Malcolm Bailey breeding a fortune

By Jordan Gerrans

Arenkha was not a superstar on the racetrack, but in retirement she has been a champion producer for veteran Gympie horseman Malcolm Bailey.

Bailey, who has just ticked into his 80s, prepares three gallopers in his team that are a progeny of Arenkha.

Sadly, they will be the last horses the broodmare produces as she passed away recently following her last foal.

The bay mare won once in 13 attempts which occurred in a Gympie maiden back in August of 2018 for trainer Kerry Munce.

In retirement, she has been an excellent producer for Bailey who is a smiling Gympie horseman.

Braidwood Prince (four wins), Braidwood Queen (six wins) and Braidwood Rose (still a maiden) are all from Arenkha.

The breeding line has become the backbone of Bailey’s stable in recent years.

“Braidwood Rose will win a race soon,” he said of the three-year-old filly who is yet to score in eight attempts. 

“She has had three horses that have raced out of her and hopefully soon she will have three winners. 

"Arenkha was a good, she only won a Gympie maiden.

“But, she clicked with the horses we put her too.

“Prince and Queen, they like the sand so that's a big help when you're on the sand tracks like Gympie.

“They're trained on the track so that's an advantage too.”

Bailey’s son worked for Kerry Munce when Arenkha was racing, which led to the connection with the family in the breeding barn.

The Arenkha progeny have been in particularly prolific form in recent months.

Prince and Queen won on the same program at Gympie in late February while Queen collected two more victories Bundaberg in the weeks prior.

Prince and Queen did the same in late November of last year to produce a double winning dose for Bailey on his home surface.

Bailey is a genuine stalwart of the racing game in the Sunshine State and has dabbled in a number of parts of the industry across his life.

He purchased his first horse way back in 1974 at the sales in Brisbane.

He hasn’t trained constantly since then, taking long periods of time off to concentrate on his work interests, but he has always come back to the gallopers.

As well as training, he has worked as a clerk of the course at the races, he has been a starter at times while also keeping a close eye on horses’ feet through his role as a farrier.

The experienced conditioner has eight horses in his team.

He is enjoying a career renaissance over the last few seasons.

Bailey posted 11 winners last term from 117 starters and he has 10 victories to his name so far in the 2025-26 campaign from just 58 runners.

The last two seasons are the first time in more than a decade he has prepared more than 10 winners.

“I think this year's going to be my best,” he said.

“I think I'm going pretty good. 

"I'm getting a bit better horses at the moment. I think this year's looking pretty good once I get a few youngsters passed and ready to race.

“It's a very relaxed place to work horses here at Gympie. It is very casual up here, laid back. The horses love it.

“I think the horses like it. They settle down better here and are more relaxed. I think that helps them later in the race days.”

Bailey is looking forward to getting stable star City Chick back to the races.

He regards the seven-year-old mare as the best horse he prepares. She has 10 wins on her resume with 19 other minors. 

She has been in the paddock since the back end of 2025.

City Chick qualified for the Country Stampede decider in 20024, where she finished fifth, and Bailey has ambitions of targeting her towards the Battle of the Bush or the Country Stampede this year.

Bailey isn’t thinking about giving up training anytime soon.

“I love the horses,” he said.

“I really like the horses. Hopefully, I can just keep winning.”