Former print tycoon champs at bit in next investment venture

Friday 2nd February 2001

NEW DIRECTIONS: Steve McCollam (left) and Sir Patrick Hogan with the Zabeel yearling for which he paid $310,000 at the Karaka sales

By Phillip Quay

The former head of the country's biggest printing company is leaving behind the big-city life of Auckland's business sector to join the gumboots and Swandri brigade on a Matamata thoroughbred farm.

Steve McCollam has bought a plush 104ha horse property in Tower Rd, Matamata, for an undisclosed sum from another businessman-turned-racing enthusiast Eric Watson.

"Eric wasn't all that keen on selling the farm but I caught him at a weak moment after we had played a round of golf and he agreed to it," Mr McCollam said.

It was Mr Watson's Blue Star Group that bought out the longtime family business, McCollam Printers, three years ago after its listing as a public company in 1994.

But Mr McCollam will go one step further than Mr Watson as he plans to be hands-on with his rapidly growing band of equine animals after he takes possession of the property next month.

"After 20 years of high-pressure life in the corporate world I'm going for a total lifestyle change. I will be living on the farm with my wife and children and I'm looking forward to getting my gumboots on and working with the horses on the farm," he said.

"There's nothing now to hold me back in Auckland because I can still carry out all my trading activities in equities, bonds and commodities via a laptop computer."

Mr McCollam was introduced to the racing game two years ago by a friend Gary Wallace, who suggested he should have some horses.

"Gary told me to go and have a talk to [Matamata horse trainer] Paul O'Sullivan at the Karaka yearling sales, which I did and I ended up buying six horses," he said.

Of those six initial purchases two of them, Mick and Tanzara, have been impressive winners on the track in recent weeks.

He bought a further six yearlings at Karaka last year, concentrating heavily on fillies with a view to breeding from them after their racing careers. Of these Cinnamon Girl has won a race this season.

At this week's Karaka yearling sales Mr McCollam was again an active buyer and made his most expensive horse purchase to date when he paid $310,000 for a Zabeel-Te Akau Princess filly from the high-flying Cambridge Stud draft.

"I realise that to get high-quality breeding stock I'm going to have to be prepared to pay top money," he said. "They don't come much better than being by Zabeel and from the Cambridge Stud barn."

His plan is to build up a band of about 20-25 top-end-of-the market broodmares on the Matamata farm that has second-to-none facilities for horses.

Mr McCollam, who also owns a 600ha deer farm in the King Country, says investing in bloodstock is a lot different from any other business.

"You certainly have to look long term with bloodstock but the returns can be extremely profitable if things go your way," he says.

"It's a good time to be investing in our thoroughbred industry because it is in great heart, as the prices at the yearling sales show.

"I really like the people in the horse industry as they are fun and have got a sense of humour - like the business world used to have before it got so serious and dull."

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