Angela Davies was devastated one day in 1974 when her late father Bruce told her to dismiss any thought of becoming a jockey. The racing mad sixteen year old had the right build and truckloads of passion. It’s hard to argue with Bruce’s reasoning at the time. “There are no bloody female jockeys,” he thundered. “Pam O’Neill has just been licensed to ride against the blokes in Queensland, but it will take years for them to be recognised. Forget about it. All you’ll get is a broken heart.”
Bruce Davies was well versed in the ways of racing. He’d been an on course bookmaker for a number of years, and later took the odd bet on the telephone or at the back door of his West Gosford home. That home was the first house to be built in Faunce St - directly opposite the float entrance at the Gosford Racecourse. It’s not known if Bruce charged a viewing fee when leviathan punter “Hollywood” George Edser climbed onto the roof to watch the Gosford races during the 1960’s. The colourful Edser had been banned from Australian racecourses by the AJC Committee, but continued to bet in spectacular fashion and sought ways to watch races from all sorts of vantage points.
Angela Davies remembers the “famous” man on the roof and she recalls her fascination with the constant procession of thoroughbreds around the Gosford precinct. “Most kids don’t want to wake up early in the morning, but I was out of bed at first light to go over the road to watch the trackwork,” said Angela. “When my mother realised there was no stopping me, she agreed to let me go provided I ate my breakfast first. You’ve never seen anybody get rid of three Weet Bix faster than I could. Pam Davies, now 82 still insists her daughter should eat a hearty breakfast.
“I was only four or five at the time, and the poor trainer I annoyed was Ron Brown who put up with me getting under his feet in the stables. I’d clean the feeders thoroughly and then found I wasn’t strong enough to lift them back into position. I must have been a proper pest.”
Later Angela dabbled in pony club, dressage, show jumping, hacking or any other equine activity she could find. When she started work as a bank clerk some years later she actually secured a loan to finance a small business venture - the purchase of an Arabian stallion and the establishment of a small stud enterprise. “I had the use of 5 acres at Narara. I got a couple of mares of my own and took the odd outside one. There would be no life without horses for this girl.”
Her career choice is obviously the right one! Look at the smile after this Randwick win in 2018 - Courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Angela applied for her trainer’s ticket in the mid 1980’s and got started with a filly she purchased out of a paddock for $1000. It didn’t take the new trainer very long to find out that filly was a bleeder. She raced three times under the name of Equal Lode, finishing near last on each occasion. Angela tried a few more “cheapies” over the next year or so without success, before purchasing her first yearling at a Tamworth Sale for the modest sum of $1250. He was named Bold Cutter.
“Imagine my delight when he won first up on Jungle Juice Cup day at Cessnock in July 1989,” said Angela. “He was an arrogant horse who could buck like Rocky Ned. Billy Denmark was the only jockey prepared to ride him work, despite the fact that he hit the deck a few times. Billy obviously had the ride at Cessnock and got him home in a 2YO Maiden. There was no better day to celebrate a win than Jungle Juice cup day.”
From that point on it was slow going for the budding trainer. Money was scarce and so were owners. She realised that she would have to search for the cheaper yearlings at the smaller sales with a view to syndicating her purchases. From time to time she’d be asked to train a reject from another stable with numerous disasters and the odd pleasant surprise. A look at her success stories make interesting reading.
She won a race at Gosford with Freight very early in her training career, while the oddly named Emperor Big Nose won two at Gosford and two at Muswellbrook. Tinctures won three races for Angela including two at Warwick Farm. The first of those was the trainer’s first metropolitan win. Timekeeper won three provincial races, while Purple Dane snared two wins including one at Warwick Farm in 2004.
The story of a mare called Clipper is worth recounting. She arrived at Angela’s stable in the early stages of pregnancy after failing to win a race in eighteen months. “I only had a short time at my disposal,” she recalled. “I gave her an easy barrier trial after which she won easily at Scone and followed up with a BM78 win at Randwick. She was out of her depth next start in the Takeover Target and was retired soon after.”
Clipper was in foal when she won this one at Randwick in December 2018. Sam Weatherley was the jockey - Courtesy Bradley Photographers.
She’s A Stalker did a good job for the stable with two Canterbury successes and a comfortable win in the 2012 edition of the $100,000 Magic Millions 3YO at Wyong. “She was a lovely little mare who was destined for better things, but a throat issue finished her career.”
Waitandwatch won 5 races from 9 starts before succumbing to a troublesome joint. “He was a very fast horse who won four straight at one stage including a BM72 at Randwick,” said Angela. I was terribly disappointed when he went amiss.”
Machinegun Jubs didn’t even have a mare’s name but posted 6 wins and 6 placings from 25 starts for $230,000. “Two of her wins were at Canterbury and Rosehill,” said Angela. “You’d love a barn full of them.”
