Episode 567: Richard Litt

Richard Litt’s entry into the Sydney training ranks materialised under very sad circumstances. He’d barely settled into a training partnership at Warwick Farm with his father Jim when news came from NZ of the premature death of his older brother Jay. Jim Litt made an immediate decision to return to NZ but resolved to leave his small team of horses in Sydney.  Richard was quickly granted a training licence by Racing NSW and launched his training career under less than ideal circumstances. Some months later he paid his first visit to the winner’s circle when a mare called Klissta won the Braidwood Cup. As Richard gratefully received the Cup trophy he couldn’t have imagined that just two years later he’d be on the dais at Royal Randwick receiving the trainer’s trophy after the Gr 1 Champagne Stakes.   That  trophy was won by Castelvecchio, the Dundeel colt who’d catapulted Richard Litt to racing’s biggest stage. He joins us on the podcast to talk about his first magical decade in Australian racing.  He talks about an encouraging first half of the current season and his expectations  for the promising Caffe Florian. The trainer looks back on early Sydny stints with trainers like Graham Rogerson, Bart Cummings and John O’Shea.  Richard looks back on his father’s decision to try his luck in Sydney with a small team of NZ horses. He remembers the impact of his brother’s sudden death in Hawera. Richard says he won’t forget the thrill of his Braidwood Cup win in 2017. He looks back on the thrill of landing his first city win albeit a midweek event. His first Saturday metro win was another special occasion. Richard reflects on the luck he’s had with a string of online purchases from the Godolphin operation. The trainer shares the story about the beginning of his association with owners Ottavio and Wendy Galletta. He was given the formidable task of winning a race or two with a horse previously trained by Chris Waller.  Richard says he was surprised and delighted when Ottavio and Wendy gave him their new Dundeel colt to train. Castelvecchio began with a flourish by winning first up at  Canterbury before repeating the dose in spectacular fashion in the Inglis Millenium. He looks back on Castelvecchio’s wins in the Champagne Stakes and Rosehill Guineas and his stunning second in the Cox Plate. Richard looks back on a monumental disappointment when Castelvecchio was brought undone on a very heavy track in the ATC Derby. The trainer was humbled when the Gallettas gave him the job of training the $1.9 million colt known as Profondo. Richard talks about the highs and lows of the Deep Impact colt’s short career. He talks of Ottavio’s acquisition of the Victory Lodge training stables at Warwick Farm, formerly home to several Gr 1 winners trained by Clarrie Conners. Richard acknowledges a few more handy winners for the stable in recent years.