Successful trotting horse trainers have been dabbling with thoroughbreds for more than a century. In the early days it happened rarely. In more recent years an ever increasing number of harness racing people have been wooed by mind boggling prize money levels, and the glamour of the turf.
James Ponsonby must have wondered if previous converts had felt the same numbness he experienced when Proven Class stormed home to win Saturday’s TAB Highway at Randwick - his first metropolitan training win, and his sixth overall since becoming a public trainer less than three months ago.
The lessons James learned from a diligent father have served him well. Here is the young trainer after a Kembla win with Obelos - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
As the son of former talented harness trainer John Ponsonby, young James was around standardbreds from the time he could fill up a water bucket. He was taught to do things the right way by a father who was noted for his professionalism, and the immaculate way in which he turned his horses out. “Dad was meticulous in everything he did and it rubbed off on me,” said the thirty seven year old.
Young James was just seventeen years old when a mare called Tolley gave him his first win as a driver at Bankstown in August 2000. The thrill of winning on the Simon Begini trained mare was eclipsed eight months later, when he trained and drove Sunorama to win on the same track.
Not surprisingly James raced the majority of his horses in the colours relinquished by John Ponsonby, who quit training to work in harness administration in the 1990’s. Those colours were a very conspicuous red, yellow braces, yellow hooped sleeves with a red and yellow striped cap. James has retained the red and yellow combination as his thoroughbred stable colours, but with a less busy design. Proven Class and other recent winners have sported red, yellow diamond sash and red cap.
The conspicuous Ponsonby colours were carried by Clarrie Greene in this win at Menangle shortly after the opening of the new track - courtesy Trotguide.com.au.
James stayed on in the trotting game for nineteen years, rarely training more than seven or eight horses. His attention to detail and a solid work ethic saw him extract optimum performance from those horses with the necessary ability. His race driving was of a consistently high standard. If his mounts were good enough, he usually had them in the right spot at the right time.
He won three races with the aforementioned Sunorama who went amiss after just sixteen race starts. Julius Apollo was a great old war horse for the Ponsonby stable winning eleven races and posting an astonishing forty two placings. “He was never completely sound and required a lot of attention,” said James. “Despite his niggling problems he was tough and genuine. He gave us a wonderful ride.”
Justinramer was a rising seven year old when he joined the Ponsonby stable in 2005. The gelding raced predominantly at Harold Park, winning five races and posting many placings. “He couldn’t do a tap of work and had to be driven accordingly,” said the trainer. “Whenever possible I’d go straight to the pegs and take short cuts. He’d often get a late split and dive through to be in the finish somewhere. He earned prize money more often than not.”
James in one of seven wins on Novak - one of the last harness horses he trained - courtesy Trotguide.com.au.
Novak (7 wins) and Majors Blue Jean (7 wins) were among the last few harness horses James got to train. He still had them in work when he was appointed stable foreman at Mark Newnham’s Warwick Farm base in August 2018. “Majors Blue Jean was the last horse I actually trained and drove in a race,” he said. “When he was finished I made the decision to concentrate on the gallopers and learn everything I could from a true professional in Mark Newnham.
“Not only is he the complete horseman, but he can plan a horse’s preparation to the finest detail. From the day a horse begins a new campaign, Mark knows where it’s heading and how it’s going to get there. He taught me that there’s a lot more to horse training than clicking a stopwatch.”
James enjoyed every moment of his two years managing Newnham’s 36 horse barn at the Farm. “I formed an attachment to many of the horses, especially Nakeeta Jane, winner of a Gr 1 Surround Stakes,” he said. “What a gutsy, genuine filly. We were all devastated when she fractured a sesamoid on the training track one morning.”
Ponsonby formed a good opinion of Proven Class when the Smart Missile mare was in Mark Newnham’s care early in her career. “She was stabled in the Randwick barn when she had her first six runs which included a Newcastle Maiden win two years ago,” said James. “She was out for a long time after undergoing knee surgery and was transferred to the Warwick Farm stables on her return to training.
“She ran a couple of good placings on the provincial tracks and was working up to a win. She also became Shadow Hero’s regular track mate in the weeks leading up to his win in the Spring Champion Stakes of 2019. Obviously he was never at his absolute top, but she kept him busy and started to move really well. Not long after she injured a front joint in trackwork and her owners the Gooree Pastoral Company whisked her away.”
James was a very interested spectator when Goree offered Proven Class, presumably as a potential broodmare on the Inglis On Line May sale. With thoughts of those track gallops with Shadow Hero still pounding in his brain, James was highly delighted when his $8500 bid secured the mare.