Angela with Blaike McDougall after a Rosehill win with Machinegun Jubs in 2017 - Courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Horses like Cafe Nero, Queen Ablaze, Single And Free, Magic Cassius, Sir Magic, Monaco and Jerusha won twenty six races between them. We’re talking horses who came with modest prize tags or as rejects from other stables. Most of the horses mentioned have been prepared from Angela’s property at nearby Narara.
“I’ve had my little farm for twenty three years now gradually making improvements as we go along,” says the dedicated Davies. “We started with two stables which has multiplied to eight. Each box has its own roomy yard and the horses are never locked in. I have the use of three more boxes at the racecourse, and they too incorporate big yards. I’m fanatical about not having them locked up.”
The only male on the small Davies team is partner and stable foreman Peter Brown who graciously accepts his fate. “I believe horses are more responsive to females and my team of girls is the best you’ll find anywhere,” says Angela. “Megan Booker is my ace work rider while Shayla Warren and Kaylah Hobson do a great job on the ground. Pete’s lucky to get a word in.”
Now to acknowledge Angela’s current stable stars. She was hoping to get the Wanted colt out of Morethanacracker for no more than $5000 at the 2016 Inglis Scone sale and was slightly apprehensive when she had to extend to $7,500. His ten current owners can’t believe they were able to purchase a share for $750 each and go on to divvy up more than half a million dollars so far.
When trainer and part owner Angela Davies realised she’d purchased a pretty good horse for such a small outlay, she thought Through The Cracks was an appropriate name. He was a late three year old and had been gelded by the time he got to the races. He won a Taree Maiden at his second race start in 2018 with Josh Adams in the saddle. His first city win came at Warwick Farm over 1400m in January of this year ridden by Jenny Duggan who retained the ride in the Provincial Championship Qualifier at Newcastle in mid March. After a slow start, Through the Cracks hurtled home to run second to Asharani earning a start in the $400,000 final at Randwick three weeks later.
The gelding needed to be everything Angela thought he was to win the Randwick feature, let alone win it the way he did. Through The Cracks travelled three wide with cover throughout before producing a whirlwind finish to score emphatically from Moana Jewel and Oxford Tycoon. It was a monster win and a career highlight for the kid who could once eat three Weet Bix in twenty seconds.
A spectacular win by Through The Cracks in the Provincial Championship Final at Randwick 11/04/2020 - Courtesy of Bradley Photographers.
A richly deserved spell followed, after which he was aimed at a brief summer campaign. He had two soft trials before a first up third in a BM88 at Randwick. Then came a “tick over” trial before an easy win in a BM88 at Newcastle which prompted trainer Davies to test the water with her highly promising horse. Through The Cracks took a quantum leap in class in the Gr 3 Festival Stakes at Rosehill, thrilling connections with a close up 7th (beaten 2.7 lengths) after a slow start.
Angela was sufficiently buoyed to have a crack at the Gr 2 Villiers on Saturday and came away well satisfied. She asked Brenton Avdulla to go back because it’s clear the gelding is best when given time to find his feet. Through The Cracks was eight or nine lengths from the leader Greysful Glamour on straightening for home, but finished just over half a length behind her in fourth place. He finished off equally as well as third placegetter Criaderas. Angela came away with a theory.
“I don’t think he’s comfortable on a hard and fast track,” she said. “If you watch the replay you’ll notice he’s on and off the bit, giving the indication he feels his legs from time to time. I think he just has a little think about it when he feels a twinge. Every time he runs I pray for a shower or two.”
Despite the Villiers defeat Angela left Randwick on Saturday in good spirits. Another stable favourite Salina Dreaming kept the stable flag flying with a convincing win in a 3&4YO BM72 (1100m). This talented mare took her record to four wins and three placings from just seven starts.
“Despite her excellent record I’ve got to say she’s been a work in progress,” said the trainer. “She has ongoing knee issues and is very thin soled in one front foot. She needs constant attention from the farrier and thankfully we’re winning at the moment. There’s a lovely mares race for her during the Magic Millions week. We’ll probably aim her for that.”
On her way through the grades! Salina Dreaming and Andrew Gibbons defeating Catapult in a BM64 at Newcastle 27/06/2020 - Courtesy of Bradley Photographers.
Motherhood kept Angela away from horses for around three years in the late 90’s and beyond. Her daughter Georgia (21) and son Jarred (25) still live with their busy Mum and keep a close eye on the progress of her horses. “Georgia likes them as animals but isn’t a keen racing person,” says Angela. “Jarred wouldn’t care if he never put a hand on a horse but he does love a punt. He’s always interested when one of my horses looks to have a chance.”
The dedicated trainer says her phone has been ringing more often of late. Usually the calls are from people looking for small shares in horses and she does her very best to oblige. All Angela can do at the moment is let her horses do the talking in the hope somebody will come along with a fashionably bred young horse, who likes the way she does things. The sixty two year old has a very simple theory. “Keep them as close to nature as possible, take them where they can win and love ‘em to death”.
(Banner image - Salina Dreaming (Hugh Bowman) gets the better of The Face in the closing stages of Saturday's Easternbuilt Hcp - Courtesy of Bradley Photographers.)