It’s a great pleasure to welcome to the podcast former jockey Alan Cowie, currently one of Australia’s best known jockey managers. If you call him Alan you’ll be lucky to get a response- if you call him Pup you’ll get an instant reaction. That’s the nickname given him by a friend in Rockhampton many years ago, a nickname he’s been unable to shake over several decades.
Alan Cowie had 760 winners and a Gold Coast premiership under his belt when he was involved in a three horse fall on the first turn in a fillies and mares race on Magic Millions day 2002. He was in a bad way by the time he arrived at Brisbane’s Princess Alexandra Hospital where his impending paraplegia was diagnosed.
Pup’s acceptance of his fate and an amazing ongoing attitude have become legendary in Queensland racing. He graciously accepted our invitation to join us on the podcast, and was happy to revisit the highs and lows of his life so far. Alan says he was always going to stay in the racing game after a long and trying rehabilitation.
He talks about the demands of modern day jockey management.
Alan acknowledges the talents of the three jockeys under his management at the moment.
He looks back on some of the fine riders he’s managed since commencing operations more than twenty years ago.
Life in a wheelchair isn’t without its hazards. Alan talks about a freakish recent accident which left him with a broken femur.
He says regular exercise is of paramount importance in keeping ahead of his problems. He continues to play golf thanks to the wonders of technology.
Pup takes us back to early days in his hometown of Rockhampton, and talks of three other jockeys in his family background.
He talks of his original apprenticeship to a rural Queensland trainer who was reluctant to use up his weight claims too quickly.
Alan’s famous nickname of “Pup” was bestowed upon him by an older friend in Rockhampton.
He hasn’t forgotten the influence of two legendary jockeys who won multiple Rockhampton premierships between them.
Pup remembers two great bush horses who got him up and running in the local riding ranks.
He says a well known stipendiary steward instigated his transfer to Sydney trainer Jack Denham.
Alan looks back on an exciting twelve months in the famous Denham stable at Rosehill.
He has a soft spot for one consistent Denham trained horse he got to ride.
Alan looks back on the eighteen months he spent at Rosehill after the termination of his apprenticeship. He enjoyed a great trot with the late Ray Guy.
He finally headed home with the opportunity of a regular riding job with Brisbane trainer Colin O’Neill. An amazing twist of fate changed all of that.
Alan looks back on his valuable stint with master trainer Jim Griffiths.
He hasn’t forgotten the winning run he had with the Toby Edmonds trained Chappel Dancer. He travelled with the horse to several country Cup carnivals.
We set aside ample time for Alan’s review of his exciting association with Kinjite, a horse he rode in 22 races. He says Kinjite was the best horse he rode by a country mile.
Alan looks back on several feature wins on Kinjite and the thrill of riding him in some famous Melbourne features.
He remembers the disappointment of losing the ride to champion jockey Mick Dittman.
Alan talks of sons Jarrod and Dylan.
He remembers the torturous eight year wait for legal proceedings to be sorted out following his accident.
It’s an entertaining chat with an inspirational human being.
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Episode 553: Craig Widdison
Many young people born into racing families develop an affinity with horses from a very early age. Not the case with Craig Widdison. Despite the fact that his father Col had ridden and trained successfully, young Craig didn’t want to know about the sleek thoroughbreds that had dominated his early years. His original goal was to become a physical education teacher. He later became involved in roller hockey and immediately showed potential. He had enough ability to play for Australia in the junior ranks, and looked a certainty to represent his country as a senior until fate intervened. A nagging knee problem brought an end to his hockey dreams, and that’s when the racing bug finally took hold. Craig takes us through his twenty five years in racing. He talks about the highs, and one devastating low for which he blames nobody but himself. The Wodonga trainer begins by talking about a trip to Randwick on Melbourne Cup day when The Prodigal Son ‘s chances were thwarted by a H8 track.
Craig revisits a win by the same horse on Melbourne Cup day last year.
The trainer talks about his Wodonga base and easy access to southern NSW meetings.
Craig talks about father Col’s days as a jockey and trainer, and subsequent involvement in the horse transport business.
He admits to having zero interest in racehorses early days, and looks back on his ambition to become a PE teacher.
Craig looks back on his fascination with roller hockey and his selection for the Australian junior representative side.
