Where’s Cameron, or ‘Wes’ as he is known in the stable, is a lucky horse. Not, however, lucky for breeder and owner, Ben Duncan. From six starts he had zero wins or placings and earned $2,710, presumably for just turning up.
Foaled in 2012, Wes is by Viscount (AUS), who is by Quest For Fame (GB). Bred by the well-known Woodland Stud, Viscount won over $1.5 million. Interestingly, especially as Wes’ chosen career is showjumping, Viscount is out of a mare by Sir Tristram, a name much liked by jumping horse producers. Wes is out of Eliza Dane (AUS) by Danehill (USA), with the Canadian great Northern Dancer a strong influence on the dam line.
Wes’ luck changed as soon as he left racing. He has gone from talented and knowledgeable horse person to talented and knowledgeable horse person, building a good reputation along the way.
Bred in Western Australia, Wes found his way east to Liz Hoy in Nyngan, NSW. “Mum had a connection with the Duncans, and Wes came to us directly from them,” explains Liz. “We got him as a four-year-old when he had just finished racing. He is a lovely, big type, but was a terrible racehorse. He was surprisingly easy for how big he was (16.2-3hh) and we never had a problem with him. He had a fantastic foundation with a wonderful mouth, etc. We took our time with him and put in the flatwork basics, and then we started at 60cm and he jumped up to 1.20-1.30m with us.
“In 2019 we took him to the Australian Showjumping Championships at Boneo in Victoria and he won the Off The Track Australian Championships. He ended up having the only double clear in the final. It was certainly a happy drive home. I was sad to sell him, but it happened during Covid and I had some other young horses. But he was so easy, and I knew wherever he went, he would do the right thing. I sold him to a client of Krissy Harris’.”
Krissy Harris is well known in the Thoroughbred world for, among other things, establishing the Thoroughbred Sport Horse Association and really getting the Thoroughbred jumping classes off the ground.
“Wes did remind me of Popeye a little,” says Krissy. Mr Popeye was a successful international showjumping Thoroughbred that Krissy took overseas. “I bought Wes for a client of mine, Charlotte Moore. She moved to Singapore and asked me to sell him for her. I didn’t think of him as a horse for me until James Mooney suggested the idea. He was a delight to ride and I had eleven starts for nine placings. However, I broke my leg and had to sell a couple of horses. I rang Olivia Hamood and she spoke to Clem Smith, and the rest is history. Clem rides him really well and he has made his purchase price multiple times over.”
“Like many others, I started in the sport riding Thoroughbreds,” says Clem. “We do the Thoroughbred retraining programme and most have gone on to be successful at something. The Thoroughbreds are far quicker to get going and we are always on the lookout for the next Thoroughbred champion. We had been looking for a nice Thoroughbred because there are some good classes around for them now. Olivia Hamood had ridden him once or twice, and when Krissy broke her leg, I thought I would ring her and see what she was doing with Wes.
“He was ten and jumping 1.20-1.25m when we got him. We took him to Equimillions last year and he had a really good win there. We aren’t taking him this year because they have dropped the 1.20m class and he would have to drop back to 1.05m. He’s not a Grand Prix horse, but he is very competitive up to 1.30m. He won the Ruby Series at Jumping With The Stars at the beginning of the year and recently at Caboolture he won the Emerald Series (1.20-1.25m). He’s versatile and a good speed horse. He may not win the bigger classes, but he is always in the mix. He is competitive in open company, not just Thoroughbred classes. His breeders, the Duncans, follow his progress and came to see him at Equitana last year.
“He has Glen Innes Show coming up, then Krissy’s show at Stonewall, and then down to the Australian Championships in Victoria in November. He’s got the best personality; he’s just a really nice horse to have around. He’s not going anywhere as far as we are concerned—we couldn’t be happier with him.”
