My phone beeped with devastating news. The joys and shattering lows of being a 1 per cent racehorse owner

6 hours ago 3

By Heath Linton

October 31, 2025 — 11.45am

November 26, 2024: it’s a day I’ll never forget.

My spirits had been high that morning. We had received a routine message from our trainers updating us our horse King Kirk’s performance in a trial and outlining a program we hoped would take him to victory in the Golden Slipper.

King Kirk (right) won the Breeders’ Plate on debut.

Ever since he came from last to win the Breeders Plate on debut in Sydney in early October, we had been dreaming big. We being Dad, my brother Travers, one of my best mates Trent Wemyss, and me.

“The King”, as I liked to call him, was the favourite for the Slipper, one of the most prestigious races in Australian racing.

My phone beeped. It was an email from the stable. A second notice in a day was unusual, I thought, but nothing could prepare me for what was about to come.

It was our trainer Adrian Bott, one half of the Gai Waterhouse/Bott training partnership. King Kirk had been involved in a training accident. He was dead.

Heath Linton has shares in Engine of War, which is running in Saturdays Victoria Derby, trained by Michael Kent.

I was in disbelief. I went for a long walk and bawled my eyes out. It wasn’t quite a death in the family, but it was devastating.

I called Dad. We were both shattered. Dad was ill, and this news was an extra kick in the guts. One minute, we’re thinking of winning the Golden Slipper, the next we don’t have a horse. Sure, we only owned two-thirds of a hair on a tail, but that’s enough to have you hooked.

I drove around to Dad’s place to give him a hug and work out where to from here. We’ve always loved racing, but this episode took a bit of the joy out of the game for us, even though we still had very small shares in several other horses.

When the insurance payment came through, we debated whether we would buy into another horse. The syndicate we were involved with, MyRacehorse, had found a budding stayer from New Zealand and they were targeting the Derby.

Engine Of War (red silks) won his first race at Sandown in September.

This horse had a strong staying pedigree on both sides of his family. The trials we watched were impressive. At $109 per share, the money was not an issue but were we ready to go through the emotional rollercoaster again?

We reasoned that anything can happen in racing, and we can’t let a freak accident put us off something we love. Plus, owning a horse was primarily about doing something together as family and friends, more than the winning. So we got back on the horse, so to speak.

The horse was Engine Of War, a three-year-old who had run third at his only start to be trained by Mick Price and Michael Kent jnr.

As a diehard Carlton supporter, Engine’s arrival in the middle of the year came at a good time. It was a welcome distraction from my beloved Blues’ on-field struggles, not to mention the constant chatter about my daughter’s favourite players changing clubs.

Engine Of War (red silks) was narrowly beaten at Flemington in September.

When he won at his first start for us, midweek in a three-year-old maiden at Sandown in September, we thought we may have found another good one. The market agreed – Engine Of War became the Derby favourite.

He got beaten by a lip at his next race at Flemington over 1800 metres, but we’d banked enough prizemoney to guarantee us a start in the Derby.

In between runs, we had even better news from the doctor with Dad. He had made a full recovery.

So we – my wife Kirsten and our daughters Lauren and Hannah, and Trent and his partner Laura – headed to the track on Caulfield Cup day, also my birthday, with high hopes.

Engine was having his final run before the Derby in the Norman Robinson Stakes, a race that has historically proven a strong form guide.

Though we started favourite, we didn’t have to win to go to the Derby with confidence. A strong finish and a top-four placing would have been enough. Instead, he finished a fading second-last in the eight-horse field. The racing roller-coaster had got us again.

I was flat. We all were. In a matter of minutes, we had gone from being one of the Derby favourites to possibly not running at all. At least the horse was well.

Despite the run, our trainers still kept the faith. Our jockey, Mark Zahra, didn’t. He jumped ship for the favourite. I don’t blame him. It’s a business, after all.

We’re hopeful with a change of gear and tactics, plus the rise in distance, that Engine Of War will run a much better race in the Derby.

We’ll be there at Flemington cheering our boy home. Unfortunately, Dad can’t be there, but it’d be great on Saturday night to pull into his place for a celebratory hug.

Heath Linton is the office manager at The Age

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