Gosford Race Club salutes legendary horse trainer, Albert Stapleford

With no plans to renew his trainer's licence next season, the 93-year-old Stapleford retires after spending a lifetime in racing, his training seasons stretching across 70 years.

"I won my first race at Muswellbrook, but it was in my father's name," Mr Stapleford said.

"His name was Albert too, as he had a (trainer's) licence, and I was only 17, and that horse was Renmark, which my cousin and I bought at Inglis' for 40 guineas."

Horses were a necessity during Stapleford's youth.

"I was born on a dairy farm in Cessnock during the depression, so you either walked or rode a horse to get anywhere," Mr Stapleford said.

"There were very few push bikes in those days and no motor cars, just a horse and sulky on dirt roads.

"A couple of men got me to ride their horses work at Cessnock (track) when I was 12, and that started me off."

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Stapleford's training record now reads 4722 runners for 501 wins and 930 places for $7.313 million in prize money.

"I've been training about 75 years, 50 years at Gosford and the other years at Cessnock and a bit at Wyong," Mr Stapleford said.

Mr Stapleford began as a hobby trainer with two horses at Cessnock and, when old enough, worked in the nearby coal mines, but made Gosford his major training base from 1974.

"I did try training in Sydney in 1974, but I got too homesick and only lasted eight months," he said.

Stapleford recalled several of his good-quality gallopers.

"Southern Sweep was potentially the best horse I trained, but he broke down, done a tendon," he said.

"He won a three-year-old race at Rosehill over nine furlongs, winning by nine lengths, and held the track record for the best part of 20 years.

"On paper, Magic Albert (named after Stapleford by his owner Denis Wilton) was my best horse."

By Zeditave, Magic Albert won seven races, including the STC Peter Pan Stakes-G2, and went on to become an outstanding Australian sire of more than 20 stakes winners, and three group one winners including Ilovethiscity (which has also found stud fame, siring a group one winner from his Victorian-based stud).

"Maitland Gold was another (stakes winner). She won a lot of prizemoney," Mr Stapleford said.

In recent times Albert thanked his sons Brian and David (also known as Percy), and nephew Robert, for keeping the stable functioning.

His last runner was Toldyas I'm Lucky, which recently finished midfield at Newcastle.

Surrounded by numerous racing well-wishing folk, Stapleford was presented with a framed collage of photos of some of his good gallopers by the Gosford Race Club.

The collage included horses such as Southern Sweep, Magic Albert, Maitland Gold, Dissenter, Belah Chief, Triple Chief and Rutherford.

It may have been in February, but the loss of much-loved 29-year-old gelding The Bishop still lingers in the minds of his owners, Sue and Charlie Attard of Sunnyside, Sandy Hollow.

"He was a wonderful horse, and we loved him," Mrs Attard said.

"When he finished racing, we took him home and he became a 'nanny' horse for our young Thoroughbreds."

An Inglis "summer" yearling sale graduate, The Bishop was trained at Hawkesbury by David Keegan and was raced in a partnership, which included the Attards.

By the 1991 MRC Blue Diamond Stakes-G1 winner Canonise (by US import Don't Say Halo), The Bishop had 53 starts for eight wins and 13 placings.

"He won his first two starts as a two-year-old, which were the first wins for jockey Andrew Gibbons when he was an apprentice," Mrs Attard said.

Andrew Gibbons is now a leading hoop featuring often on the Central, Mid and North Coast tracks.

A tough competitor, The Bishop raced across seven seasons.

His wins included the hotly contested Cessnock Cup, as well as finishing equal third in the revered Ken Russell Handicap-LR at his third start as a juvenile on the Gold Coast, Queensland.