By Patrick Bartley
For over 40 years, Wally and George Daly, like so many racing enthusiasts across Australia, have worked tirelessly to achieve that special pedigree click that delivers a racehorse that is one of the best of its time.
The pair tinkered with new matings, shared in the joy of winning major races, and were there for each other when a beautifully bred filly or colt was suddenly killed in a freak accident.
Jockey Craig Williams after Vega Magic won Race 7, the New Zealand Bloodstock Memsie Stakes, at Caulfield Racecourse on Saturday, September 2. Credit: MAL FAIRCLOUGH
George trained the horses, while brother Wally established himself as one of the leading publicans of Perth.
On Saturday, the brothers proudly watched as their strong and robust, five-year-old sprinter Vega Magic won its third straight race - the Memsie Stakes - since being moved to the eastern states.
The only downside is that the brothers' highly successful partnership now has to take on a significant change.
George, the man whose insights had driven their thoroughbred side of the business for so long, is now largely in the background following a complex hip replacement surgery some five years ago and has slowly removed himself from the front line of training. As a result, Vega Magic was transferred to trainer Sean Casey.
Vega Magic returned some extraordinary winning performances while in Perth, promoting Casey to tell the Daly brothers that there was possibly two Cox Plates in the horse.
"I told Sean we'd settle for just one. Sadly George has had to back away from the business. He was meticulous with what the horses ate from the feed bin up until what time they ran on the track," Wally said.
"It is sad, we're like all brothers, we've had our fights but we share days like Memsie day, because after all that's what we strive to do.
"George wisely told me many years ago that when horses get to the level of Vega Magic they are the public's horse, not ours. We've got to be so careful about what we do with them."
While Vega Magic is now a world class talent, the horse's ability in earlier days attracted the attention of bloodstock agents who were acting on behalf of Hong Kong trainers, and who offered $1 million for the horse. But that was knocked back.
"When we decided to send the horse to David Hayes, Sean and his family were naturally devastated. They knew the talent and brilliance the horse had - only to see him go east," Wally said.
It's said David Hayes took "half a second" to make up his mind to have Vega Magic transported to Victoria to his Euroa base.
And, remarkably, since knocking back $1 million for Vega Magic, he's managed to win the Goodwood Handicap earlier this year, put on for the first time with a stake of $1 million. They managed to win Saturday's Memsie Stakes which only this year received a cash injection, taking it to $1 million. The horse is now a 7-1 chance to win the first running of the $10,000,000 Everest next month.
"If you hear of any other new races with their prizemoney being doubled could you give me a ring," Wally says with a smile.
"It's worth a lot of money and we're basically leaving it to David to see if the horse gets a slot in the race. But it's a nice position to be in."
Wally and his brother were starting to pace the floor early on Sunday morning as Vega Magic's mother was due to give birth to a half sister or brother to the champion sprinter.
"We're like a couple of expectant fathers. I'm walking up and down in my hotel room because Admirable is a week late from foaling. We just hope everything goes all right.
"It's a marvellous game but, of course, I was a bit unfortunate because I had to have a brother who was a horse trainer but was constantly on the lookout for new partners and I was the first call he'd make," Wally quips .
George Daly cannot travel anymore and remained at home in Perth and watched Vega Magic stride away with another group 1 success and another large tick to their ability to study pedigrees.
As brothers they now share some wonderful times. And that bond is made even richer since the arrival of Vega Magic.