Tracey Bartley didn’t know what to do next in the immediate afterglow of the inaugural Four Pillars on Saturday. His emotional roller coaster began in the early stages of the $700,000 race when one of his two runners went forward and the other settled in the ruck. The trainer was concerned when Barossa Rosa crossed from a horror barrier to land outside the leader and was equally worried when he spotted Kiss Sum buried on the fence with only a few behind him.
Tracey was beside himself when Barossa Rosa valiantly reached the lead inside the 200m and by his own admission momentarily lost sight of Kiss Sum who squeezed through a tight rails opening to join the leaders. “I didn’t know where to look in the closing stages,” said Tracey. “I was so proud of the way Kiss Sum hit the line, but equally thrilled with the courageous effort by Barossa Rosa who missed third place by a whisker.
Kiss Sum had the audacity to prick his ears on the line in the Four Pillars - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
“The next few minutes is a total blur. I was getting backslaps and handshakes from all directions, press representatives were everywhere and it wasn’t long before the TV microphones were in my face. After a few hectic minutes I was ushered away to the podium where the presentation of trophies was about to take place.”
The trainer was confronted by a sea of unfamiliar faces as he stepped onto the dais. He was suddenly aware that he’d never met members of the three year old’s ownership group. In the ten months since Kiss Sum arrived at his Wyong stables, Tracey has communicated by phone only with syndicate manager Tony McCulloch. They met for the first time on the podium at Rosehill Gardens after the Four Pillars.
A jubilant group of owners after the Four Pillars. Tracey is on the left and holding the trophy is Tony McCulloch - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
“The association started when my old mate Joe Cleary recommended me to owner and breeder Tony McCulloch about eighteen months ago,” said Tracey. “Tony rang initially to offer me an unraced three year old filly called Irish Kisses who just happens to be Kiss Sum’s year older full sister. After two pleasing barrier trials we started her in a Muswellbrook maiden in January. She finished last and couldn’t walk after the race. The vets later diagnosed a stress fracture of the pelvis, but were confident she’d make a full recovery if given a lengthy spell.”
Irish Kisses did make a full recovery and returned to the track as recently as October 25th. She contested a 1200m maiden from the outside gate on the Beaumont track at Newcastle, with Aaron Bullock on board. Connections availed themselves of double figure odds and had no cause for concern as Irish Kisses parked outside the leader before charging away to win easily. It’s interesting to note that Irish Kisses and Kiss Sum are bred on exactly the same cross as Melbourne Cup runner up Incentivise - Shamus Award over a Mossman mare. You can imagine the scramble taking place right now as breeding students search for available mares by Mossman who died recently at Vinery Stud.
Irish Kisses (Aaron Bullock) scored effortlessly on the Beaumont track at Newcastle October 25th - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
At the time Irish Kisses went to the paddock in January, Tracey was already training her year younger full brother. Kiss Sum was placed in three trials before making his debut in a Muswellbrook 2YO event at the end of April. He finished second and followed up a fortnight later with a luckless fifth at Wyong. When fellow Wyong trainer Damien Lane indicated he was taking horses to a Dubbo meeting nine days later, Tracey availed himself of the opportunity to nominate for the two year old race.
“I had three runners for the Newcastle meeting on the same day, but Damien was happy to get him to Dubbo and saddle up for me,” said Bartley. “I received an added bonus when my old mate Matthew Cahill was available to ride him. His win was pretty special. I didn’t realise how special, until Matthew rang me that evening. He said Kiss Sum was the best horse to come through my stable since Sniper’s Bullet. I greatly valued the opinion of one of the best judges in the business.”
Matthew Cahill knew Sniper’s Bullet better than most. He rode the horse on seven occasions when Tracey was training from a Dubbo base. Matthew actually won a 2YO race on the gelding, and rode him into fourth place in the 2009 Doomben $10,000 won by Apache Cat. Sniper’s Bullet was less than two lengths behind the glamour sprinter after being tightened for room in the straight. To emphasise the significance of his assessment of Kiss Sum, it should be noted that Sniper’s Bullet won eight races and recorded eighteen placings for $2.6 million dollars. He won three Gr 1 races and was placed in another three.
