Good to catch up with a young jockey who’s forged a prominent spot among the powerful Sydney riding ranks in recent years. The Waterhouse/Bott duo supply regular rides to Adam Hyeronimus  in recognition of his unrelenting work ethic. He currently has 4 Gr 1 winners on his CV along with numerous stakes wins. We were able to pin Adam down last week for a lengthy chat about the early days of his apprenticeship and the road he’s since travelled.  He begins by referencing the wonderful support he...

We’ve had several requests for a podcast with former jockey and popular Sky Thoroughbred Central presenter Bernadette Cooper. The enquirers were unaware Bernie had already been one of our podcast guests, as far back as April of 2019.  Another email in the past week has settled the issue. We’re going to pluck the five and a half year old podcast from the archives and give it another run.  One of Bernie’s roles at the time was to interview winning jockeys immediately after major races had been...

Given the choice Peter Morgan would rather be spending time with his horses than standing around with a mobile phone. He very kindly made an exception for us last week, and we’ve been able to capture some of his recollections of a life with horses. Peter talks firstly about his talented galloper Burrandana whose first up win at Gundagai recently proved he’s on track for a TAB Highway mission. The veteran trainer talks of Burrandana’s troublesome feet. Peter says he actually bred the horse. He...

We had our podcast interview with Keith Ballard safely “in the can” before he reported for duty at Saturday’s Julia Creek Cup fixture at Mount Isa. It’s now history that the legendary jockey went out a winner on the final ride of his 55 year career. Keith was winless in the first four races, but turned it around in the last when he went straight to the lead on Metal Bar and romped home by more than five lengths in the Julia Creek Cup. The fairy tale was enhanced by the fact that Keith’s wife...

It was mid October when I invited Ray Hadley to be special guest on the occasion of our 500th podcast episode. Never once during the conversation did the legendary broadcaster so much as hint that he was contemplating calling time on his 2GB morning programme. We made arrangements to record the interview on the afternoon of Thursday November 5th. Like many of his listeners and colleagues I was stunned, when less than an hour into his programme on Thursday Ray made the shock announcement that...

The story of the Freedman era is one of racing’s all time best - four enthusiastic young brothers who made an amazing journey from the family stud farm at Yass to the establishment of a Victorian based training powerhouse. Lee held sway as trainer with Anthony, Richard and Michael handling crucial roles in the background. Together they had an enormous impact on Australian racing for three decades. Lee won seven Melbourne trainer’s premierships and was runner up six times. Today the boys are...

A hat trick of recent country wins by improving gelding My Last Hooray rekindled memories of Frank Cleary’s glory days in Australian racing. The popular trainer wound down his training operation following two health scares in 2020, and has been training only a handful of horses in recent times. He even hinted that he may walk away from a business that took him to racing’s biggest stage. On learning that My Last Hooray isn’t the only horse on his books, we decided to investigate the immediate...

With the Sydney jockey’s room virtually a closed shop, other talented riders are obliged to carve themselves a niche in one of several strong NSW regional centres. With no shortage of race meetings, these jockeys are able to pursue a healthy livelihood, sneaking to town from time to time when an opportunity arises. One such jockey is Billy Owen who’s services are in regular demand in the Southern Districts. Bill’s first stint as a professional rider was halted by weight problems in 2013. He...

I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Lacey Morrison but I’ve been long aware of her notable  achievements. This resilient 40 year old has had a diversified career in the racing industry as a jockey, a trainer and a two year stint as a member of the Darling Downs steward’s panel. Lacey’s comeback from injury in 2021 has far exceeded her expectations. In the recently concluded 2023/2024 season she rode 101 winners to finish fourth on the Queensland jockey’s premiership ladder. She also happens...

I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing Darren Beadman many times but not so much in recent years. Spotted him at Graham McNeice’s recent funeral service, and it occurred to me that “Shadow” would have insisted I feature the former star jockey on this podcast.  Darren’s a busy boy these days in his role as Race Day Operations Manager for Godolphin, with little time to spare. We pinned him down last Friday after he’d completed duties at the Rosehill barrier trials. It’s just a relaxed chat...

  If pedigree has any bearing there was always a strong likelihood James Orman would become a jockey. His father Michael showed some talent in a very brief career before increasing weight terminated his aspirations. His mother Caroline Allardyce has been a trainer for forty years, and increased her team numbers when James became her stable apprentice in 2013. Young Orman’s emergence as one of Australia’s best jockeys has been spectacular. He begins by talking about his flying start in the new...

I first met Josh Fleming when he visited the Sky Studios with family members in 2000. He was just 15 at the time, but already a professional race caller in Queensland. He’d debuted at Longreach a year earlier and had subsequently called the action at several far flung tracks. He was too young to take part in Sky’s first “young race caller scholarship” but landed a job in his own right three years later. He’s come a long way from that nervous start at Longreach, and the story makes for an...

