PICK A WINNER
Long lunches unearth a winning partnership
A FEW long lunches with an old mate has quickly turned into a powerful stable of horses for Holloways Beach-based businessman Winton Veall.
Veall had horses in the 1980s when living in Melbourne but none since, up until the past 12 months.
His career has taken him all around Australia, working on the stock market, as a property developer, as well as other relevant business interests, even over to Bali for a short while, living in a villa in Seminyak.
Veall has been visiting FNQ since 1993 but only permanently made the move in September of 2018, now based on the waterfront at Holloways.
He had not been in horses for decades, until a couple of long lunches with local bookmaker, horse owner and close mate Brian Jorgensen twisted his arm.
Veall was also a bookmaker in his younger days down in Victoria, as well as trying his hand at a singing career at one stage.
He was front page news of the old Sporting Globe newspaper in Melbourne many a decade ago, branded the up and coming bookmaker in town.
Jorgensen owns the City Sheridan, Cairns Rainbow Resort and the Cairns Southside International and has been a long-time participant, bookmaker and follower of the racing industry.
Brian’s son Chris, also involved in those fields of the racing industry, has a share of many of the horses, including North Afrika.
Just a few months later, Veall (above) owns half of the undefeated gelding that is getting international interest, a Listed race winner in Brisbane and now one of the big favourites in Friday’s Cairns Cup.
North Afrika, trained out of Rockhampton by Jared Wehlow, looms as being very hard to beat in Friday’s big one over 2100m for $85,000.
And, as Veall explains, it all came about after a few extended luncheons with his mate, Jorgensen.
“I only got involved with these horses because I knew Brian and we got on well, he floated the idea of buying horses, so I got on board,” Veall said.
“I would not go so far to say I was inebriated (laughs) at these lunches, but we were just chucking around ideas, Brian owns three motels in town and is a well-known bookmaker, so we went and got them.”
The idea quickly turned into eight horses, with four more on top of that. Thousands of dollars were spent on buying them, but they now have plenty of cash coming back in with all the winning they have done.
North Afrika, Derulo and Inquiry have arguably been three of the better performed north Queensland horses across 2020.
Group 1 winning hoop Ryan Wiggins has been on chestnut
North Afrika in his past five trips to the races, including last Thursday’s domination at Cairns, and thinks by Friday evening, Veall and the Jorgensen family are a big chance to be drinking out of a shiny new cup.
“He is a super horse, I am glad he got a look at the track last Thursday,” Wiggins said.
“He was not the same on Thursday, as he had been in recent starts, he did not get around the corners real good and pulled a little bit, I am glad he got a look at the track and got all that out of his system.
“When the Cup comes around, he knows what he has to do and what it is like out there.
“He drops six kilograms, it is going to take a very good horse to run me down in the Cairns Cup.”
North Afrika was previously with trainers Pat Carey and Jason Warren in Victoria and Veall thinks the hotter climates of Queensland is helping the emerging stayer.
And, what about winning the famous Cairns Cup just a handful or so months after getting back in the horse ownership game?
“A local victory is always very well received,” Veall said.
“North Afrika broke the track record the other day, his times have been great, but he was running all over the place, getting used to the Cairns track.
“I am glad I gave him that run.”
History is on the side of local owners for the Cairns Cup, with the past two winners We Just Love It and The Harrovian having FNQ-based groups of connections. .