Flemington Trainers
Flemington, the best known and oldest racecourse in Australia, is also the Melbourne home of some of the country’s greatest trainers.
Some 700 horses are prepared at the world famous course to win major races throughout Australia.
The first race meeting was conducted at the track in March 1840 when Melbourne Town was barely five years old and the course quickly became a venue to prepare horses as well. However, trainers had to put up with stern conditions in the early years with the facilities at the course on the Maribyrnong River described as “quagmires in winter and hard as the hobs of hell in the summer”. It wasn’t until some 15 years after the VRC was formed in 1864 that Flemington had training facilities of “acceptable quality”.
Today, Flemington boasts the finest training facilities in Australia with a “cushioned” Visco-ride surface, a sand track and a grass surface. Complete with a swimming facility, it has all the amenities a trainer requires to bring out the best in their runners.
Trainers using the Flemington facilities include:-
Nigel Blackiston (9376 6094)
A one-time apprentice jockey in England, Blackiston became an assistant trainer in Dubai before joining Bart Cummings’ Melbourne operation in 1990. After a period on his own to train in the Hunter Valley, he returned to Cummings in 1996 to become his Melbourne foreman. Four years later he took out his own licence for the 2000-2001 season based at Cranbourne, winning his first Group race with Weasel Will in his first year. He also trained dual Group winner Shelbourne Lass before moving back to Flemington in 2004.
Bart Cummings www.bartcummings.com.au
The Australian Racing Hall Of Fame Legend uses “Saintly Lodge” in Leonard Crescent as his Flemington base.
An 11-time winner of the Melbourne Cup, Cummings has won every major race in Australia – many on numerous occasions – and has trained the Australian Horse of the Year nine times.
Other feature race wins by Cummings include 23 Derbys and Oaks, 13 Australian Cups, six Caulfield Cups, three Cox Plates and four Golden Slippers. His best horses include Storm Queen, Light Fingers, Galilee, Dayana, Taj Rossi, Leilani, Lord Dudley, Maybe Mahal, Lord Dudley, Let’s Elope, Shaftesbury Avenue and Saintly.
Originally based in Adelaide, Cummings now has stables in Sydney and Melbourne and is currently one short of his 250th Group 1 winner.
Mathew Ellerton www.ellertonracing.com.au
Mathew Ellerton gained his A Grade Trainers licence in 1997, at which time he took over the training of the successful team at Hobson’s Lodge, on the fringe of Flemington racecourse.
He has trained the winners of 8 Group 1 races since taking out his licence. He has been ranked in the Top 10 Victorian metropolitan trainers since he commenced, and has been the leading Super VOBIS Trainer for the past three seasons
Mathew runs a hands-on boutique style operation which encourages direct communication between owner and trainer.
High class horses which Mathew has trained include Casual Pass, Paint, Black Bean, Spectatorial, Miss Kournikova, Lady of the Desert and Cross Current.
Saab Hasan www.hasanracingstables.com
Saab Hasan was born to race. As a Turkish migrant, he arrived in Australia at the age of four after his family was forced to flee Southern Cyprus in 1976.
He grew up a few furlongs from the Flemington racecourse and soon realised he wanted to be a part of the “Racing Industry”. He set out to achieve his dream and, with his typical determination and enthusiasm, he went to every stable in Flemington asking for “an opportunity”. Despite many knockbacks, Saab persisted and proceeded to the last stable, that of Mick Cerchi.
Again he was rejected and with that, Saab grabbed a pitchfork and began to muck out a stall. From that day, Saab worked hard with the same ethics and integrity that he exhibits today.
After stints with the “Who’s Who” of the thoroughbred industry including Bart Cummings, David Hayes and John Sadler, Saab took a giant step towards realising his dream in 2004 by gaining his license to train, setting up training facilities in Leonard Crescent, Flemington. Shortly afterwards, in March 2007, Saab achieved another facet of his dreams by acquiring the famous “Chicquita Lodge” stables on the Flemington racecourse.
John Hawkes (02 9637 1244)
A former Adelaide jockey, Hawkes took up full-time training in 1971. He soon scored Group 1 success with Toltrice in the 1972 VRC Oaks, a race he also won with Tributes (1999) and Lovelorn (2000). He is also a dual Victoria Derby winner with Galena Boy (1975) and Arena in 1998.
Hawkes regularly finished second in the SA premiership before moving to Melbourne in 1989.
His biggest move followed when he became private trainer for Bob and Jack Ingham in Sydney, winning nine premierships. Other major wins include a Cox Plate, Caulfield Cup, two Australian Cups and AJC Australian Derbys and four BMWs.
His best horses were Octagonal (10 Group 1s) and his son Lonhro, who won 11 Group 1 races. Hawkes left the Inghams in 2007 moving to Flemington.
David Hayes www.lindsaypark.com.au
David Hayes launched his training career at Lindsay Park at Angaston, SA after his famous trainer father Colin died in 1990.
In charge for five years, he won every premiership in Melbourne and Adelaide and became the first Australasian trainer to prepare 300 winners in a season. He also set a world record of six Group winners on Victoria Derby Day in 1994.
He won the 1990 Japan Cup with Cox Plate winner Better Loosen Up and the 1994 Melbourne Cup with Jeune. Other big Australian wins include a second Cox Plate, Victoria Derby, VRC Oaks, four Blue Diamonds and a Sydney Cup.
Invited to Hong Kong in 1996, he won two premierships there. Returning to Australia in July 2005, he has enjoyed a spectacular comeback.
