John Tapp Racing

With a team rarely exceeding twenty five horses Sara Ryan is able to do things a little differently to the bigger stables. She goes to great lengths to give her horses something to think about other than the grind of training and racing. One beneficiary of her alternative routine is Attractable who propelled her to dizzy heights by winning the Big Dance. We talk to a young lady who first encountered thoroughbreds on the show jumping circuit, and became fascinated with the breed. Sara begins by talking about Attractable’s unusual racing style. She recalls breaking Attractable in before he went to Peter Moody which gave her a head start when the horse returned to her care at Kulnura. Sara recalls the tactics she employed in the lead up to the Big Dance. The trainer talks of her pre race nerves on Big Dance day and the support extended by her immediate family. Sara takes us back to early days on Sydney’s north shore where a school friend introduced her to horses. She was instantly hooked, and immediately began t

Many experienced owners speak highly of Newcastle’s Jason Deamer who resists the temptation to increase the size of his stable. In twenty years of training, the third generation horseman has rarely exceeded twelve horses. His winners and strike rate have remained constant for all of that time. We caught up with the former jockey recently to look back on his racing life. Jason begins by reviewing four consecutive recent wins by the very talented Hard To Say. He talks of his association with Dynamic Syndications who put together an all female syndicate to race Hard To Say. The third generation horseman talks of a recent hit and run trip to Doomben with another Dynamic horse Awesome Lad. Jason says his Newcastle stables have been in the family for many years. He talks of his father John Deamer who enjoyed success as a jockey and trainer before going into the horse transport business. Jason reflects on the riding achievements of his grandfather Carl Deamer who passed away in 2006. Despite his strong pedigree Jaso

Some trainers enjoy the bustling environment of a city stable. Others wouldn’t leave their country bases for a Godolphin contract. One of the latter group is Todd Howlett who’s more than content training his forty horse team at Lower Belford. I enjoyed catching up with a horseman who 23 years ago began his racing involvement while working for the Singleton Council. Todd talks of his recent Coonabarabran Cup win with Scorched Land. He heaps praise on Scorched Land’s rider, talented apprentice Anna Roper. The trainer talks of a recent winning run including a Gunnedah treble. He describes the layout of his Lower Belford training facility. Todd talks of his upcoming role as private trainer for cousin Sean Dyson who’s developing a state of the art training centre a short distance away. He talks of his family background. Todd looks back on an early stint as a bronc rider on the rodeo circuit, and his involvement in camp drafting. He remembers his time as a parks and gardens foreman with the Singleton Council. The t

Popular Jess Taylor brought up a very distinguished milestone at the Sapphire Coast meeting on July 30th. She bounced straight to the lead on Kiss the Colours in a 1000m maiden for her great supporter Joe Cleary. The 3YO filly went on to win easily to give Jess her 500th win in twelve years of race riding. Since then she’s reeled off another twelve wins, including a double at the Sapphire Coast on Nov 2nd. Jess joined us on the podcast last week to talk about her notable achievement. She admits to being surprised when informed her 500 win tally was looming.  Jess looks back on that special race at the Sapphire Coast. She talks about the standing of female riders in the current era. Jess takes us back to childhood days on the NSW Central Coast, and the influence of her mother Fione. She pays tribute to her “dream pony” Miller. The jockey says her life changed from the moment retired thoroughbreds came onto the family property. She talks of her introduction to trackwork at nearby Gosford racecourse. Jess rememb

The Australian Turf Club moved swiftly to honour Betty Lane Holland following the passing of the trailblazing horse trainer on October 22nd at the remarkable age of 97. Just three days later they attached her distinguished name to a three year old race at the Kensington midweek meeting, and the script couldn’t have worked out better. The winner Sly Boots and third place getter Vanquished are both trained by the Waterhouse/Bott duo while Anabel Neasham prepares runner up Cheergal. It was a nervous Betty Lane who turned up right on time for her appointment with the AJC Licensing Committee one day in 1962. She was asked by the six man panel to explain why she should be allowed to train racehorses in Sydney. They listened to her well prepared plea before politely announcing that it wasn’t the policy of the AJC to license female trainers, and wasn’t likely to be in the future. The feisty 40 something year old, had no intention of abandoning her life’s dream. She raked up enough money to buy a tiny property with hu

