Sir Steve Hansen Horse Racing
Welcome to this article dedicated to the amazing coach Sir Steve Hansen. However, rather than concentrate on his incredible career in rugby as a player and later a coach, this article will discuss Steve Hansen horse racing passion after he became a racehorse owner.
Who is Steve Hansen
Sir Steve Hansen is a New Zealand legend, to put it mildly. He is a former rugby player who recently retired as the coach for the New Zealand national rugby team. There’s a lot to say about him and his rugby career, but we’re also going to focus on Steve Hansen’s horse race passion.
Steve Hansen’s horse racing interest is not anything new, he’s always had a thing for racehorses, but now he owns one called Nature Strip. Steve Hansen’s racehorse is doing quite well at the races, so we felt like they both deserved recognition.
A Brief Biography of Sir Steve Hansen
Before we delve deeper into Steve Hansen’s horse racing passion, we thought it might be appropriate to give you a brief look into who he is and what his career was like. Stephen William Hansen was born in Mosgiel, New Zealand, on 7 May 1959, in a family of dairy farmers.
He attended Taieri High School (now Taieri College), and afterward, in 1980, he joined the Canterbury rugby team, where he had 21 appearances as a centre player and played with them untill 1987. Following his career as a rugby player, Hansen joined the New Zealand police force, where he stayed for six years.
Yet, he apparently longed for rugby, so he returned to Canterbury in 1996, but this time as their coach. He did surprisingly well at this job, and his talented lead was proven the very next year when Canterbury won the National Provincial Championship in 1997. His team won it another time in 2001 under his tenure.
After their second win, Hansen was approached by the Wales national team, who hired him as the forwards coach in 2002. He soon became the head coach after the existing one suffered multiple defeats. However, Hansen was to have the same luck and resided over 10 consecutive defeats. He stepped down in 2004.
Steve Hansen went back home and was soon hired as the assistant coach of the All Blacks (the NZ rugby team). He thrived in his new position, with his biggest success as an assistant coach coming in 2011 when New Zealand won the World Cup final against France.
The same year, Hansen was hired as the head coach of the All Blacks. Many wins were to follow, including winning the Bledisloe Cup in 2012, with only one loss for the year. This won Hansen an honour from Queen Elizabeth II, who made him a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2012.
The next year, 2013, was even more successful for the All Blacks as they won both the Rugby Championship and Bledisloe Cup, making them the only team in history to do so. In 2014, Hansen was named the World Rugby coach of the year.
In the following years, Hansen led the All Blacks to many more victories, including a World Cup (2015), Rugby Championship Cups (2014, 2016, 2017, 2018), and Bledisloe Cups (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019). Hansen finally retired in 2019, and the same year he was knighted by the Queen and became Sir Steve Hansen.
Sir Steve Hansen Horse Racing Passion
Steve Hansen notes that he has always loved horse racing. Not only that, but in one interview, the retired legendary rugby coach says that he even dreamt of becoming a jockey. This was probably because his father, Des, was a renowned owner and trainer of racehorses.
Sometime in the early or mid-2000s, Hansen once again became interested in the horse racing industry in New Zealand, this time as an owner. Sir Hansen shares that he has owned shares in racehorses over the years (not specifying which ones), but he became one of the 16 other very lucky owners of Nature Strip around 2017 or 2018.
We can surely say that Sir Hansen’s racehorse choice was the right one. Nature Strip is now a star of horse racing, after having won multiple races, amongst them, the Everest, which is the highest paying horse race in the world.
After so many brilliant victories, Nature Strip has proven its worth, and Steve Hansen is more than happy. He compares the thrill of seeing the gelding win the race with winning a rugby game, although he confesses that it’s different because he has zero impact on the racehorse’s performance.
Nature Strip Biography and Stats
Now let’s talk about the other star of today’s article – Nature Strip. Steve Hansen’s horse was born on 16 November 2014 in Australia to sire Nicconi and dam Starline. It was sold for $90,000 in 2016.
