James Moss knows it's a special kind of risk to trade in 20 years of experience in the finance industry to start your own racehorse syndication company. He only had to attend one of his first sales to recognise it was a shrewd one.
Desperately seeking a flagship horse for his newly-formed Tricolours business, Moss scoured a number of ex-Godolphin horses going through a Melbourne sale. He found Pecans, who he held modest ambitions for.
Flagbearer: Pecans wins the Darley Crown.Credit:AAP
"When we bought her I thought she was definitely the kind of horse that could win in town, mostly midweeks and maybe Saturday," Moss said. "That's the way I sold it to people.
"She was a Sydney class horse and to come out and win two group races already and be resuming in a stakes race on Saturday is pretty awesome.
"She's been the flag-bearer for Tricolours, no doubt at all. I've got 12 horses in total now and the majority of them are yearling purchases. All of them are sold out and there's no doubt the success of Pecans is the reason for that. She's so consistent and honest and she never runs poorly."
Calling his business Tricolours in a nod to his late Roosters-supporting father Jack, Moss went about establishing his brand on the back of a couple of tried horses. It came with risks.
The best advertisements are those found on the track and having won Gosford's Belle Of The Turf and Hawkesbury's Darley Crown, Pecans has been a marketing machine for Ross' fledgling firm under the care of Warwick Farm trainer Joe Pride.
It was a massive risk, but I thought if I ever was going to go out there and chase my dream now was going to be the time to do it
By his own admission, it was a gamble to dive into the racing game full-time having been around it for many years. There was the stability of a day job and a regular stream of income, far from the fluctuating fortunes of four-legged animals which dip in and out of form.
"It was a massive risk, but I thought if I ever was going to go out there and chase my dream now was going to be the time to do it," Moss said. "It's a great time to be involved in ownership, particularly in Sydney with the prizemoney.
"The last 12 months has been a developing phase and we've got some young horses. Half of them haven't been seen a racetrack yet. It's hard to buy the early sprinters because they go for overs.
"If it gets up to where I want to be we might have 10 or 15 horses a year, but need to focus on value. I stick to my valuation solidly. If I stay true to my process we're getting horses for the right price. I'm probably working a bit harder to try to find those, but it seems to be paying dividends."
Pride is one of four trainers Tricolours has placed horses with along with John Sargent, Mark Newnham and Melbourne-based Tony McEvoy.
"My trainers first and foremost are selected on people who are open and honest and are willing to invite people to the stable," Moss said. "Joe is very much like that. Joe is one of the best trainers in Sydney, but he's not a very big stable compared to the Wallers and Snowdens.
"It's the same methodology with Sarge and Mark. Those guys do a fantastic job of doing that. And Tony is one of the nicest guys in racing."
Pecans will return to the track at Randwick in search of a third group 3 win, this time in the Nivison at a rain-sodden Randwick. Josh Parr, who chalked up his first group 1 win aboard Pecans' sire Skilled, has been booked for the ride on BetEasy's $4.80 favourite.
"She's fit and well and is a happy horse," Moss said. "She's come back this prep better than ever and there's a little concern about the heavy track first-up. She handles it. We're pretty confident she'll run pretty well on Saturday, she always does."
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