John Tapp Racing

Had Billy Charles elected to stay in his very first job with the National Bank he would have soon been up to his knees in carpet in the CEO’s office. But, as much as he enjoyed the challenge the eighteen year old couldn’t shake the unrelenting urge to seek employment in the racing industry. He broke every record getting to Elizabeth St in the city when the progressive Sydney Turf Club advertised for a clerk in the racing office. Bill landed the job, and for the next seven years earned recognition as a burgeoning talent.  His journey through to 1996 brought him into great repute as a versatile administrator in Australia and overseas. He opted for a change of direction in that year when Bart Cummings “head-hunted” the 49 year old for the role of Leilani Lodge Racing Manager. He was destined to stay with the maestro for 17 years. Bill is now semi-retired but continues to assist behind the scenes for high profile trainers John Thompson and Matthew Smith. His journey in the racing game makes for a very interesting podcast chat. He begins by talking about his current association with John Thompson and Matthew Smith.

Bill  says he’s a regular visitor to the Thompson stable with a big supply of carrots.

He talks of Matthew Smith’s brilliant sprinter Headwall who’s chasing a long overdue Gr 1 success. 
Bill takes us right back to the late 1950’s when his dad William Snr regularly took him to Sydney metropolitan meetings. He says one particular race at Randwick sparked his fascination with the racing game.

He looks back on his first job with the Castle Hill branch of the National Bank. His heart wasn’t in it.

Bill remembers the day his father informed him of a job opportunity with the Sydney Turf Club. 

He looks back on the duties assigned to him at the Elizabeth St headquarters of Sydney’s second race club.

In 1970 the opportunity to widen his racing knowledge attracted him to a role with the Australian Jockey Club. He gained the job and stayed for seven rewarding years. During that time he was invited to put forward suggestions for the naming of a brand new sprint race introduced by the AJC Committee. Bill’s recommendation gained the nod of approval. 

Bill talks about his passion for memorising pedigrees and racing colours during his years as an administrator.

He was both surprised and chuffed in late 1977 to be offered a role on the administration team put together to introduce horse racing in Tehran. He was exactly the right age to be taking on this kind of challenge.

Bill acknowledges some of the fellow Australians who were involved in the launch of racing on the new Farahabad dirt circuit. They included a high profile Adelaide racing writer and a former champion Victorian jumps jockey. 

He remembers the big representation of Aussie jockeys who were prepared to try their luck in the Middle East.

The supreme highlight of Bill’s eight months in Tehran was his marriage to Barbara at the Australian Embassy. He looks back on a wonderful occasion.

Bill says he left Iran immediately after the first race meeting was staged. He says the signs of impending trouble in the region were already evident.

The racing experiment in Iran didn’t work. It folded after just eighteen months. The track’s all gone now.

The experienced racing aficionado says he was approached by the AJC immediately after arriving home. He grabbed the opportunity and stayed for eleven years. Halfway through he was promoted to an executive role.

Bill says his itchy feet returned in 1989. He felt due for a change at the precise time an offer turned up from the Macau Jockey Club. The former banker embarked on another exciting adventure.

On returning to Australia he was offered a job by the Queensland Principal Club supervising licenced persons in the state. 

Back in Sydney a new offer came from an unexpected source. Bill says he was offered the role of Secretary Manager of the Greyhound Breeders Owners And Trainers Association. He decided to take on a brand new challenge.

May 1995 saw Charles go to work for well known owner, breeder and punter John Poletti. He says his timing was astray on this occasion. Poletti hit a financial hurdle just three months later forcing the abandonment of his racing interests. 

One door closed and another one opened. Bill says Bart Cummings was making overtures to him before the Poletti operation wound down. 

 

His association with Leilani Lodge was destined to last for 17 years. He says his duties were many and varied. Bill looks back on Bart’s attributes as a horseman and his well known penchant for a “one liner.” 

Bill pays tribute to his personal favourites on the Cummings team.

