Trainer Scott Aspery rediscovers his love of training with bargain basement buys Uzziah and Annulus
On a day that champion trainers and million dollar purchases were at the forefront, hobby trainer Scott Aspery went home a winner courtesy of bargain basement buy Uzziah.
Newcastle trainer Scott Aspery can’t recall which horse cost what, but he vividly remembers the total outlay – $8,000.
It was at the 2020 Magic Millions Adelaide Yearling Sales where hobby trainer Aspery, a gifted horseman who has worked for the likes of Gai Waterhouse and John O’Shea, was sitting at home online pondering his return to the training fold after a two-year sabbatical.
“I jumped online to try and buy a yearling out of a mare I used to train but it ended up being out of my ballpark,” the Newcastle-based Aspery recalled.
A tad despondent about missing out, Aspery went on something of a spending spree, parting with the grand sum of $8,000 to secure two largely unwanted yearlings.
“I can’t remember which cost what, but one was $5,000 and the other was $3,000,” Aspery recalled.
“My partner Julia wasn’t too happy with me at the time but she’s a bit happier now.”
Julia has good reason to be.
The two yearlings purchased on that defining day in 2020 are six-year-old geldings Annulus and Uzziah which both fronted up on a star-studded Royal Randwick card on Saturday.
And while not much went to plan for Annulus in race one, it was a far different story in the last, with Uzziah racing his rivals off their legs in the Benchmark 78 (1200m) to score by the best part of three lengths at big odds.
The memorable victory extended the duo’s collective career wins to 10 with stake earnings on the verge of $500,000, dwarfing their bargain basement purchase price.
“The day didn’t start well but it couldn’t have finished off any better,” Aspery said.
“Molly (Bourke) got caught wide on Annulus in the first and nothing went right but she more than made up for it on Uzziah.
“I thought Uzziah could run a race and when I saw him kick away coming up the rise I knew there was no way they’d run him down.
“It was very exciting. And to win by that margin on such a big day as well.”
Uzziah runs away with the last at Randwick for @MollyBourke7 and @saspery1! pic.twitter.com/ik2TwNfQ7U
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) September 7, 2024
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With just three of his four boxes occupied at Newcastle, training horses is far more simple these days for Aspery, an unabashed lover of the animal.
The one-time Warwick Farm-based conditioner stepped away from training for a few years in early 2018 due to the mounting pressures that come with being a small scale trainer in a cutthroat environment.
“When you’re not getting the constant turnover of stock like the bigger trainers are it makes it a really tough game,” Aspery said.
“You really need to make the best of what you’ve got for longer and you can only squeeze the lemon so far.
“Regardless of your results the costs remain the same and it just got to a point that I needed more security for my family.
“I got a job offer on the Central Coast overseeing a pre-training and spelling property that financially I just couldn’t refuse.
“I did what was best for my family and said that if I did return to training it would only be as a hobby and that I would train for myself and a close group of friends.
“Corey McLeod has been a great supporter of mine, I met Corey back when I had Flight Of Pegasus and he’s been with me since.
“Over the years there’d been occasions where you might get a good horse and it ends up being moved on to one of the bigger trainers to reap the benefits.
“You can only kick a dog so many times before it bites you back and that’s where I got to in the end.
“My passion is the horse, that’s my interest, so the way I’m set up now I can enjoy it more. But I’m very competitive. I love to win.”
Uzziah is known as "Colt" back home, and he did Newcastle-based trainer @saspery1 proud today by winning at Randwick!
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) September 7, 2024
Hear from Scott and @MollyBourke7 👇 pic.twitter.com/EQCD3jFEW3
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For all of Aspery’s passion, though, comes sacrifice.
With training just a hobby, Aspery now shares his time between countless hours at the stables and working during the day as an excavator.
“It makes the days long – extremely long,” he said.
“The day starts at 2.30am and you might not walk through the door at home until 6.30pm that night.
“But we are getting the balance better these days and my partner Julia and kids Sasha and Madison are really supportive.”
Being engaged in both the first and last at Randwick on Saturday gave Aspery plenty of time to take in the sights as some of the giants of the turf rolled in to tackle a monster day of racing.
“That was one of the better parts of the day – getting to see some of the top horses in the flesh,” Aspery said.
“Giga Kick, Amelia’s Jewel and a few others in particular.
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“By the time I got home on Saturday night it was 9.30pm. I had a couple of beers, watched the replay and was up again at 3am on Sunday to do it all again.
“I’m not alone there.”
With just three horses in work and doing so as a hobby, one might argue that having two-thirds of your stable even contesting a major day like Saturday is a win.
But not Aspery.
“I’m extremely competitive and really driven by my results and performance,” Aspery said.
“To beat home some of our best trainers gives you a kick because they’re the ones you look up to.
“Straight after the race James Cummings and Darren Beadman came over and congratulated me which I thought was really nice.
“I’ve earmarked a race or two for the pair in a few weeks time so hopefully we can do it again.
“But if not, we’ll be trying!”
Originally published as Trainer Scott Aspery rediscovers his love of training with bargain basement buys Uzziah and Annulus
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