In 2012, Magic Millions brought in a ‘Racing Women’s Bonus’ to encourage female participation in the racing industry in the form of ownership. Fast forward a decade and the number of women in the industry has skyrocketed and on a continual rise.
In recent times, a new pathway for women is ‘Go Girls Racing’, a brainchild of Shanyn Puddy, a successful partner of the Dream Thoroughbreds Syndicate. She spoke to Adam Page of Justhorseracing to discuss her new and innovative way to get involved in ‘The Great Game’.
AP: G’day Shanyn, hope you’re well and thanks for your time. So, how did Girls Go Racing come to life?
SP: Girls Go Racing is a networking/social group, that is about empowering women in racing, and it’s been something I have wanted to do for some time. From those who are already involved in the industry to those looking to become more involved, it is a supportive and inclusive group where women can get together with other like minded women, and share our mutual love of horse racing.
AP: What does Girls Go Racing do?
SP: We provide social events, networking opportunities, stable visits, trackwork events, racehorse ownership and much more, to educate and encourage women to get involved in the racing industry. We see ourselves as the opportunity for women that have an interest in racing, that don’t necessarily have the direct connections or friendship groups to find an entry point into the racing industry, and in turn support the women that work in many different facets of the racing industry.
AP: Who else is involved besides yourself?
SP: I am the founder of the business, but I have been greatly supported by some awesome women; Kelley Hagenauer, Lisa Coffey and Lauren Houlihan. These ladies are racehorse owners, fabulous supporters of women and love all that racing offers. Lisa Coffey founded Racing Hearts (Equine Assisted Therapy) which is our charity partner.
AP: How has the response been since inception?
SP: The response have been incredible. We sold out our first function which confirmed our belief that a group like Girls Go Racing would be absolutely embraced within the racing industry. The sky is the limit and we have so much more we can achieve and so many more ladies we can connect with.
AP: How many events have there been to date and what is coming up in the future?
SP: Our first social event was held at The Emerald Hotel not that long ago and we sold 80 tickets within five days. This event was hosted by Kate Watts from Racing.com. We had some amazing guest speakers from within the racing industry which included Grace Ramage, Lucy Yeomans and Amy Johnston and the women who attended felt welcome and comfortable, meeting new friends.
Our next event will be held at Caulfield on PB Lawrence Stakes Day (Sat 13th August). We will be having this in the Sunline private suites and will welcome 80 ladies to this day. We again have an amazing group of guest speakers (Greg Hall and MRC Chairman Peter Le Grand) and the lovely Bella Anderson (Racing.com mounting yard expert) will be our host on the day. We have already sold over 50% of the tickets.
AP: I see you have a Written By colt up for syndication. Tell me a bit about him.
SP: We have a few shares available in our next all female syndicate horse which is a stunning Written By yearling colt to be trained by Ash & Amy Yargi at Mornington. He is currently in training and he is an absolute beast. We think he will be an early 2YO runner and the stable and breaker are very happy with him. Shares start as low as $1400 for 1.25%. We’ve had good success with the stable and these all girl syndicates.
AP: That success you speak of is Florescent Star, who goes around tomorrow in the Santa Ana Lane Final at Flemington. She’s knocking on the door.
SP: Florescent Star is currently racing very well and has won four races with her last win being at Flemington. She has earnt over $250K in prizemoney and will be striving again for blacktype this Saturday at Flemington. Our other all girls horse, Hissy Fit, is absolutely flying and we cannot wait to see her get to the races soon.
AP: Most would know you through your association with Dream Thoroughbreds. Everywhere I look your colours are winning and of course you have had some good horses in the past ie I Am Immortal and Mr Sneaky.
SP: Yes we currently have around 40 horses in the Dream Thoroughbreds Stable and have a great winning strike rate around 20% winners to runners. I Am Immortal was a very good horse for us and is still the only dual stakes winning 2YO son of I am Invincible. He is now standing at Swettenham Stud as a stallion and we can’t wait to see his yearlings go through the ring later this year. He won the Blue Diamond Prelude and the Blue Diamond Preview at his first two starts so that was a massive thrill.
We also have had great success with Mr Sneaky (second in the G1 Rupert Clarke) and a regular winner at Caulfield and Flemington, and his brother Mr So and So who placed in a G2 who was then sold to Hong Kong.
We have some very exciting horses at the moment ie Unanimous, Open Minded, Set to Prophet and Heywood in Melbourne, Amathuba in NSW along with Self Indulgent and Soothsayer in QLD to name a few, so we hope to continue our “Dream Run”.
For further details on Girls Go Racing, go to their Twitter account @GirlsGoRacing and to buy a ticket for the event at Caulfeild on August 13, click here.