He pays special tribute to a former racing administrator who taught him many tricks of the trade.

Bill Charles has worn many hats in his six decades in racing at home and overseas. Great to have him share his reminiscences with us.

Sky Racing’s Greg Radley spends time with Craig Sant at Darwin Cup time each year. He called me after this year’s NT carnival with a strong suggestion that we should invite Craig onto the podcast. We put the wheels in motion and Craig is our special guest this week. The 57 year old son of former trots trainer Allan Sant was brought up with standardbred horses and in mid- teens looked likely to follow in his father’s footsteps, but his nagging desire to become a race caller refused to go away. It took a long time and the disappointments were many, but his sheer persistence finally landed him behind the microphone at Alice Springs where he called the action for four years. 
Today Craig’s firmly ensconced in Darwin where he covers 40 thoroughbred meetings a year at the famous Fannie Bay track, and  more than 70 at the Winnellie Park greyhound circuit.  Craig talks about his annual get-together with Sky’s Greg Radley.

 
He talks about the month long Darwin Cup carnival which attracts horses and visitors from all over Australia. He agrees it brings added pressure to the resident race caller.

Craig reviews this year’s Darwin Cup won by visiting Adelaide horse Watadeel, one of a ten horse team brought to the top end by trainer Michael Hickmott.

He pays tribute to former Fannie Bay caller Mick Stumbles who was in the chair for close to forty years. Craig says he was scheduled to call his first Darwin Cup in 2013 but missed the opportunity as a result of a tragic race fall.

Craig says he finally got off the ground with a Cup call in 2014 and he hasn’t forgotten the occasion. The winner got the result on protest.

He talks about the unique dirt track which is sprayed with oil every year.

Craig says there are no breeding industries for thoroughbreds or greyhounds in the region. He says all equine and canine competitors
are from other places.

He talks of childhood days in the Sutherland Shire and his obsession with the  Cronulla-Sharks NRL team.

Craig explains that his father Allan kept his harness horses in backyard stables at Caringbah and had to go to a great deal of trouble to get them worked. 

He recalls Allan’s success with horses at the iconic Harold Park track at Glebe, and a later relocation to the well known harness racing town of Peak Hill. Craig says he drove horses in trackwork and in a handful of trials but resisted the temptation to follow in his father’s footsteps.

He takes us through the early years when he practiced his race calls onto a tape recorder wherever he could find a spare broadcast box.

Finally a surprise opportunity! Craig talks about an on-air job with a Darwin radio station owned by the Northern Territory TAB. That exposure led him to the track commentator’s role at the Winnellie Park dogs.

He looks back on an opportunity at Pioneer Park Alice Springs where he spent four years as track announcer complemented by freelance work as a racing journalist. During that time he met his future wife Varn who’d been posted to Alice Springs as a school teacher. The couple are now the proud parents of two special daughters.

Craig acknowledges the talents of some special horses he’s called during his time in the Territory.

He tells us more about his regular role as track supervisor at the Fannie Bay racecourse. 

Craig tells a very funny story about a race he called at the Winnellie Park greyhounds one night. He’d had a wager on one of the runners, and was puzzled when he couldn’t find his fancy anywhere in the field. 

A laid back chat with a Sydney lad who just chipped away until the smallest of opportunities came up. He seized that chance with both hands.

As a youngster Tony McEvoy looked forward to a long career as a jockey. As it turned out he was just 19 when increasing weight put an end to that dream, but not before he’d topped a century of wins. His talents in the saddle and devotion to duty saw him rewarded with two amazing opportunities at Gr 1 level in 1977. Young Mc Evoy rode a copybook race on Deesse to win the South Australian Oaks. He went tantalisingly close to completing the 3YO classic double when So Called went under narrowly to Stormy Rex in the Derby. His training career began under tragic circumstances when appointed head trainer for Lindsay Park following the death of Peter Hayes in a light aircraft crash in 2001.
Tony’s subsequent journey has been one of racing’s greatest stories. The master horseman takes us on a sentimental journey on this week’s podcast. He begins by talking about he and son Calvin’s dual operation at Flemington and Ballarat.

