Off The Track - Key Symbol

This article is from the November 2019 Horse Deals magazine.

Somehow, we don’t think of hunting as a calming environment, but quite often, especially for a racehorse, it proves to be an agreeable occupation. They are permitted to bowl along at a reasonable pace, they are not overly restricted and they are in a herd environment. Whilst being contained and educated is important, they are not put under the training constraints of dressage or the exacting discipline of showjumping. If they have a competent jockey, they are given a certain liberty that they would be unlikely to find in any other discipline after racing. Key Symbol is a horse that made a wonderful transition from successful racehorse to successful hunter, thanks to experienced hunting man, Gerard Hurry who rides with the Oaklands Hounds.

Key Symbol foaled in 2002 was bred, owned and raced by the Wilde family from Warrnambool and trained by Symon and Bill Wilde. He is by Fraar (USA) a grandson of Northern Dancer on his sire line and out of a mare by Key Dancer (NZ), a son of Northern Dancer, with Century on the dam line. You would expect an athlete and that is what they got. Key Symbol had 63 races for 13 wins, most on the flat but he had a number of successful starts over the steeples, amassing a very respectable $150,946 in prizemoney. He won the Mortlake, Dunkeld and Coleraine Cups and in 2009 was a contender for Country Racehorse Of The Year. At the Royal Melbourne Show this year, ridden by owner, Gerard Hurry and competing in the colours of the Oaklands Hunt Club, Key Symbol was declared Champion Qualified Hunter for the most successful overall and also took out the inaugural Darren Green Memorial Award for the highest aggregate score in the two hunter plates.

Gerard takes us back to the beginning of his career transition. “A friend told me that they were about to retire him from racing. I knew of him, because I follow racing quite closely. I googled him and came up with a photo at Warrnambool in 2013 of him making a huge jump. He is certainly worth going to see, I thought. I rang up Bill and Symon and went down to Warrnambool to pick him up. I spoke to his regular jockey, Irishman, Shane Jackson who said he was a tough, sound horse. The Fraar’s have a reputation for being tough horses and bold jumpers.

“I wanted him for hunting and when I got him home, the next day I took him for a ride in the reserve at the back of the Living Legends property at Greenvale. I had a trot and a canter around and he was pretty good. He was a little concerned about the trail bikes and the kangaroos, but I popped him over a couple of logs and it was obvious he was a 100% bold jumper. I would not say he was a quiet horse, but he was certainly manageable and I was very happy with him straight away. He had 63 starts and he had pretty much seen everything, so I was into it straight away. I was a ten-minute ride from the Oaklands Hunt grounds that was well set up with hunting panels to school him over. He was a beautifully broken in horse and lovely to deal with on the ground, but in racing he always liked to be at the front. He could be strong back in the field, but it suited him much better when I whipped in and was at the front with the hounds.

“I spent a lot of time schooling him over the summer and taking him for trail rides to get him to relax and his first hunt was the Oaklands opening meet in 2014. Right from the start, I always knew he would jump anything I pointed him at and he worked out really quickly what it was all about. And in our second season he began to listen to the hounds and the moment they gave voice, his ears would prick in anticipation and he knew it was game on. He will jump wire too, which is handy if the hounds go where they shouldn’t. He did his first Melbourne Royal Show in 2014 and we came home with a ribbon. We have been to every Melbourne Show since except 2018 when I took a year off riding.

“We claimed the Qualified Hunter’s Championship in 2016 when we were second in both the SA Greaves Memorial Hunter’s Plate and the Noel Mason Memorial Hunter’s Plate. Key Symbol is a lovely horse to ride and a real gentleman. For some time, my daughter, Scarlet took him to pony club and there were times when he hunted on Saturday and went to pony club on Sunday. I had my heart in my mouth the first time she rode him in her pony club horse trials. The moment I legged her up he knew it was different and he went like an absolute dream for her. She was 14 and he never put a foot wrong; he just popped around and delivered her back to me at the end.

“Last year, because I wasn’t riding, I was asked to be the Horse Superintendent at Melbourne Royal and I did the job again this year, but I was determined to ride. I was placed on the flat, was second in the Noel Mason and third in the SA Greaves and a member of the second-placed Trios Team. I was just so thrilled to win the Darren Green Memorial and it was very emotional for me, as I knew Darren, who tragically died in a house fire earlier this year, very well. When I first started hunting, Darren took me under his wing. I remember the first time he saw Key Symbol jump a panel at Oaklands, he called out TRIOS!? And I yelled back, yes. He is a great loss to our community and he was very much missed at Melbourne.

“Key Symbol has just turned 17 and he is fit and well and I plan to do a bit of showjumping with him over the summer, give him a couple of months off then back hunting next year. I think he has another three or four seasons in him. He still has a following from his racing connections who are interested in his second career. The Wildes say they will always take him back if I don’t want him, but I won’t do that. When the time comes, I will retire him up at mum’s farm at Oaklands Junction.

“Key Symbol is the best horse I have had, he is a beautiful, bold and athletic horse.”

Article written by Anna Sharply.

Sign up to our newsletter