Sometime in the next three years, Hansen, along with 16 other investors (RAE Lyons, PD Harrison, PN Kean, SW Hansen, GL Smith, JP Van Duuren, PJ Balderstone, KC Garland, DJ McCluskey, CA Bennett, GD Dumesny, F Giampaolo, DJ McShane, DJ Slocum, TG McHenry, CJ Harrison, DT Harrison) bought shares in the horse. This has certainly improved Steve Hansen’t net worth.
Nature Strip has had five trainers over the years – Robert Smerdon, Robert Hickmott, John Sadler, Darren Weir, and Chris Waller (the current trainer). Smerdon introduced Nature Strip to his 1000m maiden race, which the horse won. His next few trainers didn’t have the same luck.
Weir, however, took over Nature Strip in 2018, and the horse immediately won against the Group 1 winner, Sunlight. Soon after, Nature Strip also broke the 1000m track record while competing in Group 2. Weller became the trainer in 2019 after Weir was arrested for using tasers in training.
Soon later, Nature Strip won his Group 1 maiden race (the 1100m one). He didn’t, however, do that well in all competitions that season, although his odds were mostly skewed in its favour, winning it the reputation of an overrated horse. The gelding was even called the most polarising horse in Australia.
Weller, however, proved that he was a great trainer in the following years, and he again took Nature Strip to Everest, the richest race in Australia. Nature Strip was the favourite to win, and he indeed won with a time of 1:09.11, bagging the AUD$6.2 million prize while leading all the way.
After winning most major tournaments in Australia, Nature Strip travelled to England for the Royal Ascot, one of the most contending races in the world. The Steve Hansen-owned racehorse won the King’s Stand Stakes, and not only that, but it did it seamlessly.
The Everest and the Royal Ascot victories made Nature Strip one of the best, if not the best, racehorses in the world. Sir Hansen could not hide his joy and said it was a privilege to have a horse like Nature Strip that only gets better with age.
In terms of his lifetime stats, Nature Strip has won 54% of races and placed in 76% of them. He fares the best in the 1000-1200 m range. The gelding’s record is 41: 22-8-1, and his earnings so far are over AUD$20,000,000. Punters absolutely love this horse and the bonuses he brings them. They are similar to those you can potentially win at the best online casinos in New Zealand.
Popular Questions
Thank you for reading our article on Steve Hansen’s horse racing success. We hope you enjoyed learning about Sir Hansen and the majestic Nature Strip. Below, we have also gathered the most popular questions and answers, but if you have any others, you can always contact us.
1️⃣ Who is Sir Steve Hansen?
This is a legendary rugby coach who spent a decade leading the All Blacks, the New Zealand national rugby team. As per Sir Steve Hansen's biography, he has led the team towards many wins over his tenure, including a World Cup. Let's not forget Steve Hansen's horse racing involvement.
2️⃣ What's special about Steve Hansen horse racing?
Although Sir Steve Hansen is popular for his impressive rugby career, he's been recently making the headlines for his passion for horse racing. As per our summary about who is Steve Hansen, he also owns a share in one of the best sprinter horses in the world now that simply can't stop winning.
3️⃣ Which is Sir Steve Hansen's horse?
Sir Steve Hansen owns shares, along with 16 other investors, of the racehorse Nature Strip. This is a gelding from Australia, foaled in 2014, which has been taking part in horse racing contests for over 5 years now. Sir Steve Hansen's horse racing passion continues to this day.
4️⃣ How much money has Nature Strip made so far?
It is slowly becoming one of the richest horses in the world. According to Nature Strip's biography and stats, over the course of its 5 years as a competitor, the horse has already made its investors over AUD$20,000,000, which is quite impressive when compared to other racehorses of this calibre.
5️⃣ Which major tournaments has Nature Strip won?
Nature Strip is often the favourite or second favourite to win tournaments. The gelding has won most Australian tournaments, as well as some international ones, with his biggest victories being at Everest and the Royal Ascot. Sir Steven Hansen has made the right choice with this racehorse.