Platinum Racing

Events of the past few months have left me a little bewildered and asking myself "just what has happened to Orange?" Happenings in the central western NSW city where I spent a good deal of my formative years have made me wonder what has gone wrong in the place.

I am no "blow in" to Orange. I was among the first student intake to Canobolas High School, spent a few years living in the town when it was a hyper-friendly place, a thriving racing metropolis and by far the best racing centre in the area where comeraderie and fun were as much a part of racing as the competitiveness. I have never been one for harking back to perceived "halcyon days" - the world has changed, racing has changed - and unfortunately so has Orange.

I learned to ride in the town, spending most weekday mornings trotting around the car park on the Neil Wright-trained Travel Star and spending a few weekends out at the late Tom Beauzeville's property being led by Tom off his white pony on a lovely little chestnut mare, Eglington Hope, with Tom's son, the late Reg Beauzeville yelling instructions to me from the back paddock gate. In fact at my last ride on Orange racecourse I won on Youbelong for Oberon trainer, the late Vic Arrow (senior) and we beat the heavily backed Quietely Spoken trained at Randwick by Les Bridge and ridden by the late great Jack Thompson.

In later years I filled in for a season as the course and 2BS race broadcaster at Orange when the late John Kerwick relinquished the position to take up a position with the NSW Trotting Authority and the current caller Col Hodges was recovering from back injuries sustained in his other life as a shearer. My memories of the town were very fond indeed.

Alas, all that seems to have changed - and not for the better.

Racing in Orange is now a rump of its former self. When I first went to the town with my family there were a host of horses in work. Bill Regan, Brian Honeyman, Jack Eddy, Reg Priest, Pat Ryan, Neil Wright, Neville Stuart, Connie Williamson, Tom Beauzeville, Dick Cornish, Max Wardle and others trained on the track.

Jockeys were plentiful too, Ray "Spike" Jones, Kevin Jopson, Matey Molloy, Ned Dougherty, my father Des, Kevin Crowe, Bruce Gentle were among the seniors in the town and Stephen Archer, Geoff Tanswell, George Nicholas, Wayne Wardle and Reg Paradowski were among the apprentices.

Now there is one race riding jockey in Orange - James Geppert - and he is an apprentice.

The track used to be abuzz every morning with horses - but these days it just seems to be abuzz with malicious gossip and appalling un-Orange like behaviour.

There are a few exception, Reg "Squeaker" Priest - who is the same man now to the man I knew 40 years ago, Max Wardle, who I had a yarn with about "old times" in our Orange stables a few months back and Wayne Wardle and his wife Sue, who have been extremely kind to me since I re-entered the Orange scene.

"Johnno" Johnson has also remained elevated - but then again "Johnno" is "old school" - and that is probably why he has been a very successful horse trainer and has the respect of all his peers.

My bewilderment at Orange's change reached palpable levels in recent weeks. When the decision was taken by Platinum Racing to establish the stable in Orange, I did not expect to be given the keys to the city - but similarly I did not expect the sniping, vitriol and dastardly behaviour of some in the racing industry in the town.

These people are not "natives" and in the main their achievements in racing come a long way behind those of Priest, Wardle, Cornish, Beauzeville (Tom and Reg), Molloy, Dougherty and Jones.

These people had a steady stream of winners, won premierships, had city winners, some won Gr 1 races like Matey Molloy on Persian Puzzle who won a Doncaster etc.

Nah, these people have hardly measured on racing's "Richter-scale." But they have been extremely vocal in what Platinum Racing should and shouldn't do and have fed a good deral of misinformation at varying timers to authorities.

I have tried to ignore the crap - as that is what it has been - crap. But just recently Michael Plummer, our Orange stable racing manager and registered foreman received an email from the new secretary/manager of the Golden West Race Club, Mr Bill Jackson.

In his email Mr Jackson Mr Jackson said:

Dear Sir,

 

Please be advised as follows:

 

1. If you have moved any of your horses into alternate stables at Towac Park Orange without the express permission of the Trustees then you are requested to remove same and submit a written request to the Trustees as soon as possible.
2. If, as I am lead to believe, you are housing any horse other than registered thoroughbreds in training you MUST remove same from the Clubs property - immediately.
3. Should it be the case that you are acting as a horse trainer at Towac Park (Training illegally) or that Ms Sylvia Szarbo is training without authority of the Golden West Race Club Inc you must both cease or face the legal consequences.

 

Mr Plummer, the above matters are very serious and have serious legal consequences. You are therefore requested to rectify these matters immediately.

 

 

Thanking you for your immediate compliance.

Again the email was crap! What Mr Jackson simply forgot to mention was:

1. The stables that Platinum Racing was expected to use were falling down and unfit for horses to inhabit - not to mention dangerous.

2. Horses are constantly moved on the track and no other trainer (as admitted to me by Mr Jackson when i called him) has been written to in regards to this matter.

3. Platinum Racing has NO unregistered horses on the track.

4. Michael is a licensed foreman and as such is entitled to work horses, saddle them up and do what he likes under the instructions of our trainer Brad Draper.

5. Name the source of his reports.

6. Mention that Mr Plummer split acrimoniously with the Golden West Race Club when he was secretary/manager.

It was an appalling, misguided email. It also highlights the lack of common sense shown by the Directors of the Golden West Race Club to allow such an email to be written - and for them to step way outside of there bailiwick.

It is not the role of the Golden West Race Club to investigate unlicensed trainers or the like. It is the role of the stewards at Racing NSW. So there are a few people on the board of the Golden West Race Club living way above their station!'

Unsurprisingly in a subsequent email received by our trainer Brad Draper, a Mr Brincat, former steward and now board member of the club admitted the source was wrong.

Gee thanks!

This is not the first time that "goss" and small minded rot has led Platinum Racing to be brought into question since we moved to Orange. It has led me to cease any plans I have for expanding the company in Orange and for us to gradually scale back our operation in the town to a couple of horses.

The company's future lies in a real racing town with real people and where the silliness of Orange will only be a memory.

Obviously Orange does not need large stables, jobs for people in the industry and significant support for rural and regional horse businesses. I am on the lookout for a town and venue that does.