Caught up with Brian Fletcher at the recent Beauford Club luncheon at Newcastle where he was a guest speaker. His tales of the turf and stories from the Panthers camp kept the crowd entertained. It occurred to me at the time that Brian would make an excellent podcast guest. He happily agreed and here it is! Brian begins by reflecting on an amazing third straight premiership win by his beloved Panthers. He says he’d just about given up before Nathan Cleary began to weave some magic. As CEO of the Panthers Group, Brian talks about his association with Matt Cameron CEO of the Penrith Football Club, coach Ivan Cleary and the players. He talks of Ivan Cleary’s triumphant return to the Panthers after a stint with the Wests Tigers. Brian looks ahead to the 2024 season and the likelihood of another premiership. He talks of his board involvement with Panthers before accepting the CEO’s role, and his lifetime passion for the game of rugby league. He says his association with rugby league administration began in the day

Tyler Schiller was always destined to make it to the ranks of Sydney’s top jockeys. After a flying start in the Riverina he was fortunate to gain a start in Sydney with Mark Newnham who had emerged as a master tutor of young riders. Tyler was champion Sydney apprentice in his second season, and has already established himself in the senior ranks. He begins the podcast by heaping praise on the flying Front Page, the horse to give him two Kosciuszko wins in twelve months. Tyler shares a funny sidelight to the Kosciuszko win on October 14th. His mum Susan found an ingenious way to gain entry to the Randwick birdcage. The young jockey talks of the first leg of his double on Everest day. He used great initiative to get Land Legend home in the historic St Leger. He expresses great gratitude for the wonderful run he’s had in his first few months as a fully fledged jockey. Tyler talks about early days in his hometown of Young, and his only sibling’s indifference to horses. He talks of father Glenn’s association with

I’ve long admired Robyn Freeman’s dedication to the craft she loves. She’s one of few female riders still active from the dedicated group who were flying the flag in the 1990’s. A recent Newcastle double on two long priced horses clearly showed why Robyn is still gaining support twenty five years on. She talks about the two fillies in question. Robyn explains that her patient tactics on both winners illustrated her preferred style of riding. She talks of her two young children, and the valuable support she receives from her own parents. The dedicated jockey says she’s a regular at Kembla Grange trackwork, and acknowledges the trainers for whom she rides. Robyn looks back on her equine management course at Armidale TAFE, and her first apprenticeship to local trainer Stafford Wain. She explains the reasons for her many changes of stable affiliations. Her second job was with Gayna Williams at Bathurst. Robyn reflects on brief stints with Colin Jeffries, Leanne Aspros, the late Max Lees and Graeme Begg. Finally t

For the first few years of their training partnership Robert and Luke Price worked individually- Robert at Turpentine Park, a spelling and pre-training property at Cambewarra while Luke was based at the partnership’s Kembla stables. Circumstances have changed and the pair now operate in tandem from the racecourse. Rob joins us on the podcast to talk about the reasons for the change of format. Rob talks of his love for the NSW South Coast and the passion for thoroughbreds he and Luke have in common. He sees himself training horses long into the future. The experienced horseman talks of the extensive refurbishments being carried out at Kembla Grange currently. He says trainers are feeling the pressure but are excited about the future facilities. Rob talks of the unique premiership double he and Luke achieved last season. He looks back on an early aspiration to be a jockey and his apprenticeship to Nowra trainer Fred Thomason. Rob says he got as far as the trials, but the scales told him a riding future was off

It was the mid 1970’s and Hilton was on a flight from Dublin to Sydney after completing a three year stint with Irish trainer John Oxx. He turned to wife Marilyn and calmly announced that his riding days were over. In this podcast replay the former ace jockey explains why he quit at the top of his game, and recalls  the new life he forged back in Australia. Hilton begins by talking about his lifelong love of golf. He also reveals a love for fishing, a skill he learned from his great mate, the late Norm Munsie. Hilton talks of his amazing mother Vera who was 102 years of age when this podcast was recorded. She’s now 106 and still right on top of her game. The former outstanding jockey has never forgotten the day his father came home with an undernourished pony mare called Flicka- the pony who would trigger his love for riding.  Hilton talks of the horse dentist who looked after Flicka’s teeth. That dentist also had racing connections and was the catalyst in arranging Hilton’s apprenticeship to Rosehill trainer