Tom Hughes Jr. www.tommyhughes.com.au
The son of a former top Flemington trainer of the same name, Tom Hughes Jr learned the ropes working with his father, becoming his travelling foreman.
He took out his own licence in 1991-92, working alongside his father. He won his first race with Quincy Market at Sandown in the latter part of the season.
His first major success was dual Group 1 winner Alcove, who after winning the Ansett Stakes and the AJC Oaks in the Sydney autumn, finished second to Paris Lane in the Caulfield Cup and fourth to Solvit in the W. S. Cox Plate.
Other Group 1 winners have followed with Titanic Jack and Delago Brom.
He also prepared Grey Song which was placed in successive Caulfield Cups in 2003/4.
Mark Kavanagh www.kavanaghracing.com
A former jumps rider, Mark Kavanagh switched to training at Mount Gambier in 1991 becoming leading district trainer in 1992-93 and again the following year.
Recognised as an astute trainer, he prepared George Hanlon cast off Red Hope to 15 wins, including the Hilton on the Park Sprint, Laurent Perrier Stakes, Ian McEwen Trophy and the Moondah Plate.
He moved to Adelaide full time in 2000 with Border Time, Easy Landing, Star Joe, Ez and Imperial Cross being just a few that won significant races that year.
He opened Flemington stables in 2007. An eight time Group 1 winner his Melbourne successes have been in the Turnbull Stakes, Emirates Stakes, Toorak Hcp, Myer Classic, Yalumba Stakes and Blue Diamond Stakes.
Kavanagh believes owners need to be kept informed so his clients are kept informed with e-mails, faxes and phone calls, together with regular inspections and open days.
Dean Lawson (9375 2755)
Son of trainer Ray Lawson, Dean began working with his father from his early teens to learn the art of becoming a horse trainer.
He was stable foreman for his father at the age of 18 and became a trainer in his own right three years later. During this time he shared stables with his father until he retired at the end of 2005-06.
Now on his own, Dean Lawson’s big break came when he paid $45,000 for a Perugino colt at the 1998 sales on the Gold Coast, The colt, named Testa Rossa, blossomed into a six-time Group 1 winner, taking the VRC Sires Produce and Vic Health Cup in 1999 and the Lightning and Futurity Stakes, Eat Well Live Well Cup and the Emirates Stakes the following year.
Brian Mayfield-Smith (9376 8971)
First becoming involved with horses as an outback stockman, Mayfield-Smith became a strapper in the mid 1960s. Granted a training licence in 1971 he won with his first starter at Mareeba near Cairns. He repeated the effort with another horse when he moved to Townsville the following year.
He moved to Brisbane and then Sydney before becoming private trainer in 1978 for Millie Fox, preparing more than 300 winners in six years.
Mayfield-Smith won the Sydney premiership in 1985-86 breaking Tommy Smith’s stranglehold and retained it for the next two years.
After a South African conservationist sojourn he returned to training at Flemington. He is an eight time Group 1 winner including the Underwood and Mackinnon Stakes, Newmarket Handicap, Oakleigh Plate and two Salinger Stakes among his wins.
Mike Moroney (9372 3558)
From a well known NZ racing family, Moroney became foreman for the famous Dave O’Sullivan racing stable at Matamata and then joined with him as a co-trainer before branching out on his own in 1980-81.
He scored his first Group 1 win in the Thousand Guineas at Riccarton in 1985 and opened a satellite stable in Adelaide the following year, finishing second in the premiership.
His first major Australian success came with Second Coming in the 1997 Victoria Derby, which resulted in him moving to Flemington. His biggest success came three years later when he won the Melbourne Cup with Brew in 2000.
A winner of more than 1700 races in NZ and Australia, Moroney still operates stables in NZ.
A two-time winner of the NZ training premiership, Moroney has trained some 40 Group 1 winners.
Danny O’Brien www.dannyobrienracing.com.au
Raised on a property which bred and reared racehorses, Danny O’Brien’s love of them began as a child.
Despite obtaining degrees in economics and law, he wanted to become a trainer, and commenced at Epsom in 1995. Within months he scored his first metropolitan winner with Mad Hatter.
Over the past 13 years, O'Brien has accomplished numerous Group and Stakes-winning victories throughout Australia with horses such as Porto Roca, Glamour Puss, Master O’Reilly, Douro Valley, Valedictum, Demerger and Ferocity. Having won eight Group 1 races in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide, he is not afraid to travel his team, and took Glamour Puss to England to compete in the Global Sprint Challenge.
His biggest Australian success was to quinella the 2007 Caulfield Cup with Master O’Reilly and Douro Valley
John Sadler
John Sadler, private trainer for Victoria’s biggest owner Lloyd Williams had a thorough grounding before breaking out on his own.
He began under Terang trainer Fred Drever and then switched to Bob Cunningham at Cape Bridgewater before continuing his education with city trainers Pat Burke and Bob Hoysted.
He attained his own licence in 1978, basing himself at Colac where he stayed for eight years prior to moving to Flemington in 1986. Sadler became the foundation trainer for Aquanita Racing in 1998 until invited to Dubai in 2000.
He was lured back to Australia to prepare runners for Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa's Australian operation in 2004 before joining Williams in early 2006. He was appointed head trainer in late 2007.
Sadler’s big race successes include the Oakleigh Plate, Blue Diamond, Australia Stakes, Adelaide Cup and a Goodwood Handicap.
