🔒 🔒 Cups glory and breeding ambitions reveal Sneesby’s ‘split racing personality’

Craig Sneesby is learning that success can be measured in different ways and not all of them come with a presentation ceremony.

There is the immediate gratification of chasing the honour embedded in racing’s rich history, where fortunes can turn in a few strides. But there is also a quieter satisfaction of building a bloodstock portfolio whose true worth may not be known for years.

For Sneesby, an executive recruitment specialist who has become an increasingly prominent owner, the appeal lies in both pursuits. The racetrack provides the theatre, and the breeding farm offers a longer view of a thoroughbred’s potential.

His interests span several layers of the industry, from selecting stayers for major contests to retaining fillies with high-end pedigrees, watching and waiting for the next generation to emerge.

Sneesby’s professional life has also brought him into contact with administrative challenges. He is the chief executive of u&u Recruitment Partners and helping fill senior positions in thoroughbred racing is a part of the company’s remit.

That breadth will be on display at Caulfield on Saturday, when Sneesby has shares in three runners chasing the $6.5 million Caulfield Cup, all trained by Ciaron Maher.

Saint George, Royal Supremacy and Middle Earth give him multiple chances in one of the spring’s defining contests, while the Joseph O’Brien-trained James J Braddock is another horse in which he has an interest ahead of the Melbourne Cup.

Three near misses in the Melbourne Cup have intensified the hunger for the ultimate result, with Middle Earth finishing third last year after Soulcombe and Sheraz filled minor placings in 2023.

Between the Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup lies a Cox Plate ambition that is alive and well as the Chris Waller-trained Birdman heads towards one of Australia’s most prestigious races.

“You dream of winning all three trophies, but truthfully you’d be happy just to walk out with one and then count your blessings,” Sneesby told The Straight.

Yet chasing the three centrepieces of the Melbourne spring is only part of the picture.

“There’s sort of a split personality for me in racing,” he said.

“The stayers are for the trophy cabinet and the glory, but to be honest, a lot more of my focus is probably in the well-bred fillies to retain for bloodstock.”

That preference has increasingly steered his investment toward breeding, with partnerships with Qatar Bloodstock and Widden Stud giving him access to mares whose value will be measured by the generations they produce.

Sneesby said his breeding involvement has grown substantially over the past two years, with some of his mares now producing foals and longer-term possibilities beginning to take shape.

Among them is Skirt The Law, the Magic Millions 2YO Classic winner, whose first foal, a Zoustar colt, has arrived.

Watching the foal develop towards the sales ring offers a different kind of anticipation from the pressure of a major race, although both interests depend on identifying quality and the crafting of potential.

“I think once you’re invested, it’s sensible to see it through,” Sneesby said.

“It’s not just about commercial, but it’s just about seeing the complete journey and then the future progeny of a particular pedigree, and whether you stay involved or see it go to the right home.”

His advocacy for the thoroughbred extends to what happens when a horse’s competitive career ends, including finding suitable destinations for well-bred animals entering the next phase of their lives.

“From a welfare perspective, it’s nice to put very well-bred horses onto really successful farms,” he said.

Widden, where he has several interests, is among the operations he trusts to provide that next chapter.

Sneesby’s involvement did not begin with a family connection to the sport. Instead, it grew from a personal appetite for competition that found a new outlet after his own sporting ambitions ended.

“I didn’t grow up in racing,” he said.

He recalled attending a private boys’ school where time at the racetrack with friends sometimes took precedence over the classroom.

“For me, it was just a huge passion, and once I knew I couldn’t compete competitively in sport anymore, I sort of needed something that kept the adrenaline flowing … that real high level of competitive spirit going and racing it was,” he said.

Early success with horses including Zougotcha, later sold to Coolmore, helped establish the foundations for a broader portfolio, while northern hemisphere imports introduced him to the spring challenges that have stood the test of time.

Selino, winner of the Sydney and Brisbane Cups, ran better than midfield in the 2021 Melbourne Cup and triggered a belief.

Sneesby has been part of the Cup ever since, bringing him to within touching distance of Australian racing’s most famous trophy.

Middle Earth shapes as a leading prospect once again, while James J Braddock, a placegetter in this year’s English Derby, is being prepared for his Australian campaign with the intention of remaining in the country rather than returning overseas after the Cup.

Saint George and Royal Supremacy could also emerge from Saturday with Flemington firmly in their sights.

Away from the track, Sneesby’s executive recruitment business has been engaged by Racing Queensland to identify its next chief executive. He said the process was progressing well, with strong interest from potential candidates.

That gives him another vantage point on an industry whose future depends not only on the horses and the people who invest in them, but also on the leadership of its governing organisations and the custodial responsibilities that leadership should bring.

For now, the focus is on Caulfield, where three runners offer a chance to turn less than a decade of investment into the result many others have spent a lifetime chasing.