Fresh off guiding Collingwood to a thrilling qualifying final win over Adelaide on Thursday night, premiership coach Craig McRae could be in for a big September, both on the field and the racetrack.
McRae, who part-owns Group 1 winner Feroce, recently spent a morning with horse trainer Dom Sutton and their star galloper, drawing parallels between preparing elite footballers and thoroughbreds.
“We celebrated together with a dinner after the Australian Guineas and I was just fascinated with the stuff that [Dom] is doing around sports science,” he said.
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“When you’re in high performance you’re looking for every little growth opportunity and Dom is certainly doing that and we’re trying to do the same in our sport.”
For Sutton, having one of the AFL’s sharpest minds involved has been just as rewarding.
“Yeah, it’s pretty incredible having someone like Craig as an owner,” Sutton said.
“At the end of the day we’re both trying to prepare athletes to peak on certain days and a lot of styles of training are very similar. The main difference would be that his players can talk to him, mine can’t.”
Both McRae and Sutton know all about performing when it matters most.
Collingwood are now bound for a preliminary final, while Feroce is being aimed at the Group 1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes at Caulfield, scheduled for the very same weekend.
“Spring means finals time and the excitement of being involved in this time of year is something we really look forward to,” McRae said.
“Then when Spring is done in terms of footy time, it’s time to get on track to watch Feroce win a Group 1.”
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