John Tapp Racing

Great to catch up with an eminently successful jockey who quit the saddle in 1995 when niggling injuries caught up with him. Maurice Logue went straight into a tutorial role with the Australian Jockey Club. He talks of his recent appointment to the team at Harness Racing NSW as Education and Welfare Officer. Maurice outlines the establishment of Mates4Harness, a new initiative designed to help par...

Great to catch up with the voice of NSW central west racing. Col Hodges covers meetings at 25 venues and is a living legend in the region. He talks of a happy childhood at Bogan Gate (NSW) and school days at the curiously named Gunning Gap, a push bike ride from the family farm. The veteran commentator recalls his fascination with the ABC race callers of the 1950’s. Col looks back on his admiratio...

It was a delight to catch up with an elder statesman of the Australian training ranks. Mick Robins is turning 90 in July, but sounds years younger as he takes us on a sentimental journey. Mick talks of his recent stint in hospital after a heavy fall at the Mornington stables of Tony Noonan. The grand old horseman takes us back to his first job as an apprentice butcher in wartime Broken Hill. Mick...

In this segment Brad recalls his association with trainers like Malcolm Johnston, Gerald Ryan and Les Bridge. He talks of the offer he got from champion Queensland trainer Bruce McLachlan who was anxious to get him back to Brisbane. Brad remembers with affection his big pay day when he won the 2008 Magic Millions Guineas on Heart Of The Citi for trainer Pat Duff. He talks of his frustration that a...

This podcast was recorded two days before Brad was hurt in a starting gate incident at Rockhampton. He escaped serious injury but was taken to hospital complaining of some neck pain. We wish him well. In Part 1 the popular jockey talks of his current winning streak and the trainers who are giving him continuing support. Brad, always on the heavy side, talks of his current situation with weight. Th...

John talks of the tough road back as an independent trainer after three years heading up the powerful Godolphin operation. He reflects on his feelings when the Godolphin job was offered to him, and the reaction of his family. John reminisces about a quick dash to Dubai to officially meet Sheikh Mohammed. Of the hundreds of horses to pass through his hands in the Godolphin days, he was smitten by t...

In this segment Steve reflects on a short riding stint in Mauritius which ended on a very sour note. He looks back on his return to the saddle after knee surgery and his new association with trainer Terry Courtney. The top horseman has never forgotten his wonderful partnership with powerhouse sprinter Mighty Avalanche. He takes us through a last to first win in the Gr 1 Oakleigh Plate. Steve remem...

We talk to Steve about the lockdown of Singapore racing and the interim progress of his horses. He talks of the biosecurity situation and the mood of the locals as the weeks wear on. We go right back to Steve’s younger days in Melbourne and his passion for football. He was promising but way too small to make a career of it. He talks of his father Harold, a successful jumps jockey. Steve recalls hi...

I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Phillip Stokes so we did the next best thing and chatted on the podcast. The trainer talks of his runners in two states last Saturday. No winners but a few super efforts. Phillip talks of the fruition of a long term plan to establish a Victorian stable, and the reason he settled on the new Pakenham complex. He describes the available facilities and the 16 acre...

Great to catch up with one of the hardest working jockeys in Australian racing. Much to his frustration, Grant is currently on the sidelines with a broken collarbone. He has an update on his likely return date. He talks of the fall on March 31st which came at a time when he was enjoying a winning run. Grant discusses the amazing statistics he’s accumulated in the last twenty years as provincial an...

In part 2 Gary talks of stable favourites Single Bullet and Testashadow. He tells the story of the $20,000 yearling who gave him victory in the Golden Slipper of 2017. He was thrilled to win for a large group of owners who’d been brought together by Darby Racing. Gary tells some good stories about two members of the She Will Reign syndicate who added to the whole amazing story- one of them won a f...

In part one Gary talks of the job offer which brought him to Sydney. He was invited to train privately for a high profile owner who pulled out of the arrangement three months later.   He confesses he was ready to go back to the bush when a fellow trainer helped him out of a tight spot. Gary talks of early days at Orange and the defining moment when he knew he wanted to train horses. The trainer ta...

In the 200th segment since our website began in 2018, Andrew Bensley looks back on his years with Sky TV and radio. At last he reveals the origin of his well known nickname Hoss. People realised he bore a resemblance to actor Dan Blocker whose character of Hoss in the TV series Bonanza made him a household name. A top jockey was the first to give Andrew the nickname. Andrew recalls the freezing Ba...

