hidden text Fly Lie Finishes Best After a narrow defeat at Donald in his return to the races, Fly Lie looked primed to improve second
up at Geelong, stepping out to the 1500m. The son of Sebring, raced in partnership with Mark
Hoare’s Pacific Bloodstock was given every opportunity by Declan Bates, settling in the one out one
back position and getting the better of Coco Van Winkle in a two horse battle down the straight.
Fly Lie is a lightly raced four-year-old who is still very green and has some physical improvements to make, it was pleasing to see him get his maiden win.
Freedman explains, “He has come a long way in the last twelve months and continues to step up to the mark. He is a big, rangy gelding and whilst it was great to get a win on the board today, I think we will see a better horse again next preparation.”
In his post-race interview Declan Bates mirrored the thoughts of Freedman, “he takes a long time to
work through his gears and I didn’t get to his top until 100m mark, he has a lot to learn, but will be a
nice horse going forward.”
As always in racing, there is a special narrative behind every horse and Fly Lie is no exception. Mr Mark Hoare, the Managing Director of Pacific Bloodstock of which colours the horse races in has some personal health battles and the team was thrilled to get a win for Mark and his team of owners.
On behalf of the team, we congratulate Fly Lie and continue to offer Mark our full support in his journey ahead.  Owner of the Month Brett Norton  Brett Norton with Legion of Merit at the stables | |  Cox Plate Day at work |
 Attrition's first win at Sandown | |  On course at Flemington with mates/old collegues |
Brett Norton is deeply immersed in racing not only through horse ownership, he also works at Moonee Valley Racing Club and has real passion and appreciation for the game.
Norton explains, “My father ran a few TAB’s in the western suburbs as I was growing up. He owned a few trotters that were trained by my uncle Danny Norris, I spent most of my Saturday nights as a kid running around Moonee Valley Racing Club at the trots.”
“Going through university I ran a sports bar and operated the TAB, I already had the bug a little bit but the more I watched racing the more I fell in love with it.”
“ I seem to have a good memory for racing so I started to back myself as a punter, now I run a small subscription tipping service on Instagram called battlers_buddy for a bit of fun. So I’m pretty immersed in it from all angles.”
In the last ten years Norton has been involved with around 15 horses, one of those horses include recent stable star Attrition. A highlight for Norton is Attrition running second in the Australian Guineas, and we agree with him on that.
“The anticipation and build up to that race was amazing. The build-up to whether he was going to get a run, and to have not only a group one runner but to have a horse run so well was a massive highlight.”
“I’ve been lucky enough to be involved with some great horses, but getting so close to winning a group one was both a highlight and a nightmare, I won’t forget that in a hurry.”
“To top it off, my good mate Jarrod Fry who I went to school with has ridden Attrition for his two career wins.”
The association between Jarrod Fry and Mitch Freedman goes back early doors, it was Jarrod Fry who suggested to Brett that he get into horse ownership with Mitch Freedman Racing.
“Jarrod said you’ll never meet a harder working trainer than Mitch, he said you’re a young bloke, he’s a young bloke. Since then, my family and friends have come on board as well and we haven’t looked back.”
“If you’re looking to get into race horse ownership just to meet people and socialise, I can understand the pull of bigger stables with smaller syndications. If you’re after a finger on the pulse, always in the know then sometimes a stable can be too big, you're just a number and you feel at arms length.”
“For me, I want someone who is hands on and a trainer who knows what my horse is doing all the time. Mitch is a great horseman, a hard worker and incredibly pedantic. When you go to the races you have a good chat with the team, it's a personalised experience and through that I’ve meet some great people. I would like to give a shout out to the McGraths, Annette and Michael who I now race almost all my horses with, we share a passi Winter in Ballarat   Shop online and purchase yours now
Click here to buy from our website Employee Of The Month Haley Walker  Gusmao pictured with his biggest fan and employee of the month Haley Walker. "I like him because he's sweet and easy to work with," explains Haley.
Haley has been with Mitch Freedman Racing for two years, she also works in conveyancing during the week. When she's not at work, she's a busy mum of two looking after her little people.
Haley's association with horses began in her younger years, she remembers having her first riding lessons at five years old. After having her second child, the timing felt right and she applied for a position to get back into the work force and hasn't looked back since.
A big thank you to Haley for her time and effort she puts into the team! |
