John Tapp Racing

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 caller. He reveals that he also has two brothers who’ve made their marks as broadcasters. Tony says he has more time to study the race form since quitting his local government job a few years ago. He tends to dabble on the punt more than he did through the busiest years. He reflects on childhood days at Southport as one of nine children. He talks of the guidance and inspiration he received from his father Phil. He talks of his dad’s talents as a greyhound trainer.   Tony talks of his entry into journalism with the Townsville Bu

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 problems day by day. He says his temper is not as volatile as it once was.  Don talks about the layout of his Lennox Head home. The former outstanding jockey talks about his role as the manager of Brisbane rider Justin Stanley. He proudly describes his curiously named fishing boat. Don acknowledges the support of his loyal fishing mates and talks of the sea miles they travel to find the best location. He talks about some of the fish species they encounter. The resilient Terry enjoys nothing more than driving his car. He tal

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 fashioned trip down memory lane. Kev begins by revisiting the occasion of his last race ride when he was unceremoniously dumped by a quirky horse. He recalls a winning treble at Wagga just two days earlier. Kevin talks about his move to the far NSW south coast, and the health issues he’s been battling for the last four years. He remains philosophical. The former respected jockey takes us back to childhood days, and the love he received from his single mum and a doting grandfather. He’s never forgotten the day his family took h

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 competing successfully in one of the world’s toughest markets. Molly talks about her move to the big smoke just over a year ago. She looks back on her first taste of Sydney racing when she won on bush galloper Zakeriz at Canterbury late in 2022. Molly talks of her first win for new master John O’Shea at Wyong. She acknowledges a recent story about her career by Ray Hickson in the Racing NSW magazine. The apprentice looks back on the shock of her relocation to the bustling city of Sydney. Molly says it’s quite an experience to ride reg

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 sweep of a recent Inverell meeting, and to look at the future role of women in the Australian riding ranks. She talks of the impact being made around the nation. Wendy believes the generational growth of male jockeys is the main reason for the ever increasing number of female riders. She predicts the likely future of the girls in Australian racing. Wendy says the majority of new apprentices have learned the fundamentals in pony club, eventing and show jumping. The dedicated jockey looks back on her very first involvement

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 regretted the decision. The 83 year old joins us on the podcast to talk about his life in racing. He’s a little nervous about the dramatic change in lifestyle. Trevor says Aheadofhistime has extended his training career.  He talks about Aheadofhistime’s early career in Queensland and subsequent deeds on the northern rivers, including an emphatic win in last year’s Kempsey Cup. Trevor acknowledges the support of Neil Osborne who purchased his Coffs Harbour stables but made a box available for Aheadofhistime. The veteran is a tru

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 horses in the weekly TAB Highway races. Ken talks about his early years in the tiny village of Delegate near the Victorian border. He says his father George was a tough taskmaster when giving his son riding tuition. Ken pays tribute to his late brother Brian. He looks back on his first trip to an Inglis Tried Horse Sale. He came away with the unraced gelding who would launch his training career. Ken acknowledges some of his very early winners. He remembers Stormy Guest who was showing great promise before he suffered a ca

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 mate Luke Nolen. Joe talks about his recent Flemington win on Brazen Lady and acknowledges the support he receives from the Ellerton/Moodie stable. He talks of a long and successful association he’s had with another Cranbourne trainer Robbie Griffiths.  Joe descends from a famous Riverina racing family. He shares memories of his father Des and uncles Barry and Wally- all accomplished jockeys. He remembers a wonderful friendship with trainer Ray Guy who was to have signed him up as an apprentice. When Ray died suddenly in 1

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 lifelong smoking habit. He says he really wasn’t intending to train horses again, but the bug soon bit. Peter talks of Loving Angel, the former Snowden trained mare who got him up and going again. He says she’s got a few quirks. He talks of Blue Guitar, another “hand me down” who’s been impressive in winning a couple of recent races.  The trainer speaks highly of lightly raced filly Grand Oyster, a recent winner at Narromine. Pete’s adamant that he won’t be increasing the size of his team. He pays tribute to his late father Jo

