Damien Lane can’t wait to win a metropolitan race by a decent margin. The popular Wyong trainer has greeted the judge three times on city tracks in recent weeks, but on each occasion has had to sweat it out in nail biting photo finishes.
Oakfield Missile came from behind to nose out True Detective at the Hawkesbury Club’s Rosehill meeting on Anzac Day, delivering the trainer’s first Saturday metro winner. A few weeks later the free wheeling Oakfield Twilight led by many lengths in a BM70 on the Kensington track, before scraping home by an eyelash.
Last Saturday the same horse led five lengths turning for home on the Randwick course proper and again just held on to beat the fast finishing Monte Ditto. “I shouldn’t complain about winning races, but this is pretty hard on the nerves,” said Damien.
Lane is one of a talented group of trainers who utilise the first class facilities offered by the progressive Wyong Race Club on the NSW Central Coast. He has thirty horses stabled on course, while he keeps a smaller team on a nearby 4.5 hectare property owned by his father in law, former trainer Bob Law. Damien and his wife Kate actually live on the property.
“The property enables us to give horses a freshen up after a hard run and is the ideal environment for the older horses who’ve had a lot of racing,” Damien said. “Bob Law brings the farm horses into the track when they need to gallop and looks after them at home while I concentrate on the Wyong team.”
Image courtesy Bradley Photographers - Damien's favourite veteran All But Gone wins at Canterbury for Jason Collett 2018.
Bob Law enjoyed a very healthy strike rate in his training days on the Central Coast. He never trained large numbers but was rarely without a handy horse, and knew when it was time to bring one to town. He won many races with horses like Peaceful Kingdom, Britt’s Kingdom, Sir Patrick (Gr 3 Stan Fox Stks), Hunter Kingdom, El Barco, Lombardy Lad and Little Miracles. Bob’s reputation with unsound horses saw him acquire former Group 1 winner Sound Horizon and Group 1 placed Brixton Town late in their careers. Sound Horizon had suspensory ligament issues, while Brixton Town had one very suspect tendon.
Bob did a remarkable job to win a listed Warwick Farm Spring Cup with Sound Horizon, while he won a Gr 3 Kingston Town Stakes and a listed Warwick Farm Spring Cup with Brixton Town. He won the Warwick Farm Spring Cup three times between 1988 and 1991 beginning with Peaceful Kingdom.
Damien Lane was born and reared in Coonamble NSW. His late father Frank Hodgson rode successfully before increasing weight terminated his career, but not before he’d won a couple of Western Districts Apprentices Premierships. Frank’s brother Cec Hodgson, who’s still training horses from his Coonamble base, was young Damien’s role model.
“I spent every spare minute at Uncle Cec’s stables before and after school,” he said. “He taught me all the basics and was responsible for my applying for a trainer’s licence at a very early age. I had a few runners before leaving Coonamble without winning a race.”
Damien, who took his step father’s surname early in life, made the move to the Central Coast shortly after the Equine Influenza outbreak in 2007. “I went to Wyong principally because my stepfather’s brother Phillip lived there and I knew he had a spare bed,” recalled Damien. “Amazingly Phillip is now a valued member of my staff.”
Young Lane made the wise decision to work for established trainers Rodney Bailey and Michael Clout before even contemplating a training career in his own right. He was able to keep his eye in by working a horse or two from the Clout stables.
When a full time job came up with the Wyong Race Club, he put to good use a qualification he’d had from his teen years in Coonamble. “When I left school Mum insisted I should complete some sort of a trade, and thank goodness she did,” Damien reflected. “I was a qualified carpenter which led me to a full time job on the maintenance team at Wyong racecourse. I spent around three years in that role and enjoyed every minute of it. Being around other horses and trainers every day soon made me keen to give it a crack by myself.”
He’d been very aware of the presence of a young lady called Kate Law who was working for trainer Allan Denham. “Not only did I poach her from Allan, but she is now my wife, valued trackwork rider and my best mate,” he says. “I couldn’t do the job without her support.”
Damien remembers Benny Blue Eyes as the horse to launch his solo training career. “He came up for lease after failing to win in ten Victorian starts,” recalled Lane. “I spoke with a man called Jack Hirsch who raced a number of horses with his brother Eddie. They agreed to let me have the horse, and we were tickled pink when he ran seconds at Cessnock and Gilgandra. Then came an easy Maiden win at Gosford with Kathy O’Hara up and the monkey was off our backs.”
“I never got to meet Jack Hirsch before he died a few years ago, but can you believe Eddie still sends me horses today. The Hirsch brothers helped enormously in getting my training career off the ground.”
The same could be said of Bruce Mackenzie whose conspicuous lime green and gold silks are seen frequently on city and out of town tracks.
In scaling down his business interests in recent years, Bruce has been breeding and buying more horses. His regular trainer Kristen Buchanan was unable to accommodate the increased numbers in her Wyong stable. It was Kristen who recommended the up and coming Damien Lane as a likely second trainer.
“Bruce introduced himself to me at a Wyong race meeting and our working relationship began soon after,” said Damien. “He has enormous passion for his horses and runs his thoroughbred operation with great professionalism. He’s a straight up the middle businessman who understands the racing game.”
Image courtesy Bradley Photographers - Damien with owner Bruce Mackenzie after Oakfield Gettem's win Wyong 06/06/2019.