Tony looks back on Calvin’s early fascination with racing. He says racehorses dominated his every thought while growing up in the Barossa Valley. 

He looks back on early days in Streaky Bay on the Eyre Peninsula and pays tribute to his parents. Mother Connie is still living independently at a remarkable age.

Tony looks back on his first apprenticeship with local trainer Bill Holland. His nephew Kerrin started with the same astute trainer.

He clearly remembers the thrill of his first winning ride at Balaclava on a horse trained by the local race caller.

Tony talks of a transfer to champion trainer Colin Hayes and the highlights of his brief but successful riding career. He looks back on a near miss in attempting the Oaks/Derby double.

He pays tribute to two outstanding mares he got to ride for the Lindsay Park operation.

The veteran horseman speaks affectionately of his personal favourite among the Hayes trained horses.

Tony looks back on his delight when offered a job on the Lindsay Park team following his retirement from race riding.

He reflects on the shock accident that claimed the life of Peter Hayes and the sadness that followed at Lindsay Park. With David Hayes already committed to a Hong Kong contract, Tony was appointed head trainer at the famous Angaston operation.

He was privileged to train the classy Fields Of Omagh during this initial stint, and was thrilled to win the SA Oaks twenty six years after he’d won the race as a jockey.

Tony looks back on the decision by David Hayes in 2010 to move the entire Lindsay Park operation to Victoria. He says he gave strong consideration to remaining on the team but received opposition from daughter Eliza and son Calvin.

He pays tribute to wife, Jo, whom he met at Lindsay Park during her time as a valued trackwork rider.  

Tony takes us through the fascinating story of his friendship with Wayne Mitchell  who eventually purchased the Lindsay Park training operation. Wayne remains Tony’s business partner.

Like most South Australian participants Tony says he was thrilled to win the historic Goodwood Hcp shortly before relocating to Victoria.

The trainer takes us through the fairy tale story of the purchase of Half Yours and the gelding’s spectacular rise in the staying ranks last spring. For he and Calvin, it was a dream come true so early in their partnership.

We obviously devote the appropriate space to McEvoy’s recollection of Sunlight’s short but brilliant career.

Tony pays a fitting tribute to his four time Gr 1 winning warrior Hey Doc.

He acknowledges his SA Derby win with good filly Coco Sun.

Tony and Calvin were pretty excited when their French import Yellow Jersey began his spring campaign in Saturday’s Heatherlie Stakes at Caulfield. Tony shares the backstory.

He talks of another French import they have in the stable who recently strung together 4 straight city wins. Nearco Frod is raced by an OTI syndicate.

Tony McEvoy’s journey in racing is the kind of story podcasts are made for. Delighted to have him share that story on this week’s edition.

Youngest jockey to win a metropolitan premiership in Australia last season was Tasmania’s  27 year old Erica Byrne Burke. Second youngest was 29 year old Ben Thompson who was dominant in winning the Brisbane title.  34 year old James McDonald predictably won the Sydney honours, while 40 year old William Pike claimed yet another Perth premiership. 49 year old Craig Williams was superb in winning his tenth Melbourne title, but it was Adelaide veteran Jason Holder who dominated the headlines by winning his fourth metro premiership at the remarkable age of 50. “Stubby” Holder hasn’t been on the podcast for six years. He was happy to join us again to talk about his new lease of life. He says this was the most satisfying of his 4 premiership wins.

The popular jockey talks about his good start to the new season.

He recalls the origins of his longtime nickname of “Stubby”.

Jason talks of three stakes wins last season, one of them on Air Assault. He’s won nine races on the Andrew Gluyas trained gelding.

Stubby says he’s all the better for riding a touch heavier nowadays. The jockey pays tribute to manager Cheree Gask and 
talks of his recently adopted relaxation therapy. He talks of partner Ghiann’s involvement in the racing industry. 

