John Tapp Racing

Great to catch up with one of Australia’s most popular race callers. Danny made his mark as a gallops caller early in his career, but decided to accept an offer from HRV in 1996. Trotting is the richer for that decision. He begins by explaining the origins of his surname. Danny recalls the heady days of his childhood when he would go to the track with his father Richard. He was greatly influenced...

Shane begins by talking about his return to NZ when Covid took hold in Asia. He pays tribute to his mother Dawn who has him at home again after many years. The former champion jockey reflects on four Hong Kong race falls the last of which could easily have claimed his life. He talks of his current role as professional punter on Hong Kong racing. Shane talks of his father and grandfather who were b...

How lovely it is to catch up with a bloke I called on hundreds of winners during his golden years in the saddle. Kevin Langby spent six full seasons as stable rider for T.J.Smith, during which time he bagged four Sydney premierships. Kev takes us back to his childhood days in Orange and to his initial apprenticeship to Max Wardle. He later transferred to leading central western trainer Dick Cornis...

Great to catch up with John Scorse who is now a familiar member of the Sky team as he covers meetings on twelve tracks in the South East and Southern Districts. He talks of his relationship with the local jockeys and trainers. John explains that the sad passing of race caller and form analyst Tony Campbell led him to his long time role. He acknowledges the contribution of his co presenter Chynna M...

Great to catch up with one of Victoria’s best liked horsemen. Robbie begins by revealing that he’s just getting over some long overdue shoulder surgery. He recalls having met South African training wizard Mike De Kock at a Melbourne horse sale. He says he was surprised when Mike asked him to show his son Matthew around the state of the art Cranbourne training centre. Robbie explains his reasons fo...

A lovely chat with a young lady who has endeared herself to participants in the ACT and the Southern Districts of NSW. Everybody loves Kayla it seems! She talks about the punishing miles country jockeys are obliged to travel. Kayla talks about her “all girl” family and the influence of her father John, a former successful jockey and currently training in partnership with Ron Weston.  She looks bac...

Great to catch up with a man who has been part of the fabric of SA racing for more than four decades. He talks of his passion for race riding at age 59. David talks about the dual jockey/trainer licence which enables him to train a small team at Morphettville. He reflects on a recent Gawler win on a horse trained by his son David Jnr. Some said it would have been the perfect time to quit the saddl...

A nasty fall in the 2005 Doomben Roses brought down the curtain on the stellar career of Michael Pelling who won over 900 races and 4 Brisbane premierships. Eager to find a new project Mike developed a gold driving range at Carseldine. Mike talks of the sale of the driving range and his move to a new challenge- a wedding reception centre and resort at Maleny on the Sunshine Coast. The former champ...

We spoke to Brett only a week after he’d learned that his brilliant Kosciuszko winner It’s Me had sustained an injury during the race. He handled it philosophically. Brett reveals he jumped at the opportunity to take over the Scone training complex previously occupied by Greg Bennett. He takes us back to his childhood in the Queensland outback town of Augathella when he lived with his maternal gra...

A long overdue chat with a hard working jockey who would have competed at the highest metropolitan level had he so desired, but Greg Ryan preferred life in the bush. He talks about his early life in Wellington NSW and his days as a motor mechanic. Greg talks of his introduction to thoroughbreds at the Macquarie Stud and the conversation with another jockey who encouraged him to consider a riding c...

Great to head bush this week for an interview with Wagga based Tim Donnelly. He begins with a summary of his winning treble at a recent Wagga meeting- his only runners on the day. The astute trainer highlights some of his best horses since returning to Wagga sixteen years ago. Tim acknowledges some of the jockeys who’ve contributed to his success in recent years. He takes us back to his very first...

A special podcast with veteran harness horseman Dennis Wilson who’s about to celebrate his 70th birthday. Dennis talks about the knee and hip replacement that put him back on his feet. He explains that he’s not out of the woods yet. He remembers his decision to quit race driving in 2006 when he became disillusioned with the sport. Dennis fondly recalls the glory days at Harold Park. He talks about...

