Freedman Racing

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Photos provided courtesy of Bloodstock Trader

D Hayes & DL Freedman on each other

1st September, 2008

THE undisputed modern kings of the Victorian turf are David Hayes and Lee Freedman. Rod Nicholson talked to both about each other.

HAYES ON FREEDMAN:

"I rate Lee a trainer of the highest quality. He is always hard to beat, especially in the big races, where his record is amazing.

I first noticed Lee, in fact, all four of the Freedman brothers who became known as the FBI (Freedman Brothers Incorporated), when Lee came to Adelaide and won his first Group 1 race with Miss Clipper in the Australasian Oaks in 1986.

I then noticed them a lot around the stripping sheds when they arrived at Flemington. They were a different cut to the normal trainers. They had a self-assuredness about them.

We were competitive from the start when I took over from my father, Colin, in 1990. Lee was well on his way by then, so we were two young blokes with high drive and ambitions.

I am highly competitive, but not jealous. Lee and I socialise occasionally if we are both away with our horses or at yearling sales or functions interstate.

We occasionally have a drink or a meal together because a lot of our owners overlap.

But we don't ring each other to pass the time of day; we probably just mix in different circles outside of racing.

However, we have a lot in common: We are both extremely competitive, have a lot of family support and are ambitious and dedicated. And we both like winning and hate losing.

Lee was a top swimmer in his youth and I was a high jump champion, so we were athletic and competitive even before we went into horse training.

And we both had racing in our blood because of our family backgrounds, so there are a lot of similarities between us.

The differences between us are seemingly obvious these days. I am much more athletic than Lee, I still have 20/20 vision while his sight is fuzzy and, as far as I'm concerned, his hair is over-rated.

One thing that has always impressed me about Lee is how articulate he is. I heard him speak one day, off the cuff, about an approaching Caulfield Cup. I was very impressed by his passion, eloquence and knowledge. I am envious of that quality.

Lee has has achieved one career highlight that I haven't - yet. He won in England, at Royal Ascot, with Miss Andretti.

I'd love to have a Group 1 runner, and winner, at Royal Ascot, preferably a 1600m horse rather than a sprinter.

As far as horses that he has trained and that I would have loved to have had in my stable, you can't go past Makybe Diva.

Lee did a great job with her, winning the last two of her historic three consecutive Melbourne Cups.

And as for a sprinter, I would have loved to have had Alinghi.

She was super. Then there's Schillaci. I loved him. They were all great horses any trainer would be honoured to train.

There are races that naturally we both set ourselves to win, and the one that I remember most fondly was last year's Blue Diamond Stakes. Lee had three fancies leading into the race and I had the next most fancied runner and a longer shot.

I quinellaed the race and I thoroughly enjoyed that. Lee had made a conscious decision to have a crack at me in the two-year-old races after my successes in previous years, and the Blue Diamond was the grand final. He did a great job with his youngsters and it showed how competitive he is.

One thing that I would like to have, which Lee does and I don't, is the horses he now is getting to train from Darley. Lee has a dozen on his books while I've got a share in one - Von Costa de Hero.

I know Lee and I are at the top of the tree in Victorian racing, but you have to be at it all the time to stay on top - so we probably push each other with our rivalry."

FREEDMAN ON HAYES:

"OBVIOUSLY David is a top trainer and his stint in Hong Kong improved him. He seems to concentrate a lot on his two-year-olds and in this area has few peers.

We go back a fair way now, when David basically came out running after his father's retirement and, as he said himself, he had a great teacher in Colin.

We are similar in that we both came from racing families and we both have highly competitive natures. My great grandfather was Bill McLachlan, who was a gun jockey who won three Melbourne Cups and then became a trainer, while my father, Tony, also was a trainer. And, of course, everyone knows about Colin Hayes and the dynasty he built.

I like David's positive attitude. It makes me laugh some times. I'm a bit more reserved about my opinion of horses, whereas David is one of those characters who is always very positive. He's a very ebullient character.

The differences are minor except for our modern physique. I have more hair than him and a bit more relaxed muscle.

