3 minute read

Kevin Pratt only decided to get involved in racing to bring joy to his ailing sister.

Now the Sydney-based Kiwi is relishing the joy of racing on a whole new level himself.

Pratt's first foray into racing was the purchase of King Kamada and Petone Prince.

His sister Brenda Taylor loved horses but was dying of cancer and the move to own racehorses had the desired effect.

"She loved it. The last race she watched was the Summer Cup at Trentham. She was propped up in her bed to watch King Kamada win. She died only a few days later," Pratt said.

By that stage Pratt was hooked on racing too and had made moves to grow his interest - and though he was Sydney based he invested heavily in New Zealand.

"We've enjoyed it so much, we've just carried on," he said.

With well-known businessman and racehorse owner John Street, Pratt bought land on the outskirts of Palmerston North and established Kamada Park, which now occupies 110 acres and offers public pre-training and agistment through farm manager Bruce Herd.

As well as the growing racehorse numbers, which now tally 35 - mostly with Awapuni trainer Lisa Latta but also including one in Sydney, one in Singapore and one standardbred, Pratt has begun breeding from three broodmares and Herd will prepare three youngsters for the Ready To Run Sale of two-year-olds at Karaka later this year.

Pratt has broken his investment down to three parts - Kamada Racing, Kamada Park and Kamada Bloodstock - as he continues to grow yet refine his business model.

"I'd like to win some big races. We are always keen to make it bigger and better and become more professional," Pratt said.

"We can take up to 100 horses at Kamada Park. Bruce is an excellent breaker and pre-trainer and we've got a lot of horses on our books to be broken in. And we've bought some land down at the racecourse and got involved with a lot of lovely people."

King Kamada has been Pratt's main flagbearer, having progressed from his 2014 Summer Cup win at Trentham to finish second in last year's Gr.1 Auckland Cup (3200m) at Ellerslie, as well as finishing second in two Gr.2 Avondale Cups and a Gr.3 Manawatu Cup, third in the Gr.3 City Of Auckland Cup and fourth in the Gr.2 Wellington Cup.

Among other leading runners is talented filly Bella Court, runner-up in the Gr.3 Eulogy Stakes at Awapuni and Gr.3 Desert Gold Stakes at Trentham this season, and Kolonel Kev, who ran third to Volkstok'n'barrell in last year's Gr.2 Great Northern Guineas at Ellerslie.

While he likes to consider himself retired, Pratt admits he is "busier than ever" with a diverse array of business interests on both sides of the Tasman, ranging from property to orchards and retail, having made his fortune through developing and selling a rendering business in Australia, where he has lived for the past 30 years.

But despite his family and home being in Sydney, Pratt said there was far more appeal in having his horses in New Zealand.

"I just love it. I love the people I've met in the racing industry. I go down to the races and everyone comes up and says 'hi Kevin' and I know I wouldn't enjoy it to the same extent in Australia."