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REMARKABLE TALE HOW NEWCASTLE TRIO BRED INTERNATIONAL GROUP 1 WINNER

Provincial Racing NSW

Updated: Feb 3



My Wish En Route to Hong Kong - November 2023


IT seems almost too good to be true?

A trio of Newcastle racing enthusiasts who became hobby breeders with a mare who won only one country race in NSW and was purchased for $3000 can now lay claim to breeding an international Group 1 winner.

And with her first foal at her third attempt.

Newcastle trainer Steve Hodge and close friends Brad and Fran Marshall are understandably celebrating My Wish’s victory for Sydney and now Hong Kong-based trainer Mark Newnham in last night’s HK$13m Hong Kong Classic Mile for four-year-olds at Sha Tin.

In all Australian-bred trifecta result, pint-sized My Wish (by Flying Artie), who weighs around 450kg, defeated Divano (Brave Smash) and Packing Hermond (Rubick) to post his fourth win from six starts this season.

My Wish, who initially was trained by Hodge when he was known as Lika Ryder, never raced in Australia.

Three offers came quickly from Hong Kong after the then three-year-old led throughout to trounce five rivals in an 800m barrier trial for two and three-year-old maidens on Newcastle’s Beaumont track on September 29, 2023.

His breeders parted company for a substantial six-figure amount, and since have bred a full brother to My Wish.

Fran Marshall takes up the story.

“Maurice Sinclair (a former Newcastle Jockey Club chief executive) owned My Wish’s dam Set The Tone (by Reset), who raced five times in Victoria for Cranbourne trainer Robbie Griffiths for a debut photo-finish second over 1200m at Kyneton in January, 2016,” Ms Marshall said.


My Wish Winning The G1 Hong Kong Classic on Friday


“Maurice leased the mare to our son Jack (now a RacingNSW steward) and a group of his mates.

“Steve, Jack’s godfather, trained her and won a Tuncurry Class 1/Maiden Plate (2100m) with her in July 2017.

“Set The Tone also was placed eight times for the boys, and they had a so much fun with her.

“When she won at Tuncurry, they thought they had won the Melbourne Cup.

“After finishing her racing career, Maurice sent her to Newgate Farm in the Hunter Valley to be mated with Eurozone, who was standing there at the time.

“Set The Tone got in foal, and Maurice initially offered her to Jack and his mates, but they weren’t interested in the breeding side of the industry.

“Maurice subsequently came back and asked Steve, Brad and myself if we were interested, and for only $3000 with a mare already in foal, we decided it was worth a try.”

Set The Tone unfortunately slipped to Eurozone, and with a live foal guarantee, the trio went back to Newgate to mate her with Menari.

“Things didn’t work out there either, so we had another chance to go back to the stud and the mare was mated with Flying Artie,” Ms Marshall explained.

“His service fee was $27,000 but we didn’t have to pay anything as we still had that live foal guarantee.

“Third time proved lucky, and Set The Tone foaled a colt (later gelded) on October 2, 2020.



My Wish (then Lika Ryder) with Theo Wallis


“My niece’s then three-year-old son Theo had the chance to name him,  and chose Lika Ryder as Ryder is the main character in the kids’ show Paw Patrol.

“Steve said right from the time he started working Lika Ryder along that he had a fair bit of ability, so we weren’t surprised when he won that trial easily in September 2023.

“It was very hard to part with him but the best offer from Hong Kong was too good to refuse.”

Sadly, a family tragedy occurred that year when Fran Marshall’s sister-in-law Wendy lost her brave battle with cancer a couple of months before the Beaumont trial.

“Steve decided to gift Wendy’s husband, my brother Michael, a 5 per cent share in the horse.

“It was a really lovely gesture tryjng to lift Michael’s spirits at a very difficult time in all our lives.

“Watching the old Lika Ryder (now My Wish) race in Hong Kong has been fantastic.

“The four of us cheered so loudly on Friday night when he won the Classic Mile that it’s a wonder they didn’t hear us over there.

“It’s a crazy feeling, and so good to see a little horse we bred doing so well on such a big stage.

“It was fitting that Mark Newnham got to train him as we know him well, and he has liked the horse right from the start and believes he will manage even further than 1600m.”

The Newcastle gang didn’t really worry about trying to breed any further foals after My Wish, and Set The Tone wasn’t served in the next three seasons.

That changed when My Wish started showing ability and by then, Flying Artie had been relocated to Blue Gum Farm at Euroa in Victoria.

“We went to the trouble of taking our mare south, and she foaled a brother to My Wish on October 19 last year,” Ms Marshall said.

“Naturally, we’ll be keeping the colt in cotton wool now that My Wish continues his rise through the ranks overseas.

“Set The Tone has since been served and is now in foal to Hawaii Five Oh.”




. HOOFNOTE: There might be more crazy feelings ahead – along with loud cheering and the popping of champagne corks – in the coming weeks.

All going well, Newnham is keen to chase further majors with My Wish, stepping him up to 1800m in both the Hong Kong Classic Cup on March 2 and the 2000m Hong Kong Derby on March 23.

Victory in either of both those Group 1s surely would no longer appear too good to be true for these now “big time” Newcastle breeders!

Story John Curtis, February 1, 2025 - Pics supplied

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