Kheir has scaled the mountain and his cup runs over, but he wants more

When Melbourne-based businessman Aziz "Ozzie" Kheir got a text from a mate on Saturday afternoon, he had to pinch himself to make sure he was reading correctly.

He was in the grandstand at Caulfield having earlier watched a horse he part owns, Thought of That, gallop right into the Victoria Derby picture with a slashing victory in the Ladbrokes Classic, one of the top Derby trials.

Aziz Kheir has enjoyed a lot of success as an owner of racehorses.Credit: Jason South

On the big screen in front of him he had just been cheering home another horse in which he has a stake, Yes Yes Yes, in the $14 million Everest, when his smartphone beeped.

"Congratulations," the message said. "You are the first person to own a Melbourne Cup winner and the winner of The Everest."

And if things fall perfectly for the property developer and hotelier, who had a stake in the 2014 Cup winner Protectionist, he could add several more of Australia's great races to his equine portfolio in the next couple of weeks.

As well as a stake in Thought of That, one of a number of horses he is involved in with friend and fellow property entrepreneur Brae Sokolski, he is a part owner of Cox Plate candidates Kings Will Dream and Verry Elleegant.

In addition to those he is also keen to add to his Melbourne Cup tally as he is a part owner of last year's Cup runner-up Marmelo and also has long shot Wall of Fire, who will try to get into the great race by winning the Lexus on Derby Day.

Kheir is also a shareholder in the Chris Waller-trained Finche, fourth last year and one of the pre-post favourites in 2019, as well as the promising three-year-old Groundswell, third in the Caulfield Guineas.

It's an impressive haul for someone who has been in the racing game less than a decade and who, when he first got involved, might have struggled to place a bet.

"I got told straight after Yes Yes Yes won that I was the first owner to be involved in winners of those two races. It's a great feeling and a great achievement – it will be nice to have the two trophies on the mantelpiece for a while."

Kheir, who has been building and diversifying a property business since he was in his early twenties, described how he developed interest in racing – through friends, because he needed something to take his mind off business where, he said, he was a "workaholic".

"It's a great way of relaxing, and it's great to get into partnerships with people you know through business, like Brae, and others who might have similar interests.

"In my business life I know what I am doing tomorrow, next week, next month, I have plans for next year and probably the next five years.

"With horses you just don't know what's going to happen. You buy them and race them, you make a plan but you really can't. They can progress well, they can get injured, they can win a great race or they can be unlucky in the run. It is unpredictable, but it's exciting and thrilling and a great way to relax."

Some might wonder why Kheir was at Caulfield on Saturday rather than at Randwick. After all, it's not every day that an owner gets the chance to see his horse run for such a vast sum as that offered by The Everest.

"I would have loved to have been there but the reason was quite funny in retrospect. I suffered a bad ankle injury during the week – I sprained my ligaments – so I could not travel up there for the race.

"When I saw he had won I was very tempted to try to get to the airport and fly up there for the party, but I had second thoughts. Brae is a lot physically fitter than me and I don't think I was in the right shape to party on to celebrate such a great win!"

Kheir believes that Marmelo, who finished ninth when favourite in the 2017 Melbourne Cup and then a narrow runner-up to Cross Counter last year, could make it third time lucky this year.

"Fingers crossed Marmelo has travelled really well. When he first came here in 2017 his trainer [Hughie Morrison] didn't want to run him and wanted him to go into the Cup fresh, but we all thought he needed to race here first so pushed for him to go to the Caulfield Cup so he could get the miles in his legs.

"He ran really well there [sixth behind Boom Time] but was a bit flat when he then lined up in the Cup.

"Last year we listned to Hughie and let him do his thing and he went beautifully so we are hoping he can repeat that."

Wall of Fire, one of the other horses Kheir owns, will try his luck in the Lexus.

"He got injured and had a couple of bone chips removed," Kheir said of the galloper from England whom he bought as a three-year-old.

"If he can win on Derby Day then we would like to back him up in the Melbourne Cup."

It's been an extraordinary ride for the son of Lebanese immigrants. He started work on a factory floor and, in 20 years, has turned himself into a hugely successful horse owner.

And, if his luck holds, there are some more extraordinary twists and turns still to come.