 

Jason talks of a new business venture launched in collaboration with daughter Paris.

He talks of happy days in a popular husky club. While other jockeys were playing golf Stubby was out on the trail with his Siberian huskies.

The champion jockey says his initial interest in thoroughbreds was inspired by his mother’s passion for racing.

 

He looks back on a happy apprenticeship to Leon Macdonald and an enduring friendship with the recently retired trainer. He has a funny story about his early participation in Adelaide barrier trials.

Jason looks back on his first ride, first winner and maiden city success.

The jockey says he was thrilled to win the historic Goodwood Hcp early in his career.

He looks back on a memorable feature double on the Colin Alderson trained French Resort in 1996. The Victorian trainer wanted a local jockey and Stubby got the job.

Jason looks back on his only Melbourne Cup ride, a third placing on Skybeau. This was the first of the gelding’s five Melbourne Cup starts.

The multiple premiership winner talks of his SA Derby win on Markham and an opportunity on the same horse in the Caulfield Cup. He thought he was a chance of gaining the Melbourne Cup ride but it was not to be.

Holder looks back on his bittersweet four year stay in Queensland 
A partnership with Bruce McLachlan brought him a Magic Millions win on Phelan Ready in 2009. A serious Eagle farm race fall later cost him a possible Golden Slipper win on the same horse.

He looks back on a series of overseas stints after returning from a four month absence. He enjoyed great success in Mauritius, Singapore, Hong Kong and Macau.

On returning to Adelaide in 2015/2016 he set his sights on a third metro premiership and duly succeeded.

Jason browses through a list of his favourite horses.

This is a laid back chat with yet another legend from the state that has been producing top jockeys for many decades.

It was champion jockey Kerrin McEvoy who strongly recommended Shane Green as a potential podcast guest. The two became friends when Shane was working for the Darley organisation and Kerrin was under retainer as stable jockey. It’s taken a while to make it happen, but we have the ever versatile Mr. Green on the podcast this week. He begins by talking about his enduring friendship with the multiple Gr 1 winning jockey. 

Shane says his current role as an NDIS carer came out of the blue.

He talks about Darwin’s many appealing features. 

Shane was just 10 years old when he became a regular at Dapto dogs. He recalls  standing outside the broadcast box hanging on every word uttered by a famous caller of the day.

He says he was almost 16 when given the opportunity to call the Moss Vale dogs at very short notice. His father got him the job.

Shane has never forgotten the persistent kid from Sydney who regularly attended Moss Vale meetings pleading for the chance to call a race or two. He finally relented and unwittingly laid the foundations for a high profile career.

The 64 year old talks about a later appointment as on course caller at the Nowra greyhounds. He handled broadcasting duties at Moss Vale and Nowra for many years.

Shane first played Rugby League at age 6. He looks back on his progression from the under 7’s to the under 18’s and finally to the Country Seconds side. 

He remembers a brief but successful coaching career after a nasty injury terminated his playing days.

Shane says he had the “wanderlust” from an early age. He looks back on a rewarding stint at a Western Australian thoroughbred stud. He later worked for a prominent Ascot trainer.

Back home on the Southern Highlands he became friendly with the father of a prominent Sydney horseman who happened to hold a key role at a huge training operation. Shane says he followed up promptly. The interview got off to a bad start.

His efficiency in the new job later led to an interstate transfer.  Shane got to look after some outstanding horses during his time in Melbourne. He talks about a couple of special ones.

He reflects on several happy years with a succession of leading trainers. 

Shane talks about his very first trip to Alice Springs and an opportunity to get back into the broadcasting business. He also got to help out in a leading Alice Springs stable.

During his eleven years as Pioneer Park  broadcaster Shane trained horses in his own right. He looks back on the difficulty associated with doing two jobs.

He has no doubt about the best horse he’s seen in the Northern Territory. 

Kerrin McEvoy said this bloke would make a very interesting podcast guest. He was right!