Saying Goodbye: Bowen Reflects on the Mare That Meant Everything

There are good racehorses, and then there are those that become part of the family.

For Graham and Judy Bowen, that horse was Juice Brogden—a daughter of Bettor’s Delight, trained throughout her career by Nicky Chilcott, and the standard by which all others at their Matangi property would forever be measured.

The nine-time winner and Group 1-performed mare was recently euthanised due to a serious hoof complication that proved too much to overcome.

“She’d never been great on her feet,” Graham explained. “Even as a racehorse, Nicky had to battle away with her. But as a broodmare, she was very good. Then she had a blowout in her coronary band, and it just got worse and worse. We x-rayed it and the pedal bone had rotated. Despite operating and cutting the tendon to release it, she was in so much pain. We made that really tough decision to put her to sleep.”

Juice Brogden was bred by the Bowens from their foundation mare Miss Hazel (Holmes Hanover), and she gave them more than just race wins—she gave them memories.

“She had 42 starts for 9 wins, 9 seconds and 8 thirds. She raced in Group 1 company at Alexandra Park and was just nosed out in a few big ones.”

“We raced her 50/50 with a group of friends—some of them had never owned a horse before. When she won four in a row at Auckland, they thought the game was easy. I had to tell them it’s not always like this—we’ve had a lot of heartache to get one like her.”

Her form and toughness earned her a campaign across the Tasman at age five, where she performed admirably—winning two and placing twice from eight starts in Australia.

“We were there for her first couple of races. That was pretty cool,” said Graham. “But the gate speed over there really surprised me. She had some at home, but she was sluggish in Australia. If you take a horse over, they’ve got to get off the gate. That was always her Achilles heel.”

“She didn’t have a blistering turn of foot, but she could maintain high speed for 600 to 800 metres. That got her into—and through—a lot of good races.”

Today, Juice Brogden’s bloodline lives on through her foals. Her son, Turn O The Tide, by Captaintreacherous, ran in this year’s Group 1 Northern Derby at Alexandra Park—a proud moment for the Bowens.

“As a two-year-old, he ran three or four seconds but just couldn’t get that win to trigger the $4,000 bonus. Since coming back as a three-year-old, he’s really strengthened up and gone on with it.”

His full brother, Chasin The Tide, was purchased for $60,000 at this year’s NZB Standardbred Yearling Sale by Cran Dalgety.

“I haven’t caught up with Cran to hear how he’s going, but he was a very similar type to Turn O The Tide. He should do a good job.”

The Bowens have kept a colt from Juice Brogden by Sweet Lou, named Brown Sugar, who won’t be heading to the sales.

“We syndicated 50% of him with a new group of friends—some of the original Juice Brogden crew. Judy and I have kept the other half. At 75, you start thinking, if you want to race one out of her, you better get cracking.”

They also retain a share in Juice Brogden’s daughter It’s Now Or Never, a race-winning filly by Bettor’s Delight, who looks likely to transition to the broodmare barn in the near future.

“She’s a beautiful mare—strong, great nature, and has done enough. Sometimes it’s the daughters of the good mares that really carry it on—if not better them altogether.”

The Bowens’ breeding journey began when they purchased Miss Hazel as a broodmare at a mixed stock sale in Christchurch. Not long after, breeder Des Jepsen got in touch offering them her weanling filly by Christian Cullen, which they purchased as well.

“That was Hailey Brogden. So we bought the mother first, and then later on bought her weanling foal. That’s how it all started.”

While they’ve scaled back from their original 30-acre block to five acres, Graham remains active as a breeding technician, drawing on decades of experience from the dairy industry and his early AI training in the US.

“My background was 35 years in artificial breeding. In 1996 I was in the States and visited a company doing broodmare work. They said, ‘We can show you in a day.’ So I stayed an extra day, learned the process, and I’ve been doing ours and others ever since.”

From their base in Matangi, Graham services a close circle of respected clients, including Nicky Chilcott, Barry Lichter, Arnold Donnelly and the Fergusons.

“With fresh semen, you’ll usually get 75 to 80 percent on the first cycle. The quality out of the studs is fantastic. But frozen—well, that’s a different story.”

“Frozen only lasts five or six hours once thawed. Fresh can last for two or three days. With frozen, you’ve sometimes got to be scanning mares every few hours overnight. It’s much harder.”

As for Juice, she’ll always have a presence at home.

“She’s buried here. Her shoes are hanging on the fence. I walk past them every morning on my way to the barn. She’s not far from us.”