Premier Stakes, Sapphire Stakes, Birthday Card Stakes and Greys Plate.

"My trophy cabinet is looking all right now,'' said Puglisi when The Daily Telegraph caught up with the couple as they drove from Port Lincoln to Melbourne for the spring carnival.

"We are coming to Melbourne to pick up four trophies - the Caulfield Cup, Manikato Stakes, Melbourne Cup and Patinack Farm Classic.''

Puglisi is joking, of course, but then again, he just might make a clean sweep of the spring's two staying features and two main sprint events.

Hawkspur, prepared by Sydney's all conquering trainer Chris Waller, has thrived in Melbourne and completed his Caulfield Cup preparation with a solid workout at Flemington on Tuesday morning.

"Chris said Hawkspur's coat has come on and he is looking special there,'' Puglisi enthused.

"He has come from a minor city winner to standing up to the best of them now.''

Hawkspur is by Purrealist, who Puglisi owns a 10 per cent share, out of Mollyhawk, a broodmare owned by Tony Muollo, who also has a share in the Caulfield Cup favourite,.

"Tony provided the mare and I provided Purrealist and the result was Hawkspur,,'' Puglisi said.

"I've bred a few since we have had Purrealist, we have had the odd winner here and there was nothing significant until Hawkspur.

"They breed like 'rabbits' but it takes so many years to see if they are any good.

"It is the hope that you have got something there ... you only need a trainer to say 'gee this horse goes all right' and before you know it you are winning races in your mind.

"But that's what it is all about. Once you get into this game, bloody hell, you get caught in the vortex.''

The Puglisi's decided a couple of years ago to concentrate more on quality than quantity so they cut back on the number of racehorses they owned.

As Puglisi puts it so succinctly: "We culled all the slow ones.''

They ended up with just two - Hawkspur and Arinosa - but there is a third about to start racing, Imperial Hawk.

There's a story behind the acquisition of the now three-year-old filly.

"Imperial Hawk is a full sister to Hawkspur and I sold her as a yearling for $7000,'' Puglisi recalled.

"Then when Hawkspur won the Queensland Derby, I thought what happened to that filly as we never saw her on the racetrack.

"I eventually tracked down the guy who bought her. He had basically stuck her in a paddock and left her there.

"I bought her back for $5000 after Hawkspur won the Derby so the guy who originally had her must not watch the races!''

Hawkspur. Caulfield Cup favourite. Hawkspur. Picture Wayne Ludbey.

Imperial Hawk is in training with Waller at Rosehill and is showing potential.

In the last 12 months, he emergence of Arinosa, a six-year-old sprinting mare, has taken everyone by surprise.

And you guessed it, there's a story behind how the Puglisi's came to racing Arinosa.

Lynlea wanted a grey racehorse and saw a picture of the yearling filly by Dash For Cash on the internet.

"When I went to the sales, I was looking at other greys but every time I opened the catalogue, it kept falling on the catalogue page of this grey Dash For Cash filly so I thought I had better buy this bloody horse,'' Puglisi recalled.

Arinosa showed talent early in her career but was always an immature type so the Puglisi's persevered.

"We shifted her to Chris Waller and she has really come on in the last 12 months,'' he said.

"When Arinosa won the Sapphire Stakes at Randwick, her finishing sectionals were quicker than Black Caviar ran in the T.J. Smith. She's just a lovely mare now.''

The Puglisi's were at the Caulfield Cup barrier draw on Wednesday, agreeing to pose up for a photo for The Daily Telegraph and just enjoying the moment.

If there is pressure owning the Caulfield Cup favourite, it doesn't show with them.

"We are just happy to be here,'' he said. "We have no great expectations of winning or anything, we are just blown away by the whole experience.''

The South Australian couple have been regular Melbourne spring carnival visitors in recent years, and they celebrated with Santic after Makybe Diva's historic Melbourne Cup "three-peat" in 2005,.

"We have been to Cox Plates, Derby Day, Golden Slippers but mainly as spectators,'' David Puglisi said.

"Every March, we book to come to Melbourne for a month during the spring carnival but I was saying to Lynlea as we were driving over this week that we are coming under very different circumstances this year - we are not spectators, we are contenders.

"We don't like to bump it up too high as there is plenty of downsides in horse racing but we are enjoying the ride.

"If it all finished today, we have had a bloody good time doing it.''