Photo: Cornege Photography
Don Goodwin, the breeder of 11-time Group One winner Verry Elleegant, has passed away, aged 86.
Goodwin was a proud student of thoroughbred pedigrees, and it was this passion that led him to acquiring Verry Elleegant’s dam, Opulence, to send to Grangewilliam Stud stallion Zed, for whom he was a shareholder.
It was purchasing Opulence off trainer Nicholas Bishara that set the wheels in motion for the formation of a lucrative partnership and friendship between the pair, which took them on the ride of a lifetime.
“I had the mare, Opulence, we won a couple of races and she ended up flipping over in a freak accident in the paddock and hurt her spine, so she couldn’t race on,” Bishara said.
“We put her in-foal to Towkay and we didn’t have land at that stage so we decided to sell her. We put her in the sale and Don, who was into his pedigrees, bought her (for $14,000) specifically to go to Zed.
“He put the weanling filly foal in the sales, so we snaffled that up (for $2,000) and she turned out to be (three-time winner) Black Lace.”
Opulence went on to have a further six live foals, five of those by Zed, including Group Three performer Verry Flash, Grand National Hurdle (4200m) winner Affluential, and most notably Verry Elleegant.
Verry Elleegant showed immense talent from day one and won two of her three starts for Bishara before she was partly sold, with the ownership group expanding to include John, Mark and Rachael Carter and a group of their Auckland friends, along with a number of Australians, including Aziz “Ozzie” Kheir and Brae Sokolski.
She was subsequently transferred to leading Victorian trainer Darren Weir, for whom she had four starts, including victory in the Gr.3 Ethereal Stakes (2000m) and placed in the Gr.2 Edward Manifold Stakes (1600m), before she joined leading Sydney trainer Chris Waller’s barn following Weir’s disqualification.
Verry Elleegant was a very raw individual with her eccentric and ungainly galloping style, but under Waller she matured into a world-class racehorse and won a further 13 races, 11 of those at elite-level, highlighted by her popular victory in the 2021 edition of the Gr.1 Melbourne Cup (3200m).
Conquering Europe was on the minds of a few of her owners and the decision was made to head to France with the mare, who had an unsuccessful four-start campaign for trainer Francis-Henri Graffard before she was retired from racing and was subsequently served by Sea The Stars.
Her performances on the track earned her a string of accolades, including Australian Horse of the Year (2020-21), Champion Australian Stayer (2020-21 and 2021-22), Champion Australian Middle-Distance Horse in (2020-21), and Joint Head of 2021 WBR Rankings (Ext.).
Bishara, who remained in the syndicate of owners of Verry Elleegant with Goodwin prior to selling their shares ahead of her European campaign, said he shared some of his biggest highlights with Goodwin when racing the great mare.
“We had a lot of good times together, particularly with Verry Elleegant,” Bishara said. “We had a magical ride.
“The only regret we had is that we couldn’t get to Melbourne during COVID to see her win the Melbourne Cup, that was a real disappointment.”
While they enjoyed plenty of memorable moments with Verry Elleegant, they also enjoyed plenty of success with her full-brother Verry Flash, who won 14 races, including the Listed Rangitikei Gold Cup (1600m), and placed twice in the Gr.3 Winter Cup (1600m).
“He was a terrific horse in his own right but was overshadowed by Verry Elleegant,” Bishara said.
“I think it is an appropriate time to retire him now and he will go to Rowena (Smyth, former jockey) who rode so many wins on him, she will give him a great life.”
Through the success of his breeding endeavours through his broodmate gem Opulence, Goodwin was named the inaugural winner of the New Zealand Small Breeder of the Year Award for 2020-21.
While racing was Goodwin’s passion later in life, rugby was his first love, and he spent years dedicated to the sport.
“He played and coached a lot of rugby, he was very passionate about the sport,” Bishara said.
“He was in Suburbs Rugby and he coached the Carter boys (John and Mark of Jomara Bloodstock), and that’s how they got them into the (Verry Elleegant) syndicate.”
While Goodwin lost Opulence in 2022 and Zed passed away earlier this year, he was excited about the prospects of their last daughter Verry Stella, who is in training with Chris Waller, who also has her full-brother, So Suave, in work.
“Waller has got the cracking full to Verry Elleegant, and they tell me that she is a gorgeous filly,” Bishara said. “It’s a shame he (Goodwin) wasn’t around a little bit longer.”
Bishara said Goodwin would be greatly missed, and he will forever remember the great times they shared.
“He was a generous man who was into his horses and pedigrees,” Bishara said. “We had a great time racing Verry Elleegant, she was an absolute freak.”
