As All Blacks coach Steve Hansen currently plots a path that could see his beloved national team secure the Rugby World Cup’s William Webb Ellis trophy for an unprecedented third consecutive occasion, it was another team of which he is a member that was lifting its own much sought-after trophy at Moonee Valley recently.
The Chris Waller-trained Nature Strip (Nicconi), who is owned by a trans-Tasman syndicate of racing and sports enthusiasts headed by Australian Rod Lyons, won the Gr.1 Moir Stakes (1000m) at Moonee Valley last week to register his eleventh career victory and second at the highest level.
Hansen is one of a small group of New Zealand owners who are represented in the syndicate along with Patrick Harrison and the man who got Hansen involved in their tight-knit circle, Peter Kean.
Kean, who is an avid rugby and racing enthusiast, is well known in Australasian commercial circles for his work as the Managing Director of Lion Beer, Spirits & Wine New Zealand followed by a stint as Managing Director of Lion Dairy & Drinks based in Melbourne.
Currently in the role of Group International Director for Lion Corporate, as well as being a Director on the New Zealand Rugby Union Board, Kean’s love of all things rugby and racing was inherited from his father and fostered during his years growing up as a publican’s son in the Central Otago region.
“I was brought up in a pub in Bannockburn, Central Otago,” Kean said. “My Dad was a keen racing man, as were my brothers.
“I bought my first horses when I lived in Dunedin about 25 years ago, initially with John Hornbrook who was the chief executive of the Otago Rugby Union and a life-long mate.
“We had mixed success, which is the best way of describing it, although Hornbrook and I reckon we are both jinxes on each other.
“We did win a few though.”
It was through his long-term friendship with Auckland businessman Patrick Harrison that Kean extended his thoroughbred interests to the Australian market, a move that has proved both highly successful and deeply satisfying for him over more than two decades.
“When I moved to Auckland, Paddy Harrison, who has been a mate for over 20 years, invited me to buy into a horse he had shares in who was called Lucky Secret,” Kean said.
“He was a really good horse who won about a million dollars.
“He (Patrick) was kind enough to give me that opportunity which was very good of him.
“We then got involved with Rod Lyons, who calls himself the Group One guru and he is our (syndicate) manager,” he said.
“There are also a few other Aussies and that is the nucleus of the bunch of guys who have been involved in most of the horses since then.”
Around the time that Kean and Harrison were enjoying success with multiple stakes winner Lucky Secret, Kean’s rugby ties helped him introduce Hansen to the group.
“I had known Steve when he was a policeman back in Christchurch,” he said.
“I got to know him through the late Gordon Hunter (Otago Highlanders and Auckland Blues coach).
“I helped manage the Otago team with Gordy back in the mid-nineties and I got to meet Steve.
“I knew he loved his horses and invited him to the Melbourne Cup one year when he was the coach of Canterbury.
“We got talking about horses and one day he asked how he could get involved with Patrick and me.
“I think the first horse he joined us on was Theanswermyfriend and of course he is now in Nature Strip.”
While Kean enjoyed the immense thrill of Nature Strip’s Moir Stakes triumph it is not the first time that he and Harrison have shared in success at the highest level.
“We have managed to have some pretty good horses along the way including Under The Eiffel who won the last race on Melbourne Cup day back in 2011,” Kean said.
“We got presented with the trophy in the exact same location as the Melbourne Cup winner that year which was pretty cool.
“A few years later we got Under the Louvre who went on to win the Stradbroke Handicap (Gr.1, 1400m).
“It’s also quite exciting at the moment as we have a half-brother to Under The Louvre with Chris that we have named Castlecomer.
“He is named after a little place outside Kilkenny where my grandparents came from.
“Rod Lyons normally names all our horses but he was kind enough to let me have this one.”
Kean also currently shares in the ownership of the Gr.1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) contender, Nights Watch, while he and John Hornbrook have lifted their game through their involvement in former New Zealand galloper Ablaze, who won the JJ Houlahan Hurdle (3200m) at Ballarat during the winter to remain unbeaten over jumps since arriving in Australia.
Kean jokingly admits the jumping success of Ablaze may have finally ended a run of outs for he and his Otago rugby mate.
“That win (Houlahan Hurdles) has got rid of the 25 year jinx for Hornbrook and myself, maybe 30 years,” he said.
“He and I are in that one along with Paddy and a few others. Now that it’s won a couple, we can rest easy.”
Kean is still hungry for success, with Nature Strip set to provide his owners with further thrills that could even see them trek to England to support him, while he could also be in the mix for the Waller stable’s vacant slot in the A$14 million Everest (1200m) after the retirement of stablemate Enticing Star.
“We were invited to compete at Royal Ascot this year but we had a good talk with Chris (Waller) and decided to turn the offer down,” he said.
“Chris reasoned he was better placed at the moment back in Australia and since we made that decision he has gone on and won another Group One for us.
“We are hopeful that he might get an invite again which would be an amazing journey to take if he did.
“He’s really just starting to hit his straps now and we believe he is more than just a 1000-1100m horse, which is how most people want to define him.
“The question mark will be stepping up to 1200m in a Group One and of course everyone has an opinion when you have a good horse.
“We’re going to leave the decisions to Chris as he is the master and at present, he is keeping his options open.
“Whatever happens we’re very thankful and have had a hell of a lot of fun along the way. “Long may it continue.”