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Episode 552: Stephen Lee - Loves to be beside the seaside
It's always a pleasure to welcome a bush trainer to the podcast. Our guest this week is Stephen Lee who chips away diligently from his Ballina base season after season with consistent results.
He’s currently ably assisted by son Jordan with whom he’ll soon form an official partnership. Lee has posted 850 winners since his solo career began in 1986, and has two NRRA training premierships on his CV.
Stephen rotates his horses between a dual barn complex on Ballina racecourse, and a nearby 60 acre property which gives him access to a pristine stretch of beach. Whenever one of the team warrants an opportunity in a metropolitan environment, he heads to Eagle Farm or Doomben just two hours away. He rarely tackles the arduous road trip to Sydney although he did venture to Randwick on November 1st with smart sprinter The Astronomer. This podcast was recorded twenty four hours before The Astronomer raced.
Stephen talks of the easy access to Brisbane tracks as opposed to the marathon trip to Sydney.
He acknowledges son Jordan’s entry into the NSW training ranks and says he’s looking forward to their proposed partnership.
Stephen talks about the luxury of being able to give horses a complete change of environment at his beachside property. He says the new routine works wonders with highly strung horses.
He talks about the large paddock set aside for retired racehorses or horses who’ve fallen on hard times. His partner Amanda would have even more if space allowed.
The trainer talks about his two NRRA premierships. In winning the first one he unseated long time incumbent John Shelton.
Stephen looks back on his early education under the tutelage of his late father Bruce. He says Bruce was a capable racehorse trainer but was best known as an all rounder constantly called upon to sort out other people’s troublesome horses.
He talks of his father’s early association with iconic trainer Maurice McCarten.
The Ballina horseman pays tribute to his elderly Mum.
Stephen says his early aspirations to become a jockey were quickly negated by increasing weight.
He talks of a brief flirtation with the harness racing sport.
Stephen has vivid recollections of his first training win on the defunct White ParK track at Scone.
He talks of a brief training stint at Coffs Harbour and a subsequent move to Ballina, a move he hasn’t regretted.
Stephen pays tribute to daughter Maddison who was his valued trackwork rider for a number of years. Maddison put a lot of time into Anton En Avant, a prolific winner for the Lee stable. As a yearling Anton En Avant appeared unlikely to ever make it to the races.
He talks about the gelding’s amazing race record which included a win in the Gr 3 Chairman’s Hcp at Doomben.
Stephen talks of former jockey Cassandra Schmidt who won a string of races on Anton En Avant.
The trainer pays tribute to several handy horses who’ve flown the flag for the Ballina stable over the years - Zoukina, Lasting Kiss, Minassi, Felix Trinidad, Song Time, Bavosa, and Espiritu.
Stephen tells us more about his current apprentice Siabh Wrigley who still has a number of trial rides to complete before gaining her licence to ride in races. The signs are promising.
It’s a laid back chat with a top country horseman.
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Episode 551: Jessica Owers
Jessica Owers was well established as a feature writer for several respected racing publications before being invited to tackle her first book in 2011. She knew the project would be a long and arduous one. She didn’t expect it to take all of six years. Her much admired “Peter Pan- The True Story Of Phar Lap’s Successor” was not only widely acclaimed but gave its author the incentive to follow up with a similar tribute to another iconic Australian racehorse. Just two years later she brought readers the fascinating story of 1940’s champion Shannon.
It’s taken Jessica twelve years to turn out her third book, and this one is on an entirely different theme. Encouraged by friends at the famous Magic Millions Sales organisation, the talented writer recently completed Magic Millions, The Rise, Fall and Extraordinary Rise Of An Iconic Australian Company. We welcome Jess to our podcast to tell us more about her new book and to share with us recollections of her fascinating journey in journalism thus far. The gifted writer says she was encouraged to tackle the Magic Millions story by a handful of longtime company stalwarts.
She explains that most of the people involved in the Magic Millions story are still living, which greatly enhanced her research. The central characters in the Peter Pan and Shannon stories had long passed on.
Jessica talks about the impression she gained during research about the late Carl Waugh, the man who first created the Magic Millions concept.
She says few realised how close the fledgling company came to receivership in the 1990’s.
The author talks of a meeting she had with a Gold Coast developer who owned the Magic Millions company for a couple of years before hitting his own financial crisis.
Jess says she also had the pleasure of recording a voice over for the audio version of her new book.