Michael Charge’s passion for racing was evident to viewers the first time he appeared on Sky Thoroughbred Central. He successfully combines that passion with an in depth knowledge of north Queensland form to help punters identify winners on many tracks in the region. Caught up with the man recently to find out how it all started. Michael remembers his late mum’s frustration when her son preferred Best Bets, Sportsman and Winning Post to school books. He talks about the vast mileage he travels to cover race meetings for Sky. Early days he would drive 700 kms to Rockhampton. That’s no longer the case. Michael talks about his trackside presentations from a wide range of Queensland tracks- 26 so far with a total of 110 meetings all up. It’s interesting to hear that he’s careful not to over complicate things when analysing form. Michael’s a little different to many form students in that he tends to ignore the market until arriving at a conclusion. He believes pre-post markets can influence a tipster’s thinking. He

In the late 1990’s Jarrod Austin walked away from racing to investigate what other career options were available in the world. He tried the hotel industry and dabbled in the building trade, but soon realised there was one key component missing. He’d been around horses all his life, and found he simply couldn’t break the bond. The story of his path back into the racing industry makes for a good podcast. We pinned Jarrod down recently and got him reminiscing about a horsey life that began on his father’s little Tamworth stud farm. The Warwick Farm trainer gives his assurance he won’t be leaving the industry again. Jarrod explains his team currently numbers 22 horses but says  two or three more would  be more than welcome in his Bull St stables at Warwick Farm. He pays tribute to his dedicated stable staff of seven. Jarrod explains why he recently made the decision to quit riding trackwork. The trainer talks at length about his stable star Terra Mater, one of the Inglis Digital “finds” of the past year. Purchase

Brian York hasn’t wasted a single minute from the day he became aware that his riding days were over. He tried everything known to medical science to overcome a knee injury sustained in a freakish fall at Rosehill in November 2002, but to no avail.The former star jockey joins us on the podcast this week to talk about his very busy and rewarding life after racing. Brian begins  by talking about a five year association with the Waterhouse/Bott stable producing videos of trackwork and jump outs for stable clients. He says border closures during the pandemic brought his business to an end. He talks about the challenge of learning a brand new craft. Brian looks back on his family’s emigration from Scotland to New Zealand. He was just ten years of age. The budding champion jockey was elated to gain an apprenticeship with respected Takanini trainer Cliff Fenwick. He recalls the thrilling occasion of his first win in March 1979 on a handy mare trained by his master. Brian looks back on the first of his 35 Gr 1 victor

Great to catch up with northern NSW riding legend Peter Graham who’s still going strong at 55 years of age and closing in on 2500 career wins. Peter was born and reared at Wauchope and virtually taught himself to ride at the local racecourse. When it was time to launch his professional riding career he chose Port Macquarie as his home base and he’s still there today. Peter begins by talking about younger daughter Rori who’s getting over a nasty trackwork injury. He pays tribute to daughter Cejay, currently one of Brisbane’s in form jockeys. Peter talks of son Jesse who rode a few winners before opting for a change of career direction. He acknowledges the help given by wife Karen at his Port Macquarie training property. He talks of his role as the holder of a dual training and riding licence. Peter looks back on the Wauchope trackwork accident that left him with a condition known as “frozen shoulder”. The veteran says he thought about retirement but decided on a return to race riding when his shoulder injury i

  Jim Cassidy was just 18 years old when he first made his mark in Australian racing with a Brisbane Cup win on Four Crowns. He was back eighteen months later to win the Melbourne Cup with a barnstorming run on Kiwi. Some say the gelding produced the fastest finish in Cup history. In 1984 he was offered a plumb job in Sydney and so began an adventure destined to take the Wellington born jockey to 104 Gr 1 wins. In between times there were some thrilling highs and some gut wrenching lows. In this lengthy chat Jim talks with customary candour about his life in racing- from his first win at Wairoa in 1978 to his swansong on Victorian Oaks day 2015.  He begins by explaining the origins of his legendary nickname “The Pumper”. The former jockey says the nickname came from his unique style in the saddle. Jim looks back on the publication of his widely read 2016 autobiography “The Pumper”.  He goes back to the closing weeks of his riding career. A winner at his last Sydney ride, and his final Melbourne Cup carnival.