In Part 1 Andrew outlines his reasons for bringing down the curtain on his long career with Sky Racing and Sky Sports Radio. He talks of his childhood in Wangaratta and the elderly neighbours he called Nan and Pa. They introduced him to the excitement of the racetrack. Andrew talks of his adoption to foster parents Bruce and Leila Bensley. His Dad was an engineer and wanted Andrew to follow in his...

In Part 1 Darren talks of a lifetime in the Bankstown harness racing precinct. He remembers the days when hundreds of horses were worked from stables in the Condell Park area. Today it’s a ghost town. He remembers the day a Channel 10 TV crew filmed a story on harness horses for Simon Townsend’s Wonder World. He reveals his reasons for never wanting to train big teams of horses. Darren talks about...

In Part 2 the NZ born jockey pays tribute to some of his 42 Gr 1 winners with special mention of the ill fated Unworldly. She won 5 from 6 before being put down after a training accident. Larry says she was an exceptional filly. He pays special tribute to Saintly. He rode him only twice for a win and a close second in the 1996 AJC Derby. He remembers him with great affection. Larry talks of his ye...

In part 1 Larry talks about his career tally of winners. He reveals that he’s maintained records of his race rides from the beginning of his career in NZ. He talks of the factors that prompted his decision to move to Queensland twelve years ago. Larry recalls his one and only ride on the champion Winx in the 2015 Sunshine Coast Guineas. He surprised many by declaring her to be the best he’d ever r...

In this segment Fred looks back on the frustrating years when he struggled to gain a WA Thoroughbred trainer’s licence. He’d just about given up when a race club committeeman came to his rescue. He remembers the thrill of saddling up his first winner at the gallops. The horse was Little Hero at Belmont in 1989. Fred takes us back to the day he bought a half share in a yearling with ordinary confor...

The first segment of this special interview reviews the master horseman’s long and brilliant career as a trainer and driver in the harness racing field. Fred tells the story of his grandfather taking two pacers from Adelaide to Perth by ship, while the rest of the family crossed the Nullabor in an old Buick car. The Kersleys have been in Western Australia ever since. He reflects on the brilliant t...

Harry pays tribute to the super sire I Am Invincible who has been a sensation on the Australian breeding scene in recent years. He reveals the chain of events which led to the purchase of a half share in I Am Invincible, when a new stallion was required for the Mitchell family’s Yarraman Park Stud near Scone(NSW). Harry remembers the first time he saw the horse at the Victorian stables of Peter Mo...

In part 2 Rod talks of Keith Noud’s ability to call a race, before dashing to the press box to file a story on the same race.  He takes us through some very funny incidents during his race broadcasting days. Incidents like the amorous liaison taking place in a bunker on the infield golf course at Laidley. He recalls the unwelcome guest he had in the broadcasting box at Gatton, and the day a number...

Rod talks of his upbringing in the popular Queensland town of Bundaberg. He recalls the racing characters he met at his Grandmother’s boarding house. He talks of the mother who loved a punt, and the non gambling father who just liked looking at racehorses. Rod recalls the bet he tried to have behind his mother’s back. The bookie gave him up. He looks back on his race calling debut at age 14, when...

This is a light hearted chat with a vivacious young lady who has strong support from owners and trainers in NSW and Queensland. Tegan has been out of action for almost five months following the worst fall of her ten year career. Tegan pays special tribute to her jockey/mother who rode many winners on the NSW Northern Rivers under the name of Bev Want. She thinks it’s pretty special that she was go...

We catch up with Peter Mertens in his new role as Farms Operations Manager at Sean Buckley’s magnificent Ultra Thoroughbreds spelling, breeding and training operation near Kilmore. He explains how the job came up, and his day to day involvement. Peter talks of his formative years in the Gippsland region and his two apprenticeships- one to George O’Mealley, the other to Lloyd Timms. Just as his rid...

In part 2 Jimmy Byrne recalls a win in the coveted Queensland Derby on the Peter Moody trained Riva San. He was lucky to gain the ride. He reflects on one of his greatest racing thrills, a Doomben $10,000 victory on Redzel. It was his one and only ride on the dual Everest winner.  The jockey talks of another Group 1 win- the J.J.Atkins Stakes on the Paul Butterworth trained Capital Gain. Jim looks...