Patrick Hogan Obituary, Death – Sir Patrick Hogan, 83, who died after a brief illness in Waikato Hospital, has left a vacuum in the thoroughbred world. Sir Patrick established Cambridge Stud in 1976, from modest beginnings and with the perseverance of his wife Justine, a nursery that would change the bloodstock sector and bring unprecedented international attention to New Zealand. Hogan’s choice of Sir Tristram as his foundation horse was a stroke of genius, culminating in massive acclaim and honors for Cambridge Stud.
Sir Tristram only won two of his 17 races, but his new owner’s unflinching faith in the genetics of the Irish-bred stallion – bolstered by his own Irish lineage – laid the groundwork for Cambridge Stud to become the dominant force in the decades that followed. Long-time acquaintance Joe Walls, who serves as Chairman of New Zealand Bloodstock and is both a friend and a business companion, spoke on behalf of many when describing Patrick Hogan’s contribution to New Zealand’s rich legacy.
“I’ve known Patrick and Justine for over 50 years, and ours was more than a client-salesman connection.” “They’ve been wonderful friends to Wendy and me,” Walls remarked. “Two such great horses, Sir Tristram and his son Zabeel, could not be in better hands. His industry zeal, marketing talents, flair, and professional fairness all contributed to the internationalization of New Zealand’s sector and national sales.” Hogan’s unusual talents shone through even as a boy growing up on the family farm, where horses and cattle shared the paddocks. As a teenager, he displayed Fencourt Stud yearlings at the Trentham sales, and once he had his own draft under the Cambridge Stud label, he set a new standard for advertising and marketing.
The Hogan technique of great personal presentation and the standards of the man affectionately known as The Boss were immediately adopted by what would become a legion of Cambridge Stud employees. They not only followed his lead in training and showing stud graduates to the best of their abilities, but competing breeders took note as the standard was raised by the influence of one man blessed with passion and vision to spare. “It’s a genuinely sad day for me personally and for so many other people who were mentored by Patrick,” said Marcus Corban, general manager of Cambridge Stud after a four-decade affiliation with Hogan.”He was a terrific mentor and to me he was like a father; he was a perfectionist, a great thinker, he was passionate, so methodical with his matings and everything he did. “When I think back on Patrick’s life and all he achieved, that also includes his rock, Mrs H (Lady Justine), who was with him from the very start. It’s a difficult time for the family.”
Sir Tristram was the best thing that ever happened to Hogan and Cambridge Stud, but the simultaneous question asked by others is whether anyone else could have accomplished so much in molding the stallion into the late twentieth century’s breed-defining champion. Sir Tristram sired a variety of high-quality racehorses, including a Golden Slipper winner, a slew of classic and cup winners, and a generation of outstanding jumpers. He concluded with 45 individual Group One victories, breaking the great North American stallion Northern Dancer’s record. Among them was the horse that, thanks to another incredible Hogan call, would carry on his sire’s history.
Zabeel, the winner of the Australian Guineas, began working at Cambridge Stud in 1991, originally alongside Sir Tristram, who died in 1997 at the age of 26. Zabeel stood out among Sir Tristram’s sire sons in a visual display of Hogan guile, matching his exact score of Group One wins as well as a string of stallion premierships. The legacy of Sir Tristram lives on, as seen by the number of world-class performances with his blood in their veins, and is currently led by his grandson Savabeel, New Zealand’s leading sire of the preceding decade. “No one has had a greater influence on the New Zealand breeding business in my experience than Patrick Hogan,” said Sir Peter Vela, principal of New Zealand Bloodstock.
“This country was exceptionally privileged to have someone like him; he was a brilliant horseman, his skills, what stallions to breed and how to expand the sector, so from every point of view his loss is simply so terrible. “He was a hugely significant man for the things we can see, but also for his generosity, which was probably less well recognized, whether it was to someone in need or to the numerous others he shared his skills with. “His name and persona were and will always be associated with the New Zealand thoroughbred breeding industry, as well as his significant contribution to bringing this country to the global scene.”
Hogan was inducted into both the New Zealand and Australian Racing Halls of Fame, joining Sir Tristram, Zabeel, the famed Cambridge Stud broodmare Eight Carat, and her Zabeel descendants Octagonal. Other highlights of Hogan’s life included the numerous international visitors to Cambridge Stud; in fact, he considered Queen Elizabeth II’s 1990 visit to be the top of his life. Hogan was knighted in 2000 after being granted the CBE (Commander of the British Empire) for his contributions to racing and the community the following year. Hogan commented on Her Majesty’s visit in author Dianne Haworth’s classic biography “Give a Man a Horse,” saying, “We received the Queen for lunch at our home, and from time to time I still wonder, “Was she sitting at our table or not?” That is the most important honor to me.”
Sir Tristram and Zabeel helped Cambridge Stud maintain its 31-year dominance at the National Yearling Sale, while Hogan’s two-tone green (and very Irish) racing colors became a regular and successful sight at racetracks on both sides of the Tasman. With no obvious heir to take over at Cambridge Stud, Hogan faced the very real prospect of losing the nursery that had defined his life’s work some years ago. Brendan and Jo Lindsay, a self-made Kiwi couple similar to Patrick and Justine Hogan, entered the market in 2016 and bought Cambridge Stud as a functioning business. While the name Hogan is no longer associated with the renowned nursery, it is widely acknowledged that none of what has been accomplished over nearly a half-century would have been conceivable without the indelible mark of one of our greatest visionaries. Sir Patrick Hogan’s wife, Lady Justine, daughters Erin and Nicola, four grandsons, and four great-grandchildren survive him.