I’m delighted to introduce a man I’ve known for six decades. Max Presnell had just returned from England to regenerate his career with Fairfax newspapers, as I kicked off with Sydney station 2GB. Max recently called time on an association with Fairfax which embraced a total of 67 years- perhaps a world record in the newspaper game. I don’t know how we can cover 67 years in an hour or so, but let’s give it a crack. Max explains the reasons for his recent departure from the Sydney Morning Herald. He talks about the evolvement of his popular 2017 autobiography “Good Losers Die Broke”- a rollicking review of his life in racing. Max, son of a publican talks about the unusual  experience of spending his early years in a famous Sydney Hotel. He tells a funny story about a lady who happened to be the sister of Stanley Wootton, owner of the hotel in question. Max talks of many well known visiting trainers who stayed at the pub when in Sydney. I’ll let Max tell you about a chirpy little regular who earned the dubious n

It’s a pleasure to welcome Terry Evans to the podcast- the trainer who happens to be the sole occupant of on course stabling at the Tuncurry-Forster racecourse on the NSW north coast. Terry was there when the new track was granted a licence by Racing NSW in 2009. This podcast was recorded two days before Sir Ravanelli scored an impressive win on a rain sodden Newcastle track. Terry rates the grey gelding as the best horse he’s trained to date. He begins by reflecting on the enthusiasm and commitment of the new Tuncurry-Forster Jockey Club when he arrived fifteen years ago.  Terry pays tribute to the Jockey Club’s dedicated President Gary McQuillan. He remembers a conversation with a friend at a Port Macquarie meeting in 2009. At that time he was unaware a new track was under construction at nearby Tuncurry-Forster.  Terry talks about the purchase of the racecourse a few years ago by Racing NSW. The trainer talks about the facilities available to him. He explains the benefits of his 20 acre property at nearby

This is a long overdue chat with one of the most respected riders in the Australian amateur ranks. When not competing at faraway picnic meetings, Ricky Blewitt can be found riding trackwork at Narromine before starting his full time job as the Narromine Turf Club’s track manager. The busy horseman speaks highly of the first class country racecourse.  Ricky confirms that he rides eight or more horses in trackwork most mornings for his partner Kylie Kennedy. He says Kylie competes mainly at professional meetings but occasionally takes a horse to the picnics. The top horseman speaks highly of Kylie’s father, former jockey and successful trainer Wayne Collison. Ricky says he has no problem with the 62 kg minimum weight at the picnic meetings. The jockey declares his love for the business and his willingness to drive long distances to race meetings. He talks of early days in Queanbeyan and makes the surprise admission that he had a fear of horses in childhood days. Ricky recalls his friendship with a local apprent

Five years ago Scott Singleton found that he was spending much more time on the road to country race meetings than he was at city and provincial meetings. He made the snap decision to put his hand up when boxes became available at Scone. Nowadays he has easy access to any number of country meetings, and an easy run to Sydney when the right horse comes along. Scott says relocating an entire training operation from Hawkesbury was pretty taxing. He admits there was an emotional downside to leaving his much loved Hawkesbury Valley. Scott says he explored options in Victoria before settling on Scone. He says he and wife Lucy were lucky to stumble upon an ideal property on the outskirts of Scone. Scott explains that most of his team are on course, but says some horses are happier on the property. He says a good camaraderie exists between Scone trainers. The experienced horseman takes us back to childhood days when his maternal grandfather got him interested in thoroughbreds. He recalls his transition to Hawkesbury

I’ve had a number of verbal and email requests to provide a podcast with a former top Queensland jockey who enjoyed a distinguished career despite a torturous battle with weight. Unable to continue with the ravages of the sweat box, Shane Scriven quit the saddle in 2012 to pursue a brand new career with Racing Queensland. Today he’s firmly established as a counsellor and mentor for young jockeys coming through the system. Guess what! We posted a podcast with Shane almost four years ago. In view of the fact that nothing has changed in his life, we’re going to give the interview another run this week. He begins by talking about the days when he had to take short breaks from riding in order to save his sanity. Shane looks back on his childhood involvement with horses. His sister loved the more elegant riding disciplines. Her brother wanted to go as fast as possible. He says the first trainer with whom he sought an apprenticeship wasn’t interested. He eventually got a start with Eagle Farm trainer Tom Dawson. The

The Karen Owen story had potential podcast written all over it from the moment I interviewed her after a recent Randwick win with Fay’s Angels. A horse devotee from an early age, Karen was a whiz at pony club before transitioning to the eventing sport.  She dreamed of a job around horses, and jumped to attention when an opportunity came up with the NSW Mounted Police. Thirty three years later she left the force with the rank of Sergeant, and immediately embarked on a racehorse training career. Karen says she rarely has more than ten horses in work on the Killawarra property. She explains that most of her horses have been bred by clients. Karen says she’s too busy to pursue her first equestrian love of eventing, but still has a presence in the dressage arena. The trainer says she likes to keep her horses as close to nature as possible. The property offers several options. Karen says the horses are floated to the nearby Taree racecourse when a serious gallop is required. She pays tribute to veterinarian husband