The winner of the Champion Racehorse in the 29th Annual HTBA Awards, goes to Nature Strip, Bred by Golden Grove Stud (Denman). Thank you and congratulations to all who played a part in producing this exceptional racehorse 
also a big thank you to the HTBA and award sponsors Nationwide Superannuation.
Gifted sprinter Nature Strip has been crowned Australia’s 2019-20 Horse of the Year courtesy of his three brilliant Group 1 wins last season, with trainer Chris Waller winning the award for a fifth consecutive year.
The Winx era might be over but her trainer Chris Waller still has the nation’s premier racehorse – Nature Strip.
Waller’s enigmatic but extremely gifted sprinter Nature Strip was named the 2019-20 Australian Horse of the Year on Monday night.
Nature Strip earned the coveted award after a stellar season comprising four wins from seven starts, earning nearly $4 million prizemoney and including three Group 1 successes in the TJ Smith Stakes, Darley Classic and Moir Stakes.
Trainer Chris Waller with Nature Strip’s jockey James McDonald. Picture: AAP/Vince Caligiuri
This is the fifth consecutive year Waller has trained the Horse of the Year winner after all-time great Winx won an unprecedented four titles before her retirement last year.
“It is amazing to get a horse like this,’’ Waller said of Nature Strip, who was also voted Champion Sprinter.
“He has gone from a horse that has been a genuine Group 2 winner, and then in one season has won multiple Group 1 races, including the biggest sprint races on the racing calendar.
“It is a privilege to be part of his career and respect should also be given to my team for the work they have done with Nature Strip behind the scenes making sure that he is well prepared and continues to peak throughout each preparation resulting in some really big wins.’’
Nature Strip had been the long-time favourite for the $15 million The TAB Everest (1200m) until his unplaced run in the Premiere Stakes last Saturday.
James McDonald salutes after riding Nature Strip to victory the Darley Sprint Classic. Picture: AAP/Vince Caligiuri
An endoscopic examination of Nature Strip revealed a mild respiratory condition and the sprinter has been put on antibiotics with Waller still confident the gelding will be right to take his place in The Everest field.
Farnan’s brilliant juvenile season which resulted in five wins from six starts including the rare Silver Slipper-Todman Stakes-Golden Slipper treble ensured he earned the two-year-old title.
The Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained colt can get his The Everest campaign back on track in the Group 2 $300,000 Roman Consul Stakes (1200m) at Randwick on Saturday.
Other category winners at the Horse of the Year awards were Loving Gaby (Three-year-old Filly), Yes Yes Yes (Three-year-old Colt or Gelding) and Vow And Declare (Stayer), while the Middle Distance award was a tie between dual Group 1 winner Fierce Impact an All Star Mile champ Regal Power.
The main categories were voted on by more than 60 of the nation’s racing media and handicappers, with the winner receiving the highest number of votes awarded on a 3-2-1 basis.
To all breeders large and small the agonising reality that they have sold a young horse, not only under its right market price, but with the prospect the yearling itself could also go on and win millions of dollars in stakes, is a sensation only they endure.
In a nutshell that’s breeding. Do you bring them home to eat more of your feed only to find the horse is just fast enough to be a pacer, then live with the pain that you’ve turned your back on big money months before because of a hunch?
That’s what makes this part of the industry the most challenging: “Will I or won’t I sell?”
For most breeders however it’s a matter of economics. They must recoup the service fee and at the same time pay for the two years of expensive attention lavished on the yearling while awaiting the day he steps into the ring.
Two years ago a flashy chestnut colt by Nicconi from Strikeline entered the Melbourne sale ring, to no great fanfare nor did the saleyards fall silent in expectation of a record price. To buyers he was perhaps immature and needing time, words that two-year-old trainers refuse to hear.
The colt was passed in for $90,000 and later sold to a group of Melbourne owners for $100,000.
Golden Grove Stud general manager Toby Koenig rightfully points out that however small or large the operation is, “you can’t keep everything that you take to market”.
On Saturday at Flemington that same colt, Nature Strip, who has taken Australian racing by storm, will start in the $250,000 Inglis Dash.
A form record of three wins from four starts doesn’t accurately tell the story. In his three successes, Nature Strip has not only treated his rivals with contempt but has reeled off times that horses older and smarter would struggle to achieve.
“I think someone with imagination that saw he had the frame of a good horse, but at the same time was a little like a teenager in that he just needed time to mature and fill out,” Koenig said.
The Golden Grove operation is large indeed. With two properties in NSW and one in Melbourne, the farm has proved successful in its small drafts of yearlings that have gone through the sales and achieved great things on the racetrack.
“I think Robert [Smerdon] saw that was exactly what the horse needed. Time and more time just for him to fill out and once he’s achieved that you can see what an outstanding racehorse he’s made,” Koenig said.
He’s such a big strider and goes so quickly that they think the straight will really suit him.
“He was a lovely horse from the time he was born and you could tell that when he matures you’ll see the best of him, and we certainly have.”
Bookmakers were taking no risks with Nature Strip who opened at $1.45 against a strong group of sprinters his age.
Koenig is aware of the hype around the gelding and agrees that his first performance at Flemington will be a telltale sign for the horse going forward.
Koenig, who was a surgical resident at Sydney University, is now the general manager of the vast numbers of horses that Golden Grove have on their books.
It’s believed the bidding from local and overseas bloodstock agents has been extraordinary.
With bidding commencing at $1.4 million, Nature Strip could fetch as high as $2.7 million on the eve of one of his most important dates.
It’s believed some groups that have thrown in bids are not only looking at Group One success for the three-year-old this autumn but also consider the horse so gifted that the rich multi-million-dollar Everest would not be beyond his grasp.
Co-owner Rod Lyons told Tab Radio this week he too was excited by this Saturday’s race.
“It’s a lot of cabbage [prizemoney], isn’t it?” Lyons said.
“It’s a great promotion by Inglis for sure. He’s never been down the straight but I do know that Robert Smerdon and Ryan Maloney both feel the straight will suit him. He’s a big strider and he just struggled a bit and lost a bit of momentum in all his starts around the turn.
“He’s such a big strider and goes so quickly that they think the straight will really suit him.
“He’s very inexperienced and he has shifted in a bit when they have gone for him, but hopefully he is six in front at that stage and it won’t matter,” he said.
Lyons said there was a push by some of the owners to head to Sydney but he believes the horse would remain in Melbourne to tackle races like the Oakleigh Plate, where he will not be overburdened with weight.
As for Koenig and the owners of Golden Grove, there won’t be many moments of mixed feelings if Nature Strip is successful and becomes one of the national headline sprinters.
As the Sydney veterinary surgeon points out it’s another big race winner for a business that is proving so successful. And they still have Nature Strip’s mother, brothers and sisters – so they’ll be cheering just as loud as Lyons and his group.