Sean and Dave Rorison on Private Harry’s Setback and Social Media

0:00 Private Harry at his best, as Sean sees it

Sean 0:00 Yeah, I think Private Harry, at his best and sound, he's the best sprinter in the country. So it was a *** show from the get go. But I won't go into all the details and we had our reasons why we wanted the jockey change. Briassa was on the inside of us and he kept laying down on Briassa. Oh really? Yeah, whether it's male or female, if there's a grey, it's his.

Dave Rorison 0:23 He's got a penchant.

Sean 0:24 If they're, um, and have their, you know, their opinion, I don't give a stuff what you've got to say to be honest.

Dave Rorison 0:30 Hmm.

Sean 0:31 So I've just blocked everyone's number. And I'll, I will not talk towards it. The only journalist I spoke to was Ray Thomas. So everyone else can get stuff.

0:39 Private Harry and Ka Ying Rising

Dave Rorison 0:39 And a horse that is a group one winner, um, Private Harry. You know, there was a lot of talk about him. I think one of the great sentences you came out with, he thought he could, he could give Kai Ying Rising a bit of a run. Obviously that horse hasn't taken a step back. Are you still in the same opinion that he would have given Kai Ying Rising a scare in the Everest?

1:02 Private Harry's soundness, rehab and move to Chris Waller

Sean 1:02 He feels at his best and he feels sound. I really do. Um, well, Kai Ying wasn't at his best here. You could see that. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, Kai Ying Rising just wasn't at his best. He was at 80% and still got the job done. So the horse is a freak. Um, you know, the, it's interesting. I still think, yeah, I think Private Harry at his best and sound, he's the best sprinter in the country. Will we see that again? I'm probably doubtful. Um, but look, he's with Chris Waller now. It's fairly publicized that he's, he's with Chris. Um, that's what you along wanted to do. And, um, at the end of the day, I guess if anyone can bring a horse back, um, it's Chris and he's, he's at Wild Oaks. He's in, he's been rehabbed. It's an issue. He's fourth carpal bone and he's near four knee, which is a rare injury. It's normally their third carpal bone, which is like a suspension product of the knee. The fourth carpal bone is quite strange. Uh, we knew what we were dealing with, uh, probably more so from the second trial onwards. Um, internally we knew, and we knew probably that we're in some strife, but it's, where do you find that happy medium of you've got an Everest slot? The horse has shown us leading into before, like after that second trial, we were, we, we, we were, we thought this horse is absolutely spot on. Um, he's flow flying. We thought we'd go to the shorts and we thought he, he, he'll just win this. Um, but obviously he went amiss slightly in the shorts and, um, and obviously in the premiers he went, he went amiss. So, um, people haven't seen the best of him. Will they ever see the best of him? I'm doubtful, but as I said, it's with Chris now. And if anyone can do it, Chris can. And I hope, I hope we do. Uh, there's been a program set out for him up in Queensland. Yep. Uh, he'll have two trials if he makes it that far and an exhibition gallop at Eagle Farm. Yep. And then, uh, yeah, he'll have, uh, three runs during the campaign. So I hope for the horse, uh, for him, because he loves being in work. He, he's a horse that wants to work. He's a horse that loves being in work. He doesn't like being in a paddock. I hope for his sake, um, the public are more than welcome to their opinion and they deserve to have an opinion. But we, we know the horse that he is and not many horses can win a group one at your fifth start as a three-year-old beating older horses just all the way through. So, uh, I think three have done it. So you think extreme choice in him. So it's pretty good company. Um, yeah, it's interesting. The car thing, like I do, I don't know because he was, he wasn't sound. Um, the way he won the Everest, it wasn't dominant. Yeah. So if he was at his absolute best, I don't know that he would have won, but I guarantee he would have ran a bold race, but he was well, well, but he was on three legs. So I can't really comment.

4:22 What was shared with owners and the public

Dave Rorison 4:22 And if you mind me asking as well, I think some people would always want to know a little bit more information about this. So you're talking about the setback that he had. Um, at what point did you disclose that to obviously the connections, your owners, how much was disclosed to the general public? Obviously there's gambling in Australia, but you're also managing knowledge as well, because you might explain something. It's, it's can be very much misconstrued of where the horse is at, but also not talking about it as well. And something happens after it, some people in the general, general public, you know, may have wished information. To what degree did you communicate the setback? And could you then more or less to disclose it? Or again, was it best to keep it private? Because again, the understanding of it should be kept between the connections.

