Scone trainer Scott Singleton was in high spirits when he loaded three horses onto his float on Sunday morning to embark on the 340km trip to Coonamble. He was still firmly ensconced on cloud nine, less than twenty four hours after his fleet footed gelding Partners had run the opposition ragged in the TAB Highway at Royal Randwick - the trainer’s first Saturday win at headquarters.
Scott was approaching Merriwa when he got a phone call from fellow trainer Brett Cavanough who’d just learned the Coonamble Cannonball meeting had been abandoned. “It was disappointing but at least I was only an hour into the trip,” said Scott. “I was back in Scone by mid-morning.”
The former Hawkesbury trainer was more relieved than anything else to win Saturday’s TAB Highway. “Partners is his own worst enemy when it comes to racing manners,” said Scott. “He has no speed control and is very hard on himself in trackwork and races. We’ve tried everything to break his habit, but as a four year old with nineteen starts under his belt he’s not going to change.
“He just explodes from the gates and wants to run. If you keep off his mouth he runs along at his own speed without wasting energy fighting the jockey,” said Singleton. “Riders need to understand him and Tommy Berry is one who does. Partners has the identical racing technique to Nature Strip, and it’s interesting to note they’re both by Nicconi. A similar racing style is where that resemblance ends.”
Partners is raced by B.K. Hunt Racing and Breeding Pty Ltd whose manager Brad Hunt has given Scott free rein with the headstrong gelding. “Thanks to Brad I’ve been able to slow everything down with the horse in the hope maturity might fix part of the problem,” said the trainer. “We haven’t raced him too often, and we try to keep him calm on the track. It wouldn’t be hard to send him around the twist.”
Partners can be excused for thinking he went around without a jockey on Saturday. From the moment the gates opened, Tommy Berry got straight “off” the gelding’s mouth and let him do everything by himself. He led 5 lengths at the 600m and by almost as much on straightening up, but didn’t look out of control. Although Bad Boy For Love zoomed home after being held up for a few strides, Partners still had 1.5 lengths to spare on the line.
Image courtesy Bradley Photographers - Partners gave Tommy Berry the first of 4 winners Randwick 20/06/2020.
Scott is appreciative of the long term support he’s had from B.K. Hunt Racing. The racing and breeding operation is managed by former jockey Ben Vassallo, who spent his entire apprenticeship with Malcolm Johnston at Hawkesbury. “I knew Ben very well during his time at Hawkesbury and I enjoy catching up with him regularly these days”, says Singleton.
Before his move to Scone eight months ago, Scott had spent all of his thirty six years in the Hawkesbury Valley. His horse interest was sparked early in life by his maternal grandfather Trevor Kain, a hobby trainer who usually had a handful of horses in work on his Cranebrook property. “He had a 1000m grass track on the property which is where I learned the basics.” recalled Scott.
Singleton later rode regular work at Hawkesbury for a number of trainers including former top Western Districts jockey Harry Williams. “Harry had quit race riding but was still riding plenty of work in the late 1990’s,” he said. “He rode work with me and I found him to be an excellent tutor.”
Scott would love to have tried his hand as a professional jockey, but was always going to be too heavy. In his mid-teens he did the next best thing and successfully applied for an amateur jockey’s licence. “My grandfather felt some amateur race riding would further my education should I decide to become a trainer down the track.”
Jockey Scott Singleton had some twenty race rides on the picnic circuit, winning two races at Trangie and Tottenham. “I have no regrets about the experience,” he said. “I think it’s given me a far better understanding of the problems jockeys face under race pressure.”
Image courtesy Bradley Photographers - Scott places his horses judiciously. Here he is after a Tamworth win with Oakwood Lady 2015.
Scott and his wife Lucy applied a lot of thought to the logistics of moving their base from Hawkesbury to Scone. “I simply wasn’t training the calibre of horse necessary to race regularly in the city or on our powerful provincial circuit,” said Scott. “I was travelling a million miles to country meetings to give the horses a chance to earn. I needed a country base which gave me ready access to country meetings and an easy trip to town if the right horse came along.”
Scott was able to secure twenty seven boxes on the Scone racecourse, and had a local real estate firm searching for a suitable property which would double as a spelling farm. “The very day we were looking at the racecourse complex, our real estate consultant came up with a seven acre holding right on the Hunter River which had just been separated from a larger property. It included a house and the perfect outlook for paddocks, yards and a few more boxes. We’ve already done a lot of work there. It’s going to work out beautifully. We’ve even been able to lease an adjoining twelve acres.”
Scott is representative of the many Australian trainers who do the best they can with what they’ve got. He hasn’t yet enjoyed the luxury of training a horse capable of taking him to the elite level. What he has done however, is to establish a talent for assessing the optimum potential of every horse that comes through his operation. He then takes them where they can earn prize money for their owners.
He did a remarkable job with the quirky Shazee Lee. The big mare had an intermittent breathing issue, coupled with an aversion to the starting gates, and a dislike of travelling. Scott got her to win the Gr 3 Hawkesbury Guineas, and a Provincial Championship Qualifier. “Damian Oliver rode her in the Final at Randwick in which she had a horror run and missed a place,” Scott said.
Image courtesy Bradley Photographers - Shazee Lee (Jay Ford) wins the Group 3 Hawkesbury Guineas for the Singleton stable 2017.
Concessions has done a grand job for the stable, posting five wins and seven placings. She won the recent Armidale Cup by almost 5 lengths with Belinda Hodder in the saddle. “She’s still in work, as sound as a bell and still enjoying her work,” said the trainer.
