Rogie backing Ferrando with innovative ownership club

Hall of Famer Graeme Rogerson has long been known for his enterprising approach to all things racing, and he’s come up with another innovation with the launch this week of the Ferrando Racing Club.
As its name suggests, the concept revolves around former brilliant Rogerson-trained sprinter Ferrando, who won eight races up to Group Three level and placed twice in the Gr. 1 Telegraph, including a hair’s-breadth second in the big Trentham sprint.
Ferrando subsequently embarked on a stud career under Rogerson’s management, and rising two-year-olds members of his first crop have been put together in an enticing package. Having already supported Ferrando heavily at stud, Rogerson has selected a dozen members of that first crop for the inaugural draft of horses to be raced by the Ferrando Racing Club.
“He’s a horse that I’ve always had a lot of time for – he’s the fastest horse I’ve trained – and it’s probably fair to say I like him even more with the progeny he’s leaving,” Rogerson told RaceForm. “We’ve broken in 28 of them and after what I’ve seen as they’ve gone through the early stages, I’m convinced they’ll be just as good as he was.
“I’ve got a lot of faith in Ferrando, so I’ve put together a package of six colts and six fillies by him to lease to subscribers to the Racing Club. There are 50 spots for people to sign up to at $10,000, which entitles them to race these horses for the 2023-24 season.
“It’s a one-off payment with no extra costs, people can sign up by themselves or with a group of friends, and any stakes the horses earn will be shared with the club members every three months. If we sell any horse in the package during the season, club members will be paid 50 per cent of the sale proceeds.”
In the short time that Rogerson has canvassed current clientele and newcomers, he has realised the concept has a lot of appeal, which he puts down to its unique nature, including the one-off subscription payment.
“That’s what people seem to want – no ongoing expenses with a good chance of an early return. They can expect a lot of fun with this bunch of young horses, they all look like they’ll get up and run.”
Ferrando, a son of the Group One-siring Redoute’s Choice stallion Fast ’N’ Famous, won his first start as an August three-year-old and another three from his next five starts, capped by the Gr. 3 Mr Tiz Trophy at Ellerslie. At four years he added another three wins, including the Listed Lightning Handicap, having earlier finished third down the same Trentham 1200m chute in the Gr. 1 Telegraph, beaten less than half a length by multiple Group One winners Enzo’s Lad and Kawi.
Twelve months later Ferrando was back at Trentham for his second crack at the Telegraph, only to be denied victory by the narrowest possible margin. “It took the judge five minutes to make his decision – it was that close,” Rogerson recalls. “If he had won the Telegraph he would have been sold for a lot of money, but if that had happened we wouldn’t be doing this now, and I just know the Ferrando Racing Club will be a lot of fun.
“It’s all been signed off with NZTR, people are coming on board, we’ve launched a dedicated website this week (www.ferrandoracingclub.com) and we’re having an open day here at Tuhikaramea on the last Sunday of the month to show off the horses in the club.
“Some of them will be up and running at the first trials of the season and be ready go when two-year-old racing kicks off a few weeks later.
“There are some exciting times ahead with the stakes increases that have just been announced and this is the chance for people to join in and make the most of it.”
Ferrando left a big impression last Sunday as part of the Westbury Stud stallion parade, having relocated to the Gerry Harvey-owned nursery ahead of the 2023 breeding season.
“We’ve managed him until now, but I was keen to take his stud career to another level,” Rogerson added. “Gerry and I go back a long way and all it took was to show him some of Ferrando’s yearlings and he was sold on the idea of having him at Westbury.”
Ferrando will stand at a fee of $5,000 this spring, with not only Rogerson but also Westbury Stud general manager Russell Warwick confident of his future.
“He’s got a lot going for him,” says Warwick. “He’s a very athletic horse with quality performance to match his sprinter’s pedigree, and he’s a welcome addition to join our proven Group One stallions Tarzino, Redwood, Reliable Man, El Roca and Swiss Ace.”