More than a decade ago I had the good fortune to attend a Cowra Jockey Club dinner at the town’s popular Services Club. As is the case at most country racing functions all spare jobs were filled by the people who are usually first to put their hands up. Why was I not surprised to see Reg Paine at the door of the function room showing guests to their tables and making sure they had a book of raffle tickets. He was being ably assisted on the night by his equally hard working wife Rose.
Reg was born in Kempsey but spent his early teen years in Coffs Harbour. In 1953 he signed up as an apprentice jockey with Randwick trainer Bert Bellingham whose stables were in Bowral St, right next door to the burgeoning operation being developed by a young trainer called T.J Smith. Young Reg was destined to spend his entire apprenticeship with Bellingham whose grandson John Page later became a very successful trainer.
He got to ride some very talented horses in trackwork, and had the luxury of seeking advice from any number of top jockeys who were riding work at Randwick in that era. He became friendly with the legendary Neville Sellwood who enjoyed his best years in the 1950’s as stable jockey for multiple premiership winning trainer Maurice McCarten. Reg remained adamant that Sellwood was the finest jockey he ever saw.
His all time favourite horse was the Bellingham trained Gallant Archer, an accomplished weight for age performer of the early fifties. Reg was elated when his boss allowed him to accompany Gallant Archer to Melbourne for a brief campaign. The apprentice never rode the horse in a race, but handled him in most of his trackwork. He didn’t mind standing aside for Bill Cook or Darby Munro on race day. It was indeed a feather in young Paine’s cap that his first winning ride was at Rosehill. He had a moderately successful apprenticeship, but found himself at the crossroads when his time expired in 1958. It was trainer Bill Dunbier who persuaded young Reg to ride his horses at a Cowra meeting. Over the next few weeks they journeyed to other western districts tracks where Reg quickly made his mark. It wasn’t long before numerous trainers were chasing his services for meetings on the western line. Little did Reg realise that he was laying the foundation for his future as a jockey.
Reg arriving at a western districts meeting early in his career.
When he finally decided on the life of a bush jockey he selected Cowra as his home base. He quickly gained employment as a trackwork rider for well known pastoralist Lindsey Twigg who took his racing very seriously. Twigg bred, owned and trained large volumes of horses and wasn’t frightened to travel if he thought he had a likely city winner. More often than not Reg Paine was the jockey. The pair won numerous city races with horses like Magic Sails, Nangar and Prince Morgan. For more than three decades Reg was the epitome of the model bush jockey. He was happy to travel huge mileage to race meetings, his word was his bond, he was helpful to all sections of the industry and he just happened to be an innately gifted rider.
After several years with the Twigg operation, Reg decided to accept an offer from prolific owner Frank Whitney whose horses were trained on a property at Woodstock just 20 kms from Cowra. Following a successful two year stint with Whitney, Reg moved on to become stable rider for the very successful Cowra trainer Doug Spence. By this time he’d attained a high profile in the western districts, and was assured of full books wherever he chose to ride on Saturdays. His eldest son Neil remembers an occasion in 1972 when his father was the western districts representative in the annual Cowra Invitation Stakes. “There were seven or eight top riders from Sydney and a very big crowd in attendance,” recalled Neil. “Dad rode the perfect race to win on a local horse called Miss Razzmatazz and got a Melbourne Cup reception when he came back in.”
Reg unsaddles one of 1038 career winners.
Reg posted 1038 career wins riding almost exclusively on Saturdays. He won most of the Cup races on the western line, some of them several times over. He captured several regional jockeys premierships against tough opposition. He was kept up to the mark by very capable bush jockeys like Merv Singho, Jack Norton, Ray Jones, Ned Dougherty and “Matey” Molloy. He rated Singho as one of the most patient of the bush riders. With racing only once a week in the region, Reg had time to pursue other interests after morning trackwork. It was around 1971 when he struck up an arrangement with a tanning company to buy sheepskins from the Cowra abattoirs. That involvement later led to a full time job with the abattoirs which fitted nicely into his lifestyle after he quit the saddle in 1987. The indefatigable Paine was still putting in several hours a week at the Cowra abattoirs as recently as 2015.
His commitment to racing never waned. He was a very active member of the Jockey Club committee for twenty years while doubling as clerk of the scales at local meetings. His numerous honours include an induction into the Cowra Sports Hall of Fame, and a 2017 award from Racing NSW to mark his massive contribution to western districts racing.
Punters always took notice when Reg Paine came to town! Here he is winning on Kindana at Canterbury 12/07/78. Runner up was Hot Image with Malcolm Johnston up.
Reg Paine and his devoted wife Rose never intended to create a racing dynasty. It just happened. Sons Neil and Rodney both made their marks as professional jockeys. Neil’s career was terminated in 2014 by a serious race fall in Noumea, but not before he’d ridden almost 1300 winners including a Gr 1 and several stakes races. He currently works as race day foreman for the Waterhouse/Bott stable. The adventurous Rodney Paine rode many winners in Australia before taking off to the USA where he has built a productive career as a trackwork rider and jockey valet.
Reg and Rose’s daughter Narelle is married to former successful jockey Craig Hyeronimus. Their son Adam was carving a strong niche for himself in Sydney racing when he incurred the wrath of authorities for betting offences. Adam is due back early next year and is highly motivated to regenerate his career. The Waterhouse/Bott stable has assured him of support. Neil and Raelene Paine’s daughter Taylor is married to multiple Gr 1 winning jockey Brenton Avdulla, while another daughter Sheridan recently became engaged to successful young jockey Regan Bayliss. No prizes for guessing the topic of conversation at a family barbecue.
In recent times Reg has been dealing with the ravages of emphysema. Only recently he was admitted to a Cowra nursing home when Rose was no longer able to manage. The much loved and deeply respected former jockey slipped away quietly last week at age 85. Doctors have confirmed that cardiac arrest actually brought his life to an end. Tributes have flowed from all sections of the racing industry.
The great Robert Louis Stevenson summed it up perfectly when he said “The man is a success who has lived well, loved much and laughed often.” Reg Paine did all of those things better than most.
Reg was the recipient of a Racing NSW Recognition Award in 2017 for his services to Western Districts racing. Marc Van Gestel made the presentation - courtesy Cowra Guardian.
(Banner image - Reg was getting towards the end of his riding career when this one was taken with sons Neil and Rodney at a Cowra meeting in the mid 1980s.)