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BROWNIE'S BLOG: THE DUSTY TYCOON STORY. WHAT A GREAT ADVERTISEMENT FOR RACEHORSE OWNERSHIP

By Damian Browne | Wednesday, December 4, 2019

Brownie’s Blog is the weekly blog of multiple Group 1 winning jockey Damian Browne. In this edition Brownie looks at a great initiative bringing new owners into the game. He welcomes the inclusion of both a big drawcard for the TAB Jockey Origin Series and the announcement of the re-naming of the Sunshine Coast Guineas. He urges racing to expand its community interests and he has a friendly dig at who one rider is representing at the Hong Kong International Jockey Challenge. This Brownie’s Blog – exclusive to HRO.

When you see people having a good time and really enjoying themselves the chances are others might want to be a part of what is going on … and that is why the Queensland Racing - Mirunners initiative to bring heaps of new owners into the game via their ownership program is working so well.

I was at the Sunshine Coast when Dusty Tycoon won on debut and you wouldn’t have known that only a thousand shares had been sold in the horse. There were just so many owners there. They were loud, boisterous and just so excited. To get so many people involved and to get the win and that reaction translated into a very good advertisement for horse racing ownership.

If you were there you just had to take notice of the celebration … and, of course, it all happened again at Doomben last Saturday which reinforced the message of just how good racehorse ownership can be and why you should get involved, particularly as, under this initiative, it comes at a very affordable cost.

The lesser shareholders might only own the end of the horse’s tail, so to speak, but they all get one hundred percent of the enjoyment.

It is a great result for everybody.

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It is great to see that Michael Rodd will be taking part in the TAB Jockey Origin Series.

A Melbourne Cup winner, Rodd has been based in Singapore for a number of years now but everybody in Queensland will obviously have fond memories of Michael and his time in Queensland.

He is a terrific bloke and a great rider as you can see from what he has accomplished around the world.

He has ridden in Origin before and he got right into the spirit of things which you can expect again so he is definitely a boost to the line-up.

As the old saying goes Michael is one of racing’s genuine nice guys and it is going to be a pleasure seeing him in action back where he started.

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I thought of firing in a protest when I saw that the Sunshine Coast Guineas was going to renamed the Winx Guineas. I won it more times than she did.

Ok … back off … I’m just kidding!

In all seriousness, the change to the Winx Guineas is a very appropriate step. It will stand as a reminder of where her thirty-three run winning streak started and it will cement her connection with the Sunshine Coast moving into the future.

We already have the very striking mural of Winx at the Sunshine Coast Turf club. It is eye-catching artwork. You look up immediately see the link between Winx and the Sunshine Coast and this latest renaming of the Guineas just take that ‘relationship’ to the next level.

The only downside for me from that memory, as I have said before, is that I was offered the ride on Winx that day and I turned her down. I thought I had a better ride. As it turns out I don’t think I did.

I’ve had a few of those decisions. Srikandi was another one. I get reminded by my ‘friends’ all the time.

They say it makes you humble.

I think it juts keeps you awake at night.

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The ‘1 For The Bush’ initiative organised by Racing Queensland raised $52 600 which will be distributed to drought stricken communities.

Racing is such a huge industry that it is good to see it participating in this relief effort and giving money to go to those who need it most.

It is essential at this time to provide what assistance we can but racing’s involvement with the community doesn’t have to be in a crisis situation.

I know we can’t do things on the level that Hong Kong does where the Jockey Club’s turnover helps provide funding for hospital wings and schools and the like … but racing really should be working at getting its name out there and supporting communities as a whole.

Many of those wouldn’t really be racing people but they then might get to know racing better and therefore they might end up coming to the races.

It could be win / win situation. Racing doing good things in communities and communities getting to support racing.

The hard thing for racing these days is to get new people through the gates. Supporting communities can only help its profile.

Any way that racing can support the community … well, I think that would be terrific.

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This is one of the biggest weeks on the global racing calendar with the International Jockeys Challenge taking place at Happy Valley on Wednesday and the Longines Hong Kong International Races at Sha Tin on Sunday.

Having been there on their biggest day and having seen it first hand … it is an amazing event that they put on. I just hope everything goes smoothly given the turbulent events of recent times in Hong Kong and that they don’t have any hiccups.

My only query is I think James McDonald should be representing New Zealand and not Australia. I been in the country longer than James has been in Australia and, when I was still riding, come the Jockeys Origin Series time, I still represented New Zealand and not Queensland.

Just saying!

Again, on a more serious note, to get such a great bunch of jockeys there at Happy Valley on one night makes for a spectacular racing spectacle in an amazing setting with a terrific atmosphere.

It all should be well worth watching.

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Damian Browne
Damian Browne
Dusty Tycoon … the talk of the town
Dusty Tycoon … the talk of the town
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