More than winners – the bonds behind an owner’s bid for a Cox Plate-Spring Champion double

Wayne Shelton has discovered that the richest rewards in racing are not always measured in the size of bank balances and trophy cabinets.

For the retired businessman, it’s about the trust earned from the people who help make the journey worthwhile.

Shelton has found that honesty is a more valuable commodity than optimism, and that the right relationships can make an owner feel fortunate long before a horse has won a race.

Shelton’s association with veteran trainer David Payne spans almost two decades, producing more than 50 metropolitan winners and, last month, their first Group race success when Persian Wonder won the Ming Dynasty Quality.

Now, with Persian Wonder heading towards the Spring Champion Stakes at Randwick and Ceolwulf bound for the Cox Plate at Flemington, Shelton has a chance to share the highest level of success with two trainers whose integrity has become central to his enjoyment of racing.

Shelton will be at Flemington on Saturday, conscious that opportunities to win a Cox Plate do not come along every day.

His heart will be in Sydney, where a Persian Wonder victory would carry more significance.

“I’ll go to Melbourne, because I don’t know if I’ll get a chance to win a Cox Plate again,” he told The Straight.

The distinction has little to do with the $6 million on offer at Flemington compared with the $2 million Spring Champion Stakes purse, and everything to do with his relationship with Payne, the man who helped introduce him to ownership.

“I bought Persian Wonder with David and it’s just family and a couple of friends in the horse, so it’s more personal, if you know what I mean,” Shelton said.

Payne, 79, has trained winners for Shelton from relatively inexpensive purchases, earned his trust through blunt assessments and become the sort of friend whose achievements matter as much as his own.

Their association began almost by accident.

Shelton is now keen to add a Group 1 to the tally before Payne retires, a prospect the trainer has often discussed in recent seasons.

“It would be really special,” Shelton said of winning the Spring Champion Stakes.

“And I’ve told David I won’t let him retire until he does win a Group 1 for me.”

Shelton’s admiration stems partly from Payne’s ability to spot talent without being seduced by pedigree or price, an instinct the owner readily admits he lacks.

“I only listen to what the trainers tell me,” he said. “I don’t think I’m an expert.”

Payne’s willingness to tell Shelton when a horse should be moved on has been just as important as his eye at the sales.

That experience helped explain why Payne’s recommendation of Joe Pride proved so valuable when Payne first began contemplating retirement and Shelton thought he was going to need another trainer in a hurry.

Remarkably, Pride recommended that Shelton buy a share in Ceolwulf, then a breeze-up purchase from New Zealand and now a winner of more than $12 million in prize money.

Payne proved as astute a judge of character as he is of horses.

Shelton recalls Pride even declining to place him in further horses without Payne’s blessing, a gesture that reinforced his belief he had found people who put integrity ahead of commercial opportunity.

“I feel I’ve been very lucky to find these two guys, to be honest,” he said.

“More so than the horses, because they’re just so honest with you.”

That confidence will travel with Shelton to Flemington, where Ceolwulf will attempt to add the Cox Plate to a record that already includes two King Charles III Stakes victories.

The gelding finished second behind Autumn Glow in his bid for a third successive King Charles win last week, but Shelton saw little reason to be disappointed.

“If someone said to me three years ago that you’re going to come first, first and second in three years, I would have said you’re dreaming,” he said.

“And it wasn’t like I got beat by a dud. I got beat by a champion.”

Pride’s decision to run Ceolwulf in the Cox Plate is driven by his assessment of the horse rather than the appeal of competing in one of Australia’s most celebrated races.

“He said the other day, you know, he’s not going there because it was his dream,” Shelton said.

“He said, ‘I’m going because I think the horse is good to go.’”

Ceolwulf’s jockey Chad Schofield, who came through the ranks under Payne, has also earned Shelton’s admiration.

Few were riding harder than Shelton when Schofield hit the front before winning the $20 million Everest on Tempted.

These connections have turned racing into something much larger than a hobby for Shelton, who has been retired for 16 years and initially got involved to create an interest he could share with his family.

“One of the biggest things it’s done is bring our family together,” Shelton said.

He admits there were lean years when he considered walking away, but persistence has brought him to a point where his personal stake in two major races will be the envy of most.

“I’ve been very fortunate in my life and now seem to be having a little bit of fortune,” he said.

“But you know what? I mean, it’s been a long time to get to this level. It didn’t happen overnight.”

For Shelton, Saturday’s results will matter, but the relationships that have carried him there are already a substantial return on his investment.