Authors have been writing books about the deeds of champion Australian racehorses for two centuries. None have attacked the task with more energy and purpose than Lynlea Small, whose magnum opus on her beloved Vo Rogue was recently released by Melbourne Books. From the moment this remarkable mother of three resolved to write the book several years ago, she hasn’t taken a backward step.
Lynlea has remained upbeat through endless months of revising press clippings and magazine articles, studying countless video replays and tracking down anybody who had the smallest anecdote to share about the life and times of Vo Rogue. When not working on her pet project, the indefatigable Mrs. Small was attaining her Doctor Of Philosophy after completing a three year course while working full time at a local university. Just to make sure boredom didn’t become a problem over the last few years, she’s been training a small team of racehorses and supporting her amiable husband Cyril who rode Vo Rogue in twenty two wins and is still an active jockey.
Trainer Lynlea Small with jockey Cyril after a Gold Coast win with Dubai Gee Eye in 2014 - courtesy Trackside Photography.
Lynlea’s creation “The Vo Rogue Show” is the latest in a sequence of great racing related books published by Melbourne Books in recent years. This is a story that flows like the fluent rhythm of the champion horse who inspired it. A lovingly written account of the life and times of one of the most remarkable horses of his generation - a horse whose opposition always had the last shot at him. Most times they couldn’t catch him.
When several people are involved in the career of a champion racehorse the vagaries of human nature are inevitable. Owners, trainer and jockey are bound to have differing opinions from time to time. There were some very tense moments in the Vo Rogue story. As the wife of the jockey, Lynlea had to defuse a few of those flashpoints. She tells of those uncertain moments in her wonderfully entertaining book, and captures the highs and lows of a fantastic journey with a horse who changed the lives of many people.
I was honoured to be asked to write the foreword for “The Vo Rogue Show”. I was equally honoured to be one of a small group of broadcasters who got to call his only Sydney win in the George Main Stakes at Randwick in September 1989. The book is available now at Dymocks, QBD, Amazon, Booktopia or through the publisher Melbourne Books. For those who have a devoted racing fan in the family, this is the perfect birthday or Xmas gift.
Vo Rogue and Cyril Small on their way to the barrier for the 1989 McKinnon Stakes.
(Banner image - The ever courageous Vo Rogue defies Groucho (outside) and Don't Play to score his only Sydney win - the 1989 George Main Stakes - courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.)