Veteran trainer Charlie Porter shakes his head in disbelief every time he watches Mr Polar race past the post in front. The gelding did exactly that at Gosford on Saturday, when he led most of the way to win the last of seven races on a Heavy 10 track. Excessive surface water in the 1200m chute saw the race reduced to 1100m which played right into Mr Polar’s hands. That was win number eight for the rising six year old in a fifty five start career. Throw in thirteen placings and you’ve got $240,000 in the bank.
Mr Polar came into the world by an ironic twist of fate. Charlie had won two provincial races with his dam Our Miss who developed lameness after just sixteen starts. Her owners had no interest in breeding horses and asked the trainer to find her a home at no charge to any interested party. “I couldn’t give her away,” said Charlie. “I spread the word all over the place and nobody wanted a thoroughbred broodmare with a non commercial pedigree.”
After having a good look at her bloodline Charlie decided to keep Our Miss himself. She was by a horse called Eagle Eyed who just happened to be a full brother to the legendary Danehill, while her dam was by Mister C who’d done a pretty good job in Australia. Her first few foals were of no account, and Charlie was on the verge of putting her in the first available dispersal sale. “There was a horse called Polarmore standing not far away at a $2500 service fee,” he said. “He’d won a race on the Kenso track from just five starts, and he was by More Than Ready from the Golden Slipper winner Polar Success. I booked her in and almost a year later, Mr Polar arrived. You just never know.
Mr Polar (Kacie Adams) was unfazed by H10 conditions at Gosford on Saturday - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
“Mind you it hasn’t been all plain sailing. He’s been an aggressive sort of a horse all along, wanting to overrace and do things wrong. I’ve tried every piece of gear in the book including a Norton Bit at one stage, and that’s a last resort. Right at the moment he’s racing with a plain snaffle bit, blinkers, a bit lifter and a tongue tie. That’s not a lot of gear for Mr Polar believe me.”
The trainer gave great credit to jockey Kacie Adams who rode the gelding at Gosford and was on board when he was an unlucky second at Newcastle almost a month earlier. Kacie was originally apprenticed to Gerald Ryan in Sydney, but later moved to the Northern Territory where she won an Alice Springs and NT premiership in the same season. She’s currently based at Newcastle and has been of great assistance to Charlie in recent times. “You’ll notice she rode the horse on a nice long rein on Saturday,” said the trainer. “Although in front he was reasonably relaxed and raced very generously for Kacie. They get on well together.”
At 87 years of age Charlie Porter is well ensconced among the elder statesmen of Australia’s active horse trainers. He was born at Cowra in 1935 and spent his early years on the family farm some fourteen miles out of town. His parents Norm and Kath Porter later decided to move into Cowra when schooling became an important issue for their seven children. He was fourteen years old when he began his first job at the local Ford Dealership, where he worked on general duties for close to four years. Word reached his ears that shearers were making excellent money in the district. It wasn’t long before an opportunity came along and young Charlie opted for a change of career direction. He would spend fifteen years in central western shearing sheds, before he suffered that common malady known as “shearer’s back”.
He was thirty four years old when he sold up at Cowra and purchased a residence on a large block of land at Adamstown just 6km from the Newcastle CBD. By pure coincidence there were two horse stables already standing on his new property - just enough to spark Charlie’s long held ambition to give horse training a serious shot. A few years later sixteen stables stood on the site, and were always occupied during his most productive years of training in the 80’s and 90’s.
Charlie Porter relocated from Cowra to Newcastle in 1969. His training career began a few years later.
Over the weekend I spoke with former champion jockey Robert Thompson who rode more winners for the Porter stable than any other jockey. Robert says he rode Charlie’s first runner Kooragang at Newcastle early in 1974. He wasn’t able to win on that occasion but enjoyed a great association with the stable thereafter. He clearly recalls a red-letter day at Port Macquarie in May of 1986 when he rode five winners, four of which were trained by Charlie Porter. Robert referred to his personal records and named La Gaite, Framoli, Paula Bijou and Change Of Title as the four Porter trained horses in question. The jockey rounded off a memorable day by winning the Port Macquarie Cup on the Neil Godbolt trained Royal Decor. “Charlie knew his horses backwards, and if he expected one of them to win they usually did,” said Robert.
