Having been a pony-mad youngster growing up in Northern Ireland, enjoying showing horses and competing in show jumping, and then gaining work experience with a number of agents and studs and finally setting up her own Newmarket-based agency, Kerri Radcliffe might be said to be the typical horsewoman.
But that would drastically underestimate her. For Radcliffe has a far wider international outlook than most of her peers, and she is in possession of an active mind that bounces from one subject - and often continent - to another.
In a telephone conversation as she prepares to inspect the stock on offer at the Keeneland November Breeding-Stock Sale, she discusses her recent purchases in Kentucky and plans to base herself in Florida for a short period next year before debating the likelihood of lockdown restrictions allowing her to get to Australia for the Magic Millions yearling sales in January.
While martialing her thoughts on those travel plans she ponders aloud how she might go about setting up a women-only syndicate in the UK, before picking up the previous topic exactly where she left off.
Putting in the airmiles
Surely it must be exhausting, being so restless in both the literal sense of living out of a suitcase and in the psychological sense of always percolating ideas?
“It’s not so bad really,” she says. “It’s hard work but it’s also my passion. I love the horses and I love everything about the industry, so I don’t mind putting in the hours and the airmiles. You’ve only got one life so you might as well live it. That’s my philosophy.
“And mentally I’m just always thinking ahead to the next step. Where will my next client come from? Will I be able to persuade someone to buy a horse if I go to this auction or that?
“I don’t often buy many mares, but I bought one the other night [Light The City, the dam of G1-placed 2-year-old Illumination, who was sourced by Radcliffe for $900,000 as a yearling from Saratoga] and now I’m already thinking of next sale at Magic Millions. If I go there, what can I do? Who can I buy for?”
Radcliffe should not need to do too much arm-twisting of potential investors as she has compiled an impressive roll of honour of horses bought in recent years, including U.S. Grade 1 winners Dream Tree, Nadal and Volatile, and Dubai World Cup and Belmont Stakes runner-up Gronkowski.
She has also made a splash in Australia by purchasing Away Game, who won the valuable Magic Millions 2yo Classic and G2 Percy Sykes Stakes and ran second in the prestigious Golden Slipper this year. A $425,000 Gold Coast yearling purchase, the Snitzel filly has earned more than A$2.7 million in prize money, including a A$325,000 female-owner bonus for her sales race success.
But it is American racing that Radcliffe holds particularly close to her heart.
“I just love it,” she says. “I feel like people here genuinely want you to do well and everyone enjoy your success. I love that, in a usual year, we can have runners at stunning tracks like Del Mar and Santa Anita on one coast and Saratoga on the other. And it’s so lovely to go out onto the track in the morning and watch the top handlers train their horses.
More variation in America
“I sometimes think I might be the only British-based person who likes American racing so much, but it just seems a much more even playing field over here. Even if you have a very good 3-year-old in Europe, it’s difficult to win at the top level as you’re competing against the very best breeding and training operations - the likes of Coolmore, Godolphin and Juddmonte.
“In the U.S., there's a broader range of people involved in ownership and more variation in the pedigrees of the top horses. Look at Authentic: okay, he’s an Into Mischief co-owned by Spendthrift, but there’s 5,000-odd people from all walks of life who joined the MyRacehorse syndicate who have a share in him. Winning the Kentucky Derby seems more achievable than the Epsom Derby, and it’s my ultimate goal.”
After her current stint in America, Radcliffe is planning to revisit the Gold Coast in January - Covid-19 restrictions allowing - to take part in the sale and to watch Away Game hopefully contest the Magic Millions 3yo Guineas. “Although it might be better if I stay away,” she laughs, “as I missed the race this year due to being in California with Nadal and she won - I can be very superstitious!”
On her return from Australia Radcliffe plans to reside in Ocala for around six weeks from late January to get acquainted with some of the horses who will be heading to the 2-year-olds in training sales in the spring.
“I actually got stuck in Ocala earlier this year due to lockdown,” she says. “Obviously I’m not complaining, as there are worse places to be stranded and it meant I could ride the 2-year-olds I’d bought and keep their owners updated on how they were doing.
“The plan is to go there again in January so I can observe some of the lots for the 2-year-olds in training sales being prepped, and maybe even sit on a few of the fillies heading for the main sales. That way I can get a handle on how well they’ve developed and taken their training when I return to see them go under the hammer. I take lots of pictures and videos so I can see how they’ve grown and progressed.”
Being an accomplished rider gives Radcliffe a valuable USP in her agency work.
“I think that affinity for horses is definitely a help,” she says. “If you can ride some of the horses, you can give feedback to owners alongside what they’ll hear from the trainer, so it makes me more than just a bloodstock agent doing the bidding and buying.”
Such a full travel schedule sounds punishing but Radcliffe isn’t complaining.
“I’m supposed to be Newmarket-based, but I don’t seem to spend much time there,” she says. “In fact I was there more than I usually would be this year because of Covid-19, but I did manage to get a good bit of time in France, and spent a morning on the gallops in Chantilly with Andre Fabre.
“It’s just incredible getting to learn from great horsemen like him and Bob Baffert. Paul Shanahan is another who I regularly go to for advice on horses. You never stop learning in this business and I’ve had the privilege of learning from the best.”
More time spent travelling around stables and yards also means more time spent with her beloved horses.
“I get far too attached to them - it's become something of a joke,” she laughs.
“I’m visiting Claiborne [in Kentucky] tomorrow to see Nemoralia, who I bought as a 2-year-old and is very much my baby. Walker Hancock [Claiborne Farm president] told me to remember to bring the Kleenex!”