5:16 Sean's account of the start in the Shorts

Sean 5:16 And yeah, well, after the shorts, obviously he pulled up quite average. He had heat in both fetlocks. He, he pretty much nearly fell out. We did fall out of the gates and blundered quite bad. And it was basically just a *** show from the moment he was loaded. He shouldn't have been loaded first. He was in gate five under the, you know, with under 10 horses. So he should have been loaded fifth, not first. Like, so it was a *** show from the, from the get go. Um, but I won't go into all the details and we had our reasons why we wanted the jockey change. The reasons were valid and you along were, uh, strong on that as well. We didn't resist it. We didn't resist it. We didn't push for it, but we didn't resist it. Yep. And we heard their points. We agreed. And, uh, there was a few things that they noticed that we didn't even notice. Like, why did he have someone up on his tail? He's never had anyone on his tail. So why did Ash allow that to happen? Okay. Yep. Uh, there was another one patting me, patting the colt on the bum. So one on the tail, one on the bum. And he was the first horse loaded and he's laying down. These are the little things that punters or the people looking at from an aerial, you probably don't look at in depth. Yep. We have to. Yep. Cause what went wrong? What, why, why did things go so far wrong? Why did, why was that allowed to happen when he's never had two people on his bum before?

6:43 Barrier handling and who loads first

Dave Rorison 6:43 Um, is that a barrier attendance? Just they're trying to do their best at the time or is.

Sean 6:50 No, it's not their fault at all. Yeah. Okay. Oh no. Like they're, they're just there to.

Dave Rorison 6:54 They're trying to do their best. Oh, I was outside of his normal routine of how he gets in a barrier. Yeah.

Sean 6:59 Like, uh, again, I'm not growing people under the bus, but if, if you're concreting a driveway, um, the concrete is doing the job. If you're putting a, uh, if you're, you know, putting a rider on a horse, they're controlling that product, aren't they? So again, I don't know what happened. I don't know why, um, but I just don't know why so many things changed when you don't change things when it's not broken.

Dave Rorison 7:29 Um, was I sure where that there was a slight change in the routine as the person on this bag? I've been a work rider when I was 25 kilos plus lighter. And there's a lot of things when adrenaline's running and your attention is maybe making sure that the horses come underneath you. If, if the horses come in the barriers and ashes, if there's no reason to get off them or do anything different, is that a difference between someone who's just won their first group one and a James McDonough who's won 50 group ones that may have been that through that experience before? For sure. Is it? Yeah.

Sean 8:08 Like, like, and people, you know, it's just is, that's why the best of the best. Yeah. Um, again, like it sounds brutal, but it's just, it's just facts. Um, ashes, he did a terrific job up until that point. I still don't believe he got it right. Um, and it's a matter of under 10, a lot of people don't know, but if you've got 10 horses or less, you're, you're loaded in order one to 10 and if it's, you know, 10 or more, um, or one to nine, one, you know, you get loaded in order and then 10 plus it's, that's one and five, two and six, three and seven. Like you're loaded in order. Yep. So like, why are you allowing a cult to be loaded first when he's always fresh in the gates first up? Okay. That's just his idiosyncrasy. He's always fresh. Yep. Why is that allowed to happen? Um, that's the only thing that I really noticed. And then obviously other connections noticed what was going on behind the scenes. He loves gray horses. He's in love. He's got an obsession with gray horses. Briasa was on the inside of us and he kept laying down on Briasa. Oh really? Yeah. Whether it's male or female, it's, if there's a gray, it's his. He's got a penchant. Yeah. For grays. Yeah. And we even requested, can we not parade behind Briasa? And they, and it wasn't allowed.

Dave Rorison 9:31 I think for someone who's worked in the industry for 22 years, I suppose that's that 1%. Yeah.