And David once said he tolerates fools. I won't. Which leads me to think that if it were true, then none of my owners would be classed as fools and his would be wondering which ones were!

David has trained some wonderful horses over the years, but if I had a chance to train a horse that David has had under his care it would have been Miss Finland. She was a great horse.

She dominated at two and three and you can't ask for more - to win a Golden Slipper and a VRC Oaks is something special.

And this year I feel Zagreb would be a nice stayer to have in my stable rather than his. He was second in the Group 1 South Australian Derby in April and is by Zabeel.

We have always been competitive and naturally enough there are plenty of big races we both aim at. The one race win I enjoyed more than most was the 1994 Golden Slipper.

David had the favourite, St Covet, and I said I would beat him with Danzero - and Danzero beat St Covet by a nose.

But there have been many big races that have gone David's way as well - especially the two-year-old races in the past couple of years.

It is only human nature for rivals to snipe at times! We both work hard to set horses for big races and, as a competitor, you want to win. I don't like losing, full stop.

We have no problem socialising as we share a lot of owners, but we do live a fair way apart.

And there are no jealousies. I have done the odd thing that he hasn't and vice versa. I guess I would have liked to train a Japan Cup winner like David with Better Loosen Up, but I went close with Naturalism. Then again, I have trained a major winner at Royal Ascot, which he hasn't done yet.

Our competitive rivalry has been great fun over the years. People can get the wrong impression about the two of us, but it certainly isn't war.

We always chat and whenever we are about together we share a drink or a meal. We have a lot of owners in both camps so it is not uncommon for us to attend the same functions, especially industry functions.

I think David is lucky having Lindsay Park and a great back-up team of Tony McEvoy, John Cornell and Gary Fennessy. Quality and experienced staff is vital to success.

But we are not the only ones out there in the training ranks.

Competition is increasing all the time and sometimes people have the misguided notion that if you have been at it for years then you are not as good.

But good trainers who get good horses will get good results.

David certainly is getting more than his fair share, I reckon."

THE FREEDMAN FILE

LEE Freedman was inducted into Racing's Hall of Fame in 2003, at 46 the youngest trainer ever included.

He has won 122 Group 1 races - third only to Tommy Smith and Bart Cummings - and more than 3000 winners during his 35 years as a trainer.

He has added 30 Group 1 winners since moving to Markdel at Rye at the end of 2002 and produced three of the past six champion 3yo fillies and half of the Champion Racehorse titles in that time.

Since 1990 Freedman winners have earned a staggering $142 million.

He has won every major Victorian race, the Melbourne Cup five times, the Caulfield Cup four times, the Cox Plate twice and the Golden Slipper four times (in succession).

In 1992-93 he became the first and only trainer to win the Calfield Cup, Melbourne Cup, Cox Plate and Golden Slipper in the one season.

**THE HAYES FILE **

DAVID Hayes tomorrow night will be inducted in racing's Hall of Fame, joining his late father Colin. He began training in 1990 and immediately won the Cox Plate with Better Loosen Up, set a world record of six Group winners in a day at Flemington on Derby Day and then won the Japan Cup with Better Loosen Up a month later.

In 1994, he won the Melbourne Cup with imported galloper Jeune.

In 1996, he accepted an invitation to train in Hong Kong, where he won two premierships.

He returned to Australia in 2005 and won the Golden Slipper with Miss Finland and three consecutive Blue Diamond Stakes quinellas.

He added another Cox Plate with Fields of Omagh, a VRC Crown Oaks with Miss Finland and the 2007 Victoria Derby with Kibbutz. He has won the past two Melbourne trainers premierships and 53 Group 1 races.

Article Date	Title
13th August, 2009	Badger discusses Breeding
1st May, 2009	Dr John Walker
23rd March, 2009	Fillies May Still Glitter
23rd December, 2008	Grey power at Markdel - By Danny Power
1st September, 2008	D Hayes & DL Freedman on each other
9th May, 2008	Badger on Australian Breeding
5th February, 2008	LEE discusses yearling selection

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