You know that racing’s ownership sands are shifting when one of the leading players on the global stage prompts a police incident by inviting Japanese racing fans to meet him at Tokyo’s famous Godzilla statue for a free merchandise session.

The globetrotting Goliath couldn’t repay the faith of his eager fan club when sixth in the G1 Japan Cup (2400m) last November, but the French five-year-old with a weird way of walking and a hugely ambitious owner gets another chance to make an international statement in the HK$28 million G1 FWD QEII Cup (2000m) at Sha Tin this Sunday (27 April).

Goliath’s climb to the top tier of world racing – which began with his commanding defeat of subsequent Arc winner Bluestocking and G1 road warrior Rebel’s Romance in the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2392m) at Ascot last July – will be familiar to anyone who follows World Pool showcase events.

And the remarkable rise of the man who bought a majority share in the giant French gelding after his Ascot win – from night shift in a Toyota factory to private equity fortune and a bloodstock operation growing at dizzying speed – is a gift that keeps on giving for media members more used to dealing with billionaire owners who cloak their racing operations in clinical discretion.

An initial inquiry for this piece was made while American businessman John Stewart was livestreaming action as hundreds of visitors roamed the paddocks of his Kentucky Stud Farm for ‘Brunch with the Babies,’ a Sunday morning shindig designed to help racing fans get up close and personal with a host of star race mares and their foals.

A string quartet provided the soundtrack as the man who created Resolute Bloodstock drew back the curtain on a historic Kentucky farm that he aims to develop into one of the world’s foremost breeding and training centres over the next few years.

And Stewart’s assertion that “I don’t do anything halfway” seems a colossal understatement when the scale of his investments over the last three years are listed.

His ever-expanding broodmare band includes Breeders’ Cup heroines Goodnight Olive and Caravel along with the dam of Kentucky Derby winner Mage, while Goliath spearheads a global racing squad that also features star French filly Vertical Blue and a share in recent Al Quoz Sprint winner Believing.

A sprinkling of social media spice has been added to the mix thanks to a lengthy Twitter feud with leading American owner Mike Repole, while another piece of the celebrity jigsaw falls into place this week when Stewart, cruising to the doors of a private jet in his red Ferrari, features in the eagerly awaited Netflix racing series ‘Race for the Crown.’

Stewart’s daughter Sarah arranges a slot for this interview once the Brunch with the Babies crowd leaves Resolute Farm and suggests it might take a while because “my dad is a good talker.”

And he certainly is.

Stewart’s views are rooted in a conviction that “racing wants and needs the world’s best horses to travel and meet each other.” And his Resolute resolutions are delivered with the speed and clarity of a man on a mission to make a major mark while taking as many people along for the ride as possible.

The beast has arrived in Hong Kong @HKJC_Racing and is ready to pound the competition! GOLIATH! pic.twitter.com/UcD0JIuT0t

— Jstewartrr (@jstewartrr) April 19, 2025

Goliath’s progress

“It was exciting to be able to buy the fourth ranked horse in the world and I was only able to do that because he was a gelding. We race him together with his previous owner Philip (Von Ullman) and his trainer Francis (Graffard) has been fully on board with our vision of taking great horses and putting them up against the best from all over the world.

The Japan Cup didn’t quite work out, but maybe we should have reacted to the lack of pace by going to the front. We’ll have to evaluate what will happen with the pace in Hong Kong, but Francis feels the horse is training perfectly and once he gets rolling he’s a hard horse to overcome.”

That Godzilla Square incident

“We thought fifty or a hundred people would turn up for the souvenir Goliath cards but it got picked up by the press and several thousand fans arrived. The police were asking for a permit, which we didn’t have, but we walked back to our hotel with the crowd following and the staff did a wonderful job as we signed autographs for three hours. It was crazy.”

Fan engagement

“I started out as a fan at the races and it seemed so intimidating with owners, trainers and jockeys in the paddock and the rest watching from afar. I’m sure other people feel the same but I’m trying to break down those barriers with transparency to show how much fun this sport can be.”

Netflix Stardom

“You know how those Netflix shows go and, as me and Mike Repole didn’t get off to a good start in our relationship, I’m sure Netflix are going to play that up. They’ll spin it the way they want but I trust them. We tried to give them access and I think they want to advance the sport and portray it in a positive light and if we add to that then that’s great.

Netflix did a great job with ‘Drive To Survive’ and I’d love to see racing align with Formula 1 for a handful of major racing events each year. The two sports have a lot in common, with major events staged on the world stage, and horse racing could learn a lot about fan engagement from F1 and maybe bring a lot more people into the sport.”

Brunch With The Babies

“Ah, that was another Godzilla. We ended up with about a thousand people on the farm and it was awesome. You drive down the road in Kentucky and all the horse farms have these big, imposing gates, but fans need access and now that I own fillies like Goodnight Olive and Puca – a two-time Breeders’ Cup winner and a Broodmare of the Year – then I feel a responsibility be a good steward. My farm manager wasn’t keen on the idea but the people loved interacting with these tremendous horses and their babies and the horses seemed to love it, too.”

Resolute Racing

“I’ve been very fortunate in life and I don’t get a little bit involved in anything I do. It’s either all or nothing and, after buying my first horse in 2022, we now have around 250 divided between foals, yearlings, two-year-olds, active racers, broodmares, nine in Europe and six in Australia.

“I chose the word Resolute because I want the best and I don’t get outbid a lot when I go after a horse. I’m respecting the traditions of the sport, but I’m doing this my way. We’re excited about the success we’ve had so far and we’re just getting started.”

Resolute Farm and the future

“I’ve bought two more farms, one to rehome retired racehorses and another 300-acre property where I want to build the most state-of-the-art training centre for racehorses in the world with a fully enclosed track for year-round training and a mile straight uphill gallop that will be an exact topographical match of Ascot.

“I’ve been underwhelmed by how technology is used in the racing industry. We want horses to be superior athletes yet we treat them like farm animals. This new place is basically going to be run like a Ballydoyle with around 400 stables that is open to the public.

I’m not going to have my own Aidan O’Brien right out of the gate, but there are a lot of incremental opportunities to improve horse performance and the trainers I use will have to operate a division at my training centre or they won’t train horses for me.”

A weekend in Hong Kong

“I’ve been to Hong Kong many times but this is my first time racing there. I’ve heard nothing but good things and I love meeting fans from all over the world, so we’re super excited. It’s a flying visit, arriving on Saturday and leaving Monday.”

Seeking the statement moment

Stewart seems genuinely disappointed that Hong Kong superstar Romantic Warrior won’t be bidding for a fourth consecutive FWD QEII Cup on Sunday and unconcerned that Goliath will be stepping down to 2000m after thriving in sterner stamina tests.

The giant German-bred gelding is turning heads in more ways than one this week, not least because of the stringhalt condition that makes him stamp his left hind leg at the walk, and the international rating of 126 he earned for beating a world-class field at Ascot makes him the highest rated horse in any of the three main FWD Champions Day events.

But this Sunday at Sha Tin marks a very important day for the driving force behind the Resolute racing and breeding operation.

John Stewart’s millions have created a world-class stud farm, a formidable broodmare band and a racing team briefed to shoot for the stars.

But the high stepping Goliath has a new question to answer stepping back in distance at Sha Tin on Sunday. And high-class rivals from Japan and New Zealand are looking to make a statement of their own in one of Hong Kong’s most historic races.