Great to catch up with a brilliant young Victorian jockey who’s just beginning his second season. He rode 75 winners in his first season. Cam talks of his famous Dad, multiple Group 1 winning jockey Nash. He looks back on his early fascination with the AFL code. Cam recalls the day his father won the Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Randwick on More Joyous. Owner John Singleton got him to make the victor...

The outstanding Victorian jockey talks of the fainting spell at home that signalled his impending medical condition. James was in disbelief when Doctors explained the likely ramifications of syncope- a disorder that would be aggravated by the ravages of wasting. He talks of the support of family and friends when the inevitable decision had to be made. James talks of the offers he’s had to work for...

Like most racehorse syndicators Victoria’s Peter Creighton has an unbridled passion for the racing game. He talks of early days when he part owned a few bush horses and his transition to the syndication business. Peter recalls his first visit to a racetrack with his father and an uncle at age 14. He was instantly smitten. He talks about his distant relative Norm Creighton who rode a Victoria Derby...

Great to catch up with former jockey Darryn Murphy who is enjoying his role as a mentor and coach of young racing aspirants in South Australia. Darryn talks about his job with the employment and training company Skillinvest which specialises in the education and career guidance of people across a range of industries including horse racing. He also explains his role with Thoroughbred Racing South A...

We’re delighted to present a lengthy chat with one of the greatest jockeys of his generation. Mick Dittman retired from the saddle eighteen years ago after a stellar career which brought him 1700 wins including 88 Gr 1’s. He looks at a likely date for his return to Singapore where he manages the extensive  racing interests of Lim Siah Mong. The former champion jockey talks of childhood days in Roc...

Great to catch up with Queensland’s second oldest active jockey. He’s not long back from a nasty shoulder injury that should have finished his career, but Cyril Small has no intention of stopping. He talks of his ambition to chalk up 50 years as a jockey. Cyril talks of the wonderful support of the trainer who tried to put him on a first up winner at Gatton recently. They ran second. The veteran j...

This brilliant young Sydney jockey is entitled to think he’s used up all of his bad luck. He looks back on the nasty fall at Rosehill on July 25th which left him with a long list of injuries- his second major race fall in fifteen months. Andrew expresses his sympathy for the owners of his mount Hot ‘N’ Hazy who had to be euthanised after the accident.  He talks of the concern shown by Hugh Bowman...

The former brilliant jockey discusses the higher scale of weights in the current era. He says today’s heavier jockeys get their chance to stay in the game for longer periods. Lenny looks back on the nightmare years when he’d have to lose 4-5 kgs in a single day. He takes us back to childhood days in Wollongong when a neighbour loaned him a little grey pony. Later he got his own pony, but it didn’t...

This is an absorbing chat with one of Perth’s all time favourite media personalities, and a man who gave trots commentary a new twist. John Hunt stepped away from the microphone in 2008 after twenty years as Sky and Gloucester Park’s resident commentator during which time he put some zing into the job. John was only 51 and right at the top of his game, but he had further horizons to explore. He re...

Great to catch up with the man who won last year’s Kosciuszko with Handle The Truth and hopes to do it again with the same horse next month. Keith talks about his great day at Wagga last week when he dominated the programme. He talks about the thrill of winning the rich Kosciuszko last year and the training regime he’s following with Handle The Truth this time around. Keith talks about the bad hab...

We catch up with a former Hawkesbury trainer who surprised friends and clients when he  slipped away from racing four years ago. Warwick explains the reasons for his departure. He gives the impression he hasn’t completely dismissed a return to training down the track. Warwick looks back on his childhood days in the saddle, and gives great credit to the work being done by the Pony Club movement aro...

Delighted to catch up with outstanding Sydney trainer John Thompson who’s coming off a great 2019/2020 season. John acknowledges the deeds of his “war horse” Dreamforce and the exciting Mamaragan who’s gearing up for an ambitious Spring campaign. The trainer pays tribute to some other stable favourites who did their bit in 2019/2020. John shares memories of his late grandfather Vic Thompson Snr, o...

The champion jockey talks about his decision to base himself in Sydney at the expiration of a 15 months disqualification incurred in Hong Kong. Nash will never forget his return to race riding at Kembla Grange in July 2019. He says it was a day of high emotion. He talks of the exciting Randwick wins that put him straight back into his position among Sydney’s best jockeys. The forty five year old t...