Poet’s Advocate won five races for Scott, all on outside tracks. “He was a country horse but on occasions he’d look like a city prospect. When he won he really won, but you never knew when to expect the big performance,” he said.
Scott and a big group of owners had a mile of fun with tough mare Oakwood Lady. “She was a joy for all of us,” said Scott. “She raced 64 times, all outside the metropolitan area for 6 wins and 23 placings. I’d love a few more like her.”
Adjective won 5 races including one at Canterbury with Christian Reith on board, and would have exceeded that tally had it not been for persistent joint issues. “He was a day to day job but had a fair bit of talent,” said Scott. “The day he won at Canterbury we also won with Flys Away ridden by Jess Taylor. Not long before that we were able to put Jess on her first city winner, Forbidden Jewel at Warwick Farm.”
Image courtesy Bradley Photographers - Adjective wins at Hawkesbury with Christian Reith in the saddle. Singleton and Reith have enjoyed a successful association.
Itasca is a four time winner for Singleton with nine placings also on his CV. He went to Armidale in March as a travel mate for Scott’s Cup winner Concessions, and duly won a Class 3 with Mikayla Weir in the saddle. “He’s going better than ever at the moment, and should get away with another one shortly,” says Scott.
Court Victory was another reliable horse for the Singleton stable, winning seven races and posting nine placings on country tracks. Jockey Jean Van Overmeire confirms that Scott Singleton was the first trainer to give him a race ride in Australia, and the horse was Court Victory. “We finished third at Cessnock about four years ago,” says Jean. “Luckily I won two races on the horse later. I’ve never forgotten Court Victory.”
Abbelac was a useful mare who was transferred from a Brisbane stable to win five NSW races for the Singleton stable. Trivia buffs will be interested to know that Abbalac was the horse to give talented jockey Tegan Harrison her first metropolitan win in Brisbane.
A unique two state double in 2013 gave Scott the biggest thrill of his sixteen year training career. He won a 3000m marathon with Platinum Jack on a Friday night at Moonee Valley, and backed up with a Warwick Farm win the following day with Dark Brown Sugar. “Kerrin McEvoy rode the Valley winner and Hugh Bowman was on Dark Brown Sugar,” recalled the trainer. “I still have to pinch myself to believe we pulled off such an unusual double.”
Image courtesy Bradley Photographers - Dark Brown Sugar (Hugh Bowman) completes a unique double for Scott, who had won at Moonee Valley the previous night with Platinum Jack.
Scott got a lot of satisfaction from Yorkshire Rock’s recent win in the Hunter Stayers Cup at Muswellbrook. “He’s got a tendon issue and we have to treat him with kid gloves,” said the trainer. “He deserved that win at the ‘Brook.”
In keeping with his policy of finding the right race for his horses, Scott took three year old filly Stellar Blaze all the way to Dubbo recently, to win her maiden. The daughter of Star Witness was ridden by expatriate English jockey Billy Cray, who has settled in Muswellbrook and is proving to be a big help to local trainers.
Bill has also won races for the stable recently on Holy Empress at Scone, and Stock Up in the Gooree Cup at Mudgee. “Bill’s a regular at Scone trackwork and takes a genuine interest in every horse he gallops,” said Scott. “I’ve been very impressed with his race rides on my horses.”
The trainer is the first to tell you that he and Lucy were both a little apprehensive about the move to Scone. “After fifteen years of training at Hawkesbury it was intimidating to be starting all over again in such a tough game,” said Scott. “Lucy and I felt our horses could be better advantaged by the new location, and it offered a lovely lifestyle for the kids.”
Scott and Lucy are the proud parents of Jack (10) and Zoey (7). “Our daughter rides her pony fairly frequently and may gravitate to the thoroughbreds later,” says Dad. “Jack on the other hand has absolutely no interest in the many four legged friends to be found on the farm.”
English born Lucy Singleton has the right credentials to be married to a horse trainer. Her father Peter Jones is a successful trainer of steeplechasers at Wiltshire in the South West of England. Lucy was in the saddle as a toddler, and riding to the hounds at an early age. She actually rode in flat races as an amateur before deciding to spend a year in Australia.
That year has turned out to be more than sixteen years. Scott actually accompanied her back to England a couple of times while she contemplated his proposal of marriage, and the prospect of settling in Australia. “Lucy has been the backbone of the business,” said the trainer. “She rode a huge amount of trackwork in the early years of our marriage. Obviously the demands of motherhood have curtailed her riding involvement, but she virtually runs the operation on a day to day basis.
“Lucy is delighted that her parents spend three months every year with us,” explained Scott. “Obviously my father in law loves his involvement with our horses, and enjoys Australian racing immensely. I’m not afraid to seek his opinion on little problems that may arise. He’s a great sounding board.”
Just eight months after the life changing move from the Hawkesbury, the Singletons don’t have a single regret. Recent wins at places like Armidale, Dubbo and Mudgee indicate that Scone is in the perfect location for a “travelling stable”.
Scott wasn’t at all fazed by the three hour trip to Randwick on Saturday with Partners on his angle loader float. Mind you he found the trip home even better.
Image courtesy Bradley Photographers - Scott with Yorkshire Rock after a recent win in the Hunter Stayers Cup at Muswellbrook.
(Banner image courtesy Bradley Photographers - Partners led throughout in the TAB Highway to give Scott his first Randwick Saturday winner