Tregea lauds star stayer
INCENTIVISE TOOK HIM ON RIDE OF HIS LIFE
RENOWNED Toowoomba horseman Steve Tregea knows he will like never produce another horse like Incentivise, but will never forget the meteoric ride his star stayer took him on.
While he sold out his remaining ownership in the horse following his secondplaced finish in the 2021 Melbourne Cup, Tregea will always remain connected to Incentivise after he bred and raised him on his Windermere Stud property on the Darling Downs.
Incentivise won six consecutive races for Tregea, culminating in a Group 3 Tatt’s Cup 12-length blitz in 2021, before making his way to Peter Moody’s stable in Victoria.
The three-time Group 1 winner was retired on Saturday, after sustaining another setback in what was his planned return to racing following a fetlock injury suffered in the Melbourne Cup.
Following his injury, which was only discovered after Tregea sent him to the Gatton University Vet Hospital, he said the superstar was a “50-50” chance to return to racing, despite more optimism from other connections.
After breeding hundreds of horses, Tregea said Incentivise was simply a freak of nature, which defied his breeding.
“It was one of those things. He wasn’t bred to run two miles, possibly 10 furlongs (2000m), but he looked so much like a stayer, so that’s all we were ever hanging on to with him,” he said.
“There wasn’t much else to hang on to with him, but in the end it’s how it turned out.
“We were right with him, but you can be wrong so many times – you could be wrong 100 times and be right once – we just happened to be right this time.”
Tregea, who has partly retired from training and has handed most of his horses over to his trusted offsider Josh King – Incentivise’s former work rider – is keen to see the $5.7m stakes earner enjoy his retirement.
“He deserves a nice home, but no more than all horses do when they finish racing,” he said.
“I don’t know if he could get into Living Legends, they might let him into there, who knows, maybe they should try and bring him back to Queensland.
“(Managing owner) Ozzie (Kheir) sent me a text saying what a great ride it was and it was a shame the way it turned out, as did some of the other owners.”