Aaron Bullock has emerged in the last five years as one of Australia’s most consistent jockeys. In the 2022/2023 season his astounding strike rate saw him win the national jockey’s title with 207.5 winners. He’s due to return to the saddle at the end of the month following a two month injury layoff. While he had a little spare time on his hands the father-to-be was happy to talk to us about his meteoric rise in the riding ranks. Aaron says he can’t wait to get cracking again.  He says his...

Many racing people were predicting a bright future for Dylan Gibbons long before he made his debut at Taree in July 2020.  Son of successful jockey Andrew Gibbons,  the lanky youngster had been taken along quietly by his master Kris Lees and was the complete package by the time he was let loose. Dylan hasn’t let his supporters down. In just four seasons of race riding he’s approaching 400 winners including two Gr 1’s. Caught up with the talented young rider last week for a comprehensive chat...

Steve Hart was just 23 years old when he joined the ranks of Sydney’s race photographers in 1983. It didn’t take him long to showcase the flair, the creativity and the energy needed to chase the right shots through a long day at the races. Most importantly he made a million friends along the way. We got Steve to sit still long enough to record a special interview about his life and the career he chose above all others.  He begins by looking back on his final day at the races. The inevitable...

As a regular watcher of racing from all parts of Australia I’ve heard Tony Wode calling the Townsville meetings many times. I’ve been a fan since I first heard his clear, concise race calls. At last we get around to profiling the career of a man who recently called his 40th Townsville Cup. How he got to where he is today makes for a great story and an even better podcast. Tony begins by talking about his occasional trips away from Townsville when smaller race clubs are stuck for a race...

After just 14 years of race riding Don Terry was clearly established as one of the best country based jockeys in Australia. He was approaching 700 winners when involved in a life changing race fall at Grafton. After six months in Brisbane’s Princess Alexandra Hospital he settled on the NSW north coast, and began the long road back. His achievements have been extraordinary. It’s a privilege to welcome him as a very special guest on this week’s podcast. Don talks about the way he manages his...

Kevin Sweeney was one of those ever reliable jockeys who did his job with total dedication for an amazing 46 years. Had it not been for a high spirited horse dumping him at a Nowra meeting in 2015, he may well have pushed on for a bit longer. Kev spent the bulk of his career at Canberra and on southern districts tracks, where he forged strong associations with many stables. Despite a few current health issues the seventy year old pays us the honour of joining the podcast for a good, old...

It’s just over three years since Molly Bourke won her first race on Mouse Almighty at Wagga. Another 131 wins have followed, complimented by an SDRA Apprentices Premiership. Molly’s talents were clearly evident when she skilfully nursed $58.00 “pop” Secret Plan over the line at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday. She’s now with John Sargent at Randwick and rode 20 city winners last season. Great to catch up with the little girl from Tumbarumba who has to pinch herself to believe she’s...

Pioneers like Pam O’Neill have taken great pride in watching the enormous progress made by female jockeys in recent years. Wendy Peel is Dubbo based these days but has had several addresses during her first seven years of race riding. The 31 year old is unwaveringly passionate about her chosen career path and travels huge mileage to honour commitments.  She’s already a role model to many of the younger girls coming through the system. Wendy joins us on the podcast to look at the female clean...

It was Coffs Harbour based jockey Jon Grisedale who alerted me to the fact that Trevor Hardy was getting close to retirement. The veteran horseman will call time on his 50 year career when his only horse, seven year old gelding Aheadofhistime loses his zest for racing. For twenty years Trevor combined horse training with the running of his small transport business, but had to choose between the two following multiple bypass surgery in 1996. He plumped for full time training, and hasn’t...

Whenever Ken Callaughan brought a horse to town from his country base, bookies were wary and punters had a very good look at the animal’s credentials. Ken’s success rate on metropolitan tracks was consistent over many years. We gave him a call recently and the veteran horseman accepted our invitation to join us on the podcast. Ken talks about the horse transport business he launched after quitting the training ranks.  He says much of his work is generated by Goulburn trainers who like to run...

Joe Bowditch has been a familiar face on major Australian racetracks for more than 34 years. He’s still plying his trade from a Victorian base at 47 years of age, and still riding winners. The evergreen jockey has crammed a lot into more than three decades of race riding in four states. The Joe Bowditch story makes for an interesting podcast. Currently under suspension,   he was happy to give me some time on the phone last weekend. He spoke to me from a Bundalong property owned by his great...

Great to catch up with respected Dubbo trainer Peter Nestor who’s back in town training a small team of horses after a four year break from racing. A member of a legendary western districts racing family, Peter takes us back to his early days in the unique township of Gulargambone, and the family’s move to Dubbo. He talks of the serious heart ailment that stopped him in his tracks early last year. Peter admits he knew something was amiss for many months. He places most of the blame on a...