Graeme Rogerson, with 51 Group 1 wins to his credit, has no intention of settling for an easier life.
The Waikato-based horseman has enjoyed a colourful and hugely successful career and collected his latest top-flight racing title with Mascarpone in the Group 1 Otaki WFA Classic (1600m) last Saturday.
Among Rogerson's greatest achievements at the highest level has been success in the Group 1 Cox Plate (2040m) with Savabeel, the Group 1 Golden Slipper Stakes (1200m) with Polar Success and a Group 1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) with Efficient.
He is the only New Zealand trainer to have claimed those three titles.
"I've had some great horses, but when Savabeel won the Cox Plate, I had never had a horse work like he did before the race," Rogerson, 74, said yesterday.
"He had a few quirky ways about him, but he was one of the greats. I went out and saw him at Waikato Stud the other day and he looks enormous, he's a great stallion."
Rogerson has been at his Hamilton base for more than half a century and concedes the time is coming when he will move on.
"I would say in the next couple of years, we will be gone from here. I've been here for 54 years and Hamilton has grown out and I take one step and I'm in the city now."
However, relocation won't necessarily see Rogerson settling for a quieter life, as he also has extensive breeding and ownership interests.
Rogerson is renowned for his non-stop approach and taking the good with the bad. "You live and dream and it makes you get up in the morning, but you get your disappointments.
"Beauden has had a few issues and has gone out for a four-month spell, and whether he comes back to what he was, who knows?"
The 7-year-old Beauden has been a stalwart of the stable in recent times, with multiple Group wins among his 12 victories.
"I also had a really good filly called Princess Lowry and she's fractured her cannon bone. She is as good a filly as I have trained for a long time," Rogerson said.
"We'll probably sell her at the Gold Coast as a breeding proposition and she'll make a lovely broodmare."
Always looking to the future, Rogerson also plans to be active at the National Yearling Sale at Karaka next week.