John Powell was at a loose end when he returned to Australia in 2021 after calling time on his long riding career in Singapore. It wasn’t long before Racing NSW enlisted his services as a mentor for northern NSW jockeys, and more recently Gary Kliese has snapped him up for a co-hosting role on Sky Thoroughbred Central’s coverage of northern rivers racing. It’s almost forty years since John Powell began his apprenticeship with Helen Page at Warwick Farm. In a 37 year riding career he rode 1400 winners in five jurisdictions, more than half of them in Singapore. We were able to pin him down recently for a lengthy chat about his fascinating journey in racing. John begins by explaining how his opportunity with Sky Thoroughbred Central came up.  He says his main focus is on the characteristics of horses and tactics employed by jockeys. John says he’d barely settled back in Australia when he got a surprise phone call from Corey Brown on behalf of Racing NSW. The former top jockey takes us back to childhood days at C

Wayne Collison and Kylie Kennedy happen to be father and daughter but choose to operate individually from their stables in the idyllic township of Narromine 40 kms from Dubbo. Wayne started training about 25 years ago following a successful career as a jockey. His wife Robyn Douglas also made her mark as a trainer in the central west. Is it any wonder one of their four daughters inherited the racing genes. Kylie has won around 150 races  in her own right. We begin the podcast with Wayne who talks about his recent run of success. He reflects on a trip to the famous Louth meeting where one of his three runners was successful. The former jockey acknowledges the horses who’ve contributed to his recent winning trot. Wayne says he’s obliged to ride all of his small team in trackwork. He talks of the facilities at his disposal. Wayne reflects on his eighteen years as Narromine track manager. He talks of the strong points of the central western racecourse. Wayne looks back on his early childhood at Cassilis, and an i

Michael Travers joined an exclusive club in 2021 when he became one of a handful of NSW jockeys to acquire a dual trainer/jockey’s licence. A short time later he became the first to train and ride a winner in his home state, when successful with Estaverdi at Gundagai. A minor injury sustained at Leeton in April was enough to see Michael make the decision to train exclusively. We recorded this interview just a few days before his Gundagai double on Sunday. He talks about the reluctance of Racing NSW to issue dual licences a few years ago. He says Michelle Payne indirectly helped his cause. Michael says he’s a little surprised more jockeys haven’t availed themselves of the opportunity. He says attaining the licence was one thing- finding stabling in Wagga was another. Michael looks back on the thrill of his history making feat at Gundagai in 2021. He rode another winner on the day for an outside stable. He says it wasn’t easy to attract owners who were happy to have the same person training and riding their hor

It was great to catch up with John Wallace recently for the first time in several years. The veteran trainer has a great passion for the racing game, and it shows in his all too rare interviews. We pinned him down recently for a long overdue podcast about a career that started in St George more than 50 years ago. John begins by talking about his recovery from some pretty serious health issues. He talks of the nine horse team he has in work today- a far cry from the huge numbers he was training twenty years ago. He makes special mention of a certain 3YO. John talks about his early life as the son of a publican at Maryborough. He was eight years old when the family moved to another pub 600km away. The veteran trainer says he learned the language of racing from horsemen around the bar at the Metro Hotel. He recalls meeting a young man who was destined to become a very high profile steward in later years. John says he had to put his age up in order to acquire a Queensland trainer’s licence. He got away with it. H

NSW southern districts racing lost a loyal and dedicated servant recently when Darryl McLean called time on his 48 year career as a member of the SDRA Stewards panel. He officiated for the last time at the Corowa meeting on Monday July 31st and by his own admission left the course with very mixed feelings. It’s my great pleasure to catch up with Darryl on this week’s podcast to talk about his remarkable transition from furniture salesman to stipendiary steward. He attended a Sunday meeting at Wagga the following Sunday, but only as a spectator. He received a special surprise on the day. Darryl says his final day at Corowa was emotion charged. Wangaratta born and raised, McLean says there wasn’t a trace of racing in his family background. He talks of a boyhood fascination with Aussie Rules football.  Darryl looks back on his first job with Paterson’s Pty Ltd Furniture and Floor Coverings. He spent most of his time on the road canvassing business. He says it came as a big surprise when the boss informed him of