Charlie recalls an even better day in the same era when he prepared five winners on a Port Macquarie programme. On yet another Cup day the Port Macquarie Race Club put on a $20,000 trainer’s bonus which was to go to the most successful trainer on the day. After the last race Max Lees and Charlie were on the same number of points. The bonus was split and both trainers went home happy.
Framoli wins at Randwick in 1987 with Craig Carmody on board - courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.
I got the veteran trainer reminiscing about his favourite horses over the weekend, and he was plucking familiar names out of the air for an hour or more. He won close to thirty races with Lamarna very early in his training career, and remains adamant that Wimbleton was potentially the best horse he’s ever trained. “He had tremendous talent but was plagued by troublesome joints,” recalled Charlie. “He would have reached stakes level had he been completely sound.”
Noble Ambition and Palazam won their share of races for the stable, while Framoli was tremendously consistent in the late 80’s and early 90’s. He won a string of races including two at Randwick and the 1987 Scone Cup. Mon De Arl won several races including two at Canterbury in the mid 90’s. One of Charlie’s most satisfying transactions was the purchase of a mare called Red Dell at a Scone sale for an unthinkable $300.00. He was obviously wondering what was wrong with the Redmead filly, but was in for a pleasant surprise. She won five races including three at Canterbury for around $48,000 - a genuine fairy tale.
Another one for the consistent Framoli. He won the 1987 Scone Cup with ease. Jockey was Kevin Ring - courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.
Charlie was intrigued in May of 1996 when he learned that the Warren Jockey Club had programmed a $30,000 race called the Golden Fleece over 2400m on one of the most spacious country tracks in Australia. He’d been of the opinion for many months that Smokey Victory would relish the longer trip and was already looking at the upcoming Queensland Derby. Glen Boss had agreed to ride the gelding at Warren, but had to forfeit the ride at the last minute. Glen’s seat on the charter flight was snapped up by Anthony Cavallo who’d had a previous connection with the Porter stable. Ridden with great patience by Cavallo, Smokey Victory came from well back in a twenty horse field to blow the opposition away. Ten days later the gelding finished a luckless fourth in the Queensland Derby with Grant Cooksley in the saddle.
The grey mare Falcon Walk won half a dozen races for Charlie including three in the city. Elroy was a prolific winner for the stable with some city wins on his CV, while Zedivain won a Grafton Guineas with Glen Colless on board, and two Sydney metro races with Darren Beadman in the saddle.
With Falcon Walk's connections and jockey James Innes after a Warwick Farm win in 1994.
There’s little doubt Charlie is slowly winding down. A short time ago Mr Polar was the sole occupant of his sixteen box Adamstown training complex. “I started to feel sorry for the horse when he became unsettled by himself ,” said the trainer. “They’re herd animals by nature and are happier in company. “I got onto the Inglis Digital website and looked at a few horses likely to be in my price range. I finished up with an unraced maiden called My Artie for $18,000. He hasn’t done much in two recent barrier trials but it’s a little too early to pass judgement. If he doesn’t measure up in the near future, Mr Polar might be on his own again for a while until I can find a suitable stablemate.”
The veteran horseman is still very much hands on. He likes to be with his horses at the races, and was on deck at Gosford on Saturday assisted by daughter Frances. Charlie’s wife Robin rarely attends race meetings, but is glued to the Sky Racing service whenever the Porter colours are going around - the green, red diamonds, hooped sleeves and cap which are instantly recognizable on NSW tracks.
Presentation after Mr Polar's win in the TAB Rusty Spanner at Muswellbrook 2020 - courtesy Newcastle Herald.
Charlie is still getting over a serious chest infection he contracted around a month ago. It hasn’t stopped him getting to the Broadmeadow track on recent frosty mornings, but admits he’s taking a while to throw it off. The general opinion is that Saturday’s Gosford win had a more beneficial effect than any of his recent treatment. One more win by Mr Polar, and Charlie’s likely to do something about those fourteen empty boxes he’s got at Adamstown.
Charlie and jockey Kevin Ring proudly display the trophy after Framoli's Scone Cup win 1987 -courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.
Nigel Tiley wins the CW Cropper Hcp on Framoli (outside) 06/04/1988. Runner up is Macleod's Star (Robert Thompson) - courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.
(Banner image - Mr Polar (Darryl McLellan) wins the TAB Rusty Spanner at Muswellbrook 27/11/2020 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.)