HE may have been set for retirement just a few months ago, but well-known 86-year-old Central Coast conditioner Albert Stapleford has had a change of heart and will retain a small team of horses at his longtime training base at Gosford.
Late last year local trainers were told that after December 2016 Gosford racecourse would be shut as a training centre, a decision which prompted Mr Stapleford’s retirement.
“(With this in mind) I never went to the sales (earlier this year), and my owners who would have bought horses, didn’t buy them, and other people were going to give me horses but then did not, so I was losing $1000 per month renting these stables (Rutherford Lodge),” Mr Stapleford said.
“I had to make a decision, so I thought I would retire.”
But after negotiation between local trainers and Racing NSW, Gosford’s immediate plan to close as a training facility was terminated.
“I believe now Gosford racecourse will remain open until at least December 2017, and what happens after that is anybody’s guess,” said Mr Stapleford.
“So I am going to keep training.”
“The (race) club at Gosford has told me that they will give me half a dozen boxes (on the track grounds) and that is enough for me.”
Mr Stapleford moved from his longtime stable complex, Rutherford Lodge, which was opposite the Gosford racecourse, at the end of June, and is now waiting for a new permanent base.
Brought up on a dairy farm outside Cessnock, Mr Stapleford began training in the late 1940s.
He had training stints around the Hunter Valley and Central Coast, and in Brisbane, before settling at Gosford.
Among his early memorable horses include winners Gold Earl and Southern Sweep, the latter tragically breaking down just prior to having a start in the Queensland Derby.
Another Mr Stapleford fondly recalls is Rutherford – the namesake of his stables.
By Star Kingdom’s Kaoru Star, Rutherford was a consistent Sydney performer.
“We won a lot of money on him at Rosehill one day, and he built these stables in 1974,” Mr Stapleford said.
Other memorable Stapleford trained gallopers include black type horses Hasta La Quista, by Ignatius and Sweet Chloe, by Distinctly North, and group winners Maitland Gold, a mare by Made Of Gold, and his name-sake, Magic Albert, by Zeditave.
Magic Albert also developed into an outstanding sire and now stands at Kooringal Stud near Wagga Wagga.
At the stable’s peak and with the help of staff including son Brian, Mr Stapleford only had about 25 horses in work at any one time.
I listen to the way they (the horses) breathe before they work, then after they work, and you can tell how they have pulled up, then I run my hand over their loins to see how much their muscles have filled up to tell me how fit they are.
- Racehorse trainer Albert Stapleford
Mr Stapleford said his deteriorating eyesight in recent years may have slowed his progress, but has not stopped him training his three current horses – Zariz gelding Bold Looker, who won at Gosford in June, Menneke Belle, by Henny Hughes and I’m Usain, by Lonhro.
“I listen to the way they (the horses) breathe before they work, then after they work, and you can tell how they have pulled up, then I run my hand over their loins to see how much their muscles have filled up to tell me how fit they are,” he said.
Segenhoe Valley racing identity Jim Bowcock remembered
JIM Bowcock’s gallop through life began when left school in the mid 1940s and became involved in the management of Alabama Stud, a jewel in the historic Segenhoe Valley.
Mr Bowcock recently passed away due to illness at age 87 at Scone.
Alabama Stud was acquired by Mr Bowcock’s father Ray Bowcock in 1940, a stud farm that Mr Bowcock conducted for nearly 40 years after the death of his father.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Ray Bowcock, with son Jim beside him, became one of the most flamboyant investors in bloodstock, outflanking opposition with record bidding at sales for broodmares and proven sires.
He paid 20,000 guineas – a Victorian record at the time – at a dispersal sale for the imported Royal Ascot, Hardwicke Stakes and Yorkshire Cup winner Brioche in May 1959.
At a similar time, he also paid 12,000 guineas for the then 17 year-old Deville Wood at a dispersal sale at his neighbouring Kia Ora Stud.
A five-time champion Australian sire in five successive years in the 1950s, Delville Wood, along with Brioche and US-bred Village Square were among a number of sires that stood at Alabama Stud in Mr Bowcock’s care.
Brightening his twilight years has been the cheapest horse Mr Bowcock ever bred, Youthful Jack, a Youthful Legs gelding who won 18 races and earned more than $1.1 million.
Outback races attract huge crowd
Louth Turf Club has held another successful annual raceday, with the seven-race meeting attracting more than 4400 spectators.
Rusty Motorbike, trained by Nyngan-based Rodbney Robb, won 2016 Louth Cup.