Fitri and Jim Hay

Words - Bill Heller

To racing’s “Golden Couple,” frequent fliers Fitri and Jim Hay, the United States is just one of many locales where their horses have had great success. They’ve won in England, France, America and Dubai—the base of Jim’s company JMH Group and where the couple now resides. “They’re racing enthusiasts,” Alex Cole, the Hays racing manager for the last 17 years, said. “It’s something they enjoy a great amount.”

Visiting the winner’s circle after graded and group stakes can do that to you. Their tremendous turf horse Cape Blanco (they owned 50 percent of the horse in partnership with Mrs. John Magnier, Derrick Smith and Michael Tabor) captured the Dante Stakes, the Irish Derby and the Irish Champion Stakes and was named the 2010 Irish Three-Year-Old Colt of the Year. The Hays had 27 winners in 2010, their highest total ever.

In 2011, trainer Aidan O’Brien sent Cape Blanco to the United States, and he quickly added to the Hays’ resume. After sweeping the Gr. 1 Man o’ War Stakes, Arlington Million and Joe Hirsch Turf Classic, Cape Blanco was named the 2011 Eclipse Champion Male Turf Horse.

That same year, the Hays purchased a 50-percent share of four-time Gp. 1 winner Fame and Glory. His victory in the 2011 Ascot Gold Cup culminated an unforgettable day for the Hays. “Some days can be beyond fable,” Fitri told Catherine McQueen in her December 26, 2019, story in Ccercle, a luxury magazine. “We were guests of the Queen [Elizabeth} for lunch at Windsor Castle. Much to our surprise, this was followed by being included in the royal procession down the track in one of the queen’s carriages—an unbelievable experience!”

The success of Cape Blanco and Fame and Glory helped the Hays purchase Birch Grove, the former mansion of Prime Minister Harold MacMillian. The property includes a private golf course.

Jim was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and Fitri in Jambi, Sumatra. They met in Jakarta, Indonesia, and married on August 25, 1996. They have two daughters, Jasmine and Catriona, who both enjoyed considerable academic success.  

Horse racing has always added up for Jim, whose grandmother taught him addition by watching televised races and making pretend bets. “He was hooked after that,” Alex said.

Jim studied at Strathclyde University in Glasgow, earning a Bachelor of Science and a Doctor of Philosophy in applied chemistry. In 1975, he joined British Petroleum (BP) as an engineer and worked his way up to a senior executive.

After his 27-year run at BP, Jim founded the JMH Group, a private business with two divisions—one dealing with construction, the second with lifestyle and fashion. He also acquired Fosroc, a construction solutions firm.

He’d been increasingly attracted to Thoroughbred racing, and after he and Fitri moved to the United Kingdom in 1998, he began spending so much time at racetracks and sales that Fitri felt like a racing widow. So she took the plunge and fell in love with racing, too.

Together, they began buying horses to build a stable in 2001. They didn’t have their first winner, Baratjea Dream, until 2004, then progressed rapidly. In 2010, they had a breakthrough with Cape Blanco.

In the U.S., their horse—in partnership with Smith, Magnier and Tabor—Deauville, won the 2016 Belmont Derby at Belmont Park. 

More recently, Highland Chief, owned completely by Fitri, captured the 2022 Gr. 1 Man o’ War in his second start for trainer Graham Motion at Belmont Park. 

Paul Cole (Alex’s father) and Oliver (Alex’s brother) had been training Highland Chief in Great Britain. Four weeks after the Man o’ War, Highland Chief raced in the Gr. 1 Manhattan Stakes at Belmont, finishing a solid fourth.

More and more, the Hays have been shipping their top horses to the United States. “The way things are in Great Britain, they send them to the U.S. for prize money,” their racing manager Alex said. 

The Hays spend their racing year at Newbury, Newmarket, York, Dante, Royal Ascot, Sandown, Newmarket again, Goodwood, Longchamp, Deauville and Dubai. Away from the track, they enjoy hunting, shooting, fishing, golf, rugby and soccer.

They have shared their success. The JMH Group was a major donor in the establishment of the Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Science at Jim’s alma mater, Strathclyde. The Group also supports various charities in the Middle East and in India including disaster relief. Fitri has supported various projects to help and educate street children in Indonesia.

Asked why she enjoys racing, she told McQueen in her article, “There are several aspects that cannot be defined in monetary terms. There is firstly the enormous thrill of owning a horse that wins a race. That applies to all races. The thrill is magnified when it happens in a big race. The thrill is further magnified when the horse has been bred by us.”

All made possible by not becoming a racing widow.