By Bill Finley
You can say this much for John Stewart, he doesn't think small.
Looking to build a stable that can compete at the highest level not only in the U.S. but all over the world, the owner will compete in Sunday's G1 Japan Cup with his newest acquisition, the gelding Goliath (Ger) (Adlerflug {(Ger)}. Stewart purchased a majority interest in Goliath after he won the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes at odds of 25-1. Since, he has won the G2 Prix du Conseil de Paris Stakes at ParisLongchamp Oct. 20 as a prep for the Japan Cup.
“My goal is I want the best horses racing all over the world,” Stewart said by phone from Japan.
Goliath was so dominant in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth that Stewart believes he should be considered among the best horses on the planet.
“I saw him run in the King George, and before that he really wasn't on my radar,” Stewart said. “And me and [Director of Breeding for Stewart's Resolute Racing] Chelsey [Stone] are big fans of Auguste Rodin, who he beat. We had visited him at Coolmore and we knew he was going to be retiring. We plan to breed to him with some of our horses because 80% of our program is turf. We're big fans of Aidan O'Brien, and we are good friends with the Coolmore team.”
All signs point to Goliath, who is four, running a big race in Japan, but he will again have to beat, among others, Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), whose wins include the 2023 GI Longines Breeders' Cup Turf and the 2024 G1 Prince of Wales Stakes for the Coolmore team. That's fine by Stewart, as he not only wants to win the biggest races in the world, but to beat the best horses across the planet.
“I had fun with Coolmore,” Stewart said. “MV Magnier and I have become pretty good friends. They've sold me some great horses and when I bought this horse he asked 'where are you going to race him?' I said, I don't know, 'Where's Auguste Rodin going to race?' He said 'Why does that matter?' I said, 'Because that's where he is going to go race. I love those guys, but I want to beat them.”
Stewart, who runs under the name of Resolute Racing, wants to take on all comers.
“Think about it, in my first year I've had a horse in the Kentucky Derby,” he said. “I've had horses at Royal Ascot. I've had a horse in the Golden Slipper. I had a horse in the Everest and now I have a horse in the Japan Cup. It's fun. Who doesn't want to be in all those races?”
When it comes to Goliath, he didn't have to be part of a bidding war that included the usual suspects. That's because Goliath is a gelding. While most owners who have the means to buy a horse of his caliber and looking ahead to when the horse can be retired to stud, Stewart doesn't think that way.
Goliath | ScoopDyga
“With the gelding, you don't have to buy a hundred percent of the horse,” Stewart said. “That's because there are no breeding rights. You just need to control the horse. You're going to see me do more of that.”
Still, some wondered why anyone would pay a hefty sum for a gelding.
“Remember, my operation is about breed to race,” Stewart said. “So I'm a firm believer that too many of our horses are being retired early.”
After the purchase, Stewart could have gone in many different directions, including a start in the Breeders' Cup Turf at Del Mar. But he didn't believe that would be the best spot for his horse.
“The reason we didn't go to Breeders Cup, the track is too tight,” he said. “It doesn't set up well for these foreign horses to come over and to run, especially the Europeans where the tracks are a lot wider and bigger and the turns are more sweeping. Trust me, I want to win the Breeders Cup and we finished third [in the GI Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf] with Didia. To me, the ultimate races to win in the U.S. are the Derby and Breeders' Cup races. But with the track configurations it makes it tough for foreign horses. I'm a little frustrated that it's back-to-back at Del Mar.”
Another race he wants to win is the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and he is hoping that French racing authorities change the rules so that geldings can compete.
“If they want to say it's the best race in the world then geldings shouldn't be excluded,” he said.
Stewart wants these races so badly that he often throws in incentives for the winning trainers and jockeys. He has promised jockey Christophe Soumillon and trainer Francis-Henri Graffard that he will buy them each a Porsche should Goliath win the Japan Cup.
“I put out incentives for all of my jockeys and trainers,” Stewart said. “If you're a jockey for me and you win a Grade III, you get a $25,000 bonus. For a Grade II, you get $35,000, and for a Grade I you get $50,000. That all started in the New York Stakes with Didia. When Mike Repole and I kind of got into an argument, I told Jose [Ortiz] if he beat Repole, I'd give him a hundred grand. And so he did, and I gave him a hundred grand. I think aligning the incentives is really smart business.”
Goliath | photo by Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images
Stewart made his first big splash in racing when he spent lavishly at the 2023 November bloodstock sales. He was much quieter this time around. Why?
“I had all these people saying I was broke,” he said. “People have no idea how much money I've spent in the industry in the last year. But they said John didn't show up, he must not have any money. Actually, I bought a business for $350 million in Germany during the sales. My private equity business is what affords me the opportunity to do all the stuff I'm doing in the horse industry. So I had to take care of that. I'm not the type of person that's going to have to send somebody else to the auction and buy all the horses because I'm involved in selecting the horses that we're buying. And so I've already got 53 yearlings for next year, and I bought a lot of mares as they were running this year, like Didia and others.”
He wishes that more American owners thought the way he does.
“In America, we're terrible about taking our best horses and going and racing them elsewhere,” Stewart said. “And that's something I want to do as I build my fan base in the US. I saw the Japan Cup as an opportunity to fast track that whole kind of agenda and create some excitement around this horse.”
What's next for Goliath and Didia (Arg) (Orpen) or any of the other star horses he owns now or will in the future.? You can expect anything other than the ordinary.
“There's an opportunity globally because I already have horses in Australia,” he said. “I bought some at Arqana and I'm going to have a few over in Europe. My goal is I want the best horses racing all over the world. I have some plans for Didia and when I'm ready to reveal that, I'll let you guys know, but it's going to shock everybody what my plans are for her. This is stuff that other people aren't doing. Because I'm the new guy, I can take more risks and chances even though people write me off. They say I don't know what I'm doing or I'm crazy or whatever. I know exactly what I'm doing.”
Today @GraffardRacing and @CSoumillon stopped by @Porsche @PorscheJP to pick out their bonuses for winning the Japan Cup this weekend.
Seems fitting they selected Porsche given GOLIATH's German origins. 🇩🇪 @horseracing_jpn @HR_Nation @WHR @horseracing_jp @jp_horseracing… pic.twitter.com/J3hjtwHpHd
— Jstewartrr (@jstewartrr) November 21, 2024
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