Great to catch up with a young jockey who’s endured the lion’s share of bad luck but keeps bouncing back into the winner’s circle. He’s riding work again following major shoulder surgery, and is champing at the bit to go to the races. Brock begins by talking of the newly arrived son who has helped him through a tough rehabilitation.  He talks of the transition into parenthood for he and partner Madison. Brock explains the surgery he recently underwent at Sydney’s San Hospital. He says he did plenty of work behind the scenes before returning to trackwork at Kembla Grange. The young jockey takes us back to early days at Yamba when surfing was his primary sporting interest. He joined the workforce at a local caravan park. Brock has never forgotten the first time he watched horse racing on television. He was instantly besotted and took immediate action. He says he couldn’t wait to become an apprentice. He started at Kembla Grange. Brock remembers the retired racehorse who taught him the basics. He parted company

Everybody wanted a piece of champion trainer Leon Macdonald when he saddled his final runners at Morphettville on July 29th, and we were on the list. We caught up with the SA racing legend a few days later and got him started on a sentimental journey. He begins by looking back on an emotional final day at the scene of some of his greatest moments. He says an on course video tribute tested his emotions.  Leon was philosophical about a winless final day. He pays tribute to the young man who’ll be filling his shoes at French Cotton Lodge, son-in-law Andrew Gluyas. The one Adelaide major to elude Leon was the historic Goodwood Hcp. He talks of his narrow defeat with Another Award in May. The former trainer acknowledges his long and successful association with veteran jockey Jason “Stubby” Holder. Leon talks at length about Dalasan, the horse who deserved a Gr 1 win but had to settle for four placings at the elite level. He talks of Dalasan’s promising half sister. The veteran recalls a freakish trackwork accident

The Australian racing industry continues to come to terms with the death of Dean Holland in a race fall at Donald in April. Ethan Brown, Jamie Kah, Craig Williams, and Blaike McDougall were all sidelined with serious injuries on either side of the Donald tragedy. Ethan Brown required multiple surgeries in the wake of his fall in the Australian Guineas in March. Cranbourne track regulars were amazed when the 24 year old reported for trackwork on July 10th and even more surprised when he resumed race riding at Sandown last Sunday (Aug 6th). Ethan joins us on the podcast to talk about his miracle recovery and to reflect on a short but brilliant career which began in his hometown of Alice Springs. He talks about that all important first day back at trackwork. Ethan says his body had to adjust following a long lay off from the saddle. He says the accident came at a time when he’d ridden 62 Victorian winners for the season. He has a philosophical attitude when it comes to the highs and lows of racing. Ethan has a c

Stephen Traecey recently told family and friends he’s unlikely to ride in races again but most didn’t believe him. The remarkable 67 year old last rode in a race at Coffs Harbour in June. His last winner was in March on the same track. It suited Stephen to just fade away unnoticed, but I was having none of that. This man has given tremendous service over many years to racing in northern NSW and deserves due recognition. I hope this podcast serves as a lasting tribute to a bloke who just loves riding racehorses. Stephen says family and friends have taken his retirement announcement with a grain of salt. He admits that he hasn’t yet made a clean break. He’s still riding up to eight horses in trackwork most days of the week. Stephen acknowledges some of the trainers who continue to seek his services at trackwork. He talks of the two year old filly purchased online recently by wife Donna. He doesn’t exactly rule out the possibility of a comeback if the filly gets to the races. The veteran looks back on his last r

  It’s only two and a half years since we last spoke with Jon Grisedale but much water has flowed under the bridge since, and he’s approaching a special birthday- special when you’re talking about an active jockey. He’ll be 60 on October 10th, but you’d never know it as the winners continue to flow including a couple over the recent Grafton July carnival. English born Grisedale was reluctant to do another interview so soon but I was able to talk him into it. Jon and his wife Donna remain delighted with their decision to move to Coffs Harbour in 2019. The jockey talks of a Lismore race fall soon after his arrival which was more serious than reported. He talks of the warm reception afforded him by local trainers. He established contacts by riding an enormous amount of trackwork. He’s had to regulate his track commitments to a sane level but still rides work for a handful of great local supporters. Jon says the competition on the rivers is ferocious. He compliments Ben Looker who’s approaching 120 winners for th