Joanne Hardy was still pinching herself when she arrived back in Coffs Harbour on Sunday afternoon following a milestone weekend in the big smoke. It seemed a long time since she’d left home on Thursday with her two runners for Saturday’s Rosehill Gardens meeting. With spare boxes permanently available at Rosehill for visiting country horses, it made good sense to get Mikado and Real Time Warrior settled in well ahead of their engagements.
Joanne was more than satisfied with Mikado’s effort to finish fifth in the TAB Highway just 3.4 lengths behind the winner So Say You. Perfectly ridden by Jon Grisedale the gelding had a cosy run just off the pace and looked a fleeting chance on straightening but was outsprinted from the 200m. “He was just a little one paced in the straight and might be coming to the end of his current campaign,” said Joanne.
The trainer knew Real Time Warrior was friendless in the betting for the Country Classic, but believed in her heart he wasn’t entitled to be at such an unflattering quote. She’d been adamant from the outset that a riding claim would bring him right into the race. With several prominent apprentices unavailable, Joanne settled on Victorian youngster Laura Lafferty who’s currently on loan to John O’Shea at Randwick. “I’d watched her win a race for John at Kembla on Melbourne Cup day, and liked what I saw,” said Joanne.
With the likelihood of good speed in the race, Lafferty’s instructions were to let the gelding find his rhythm and try to give him plenty of galloping room in the straight. From a rearward position in the middle stages, the apprentice saved valuable ground between horses on the hometurn before getting him to the outside at the 200m. Real Time Warrior chimed in quickly and put his rivals away in a few strides. He looked nothing like a $101 “pop” as he comfortably accounted for Five Kingdom and Nemingah.
Real Time Warrior pricks his ears at the finish of the Country Classic - Joanne's first city training win - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
The true significance of the win was lost on Joanne for a few euphoric minutes after “Randy” had gone past the post. The stable nickname is a legacy of his early days as a colt with a hormone excess. It suddenly occurred to the small team trainer that this was her first win on a Sydney metropolitan track, and her one hundredth success since taking out a trainers licence in 2010.
As she soaked up the post race excitement, Joanne was reminded of the day at the Gold Coast 2YO’s In Training Sale in 2016 when the Toorak Toff colt failed to attract a single bid. “I’d purchased six yearlings at the January sale and got them all ready for the October “breeze ups,” recalled Joanne. “The other five all sold at pleasing prices, but for some reason nobody wanted Real Time Warrior. It was a mystery because he’d breezed as well as the others. We put it down to the fact that although a good horse himself, Toorak Toff wasn’t commercial alongside some of the high profile stallions who had progeny in the catalogue. Our colt may have also paid the penalty for being a very early lot.
“I took him home to Coffs Harbour and let the dust settle. Before long my lifetime friend Jodie Cutler took a 10% share and encouraged Danny and Emma Rhoades to do the same. Noel Mackay grabbed 5% as did Todd and Michelle Kadwell. My partner David Birch and I retained the remaining 70% under the name of our business Clare Park Thoroughbreds.”
Joanne and her partners were crestfallen when their newly gelded acquisition wasn’t sighted in his first three starts. He showed some improvement to beat all but the placegetters at his fourth run before taking a quantum leap to win a Grafton maiden. A few runs later he scored again at Grafton in Class 1 company. “Laura Cheshire was riding him at the time and I give her a lot of credit for the horse’s turnaround,” said Joanne. “She told me very early he’d improve when the penny dropped. Laura literally taught the horse to race. She gave him confidence. Real Time Warrior has now won 9 races with 6 placings for $183,000. My partners are having a great time after a dreadful start.”
Joanne with Real Time Warrior after a Grafton win - courtesy Trackside Photography.
Few horse trainers have had a more thorough foundation in the racing industry than Joanne Hardy. As the daughter of respected Coffs Harbour trainer Trevor Hardy, she learned the basics at a very early age and was riding trackwork by early teens. It was obvious from the beginning that her interests stretched far beyond the bridle and saddle.
Now in his eightieth year Trevor Hardy restricts himself to just one horse, and a pretty handy one at that. The veteran prepares Aheadofhistime, whose consecutive Coffs Harbour wins in August attracted a Kosciuszko slotholder. The gelding finished right on the heels of the placegetters only three lengths from the winner Art Cadeau, after being held up in the straight.
Trevor has prepared a number of handy horses over the years including half brothers Elite Ted and Elite Score. The former won 13 races including 9 on Brisbane metropolitan tracks, while Elite Score won 8 races including a Randwick 2YO event. Trevor earned a reputation a few years ago as Coffs Harbour’s answer to legendary jockey tutor Theo Green. Multiple Hong Kong premiership winner Zac Purton and Gr 1 winning jockey Glen Colless both developed their skills under the expert eye of the astute horseman.
