‘You have to enjoy it while it lasts’
Ozzie Kheir on his remarkable run in racehorse ownership
Racing has taken owner Ozzie Kheir on a magic carpet ride during the past two years.
In that time, he’s won a Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m), Caulfield Cup (Gr 1, 2400m), Cox Plate (Gr 1, 2040m), The Everest (1200m), Blue Diamond (Gr 1, 1200m) and, on Saturday, he added the Australian Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) to his overflowing treasure chest of racing trophies, thanks to the history-making effort of Hitotsu (Maurice).
Just to make you feel even giddier, Kheir was also involved in the ownership of three Group 1 winners the previous weekend – Verry Ellegant (Zed) in the Chipping Norton Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m), Hinged (Worthy Cause) in the Surround Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) and Sierra Sue (Darci Brahma) in the Futurity Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m).
“It has been a very lucky two years since Sir Dragonet and it has been a very good six to 12 months. Just when you think things can’t seem to get better they do,” Kheir said yesterday evening.
“We won three Group 1s last weekend and to win the Guineas on Saturday is surreal and mind-boggling, you do have to pinch yourself.
“But, we will enjoy it while it lasts. We all know it can’t last forever and we are really enjoying and celebrating every win as though it’s our last, which is taking its toll on my liver, that’s for sure.”
Born and bred in Melbourne, Kheir is a big player in the property game in the city. He’s the founder and managing director of the Resimax Group, which boasts $2.69 billion in property value and employs 98 people. He also owns hotels and hospitality venues, including the Adelphi Hotel and Baroq House.
While huge property deals and fast horses largely define his public identity, when he’s not holding a loving Cup aloft at Flemington on the first Tuesday in November, he’s happiest spending time with his family and staying at home on a Saturday to watch the races on television.
“I prefer to watch it at home on my own. That’s been a bit of a routine for me,” Kheir said.
“I do have all intentions of going but I always seem to change my mind on a Saturday and stay home.”
The son of an electrician who grew up in Brunswick, Kheir is a self-made multi-millionaire. However, he is as down to earth as it gets. Not for one minute does he think the extraordinary run of success on the racetrack he’s currently having will continue.
“You have to enjoy it while it lasts because we all know it doesn’t.”
For fun, he says his wife Linsey, who is expecting their fifth child next week, likes to take a bit of credit for the luck they are having with horses.
“She claims a lot of credit for the success. She says to me ‘you know it’s good luck to be pregnant’ and now she thinks she’s somehow been the reason for our success, which is quite funny.
“I think if we start having a dry patch at the races I will be suggesting we have another (child),” he laughed.
Kheir made a late start to racehorse ownership through harness racing and his whole premise for getting involved was to try and find something to stop him from working seven days a week and enjoy life a bit more.
“A close friend followed harness and I was a workaholic and I never got time to enjoy anything outside of work, so I thought I needed an outlet and contacted him and said ‘let’s get some horses’ and we went to Melton and would go to the trots for a night out.
“We bought a couple of New Zealand horses and had success and it transformed into buying a thoroughbred when a mutual friend at one of the race meetings said ‘why haven’t I been involved in thoroughbred racing’, and I said: ‘I don’t know much about it’. So it was just a bit of fun and I started with Australian Bloodstock and took shares in a few of their horses, including Protectionist, Master of Design and Mawingo.
“It was the right timing and from there we wanted to branch out and do a couple ourselves and it was purely about having our own circle more than anything.”
That circle of owners is growing and so is its success.
“We would have been kidding ourselves to think where we are today. Never did we have dreams or ambitions to where we are today.”
While a realist about the journey, he’s completely hooked on racing, and subsequently his level of re-investment in bloodstock is expanding.
“You start to learn a lot more and accelerate your learning. I don’t claim to be an expert, I’m a beginner and what’s driven me is the passion to learn because I am a detailed person in what I like to know,” Kheir said.
“Winning and success are driving my passion and I am wanting to get a better understanding of the industry.
“Maybe if I start knowing too much we might stop winning though.”
Kheir races horses with his brother, Victor, and the likes of prolific and passionate Victorian-based racing owners John O’Neill and Brett Carty and, in a separate arrangement, he also co-owns horses with another Melburnian, Brae Sokolski.
“They are fun and that’s the main thing for people involved in our group. We have a strict policy in our group and that’s no dickheads and that’s well known in our group,” Kheir said.
“It’s very important and the first question that gets asked if someone wants to get involved in a horse. We ask around and if there are any signs we say ‘sorry, it’s sold out’. It only takes one person to ruin it for everyone else.”
His royal blue and gold colours are becoming synonymous with major races in his hometown, including the Cox Plate which he won with the import Sir Dragonet (Camelot).
“Winning the Cox Plate was a dream and getting him was something people said would be impossible to do. We bought him from the best trainer in the world and to bring him here first up and win the Cox Plate was an amazing performance by everyone involved.”
While Sir Dragonet provided Kheir with one of his greatest highs in the sport, he also offered one of his biggest lows.
“When I got told he had passed away I went away from the kids for a walk around the block for two hours and cried like a boy. If it was only highs I guess we wouldn’t enjoy racing as we do. You need all the lows to enjoy the highs. That’s what it’s all about,” he said.
So, while it lasts, Kheir and his friends are savouring every moment and celebrate the big wins with gusto.
“They are Group 1 standard parties. They are run at a very fast tempo at the start. The one thing we do well is celebrating, whether it’s a Group 1, 2 or 3 win.
“That’s what we all enjoy is getting together and celebrating, whatever it may be. Horses can take you on an amazing journey.”