Phillip is a highly experienced and multiple award-winning journalist with more than 20 years involvement in the newspaper and media industry.
He is a five-times winner of the New Zealand Outstanding Journalist of the Year award.
He began his journalism career at The Daily News in New Plymouth in the mid 1980s, where he began as a general news writer before becoming racing editor. He then had a two-and-a-half year stint as editor of the New Zealand Bloodhorse magazine in the late 1980s before becoming racing editor of the Waikato Times in 1990.
Among his tasks at the Waikato Times were to cover the Melbourne Cup and he rates the win by the Brian Jenkins-trained mare Jezabeel in the 1998 running of the big Flemington feature as one of his best overseas assignments.
He left the Waikato Times in 1999 to pursue a freelance career and among the publications he currently writes for are the National Business Review, Sunday Star-Times, Eye Magazine, New Zealand Racehorse Owners magazine, the Television New Zealand internet site while his company’s clients include Sir Patrick and Justine Lady Hogan’s world-famous Cambridge Stud, Peter and Philip Vela’s Pencarrow Stud, the Tony Tay Group, Karapiro Wellness Resort and Auckland real estate entrepreneur Don Ha. He also assisted new Hamilton West MP Tim Macindoe in his 2008 election campaign with publicity and promotions.
He is also a foundation Board member of the New Zealand Racing Hall Of Fame and is the PR Consultant to the First Tuesday Trust which is developing a new Melboune Cup event in Cambridge.
In 2008 he was also deputy-chairman of the Waikato Diocesan School Association.
