Sometimes a big name stallion will throw an average looking yearling. The yearling won’t have much muscle tone, very little size or height and will not generate much interest in the sales ring. Today’s story is about a famous stallion from the 1960s, a trainer who had a skill of picking a champion and a horse that paid its way 44 times over.
Pipe Of Peace was imported by Woodlands Stud from England in 1958. This stallion came to Australia with a big reputation; he had won many great races and was himself by an outstanding champion and out of a champion mare. He was the perfect stallion.
The horse was Black Onyx, and as he walked through the sales ring in 1967, he garnished very little attention. If he had not been by Pipe Of Peace he would have most probably been passed in. But Tommy Smith saw something in this horse; something no one else did. Here is the skill that only very few people are born with. Coincidentally, Tommy’s daughter, Gai Waterhouse was also born with the skill. These people inspect a horse at the stud farm sometime before the sale. They take notice of how big the horse is, about how it enjoys being led by a person and if it is afraid of company. Then a couple of months later in the sales ring, they refer to their notes and take extra notice of how the horse has grown and matured since they last saw it. If the horse ticks all the boxes, they bid for it. It does not matter if the yearling is unattractive; if they see something in it, they will bid.
Now the leading trainers don’t buy the horse for themselves very often: they are given the ultimate trust by potential owners. The owners trust their judgement. When Tommy Smith bid just under $3000 for Black Onyx on behalf of the Bootle family, everyone thought he had gone mad. This yearling looked terrible in the sales ring, but it passed the tests that the trained Tommy Smith eye put upon it. $3000 in 1967 was about 6% of the first prize for the Melbourne Cup. Today it would represent about $200,000 which while it is more money than most people will ever have, it is still under the average price for an Australian yearling.
There are two schools of thought in regards to the purchase of Black Onyx (before he became a champion). Some thought Tommy had been ripped off because the horse looked terrible, while others thought he got a bargain because he got a well bred horse for under the average. Hindsight is obviously great because Black Onyx went onto win $133,000 0r 44 times what it cost ($3000). If the average priced yearling today went on to win 44 times their price tag their career earnings would be about 14 million or a touch more than the Australian record.
As a two year old, Black Onyx won his first three starts then was unplaced in the Golden Slipper. He then won the Sires’ before being unplaced in the Champagne. After his two-year-old season, Black Onyx had earnings of over $35,000, so in his first season he had already paid 10 times on his owner’s investment. The value of Tommy Smith’s expert eye in this case was huge! As a three-year-old, Black Onyx ran second in a Newmarket, unplaced in a Doncaster, unplaced in a Stradbroke then won the Doomben 10,000 from nowhere. Tommy Smith clearly had an eye for history, because after winning the Dommben 10,000 which is a sprint race, Black Onyx was backed up in the Doomben Cup over 2000m. No horse had won this remarkable double since Bernborough in 1946. Tommy Smith rated Bernborough as the best horse he had ever seen, so there is no doubt he tried to emulate him with Black Onyx. Unfortunately, Black Onyx finished second, but all credit to Tommy Smith for having a go.
Black Onyx was already a champion sprinter when he turned four, but it was in this season that he allowed his owners to retire on his winnings. He won the Doomben 10,000 again (he was the first horse to ever do it), the Newmarket, the Lightning, the Tramways, and the Hill Stakes. He was also placed in the Stradbroke, the Futurity, the Doncaster, the All-Aged Stakes and the Linlithgow Stakes. He also again ran in the Doomben Cup as well as the Epsom and the Caulfield Cup. It is clear that in the past, especially with Tommy Smith, a good horse would have a crack at everything. We need more of this today!
Black Onyx had just one win as a five-year-old, but it was in this year that he suffered his second bleeding attack and was banned for life from Australian racing. This was a very sad day for the owners, despite his huge career earnings.
The moral of the story is….Trust those who know!
By Zeb Armstrong
