The great Show A Heart to be honoured

By Jordan Gerrans

When Judy Cutts walks into Eagle Farm on Saturday to honour the great Show A Heart, she knows she will have her late husband Ross by her side.

After being inducted into the Queensland Racing Hall of Fame at the Thoroughbred Awards ceremony last year, the champion stallion will be further recognised on Saturday with a name raced after him.

To be run at Listed level over 1500 metres, The Show A Heart will be worth $160,000.

With three Group 1 contests to be held at Eagle Farm on Saturday, the inaugural running of The Show A Heart will be showcased on a bumper program.

Show A Heart’s dazzling career was twofold.

He was a multiple Group 1 champion on the racetrack before achieving great highs as a stallion, as well.

Trained by the late Barry Miller after being bred and raced by Ross and Judy Cutts, Show A Heart was humanely euthanised at the age of 25 in August of 2023.

Ross passed away almost six years ago and when Judy parks at the Eagle Farm infield and begins her walk under the tunnel, her mind will cast back to her late partner of 45 years.

“Ross will be with me, he is always with me when I go to the races,” Judy said.

“It is like I pick Ross up and he is with me.

“He will be there with me on Saturday and if I get an opportunity to speak, I will acknowledge him, because I acknowledge him every day.

“I will be at the races on Saturday with a few friends.”

The venue is a special place for the Cutts clan as Ross’ service was held at the track following his passing.

Show A Heart boasted the rare career highlight of having won Group 1s as a two, three and four-year-old for almost two decades.

He did so with T J Smith (which is now the J.J Atkins), the 2000 Caulfield Guineas and Toorak Handicap.

Anamoe eventually emulated those feats of winning Group 1 titles in three straight age group years.

“That stood for 20 years before Anamoe came around,” Judy said.

“It is not something that happens very often, as we know.”

Show A Heart ran his final race in June of 2002 at Eagle Farm when he claimed the famous Stradbroke Handicap.

With the time-honoured Stradbroke Handicap fast approaching for 2025, and now being worth $3 million, a new ownership team will be written into the great race's history books alongside the Cutts’.

“When you win a Stradbroke, it is something else,” she said.

“If it can happen to us, it can happen to anybody.”

In retirement, Show A Heart stood at Queensland’s Glenlogan Park where he enjoyed a stellar career at stud.

And, while he produced several Group 1 champions, it was his caring nature that stood out to Glenlogan Park’s Steve Morley.

“One thing that was very evident about him was how kind this horse was and that was right from the start,” Morley said.

“You could walk into his yard with children and he would turn his back to you so he could get a scratch on the backside. He was such a beautiful horse to do anything with.

“Anyone that had anything to do with Show A Heart – they loved him because he was such a beautiful horse on all levels.”

Ross and Judy Cutts raced horses together dating back to 1982 and since Ross’ passing, Judy still owns a few these days to keep an interest.

Judy owns a handful of gallopers with Caloundra’s Stuart Kendrick – including the promising Luva Flutta – while also having interests with Chris Anderson at Eagle Farm as well as horses across the ditch.

She was supposed to have In Great Spirit go around in a maiden at Kilcoy on Sunday for Anderson before the races were eventually washed out.

Judy is realistic that all her gallopers cannot be champions, which makes the job Ross did breeding Show A Heart even more significant in hindsight.

“It is heartfelt for me because Ross bred the horse and bred the mother,” she said.

“We raced the dam Miss Sandman and her sire Regal Advice, we raced him.

“We need to acknowledge Ross because he did the mating and breeding.

“I remember very clearly the day when Ross was trying to find a stallion to put Miss Sandman to and he decided on Brave Warrior – I remember it like it was yesterday but of course it was more than 20 years ago.

“Ross needs that accolade and all the accolades for breeding that horse because that was his forte.”

The chestnut retired with six victories on his resume from 29 starts to go with 10 other minor placings as he raced at the highest level throughout his career.

“Show A Heart was so tough on the racetrack, which was what was so amazing about him,” Morley said.

“It was very tough to do what he achieved on the racetrack through his different years.

“Arguably he saved his best performance for last in the Stradbroke Handicap.”

Show A Heart was retired from breeding duties in 2020 and was living out his retirement at Glenlogan before his passing.

He was an instant success at stud, claiming Australia’s Champion First Season Sire crown while he also being a multiple winner of Queensland’s Champion Sire title.

Show A Heart’s progeny included Heart Of Dreams, Woorim and Toorak Toff.

He sired winners of an Oakleigh Plate, Australian Guineas, Golden Rose, Underwood Stakes, Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes, Magic Millions 2YO Classic and 3YO Magic Millions Guineas.

“We couldn’t be more proud of the impact Show A Heart has made,” Morley said.

“He has left a legacy that will have an influence on Australian racing for many years to come.”

Tragically, Show A Heart’s trainer Miller passed away just before Ross Cutts did.

Miller moved to Brisbane from Cunnamulla in the 1970s and quickly established himself as one of Queensland’s most prominent trainers.

Neither Miller or Ross saw their great galloper go into the Hall of Fame last year. 

Miller was survived by his wife Edna.

Their widows were on hand late last year when their treasured horse was bestowed the Hall of Fame honour.

“Edna was there at the Hall of Fame night and I do pretty well to not get emotional when I am on my own but when I am with Edna, we get a bit teary together,” Judy recalls.

“We spoke about it and both said that the only disappointment about the occasion was that our guys were not here to witness this.

“It would have been great if the horse was inducted earlier on so they could have seen it.

“I would have loved those boys to be around to experience the whole thing.”

The Cutts’ children and grandchildren are continuing their legacy in racing by still having a keen interest in the sport and horses.

The Show A Heart race has had a few different names over the years.

In more recent times it was known as The Phoenix and before that the event was named the Doomben Slipper.