9:37 Greys, the Galaxy and the jockey change

Sean 9:37 And if you look in the galaxy when, um, Ash must've felt like he slipped a shoe or something and they picked his feet up, they'll check in his feet and you'll see Ash asking the, the, the gray, you know, the, um, the horses, you know, the gray, all the gray horses just to go away. Like you just kept, don't come near me. You don't. So it's, um, Ash knows about that. We all knew about it. He's got the same with Doyle. Like he's, uh, he's got an obsession with grays and that's just him. He loves a gray. So, um, so we knew it would be tricky and it's no excuse, but all of these little one percenters when they go wrong. Um, my opinion was when he came out and blundered, you're probably just, you know, you can't win the race like that. Tim made such a good point when we, um, when we gave Tim the role, he said, it's not just about when you're missing the kick, but after a furlong, it's, you're probably making up that length. After two furlongs, it's that length and three quarters. It just gets away from you each furlong. Yep. So you're naturally having to work that little bit harder. Whereas we probably just should have taken a sit and yeah, you don't win. But, um, in hindsight, you probably let Briassa, who's, who was the favorite in the race, probably cart you into the race. Yep. Um, but that's all in hindsight. Um, but all the little things that were happened in there and at the back of the horse, it's quite interesting. And it's probably more interesting for the people to know that's why we made the change. Yep. Um, it's not good enough at that level. And, and that's why, uh, your Jameses and Tommies and Tims and Nashes, that's why they're the best. That's, they're the best of what they do. Uh, they do it every day and they've got ice in their veins and, um, it's just like football players. You know, there's a reason why you've got 17 players that play for their country or rugby or they handle 90,000 people. They don't, they thrive on that. Yep. And some don't. And that's, that's fine. Um, that's the game we're in. It's, we're all athletes and all you can do is give someone an opportunity and, um, and if something or if the horse doesn't deliver, just like if you, we put a horse in a certain race, if they don't deliver, we, we have to come back a level, you know? And, um, it's the same with athletes. If you put a jockey on, if they don't deliver, you've got, you have to reassess. If things don't work out, why revisit that? Yep. I just think it's a very, um, negative way to run your business. If things didn't go right, well, let's sit down as a team. What went wrong here? Like, let's find out where, where can we be better? And, and we felt that that was the way to go. We knew where the horse was structurally. He wasn't right. Should have we pulled the pin? Probably. Um, but you've got a lot on the line as well. And, and, uh, with the team behind us and the doctors, et cetera, and we medicated the joints and, um, we felt it was the right thing to go to the premier and, and obviously the horse went a miss.

12:57 The pre-Galaxy promo and public comment

Dave Rorison 12:57 I think I'm very, very honest, um, and say it's because, you know, a lot of, especially punchers, you can beat with her, maybe not their heads, but more their hearts. And, you know, we, we, we, we seen the Labrooks content. They went out before the Everest and you, you got a little bit of flack for your comments.

Sean 13:21 Galaxy, before the galaxy.

Dave Rorison 13:22 Before the galaxy, sorry. Before the galaxy, there was a promo for Private Harry, um, with Labrooks. Fantastic bit of content. Very bullish comments from yourself. I know you caught a few comments in the, as you do in social media, but overall, we had spoke about this behind the scenes. I think I had a bit of spice when we see a bit of two in and four in between owners. There's no malice in it. It seems to be, we see in other sports, especially boxing, where the opposition will throw a little bit of light, a little bit of shade on other runners and really give themselves a bit of a push. As someone who's played sports yourself, do you think that's healthy for horse racing to be, um, having a bit of fun?

14:09 Why Sean stays off social media

Sean 14:09 Yeah, well, I'm not on social media, so that's probably an advantage for me. Like, I don't, all the comments and like, I know our other trainers are like, don't hop on Facebook. And like, I don't, I don't, I don't have it. So it doesn't bother me. Like everyone's entitled to their opinion. I only care about educated opinions. Yeah, you get it. Um, that's just where I, I surround myself with people, uh, that are in the right circle. And I surround myself with, you are who you, who you hang around. So, um, people that have had $5 on him, um, and have their, you know, their opinion. I don't give a stuff what you've got to say, to be honest. Um, you know, and that's just me being honest, you know, go and, go and spend another $5 on the next horse at Dubbo that gets beat. So it just doesn't bother me. Like if you're a $10,000 punner, yeah, I'll listen to what you've got to say. You're a pro punner. You're an educated person. That's what you do for a job. Yep. Um, but yeah, like people have their opinions. I only care about educated and factual and data driven comments or figures. And I knew where the horse was, we knew as a team where the horse was sitting, um, and going to, yeah, like, I think it's so healthy. You need, because at the end of the day, what the public don't realize, like whether it's, uh, whoever you're having the banter with behind the scenes, we're having a beer with them. Like everything.

Dave Rorison 15:38 I think people don't see that, do they?

Sean 15:40 Yeah, everything's sweet.

Dave Rorison 15:41 This industry's very close to each other.