Bruce Mackenzie’s “Oakfield” racing operation is situated at Salt Ash, a name that could have jumped straight out of a 1950’s Hollywood western. Salt Ash is located on the main road between Newcastle and Nelson Bay, about 180km north of Sydney.
“Bruce lives on the farm which incorporates a sand quarry - one of his remaining business interests,” says Damien. “He has the place beautifully set up for horses, with several features including a treadmill, starting gates and swimming facilities. He supervises all breaking and pre training activities. His young horses are always well advanced when they come into the stables.”
Bart Cummings once said “patience is the least expensive and the least used commodity in racing.” Bruce Mackenzie is one modern day owner who uses it frequently. He steadfastly refuses to race his two year olds. “They have several light preparations and get plenty of education, but they’re not produced as babies,” said Damien.
Oakfield Twilight and Oakfield Missile are glowing examples of the benefits of maturity. Both are five year olds who between them have won eleven races with sixteen placings for $540,000 in prize money.
Image courtesy Bradley Photographers - Sam Clipperton drives Oakfield Missile along the fence to grab True Detective at Rosehill on Anzac Day.
Oakfield Captain, probably a rung below the other two is a five year old with only 23 starts under his belt. His five wins and eight placings have yielded $152,000 with more to come. As recently as last Friday the Captain won the Wingham Cup at Taree, one leg of a double on the day for the Lane stable.
Damien’s the first to admit he can’t resist the challenge of a veteran galloper with a “lot of miles on the clock”. He keeps the veterans on the farm at Glenning Valley where they get plenty of green grass and open space. Rising ten year old Johnny Roo Boy came to Damien from Victoria three years ago and won the Grafton Kirby Hcp soon after. He’s still going strong with almost $250,000 in the bank.
Although eight years old Pirate Ben has raced only forty seven times for 9 wins and $287,000 in stakes. Just over a month ago he won the Wellington Cup with Jess Taylor in the saddle. “We space his runs and keep him on the fresh side,” says Damien. “He loves every minute of it.”
All But Gone is almost certainly Damien’s favourite among the senior members of the team. The rising nine year old has registered eight wins and thirteen placings for $257,000. “My wife and I have owned him from the outset,” said the trainer. “He’s been a massive help to us financially, enabling us to build our house and improve our horse facilities on the property. He’s a special boy.”
Image courtesy Bradley Photographers - Damien with Sky's Gary Harley after a Newcastle win by All But Gone 2015.
Damien is very fond of Buckin’ Beauty, a four year old mare whose twenty four starts have yielded four wins including two in town, for $162,000.
“She’s raced by a fairly big syndicate managed by Peter Colley who continues to be one of our best supporters,” says Lane. “Buckin’ Beauty made me realise you should never judge a horse too soon. She showed absolutely nothing in early trackwork, but jumped out of the ground in her first jump out. It switched her on and she hasn’t looked back since.”
Like many trainers Damien has to go with the flow in securing preferred jockeys for his horses. He’s pleased to have contributed to Darryl “Digger” McLellan’s recent comeback after a long absence from the saddle. “We were thrilled to put him on his first winner back just under two years ago,” said Damien. “He won on Oakfield General at Newcastle and has won several more races for us since, including a double at Taree last Friday (June 5th). We’re fortunate to have his services at Wyong trackwork most Tuesday mornings.”
Jake Hull also lends great support to the Lane stable. He rides a lot of trackwork, but unfortunately his race rides are restricted by weight problems. “He does the job capably whenever he gets an opportunity,” said Damien.
Serg Lisnyy is another Wyong based jockey whose services are appreciated by local trainers. He was a claiming apprentice when he won a three year old maiden on Jewels of Ava for the Lane stable in 2013. “It was a midweek Randwick meeting transferred to Newcastle, so it was my first metro winner,” recalled the trainer.
The improving Qin Yong is currently on loan to Damien. “Everybody here has been impressed with him,” he said. “He’s a great little worker and keen to learn. He actually rode two winners at the Tamworth meeting on Saturday - one for Cody Morgan, the other for Tara and Phillipe Vigoroux.”
Damien was sorry to see respected track rider Reece Partington leave the Central Coast recently. “He’d been with me for close to eight years,” he said. “A terrific work rider and a great asset to the stable. We’ll miss him.”
As mentioned earlier Kate Lane is a valued member of the trackwork team, as is Nikki Lee who’s been with the stable for over two years. “Kate and Nikki are very good at what they do. They love the horses and the horses love them,” says Damien.
Image courtesy Bradley Photographers - Damien after Oakfield Missile's win Rosehill 25/04/2020.
Damien Lane isn’t overly concerned that he’s around at the same time as a high profile jockey of the same name, albeit with a slight variation in the spelling of the Christian name. “The only time it caused me any grief was the day I got the bill for some race gear jockey Lane had ordered from a Sydney supplier,” he recalled. “A frenzied phone call got that sorted out pretty quickly.”
There’s a fair bit of Coonamble in thirty eight year old Damien Lane. He has a hint of that country twang in his voice and the laid back demeanour you’d expect of a man from the wheat and wool region of the NSW central western plains - a temperament sure to help him through the hurly burly of big time racing.
Mind you, eyewitnesses say he didn’t look too laid back as he waited for those photo finish results recently.
(Banner image courtesy Bradley Photographers - Oakfield Twilight (Chris Williams) showed all of his customary speed before hanging on to win a BM 78 at Randwick Saturday.)