She talks of her Irish birthplace and a family relocation to Australia before her first birthday.
The mother of two looks back on a return to Ireland at age 10 and a subsequent university degree attained in Scotland.
Jess says she headed back to Australia with her new diploma in hand and has never considered leaving the harbour city.
She steadfastly declares that her love of thoroughbreds was triggered by the legend of Phar Lap.
Jess looks back on the six year slog required to complete her first book, “Peter Pan- The Forgotten Story Of Phar Lap’s Successor.”
She reflects on Peter Pan’s stellar racing career.
Jessica explains why she selected 1940’s champion Shannon as the subject of her second thoroughbred biography.
She gives a brief outline of Shannon’s distinguished Australian racing career and the “one-off” Inglis sale convened to sell the great horse following the death of his owner and trainer Peter Riddle.
The author also looks back on the stallion’s subsequent sale to the US where he won several races before standing at Kentucky’s famous Spendthrift Farm.
Jess talks about her freelance roles with several racing platforms including her current contribution to “The Straight”- a recently introduced, subscription based digital publication founded and edited by respected journalist Bren O’Brien.
She talks about her Racing Writer Of the Year nomination at the . 2023 Kennedy Awards. She didn’t win but was deeply touched by the honour.
Jess talks about her own love of horse riding and pays a special tribute to Moxie’s Halo- the former racehorse who became her best equine friend. Moxie died much too soon.
She talks of the trauma experienced by the whole family when her sister Sonya was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease in 2009.
Her admiration for Sonya’s courage is boundless.
Jessica speaks with great affection of the two shining lights in her life- son Julien and daughter Charlotte.
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Episode 550: Mitchell Bell - The Travelling Man
Mitchell Bell is one of several Sydney based jockeys who regularly ply their trade on outside tracks. His manager Shaun Flaherty makes a point of committing Mitch to race meetings no further than three hours from his Windsor home. The hard working jockey is a regular at places like Scone, Muswellbrook, Newcastle, Goulburn, Bathurst, Orange and Mudgee. Mitchell’s unwavering reliability has seen him build a strong support base among a wide range of trainers. The jockey says he’s learned to handle the tedium of constant travel.
Mitchell talks about the two hip replacement surgeries he’s been forced to undergo in recent years.
He says he never knew his grandfather Billy Bell who was a successful Sydney jockey in the 60’s and 70’s.
Mitchell pays tribute to his father Steve who had a jockey’s build but opted to pursue a career as a professional boxer- a career that led him to an Australian flyweight crown.
Mitchell says his riding plans could have been thwarted when he was involved in a freak gymnasium accident at age 13.
He looks back on his amazing recovery from serious hand injuries and early riding education at an Ingleburn riding school.
The 40 year old talks about his apprenticeship to Tamworth trainer Mark Mason and an inauspicious first ride at Quirindi.
He pays tribute to a former leading country jockey who became his tutor in Tamworth track gallops.
Mitch hasn’t forgotten the thrill of landing his first winner.
He remembers the most minor detail about his initial metropolitan win on the historic stretches of Royal Randwick.
The jockey acknowledges the first notable horse he got to ride after returning to Sydney as a fully fledged rider.
Mitch plays tribute to the talented Artlee who gave him success in the Wild Card and Final of the 2015 Country Championship.
He says Artlee was also the centrepiece of one of his biggest racing disappointments.
Bell talks of a successful association with the Waller stable on outside tracks. He recalls a Newcastle win on Youngstar immediately before the filly went to Brisbane to win two important races.
He rates another Waller trained horse as one of the best he’s ridden. Mitch looks back on a black type Hawkesbury win on Cellarman.
He talks about the strong association he’s forged with Peter Snowden and a recent Newcastle treble for the stable.
Mitchell speaks fondly of a strong association with legendary horseman Ron Quinton.
He acknowledges the support of several other prominent stables.
Mitch says he was greatly influenced by two special role models in the early part of his career.
He doesn’t take for granted the luxury he enjoys in being able to maintain a weight of 53kgs.
The much travelled jockey says he’s sometimes tempted by offers to ride in the city but is reluctant to inconvenience established country and provincial supporters.
The 40 year old speaks fondly of wife Hollie and children Harper, Billy and Tayla.
This is a nice chat with an ever reliable jockey who prefers to ‘hit the highway” in his quest for winners.
New Zealand