Matthew Cahill was back at Dubbo for last Saturday’s TAB meeting where he had a full book of seven rides. The evergreen jockey maintained his healthy western districts strike rate by winning on Kite Flight for trainer Jeff Englebrecht. There’s little doubt he would have capitalised on a fourteen minute gap between the Four Pillars and the third race at Dubbo, to view the running of the Rosehill feature on the jockey’s room monitor.
Kiss Sum wasn’t sighted for seventeen weeks after his Dubbo win. Following the easiest of barrier trials, the plain gelding easily won a Cl 1 at Wyong. Then came two unplaced efforts on city tracks, but excuses could be found both times. At Rosehill on October 6th he got caught in a pocket on straightening for home and copped a couple of hefty bumps. He was doing his best work in the last bit. Two weeks later he walked out of the gates and got too far back in a BM on the Kensington circuit. Again he was held up in the straight and looked distracted. With a slot already locked in for the Four Pillars, Tracey elected to apply blinkers. He gave the horse every opportunity to get used to the gear change.
“He was completely relaxed the first few times we let him gallop with the blinkers and I was very comfortable with our decision.” said the trainer. “I got a bit of a scare when he bowled around on the polytrack on the Thursday morning and Serge Lisnyy reported that he was a little too keen. I was confident there would be plenty of speed in the Four Pillars, so I put it out of my mind.”
There’s little doubt the blinkers did their job on Saturday. Kiss Sum travelled strongly throughout the race and was very focused as he pushed through a narrow opening on the inside of runner up Dufresne. The manner in which the gelding attacked the line at the end of the 1500m, immediately triggered thoughts of a crack at The Gong in Tracey’s mind. By Sunday morning he’d all but dismissed those thoughts.
Tracey and Jason Collett were all smiles after the Four Pillars win - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
“For him to come this far in such a short time has been a pleasant surprise for his owners,” says the trainer. “You’ve only got to look at him closely to see he’s nowhere near fully furnished. I’m all for an immediate spell and I’ll be very surprised if he doesn’t do a super job next time. He’s got a mile of natural ability.”
Tracey Bartley had a notable career as a lightweight jockey, winning his first race on Folkestone Bay at Randwick in 1983. He weighed a miniscule 36 kgs on the day and struggled to carry his saddle back to the weighing room. He posted an impressive tally of 1175 winners over the next twenty years before a horror fall at Narromine in 2000 brought the curtain down on a distinguished career. He trained out of Dubbo for close to a decade, before making the move to Wyong.
Tracey continued to ride work until twelve months ago when niggling knee and hip discomfort forced his hand. “I’m in my mid fifties now and feeling the effects of some nasty race falls,” said the popular horseman. “I’ve missed it a bit, especially when problem horses come through the system. I always enjoyed the challenge of trying to sort out a horse with issues. Things have changed and I now have to sort out the problems by observation.”
Tracey's all time favourite Sniper's Bullet (Hugh Bowman) wins at Rosehill 30/12/2006 at just his 6th race start - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Tracey has accommodation for just twenty horses in his Wyong barn and has no plans to exceed that number. “It’s the old story, the more horses the more worries,” he said. “With a cap of twenty I can be across everything personally. Serg Lisnyy rides a lot of work for me and is ably assisted by 18 year old Anna Roper who joined me recently from a background in eventing. She’s an absolute natural and is focused on becoming an apprentice. Her paperwork has already been submitted. I think she’s got a future.”
Tracey Bartley has had a future since the day he walked into the stables of Rosehill trainer Frank Penfold in the early 80’s. His win on Folkestone Bay at a Randwick midweeker in 1983 attracted enough press space to generate a story in the sports segment on the Channel 9 News the following day. I can still see the tiny apprentice on the end of a pitchfork up to his knees in straw, trying hard not to think too much about his exciting achievement the previous day.
He gave all the credit to the 500kgs horse who’d plotted a safe path to victory at historic Randwick, and to the genial trainer who made it all possible. Tracey’s humility was very evident way back then and nothing has changed. The big horse Folkestone Bay towered over his diminutive rider as Tracey got him out of the box for the news cameraman. The little bloke’s love of horses flowed over as he rubbed the giant gelding’s muzzle.
He didn’t have to reach quite as far when he brought the Four Pillars winner out of his box on Sunday morning.
Tracey rarely took his eyes off Sniper's Bullet - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
(Banner image - Jason Collett didn't come around a horse in winning the Four Pillars on Kiss Sum - courtesy Bradley Photographers.)