Well done Julia-Rose

RaceForm's Liz Whelan reports:

Julia-Rose Hayes followed in the footsteps of her mother, Karyn Fenton-Ellis, when she won the Media Award at the recently held New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing Awards.

It was a busy night for Hayes, as she had also been an integral cog in organising the Te Akau Racing Awards night at Te Rapa on the same evening.

“It was really exciting to win! I'd been run off my feet all night, and then it was awesome to see the videos on screen of the finalists to see what everyone else had been doing for the industry as well,” Hayes told RaceForm on Tuesday.

“It's really nice that the award has evolved over the years, so now anyone can strive for that achievement. Mum won it eight years ago when I was working at Ellerslie, and it's crazy to think that Te Akau's now won it.”

Hayes is quick to add that her win is the result of a team effort.

“I'm so thrilled for everyone. Part of my portfolio that I put forward was how David (Ellis) does his blog updates, the Boys Get Paid initiative, and Melody Belle's All-Star Mile campaign. It involves everyone, and it's a massive team effort that we're all putting in to drive our brand and also New Zealand racing.”

Despite growing up entrenched in the racing industry, Hayes went to The University of Otago after she finished high school. 

“Not many people realise that Jamie Richards was a close friend of mine prior to both of us being at Te Akau. We were neighbours in Dunedin and met by fate.

“A friend of mine offered me a ride with his mate who was picking him up from the airport. The ‘mate' picked us up and we proceeded to Paul Richards' horse stables in Mosgiel, of which I said, ‘oh my family are in racing too.' 

“Little did we know that all these years later he would be at the helm of Te Akau. I did introduce David to Jamie so I am still waiting on my finder's fee!”

Hayes did two years of a graphic design degree before deciding she didn't want to do that, and then did two years of a communications degree.

“By that stage, I'd spent four years at university and didn't want to do another year! I don't regret not finishing, because those years have still played a part in what I do now.”

She then returned to Auckland and went to make-up school, and subsequently freelanced for MAC. 

“At least I don't wear thick Thin Lizzy anymore like I did back then, so the make-up course really helped me too!” she laughs.

Some six months later, she was approached with an opportunity by Cameron George, then CEO of the Auckland Racing Club, for a marketing coordinator role at Ellerslie.

 â€œIn hindsight, it changed my entire life direction. It was awesome. That job at Ellerslie is the best start-up job for anyone who's into racing, and I also try and encourage young people who are into marketing to try and get in there.

“They give you a lot of freedom to really make your mark in that job. I won employee of the month when I was around 20, and I knew that I'd finally found something that really motivated me.”

It was around that time that Hayes met her husband Hamish, an avid form follower and lover of racing. 

“He asked me why I wasn't working for Te Akau, and I said I didn't really know. So we talked to David and we thought there was an opportunity in the marketing side of the business, specifically using emerging digital channels to generate brand awareness, educate mainstream New Zealand on our industry and drive new ownership opportunities.

“We felt the industry needed to grow in this space and we used this to our advantage. We think this has helped pull the communication of the whole industry to a better standard. So, after two and a half years at Ellerslie, I started working for Te Akau.”

Five years later, she's still working there, and loves working with her parents.

“They do such a good job and I'm lucky to work for them. We are all very strong personalities but we've learnt to work together really well, and we all share the common love of the horses.”

She also considers herself lucky to have the flexibility to work from home. “I do the marketing and events for Te Akau, and I also run Mark Walker's stable communications. If 2020 has done anything, it's proven you can do anything from anywhere. 

“I started off at Te Akau thinking I'll do some social media, but now that's really evolved. I am lucky to manage all of our lead generation for the syndication side of things as well as all the digital presence. 

“My favourite part of my job has to be sales time where I really sink my teeth in and produce all of our syndication videos and campaigns. We've had 100 new owners over the past year and I can track through our website where they've come from. It's really rewarding to see our digital footprint in motion and that what the team is doing is working.”

Hayes is also about to launch her own syndication brand, and is aiming to have it ready in time for the Ready to Run Sale.

“I'm really excited about it - it's going to be marketed to people who are of a similar age to me, who maybe have a bit of disposable income, but are a bit nervous about spending a lot of money on horses.”

With daughter Lucia-Rose at home as well, life is busy at the Hayes household.

“She's two-and-a-half now. She's really good and really low maintenance which makes life easy. She comes everywhere with me.

“My joke is that I'll have another baby when the horses start going badly, because I get too excited and want to celebrate the horses winning! At this rate it feels like I will never get that opportunity as it's been an unforgettable few seasons for Te Akau and we're not planning on slowing down any time soon!”

Pictured from L-R: David Ellis CNZM, Julia-Rose Hayes, Karyn Fenton-Ellis MNZM and Hamish Hayes, after Julia-Rose won the NZTR Media Award. Photo credit: Nicole Troost.

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