Beginners' luck lands share of Slipper fun RACING might be known as the sport of kings but the story behind trainer Gerald Ryan's two runners in the Golden Slipper is proof you don't have to be a prince to mix it with the best. Entrepreneur Gerry Harvey has been involved in racing long enough to know the trials and tribulations involved in the game but several other co-owners of Dothraki and stablemate Charlie Boy have struck it lucky straight away. Racehorse ownership is a fickle caper and, as Nathan Tinkler has learnt, a costly one, too, but the magic carpet ride continues for the likes of John Saunders, Steve Graham, Ben Close and John Hezlett. Many happy returns: Supermarket attendant Ben Close used his tax refund to buy part-ownership of Dothraki. Photo: Border Mail For Close, Dothraki - which was bred by leviathan owner Harvey and sold for $45,000 at last year's June Magic Millions sales - is the first horse he has ever bought into. After deciding last year to spend his tax return on a horse, Close Googled the term "horse share" and was directed to racehorse syndicator Triple Crown. There were two horses available but "one had Gerry Harvey so I thought I'd have a go at that one," says Close, who works as a checkout attendant at Safeway in Wodonga. The tyro owners and the syndicators: John Saunders, Triple Crown's Chris and Michael Ward, and John Hezlett and Steve Graham with their Golden Slipper entrants Dothraki and Charlie Boy (far right) and trainer Gerald Ryan (white shirt). If Gerry Harvey thinks it's a good investment it's good enough for me, I'll give it a go. Unfortunately for Close, he will not be at Rosehill on Saturday as he could not get out of his shift but he will time his lunch break so he can watch the $3.5 million race on TV. Close's fortuitous start in ownership pales into insignificance against that of Saunders and Graham. Not only do they own 10 per cent of Dothraki, they also have similar shares in Charlie Boy. Saunders, an insurance broker who is "54 going on 21," was lured into racehorse ownership by observing the enjoyment of a Melbourne client who had a galloper. Saunders bought into Charlie Boy, an $80,000 Magic Millions purchase, because of the link between his family history and the colt's breeding. "My old man came to Australia as a seaman and when he went to sea school they called everyone Charlie so I thought [the sire] Myboycharlie and [the dam] Maritime sounded like a good mix for me," Saunders says. To the envy of his client, Saunders had instant success with Charlie Boy, which won an $85,000 race in town on debut. "He's pissed off with me, his horses are running around country Victoria and mine are running in the Golden Slipper," Saunders says. Graham, a fitter by trade who works as a supervisor for RailCorp, was led into Charlie Boy and Dothraki by his wife and stepson, who through Triple Crown own a share in high-class sprinter Hot Snitzel. "It is a bit of a fairytale to have two horses with that ability," says Graham, whose colleague Brian Campbell also has a share. Graham, however, has only humble expectations for his two colts. "I'd be happy to quinella," he says. Hezlett, an electrician with a mortgage "like everyone else," is the luckiest of them all. He also has a share in Hot Snitzel, which ran in the 2011 Slipper. Despite finishing a distant 12th in that race, the four-year-old son of Snitzel has banked more than $650,000 in prizemoney, won twice at group 2 level and placed in a group 1. "To have three that are going really well, you just pinch yourself - is it really me involved in this?" says Hezlett. Regardless of how the horses run it's been a fantastic kick just being involved in it all. I would have been happy just getting to a Saturday race let alone the level we've achieved. There's a high rate of not succeeding. You go into it knowing that but I'd much rather be involved in this than losing money on the stockmarket. He might keep winning if he stays involved with Triple Crown, which is run by brothers Michael and Chris Ward. They have had four Golden Slipper runners in the past three years - all trained by Ryan. Of the 16,376 horses born in 2010 eligible for the Slipper, Triple Crown bought 13, with Charlie Boy and Dothraki wearing their colours on Saturday. That Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum's powerful Darley operation has three in the event places into perspective Triple Crown's effort this year. But there will be no financial spin-off for Harvey's Magic Millions breeding business, of which he owns half, as Dothraki's dam, Volantis, has died. The businessman would still love to see the horse win - and not because he wants a slice of the $2 million winner's purse. "The [other] owners would become the heroes of the event, they should get the picture on the front page and not me," says Harvey, who will watch the race from his home in Dural. I can guarantee I would get a kick but it'd pale into insignificance [compared with] them. I anticipate and hope those things happen but in their wildest dreams that would never happen to them. It becomes the big moment. They'll have the disc of that horse winning playing for the rest of their natural life.