Robson Aguiar | How To Spot a Champion Racehorse

About this episode

What does it really take to spot a champion racehorse before anyone else?

From growing up on a farm in Brazil and working with horses at just five years old to developing Group 1-winning racehorses in Ireland, Robson Aguiar has built his career around recognising potential that others might overlook.

In this episode of Unfiltered, Robson joins Sarah Jane Foster to reveal what he looks for when buying horses, why pedigree and breeze-up speed don't always tell the full story, and the expensive mistakes that come with investing in bloodstock.

He also discusses the realities of Ireland's competitive racing industry, his ambitions as a racehorse trainer, the horses that have shaped his career and his dream of competing on the world's biggest racing stages. An insightful conversation about horse racing, bloodstock, business, ambition and what really separates a good horse from a champion.

Key takeaways

• How Robson identifies potential in young racehorses
• Why he looks at the horse before opening the sales catalogue
• Why the fastest horse at a breeze-up isn't necessarily the best racehorse
• What makes a horse worth investing serious money in
• How to find value at Tattersalls, Goffs and other bloodstock sales
• Why some talented horses never fulfil their potential
• The financial risks and expensive mistakes behind buying racehorses
• How Robson progressed from a farm in Brazil to Group 1 success
• His ambitions to compete internationally as a trainer

About Robson Aguiar

Robson Aguiar grew up on a farm in Brazil and began working with horses at just five years old.

He moved to Ireland without speaking English and built his career in the competitive world of bloodstock, developing Group 1-winning racehorses and earning a reputation for spotting potential that others overlook.

Today he continues to buy, develop and train racehorses, with ambitions to compete on the world's biggest racing stages.

Chapters

1. 00:00 Meet Robson Aguiar
2. 00:19 Growing Up in Brazil and Working With Horses at Five
3. 01:44 Moving to Ireland Without Speaking English
4. 02:42 The Passion Behind His Success
5. 03:54 Developing Group 1-Winning Racehorses
6. 06:06 How to Spot a Good Racehorse at the Sales
7. 07:02 Why Breeze-Up Speed Doesn't Guarantee Success
8. 08:53 What Makes a Horse Worth Serious Money?
9. 09:42 Finding Value at Horse Sales
10. 11:22 How the Bloodstock Market Is Changing
11. 13:22 The Rise of Breeze-Up Sales
12. 14:49 Robson's Ambitions as a Racehorse Trainer
13. 18:48 Handling Pressure and Setbacks in Racing
14. 19:50 The Business of Horse Racing
15. 21:43 Smart Decisions and Expensive Mistakes
16. 23:31 What Makes a Truly Special Horse?
17. 24:08 The Horse He'll Never Forget
18. 25:24 His Ambitions for International Racing
19. 26:26 Quickfire: Horses, Racing and Career Lessons

Transcript (preview)

Sarah Jane Foster (00:00): From a farm in Brazil to Group one success in horse racing. But what does it really take to spot a champion before anyone else? This is Robson Aguiar on Unfiltered. Robson, you're very welcome to the unfiltered podcast. So tell us this. What was life like growing up in Brazil, and how did that environment shaped the horseman you are today?

Robson Aguiar (00:19): I grew up in Brazilian farm. I always work with animals. I work with horses. Since I was five, I was a work with horses, a ride, the horses, ponies and I be in the farm all time around the horses. And I love the horses. Since, my five year old.

Sarah Jane Foster (00:47): Five years old. You. Have you been riding horses since you were five years old?

Robson Aguiar (00:50): I ride Ponies and like a a small competition in like a, like Cross county, something like that. And since I, you know, when I grow up, I, I grow up in competition. I always on horse until I moved to some Paulo 90. I moved to San Paul to race school, and, I started in the school there. And I get in my life, I rode a few winners. Then I moved to Rio, and I ride my Clemmie off in Rio. And the after that I moved to Ireland.

Sarah Jane Foster (01:44): When you arrived in Ireland. What were the biggest culture shocks and challenges you faced?

Robson Aguiar (01:49): Like when coming to our land? I speak nothing English so was hard for me to to learn. So I had to learn quick. I'm still learning, but you know. And I started to work for I come to work for Adeline. I was on there but is there was no no, I know how I learn English. So I moved to kill their work for James Levy, and I started going the the girl, she's Brazilian, she's teaching English, so she's teaching me a little bit the after that I learned every day by every day.

Sarah Jane Foster (02:42): You've said before that you never get tired because you love what you do. Where does that work ethic come from?

Robson Aguiar (02:49): Like, you know, like when you do something, you love it. You do. You always enjoy and, you know, get tired more, you do more. You want to do like he raise your horse like he I love it, I love break them, I love it. See them improve it day by day. And you know like we have like a few nice horsey we have done in the breeze up in the past. We we buy them a year, we break them and we see them improvement. And they do good. They win few group race for us. So. And like he in the last three, 4 or 5 years we have 5 or 6 group ones like the horses, we broke your horse, we breathe the so and every year you want to do more and more and that's you never get tired. You you want improving every time and you try to do better every time.

Sarah Jane Foster (03:54): And you're a known for producing top breeds or pauses. What was the moment you realized your system genuinely worked?

Robson Aguiar (04:01): Like, you know, when we started by a horse and they turned like a as a good horse, it's like a we have like a summer sun and a day Learjet start off a mirage Queen Jojo a lot. Nice horse is like a. And in the past I worked for Roger Callahan in Tally Ho as well. We sold a lot of good horse like he daddy a perfect power, a lot of good horses. You enjoy when you have that kind of horses in your hand and you see the progress they get day by day, and when they go race and they run good, you race and they turn a good horse like I. Stallions like, hey, we had last three years, we have a king still and Bucanero Fort are is on a blaze powder blue. You know when these horses come you, you try get better and better every year, you know like and hopefully we keep doing hopefully we keep improving.

Sarah Jane Foster (05:26): Yeah. So will you give us a sense of your daily routine during peak prep season.

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