Trevor Hardy made a quick trip to Hong Kong in 2018 to visit his former star apprentice Zac Purton.
Before even contemplating a professional involvement in the racing industry, Joanne felt compelled to quickly reel off a Science Degree In Equine Studies. She moved to Wagga for the duration of the three year course at the Charles Sturt University. In an effort to enhance her studies on equine physiology, Joanne actually acquired a licence and trained a couple of “hand me down” horses. A search of the records will prove that she saddled up a Gundagai winner in the mid 1990’s. That sorted, she returned to her hometown of Coffs Harbour to consider her options. She was still a long way off a professional training career.
It was former Coffs Harbour Race Club CEO Martin Henderson who encouraged Joanne Hardy to join the administrative staff of the progressive northern club. Reports of her good work in that role led to an offer from the Clarence River Jockey Club at Grafton where she was appointed Assistant Manager. Her job there also embraced the administration of the Casino Racing Club. Joanne’s burgeoning popularity in the Grafton community landed her the coveted role of Jacaranda Queen for 1999 - a prestigious ambassadorial appointment during the city’s famous November festivities.
Joanne enjoyed her reign as Jacaranda Queen 1999.
It wasn’t long before the committee of the Sapphire Coast Turf Club were chasing the services of the bright young administrator from faraway Coffs Harbour. In accepting the job at Wallagoot near Merimbula, Joanne almost certainly became the only female employee of a NSW country race club to fill the dual role of general manager and track curator. Her thirst for knowledge was at full gallop.
Two years on, and still feeling the need to further enhance her administrative technique Joanne accepted an offer to join the Ballina Jockey Club as general manager. Just when family and friends expected her to apply for a trainer’s licence, off went the amazing Ms. Hardy on yet another tangent.
“I was suddenly aware that I had sufficient knowledge of the racing horse and all the complexities of stable life, but I knew nothing about the breeding side of the industry,” said Joanne. “I successfully applied for a position with the Hunter Valley arm of Jack and Bob Ingham’s famous Woodlands Stud. I enjoyed every minute of the next three years, and what a learning curve it was.
“I filled several roles including the management of foals from birth to nine days of age, and I became yearling foreperson from December through to sales time. I also got involved with the pre-breaking of Ingham horses before they were moved to the Belmont Park operation at North Richmond. I closely observed corrective shoeing procedures and gained an insight into the growth and development of horses from foaling to the yearling stage. Woodlands was a fabulous experience.”
Joanne with Laura Lafferty after Real Time Warrior's Country Classic win - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Finally the genetic forces kicked in, and it was time for Joanne and partner David Birch to focus on a commercial horse training future. They began by purchasing a 150 acre holding at Coramba just north west of Coffs Harbour, and developed the property over a period of two years. Stables and yards quickly evolved, complimented by a treadmill and a ten horse walker. Named Clare Park after an English property owned by David’s forebears, the operation offers ideal facilities for spelling and pre-training.
It also provides the perfect recuperative sea change for racehorses feeling the effects of a hard run. The Hardy horses in training are stabled right on the Coffs Harbour racecourse. Joanne rarely has more than a dozen in work with one box always available for Aheadofhistime, or any other horse that her father chooses to have in work. English born David Birch worked extensively on stud farms before meeting Joanne, but has developed a keen interest in the shoeing of thoroughbreds in recent years. “David has been tutored by a wonderful farrier and great friend in Rick Missen who still attends to some of our horses,” said Jo. “David has developed his skills to the extent that he now has a number of local clients of his own.”
Joanne usually doubles as strapper. Here she is chatting with regular stable jockey Jon Grisedale at an Armidale meeting - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Joanne and David are the proud parents of Charlie (10) and Lachlan (8). “There’s little our daughter doesn’t know about the routine of a racing stable,” says Joanne. “She often mixes and distributes all the feeds, and is on first name terms with the horses. She knows when and where every horse is racing and usually has an opinion about their chances. Lachlan on the other hand is far more focused on bikes and computer games. Who knows which way he’ll go later.”
For 46 year old Joanne Hardy the future looks set in stone. She’s happily ensconced in a beautiful north coast locale which boasts one of the nation’s most vibrant racing precincts. She has prepared well for this time in her life. A Rosehill victory on Saturday can only enhance her reputation with country owners, who intend to target the prized TAB Highway events.
If you spot the Clare Park logo on a Fuso Fighter six horse transport in the future, don’t be surprised when you see a female driver. I forgot to mention Jo also drives the stable truck!
Joanne's Fuso Fighter truck is a familiar sight at northern race meetings.
(Banner image - Real Time Warrior (extreme right) was too strong for Five Kingdom and Nemingah in the Country Classic - courtesy Bradley Photographers.)