15:43 Banter, the industry and appreciating the athletes

Sean 15:43 It's not like, I don't know, boxing or like we're actually, as you know, everyone's close. Yeah. So we can have banter and we'll have someone bag us, we'll have a little chirp back. And then behind the scenes, we'll just have four beers together. Yeah. And that's just the industry. And it's all, it's all what you see is not what you think. That's what I'll say. And, and it's, it's about creating an event and I guarantee you, I would have sold more tickets by what I had to say, but, um, you've got to back your, back your product. And so many people do, but I just feel if James McDonald was riding our horse and Chris Waller trained it at the time, I can promise you people wouldn't have had so much to say. And that because it was with a small trainer from a small jockey with an average size syndicator, they just think it's a free for all. But now I've seen since the horse has been transferred to Chris, people bagging the horse that are in commentary. And, um, I won't name names, but they've, you know, they're, they're on shows weekly and all you wait till you see what Chris does with this horse now. Oh, really? So when it was with Nathan, it wasn't good enough. But now it's with a big trainer. He's a good horse all of a sudden. It's just, it's politically incorrect. It's so, yeah, it's, it's a funny world we live in. The horse hasn't changed. The systems haven't changed. And who's the best man for the job to get him back? Of course it's Chris. That's no doubt. He's got more of a chance coming back with Chris for sure. And that's why he's there. But, uh, the horse still had the ability six months ago to what he has now. So I just think you can't now jump into the ship when you're so far against us along the way. So I just want people to enjoy good athletes, whether he comes back and runs fifth, whether he comes back and runs first, just enjoy the, the athletes that we have. Like it's when, when they're at that elite level, it's so beautiful to watch. It's so beautiful to what, like Jolly Star and, you know, your autumn glows and your car and your risings and overpasses, like all these horses that they're, it's, it's pretty to watch. They're freaks. They're, they're the Michael Jordans of our industry. And, um, I think we just need to appreciate these athletes more instead of bagging the people behind the scenes. If you're going to get asked a question from a journalist and you answer it honestly and then get criticized for it, why am I taking the phone call? So I've just blocked everyone's number and I will not talk towards it. The only journalist I spoke to was Ray Thomas. So everyone else can get stuffed and I will not take any phone calls moving forward. And I, and I hope if Sheiky comes out and she's a favorite in a golden slipper, they can get stuffed because I will not give them any content.

Dave Rorison 18:49 I mean, that is a headline to finish the conversation. Um, it's very good that you're, you're strong in your resolution of, of how you want to present your business, how you want to manage your horses. A lot of success has been had already with the colors, particularly in 2025. And we all, we all want to see a good 2026 and I would expect we'll continue. Everyone. Yeah. As a sport, we're, we're moving forward. There's a lot of trials and tribulations at the, at the governance ends, but for yourself, hopefully we see a good festive period, a good start to the year up in the Magic Millions. Yeah. Obviously with the sales coming up, how do people get involved ahead of the sales? If you are going to be limiting your numbers this year compared to maybe the last few years due to the market, how do people get involved ahead of the sales and how will they get involved once the purchases come? Yeah.

19:42 Looking ahead to the sales and Kurrinda's trainers

Sean 19:42 Well, as soon as we purchase a horse, um, Dave, uh, and I will be putting it on social media, obviously I'm creating marketing videos. And just be quick because some of these with the owners with, um, we have plans and going up there, et cetera, there might be limited opportunities. And, um, but make sure you keep an eye on Crandall Bloodstock socials, Facebook, Instagram, it'll be on our website. Uh, but go on to the website, register your interest now, cause you'll be at the top of the list. That's one thing I can assure you is, uh, you'll be at the top of our list for our CRM, for our emailing campaign. And, um, that's, that's crucial. And if you want to be a part of, uh, someone that's a company, that's just honest, we give the horses every opportunity. Uh, they go to the best trainers for that type of horse that we purchase. We don't purchase a horse and just hit and hope and send it to, uh, say a Matty Dale, or if they go to Nathan, if they go to Matthew, if they go to David Pfeiffer or Gane Adrian or whoever it may be, Stuart Kendrilla. Like they're going to them for a reason and our reasons are data driven. It's, it's all numbers. Numbers don't lie. Um, so yeah, go onto the website, register and, um, we'll get in touch and, um, yeah, like let's, let's hope we have a, have a good year. Mate, thanks very much. Thanks mate. Talk on in. Thanks mate.

Dave Rorison 21:05 Thanks mate.

Sean 21:07 Thanks mate. Thanks a lot.