“My wife Keryn took a one third share as did Dr. Laurent Wallace, while the remaining part was snapped up by Greg Scott who’d raced a few harness horses with me over the years,” said James. “She looked more like a broodmare than a racehorse when she arrived at my place. It took a long time to get the belly off her.
James joins a growing list of trotting trainers to make a successful transition to the thoroughbred ranks. He was pretty chuffed after Saturday's Randwick win - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Following a soft Warwick Farm barrier trial at the end of August, Proven Class resumed with a strong finishing second over 1400m at Canberra ridden by Jean Van Overmeire. James had a very logical reason for going all the way to Corowa for the mare’s following run. “It was a long road trip, but the race carried the same prize money that would have been on offer at Goulburn or Bathurst,” he said. “Had we gone to Goulburn or Bathurst you can bet your life we would have run into three or four horses from top Sydney stables.”
Proven Class contested a 1600m Cl 1 at Corowa and won emphatically. She came from last to win by a widening two lengths per medium of a ground saving ride by the talented Winona Costin. Her next start caused James some grief, but in hindsight he blames himself. “We stepped up to 1800m at Hawkesbury, twenty six days after her Corowa win,” he said. “I was definitely too easy on her between runs and paid the penalty. Mind you even though she finished last of seven, she was only 2.6 lengths from the winner.”
It was a fitter Proven Class who lined up for the 1800m Cl 3 Highway on Saturday, and Winona rode her exactly as she had at Corowa. The mare made the 1600m crossing a touch awkwardly, but had settled into a nice rhythm by the time they turned to the back where she was in front of only two horses.
Costin navigated a passage between runners from the top of the rise and had the mare in open air at precisely the right time. Proven Class swamped the leaders close to home to win going away from Rent A Rock, Crackerjack Kenny and the luckless Tiomo.
Winona Costin has ridden five of the six winners saddled up by James in his first three months of training. Apart from Proven Class the former premiership winning apprentice has won on Clay Pan Boogie at Bathurst, and twice on Obelos at Albury and Kembla Grange. The Albury win was the trainer’s first in his own right.
Winona Costin has ridden 5 of James Ponsonby's first six winners as a trainer. Here's Winona winning on Proven Class - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
“Winona is a very patient rider who likes to get her mounts into a nice rhythm,” said James. “That suits me fine. Five out of six ain’t bad.”
Winona was unavailable when James took Mesmer to Queanbeyan for a 1000m Maiden a few weeks ago, but Richard Bensley proved a very able substitute leading throughout to post a 4 lengths win.
James is trying to inject a little bit of the European style into his training. He operates from a 113 hectare property at The Oaks near Camden, and has the use of a 1400m straight gallop and an 800 circular track. If he chooses to give a highly strung horse a change of environment, he has the pick of several bushland walking tracks.
“Our 1400m straight track is akin to something you’d find in Europe,” said the astute Ponsonby. “There’s a fairly significant climb early in the 1400m stretch and a 10 metre rise from the 600m to the 1200m. It’s a great facility.”
James Ponsonby is the last bloke you’d expect to see riding trackwork, but he’s a regular on that beautiful straight track. He was never without a pony as a youngster and spent many hours in the saddle before and after school. Some say he looked taller in the trotting sulky than he does on horseback. He looks nothing like his 190cm when crouched over the neck of one of the fourteen horses he has in work. “I’m lucky to be able to manage trackwork duties, because we’re situated off the beaten track and work riders are scarce,” he said.
James and Keryn Ponsonby are the proud parents of Henry 8, Sebastian 6, Victoria 4, and Lucy 1. You’d be very surprised if there isn’t a horse lover or two among that energetic quartet.
I saw a lot of James Ponsonby around Sydney’s harness racing venues over a twenty year period. I’m reminded of a little thing I noticed at Harold Park on a bleak winter’s night around thirteen years ago. James had two runners on the programme - one in the first race and one in the last.
I spotted the tall, young trainer wearing red and yellow silks emptying the contents of two chaff bags onto the floor of his race night stalls - he was placing dry, fresh straw under the feet of two horses who had a long night ahead. One had a long wait after his race, the other had to wait three hours until he was due to race.
I spent a thousand nights at the trots and I never saw another trainer go to so much trouble.
James and family after a Menangle win with Majors Blue Jean - wife Keryn, Henry, Sebastian and Victoria - courtesy Trotguide.com.au.
(Banner image - Proven Class came from near last to win Saturday's TAB Highway - courtesy Bradley Photographers)