JOHN TAPP RACING
JOHN TAPP RACING
Thanks for checking in on Tappy’s Racing Yarns.
Better horses than Nothin’ Leica Dane have won the Spring Champion Stakes, but none of them were as tough as the long striding son of Danehill. Experienced racing people in the mid 90’s were in disbelief when his very first preparation stretched from August to November.
At his fourth start he won the listed Dulcify Quality, at his fifth it was the Gr 1 Spring Champion Stakes. Just when observers were expecting him to head to the paddock, Nothin’ Leica Dane turned up in Melbourne and defeated a strong field in the black type Norman Robinson at Caulfield. Two weeks later he caused a boil over when he beat Octagonal in the 1995 Victoria Derby. There was more to come. We’ve got the whole fascinating story in this nostalgic trip down memory lane.
We go “bush” for this week’s podcast and it’s Colt Prosser the only man who uses the facilities at the little Wauchope racecourse on the mid north coast. His mother was a successful trainer and his dad an in-demand farrier, so it was no surprise when horses became his obsession.
Colt spent fifteen years learning the ropes off two prominent trainers before going it alone. There’s no chore he hasn’t taken on in sixteen years as a professional thoroughbred trainer. He’s well past 300 career winners including four TAB Highway victories. This is a laid back chat with a true “north coaster” who can’t imagine doing anything else but train racehorses.
Tappy
(Banner image courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.)
JOHN TAPP RACING PODCAST
It’s always a delight to welcome country horse people to the podcast and this week we go to the NSW mid north coast.
When Simon Marshall was booting home Gr 1 winners at the rate of knots he was lauded by experts as one of Australia’s best jockeys
To mark our 600th podcast post I’m delighted to welcome my former colleague and long time friend, the one and only Ken Callander.
TAPPY'S TURF TOPICS
Mere mention of the Spring Champion Stakes rekindles memories of some of its most notable winners.
It’s not uncommon for prominent jockeys to go to the races with a big book of rides without expecting spectacular results.
John Sargent had more than one reason to look elated as he faced the television cameras after Global Goal’s emphatic Flight Stakes win at Randwick.
Kristen Buchanan was apprehensive as she walked Annie’s Rose out of the box at Wyong on Sunday morning. The big mare had won impressively at Rosehill just over twenty four hours earlier
Scott Collings was beyond elated when Cruizingthestars won Saturday’s TAB Highway (1000m) at Royal Randwick, and there was good reason for it.
Jon Grisedale’s vast race riding experience clicked beautifully into gear shortly after the start of Saturday’s 1400m Cedar Cutters maiden at Kembla Grange.
The spring in David Payne’s step of late is only partly attributable to his recent hip replacement. A couple of exciting three year old fillies he has in the stable might also have something to do with his buoyant mood.
When you come across a five year old with only three runs under the belt you can be sure the animal in question has tested the patience of many people along the way.
“No better horseman ever held the reins” was Banjo Paterson’s assessment of Clancy Of The Overflow in the early verses of “The Man From Snowy River”.
TAPPY'S TROTS TOPICS
Delighted to include some special footage from an amazing Miracle Mile night at Menangle featuring the horse many believe is the greatest of all time.
There was one heart stopping incident in the mid seventies which could have halted Dean Chapple’s love affair with harness racing before it got off the ground.
There’s nothing I’ve enjoyed more over the years than the many conversations I’ve had with veteran horsemen - especially harness horsemen who were around in the days when the sport was drawing big crowds all around Australia.
You’ll be hard pressed to find a horseman who isn’t enamoured of the sight of a talented trotter in full flight. Power Productions have kindly allowed me access to a video production highlighting the poetry of the trotting horse and the devotion of those who train them.
Wayne Dimech was in his mid-teens when Hondo Grattan was dominating the harness racing headlines in the early 1970’s. He had obviously inherited the harness racing genes from his Maltese forebears.
Ian Verning doesn’t mind his life long nickname of “Spud” although he is frustrated by the fact that he has no idea of its origins.
Australian harness racing currently boasts a plethora of talented drivers in the 20-25 age bracket. Those who appear regularly on metropolitan tracks enjoy the bulk of available media attention.
Trainers lucky enough to have a runner at a major trots meeting are conscious of the atmosphere only big time racing can generate. Miracle Mile night is something else again.
There’s no better pointer for punters than a Darren Hancock trained horse turning up at Penrith. The leading horseman has been an unabashed fan of the 1400m Menangle circuit since its inception in 2008
The 2022 Penrith racing year concluded on December 29th with what looked to be a run of the mill programme on paper. It took a rare training double by father and daughter duo David and Katie McGill, to inject a little “buzz” into the night.

