There’s no quick way to calculate Norm Gardner’s winning strike rate over twenty five years of training, but there’s little doubt it would compare favourably with that of most small stables. He started out with a handful of horses in the mid 1990’s and rarely has more than twenty in work at his Canberra training base. The former amateur jockey was in the spotlight again at the Hawkesbury metro meeting when his talented five year old Delacour completed a hat trick in the BM78 Lawn Shed Hcp. The chestnut mare stretched her record to nine wins and ten placings from thirty two starts for prize money of $329,000.
Delacour’s current winning streak began on Black Opal day at Canberra when she scored a determined win over Washington Towers and Southern Lad in the 1000m Open Sprint. Brendan Ward’s copybook ride was a contributing factor. Norm was tempted to retain the services of the experienced Ward in a BM72 at Hawkesbury three weeks later, but had second thoughts when the mare was allotted topweight of 60kgs. He opted for the 3kg claim of third year apprentice Hannah Williams who only recently transferred her indentures to Danielle Seib at Goulburn. Hannah had all but forgotten she’d ridden Delacour once before, finishing a luckless second in a Canberra BM65 over two years ago. On that occasion she failed to escape a pocket in the straight but wasn’t going to let history repeat itself at Hawkesbury. She politely shunted More The Merrier out of the way at the 200m, before going on to beat Bowery Breeze and favourite Compassionate.
Delacour (Hannah Williams) scores an emphatic win in a BM72 at Hawkesbury 05/04/2023 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Delacour was up significantly in class on Saturday, but Hannah’s claim got her into the race with a luxury 53kg. A wide draw and heavy support for Fire, Red Card and Able Willie saw the Canberra mare drift to $21.00. The extreme outside gate turned out to be a decided advantage. When James McDonald announced his intention to lead on Red Card, Hannah simply followed him across towards the inside rail. With ample speed prevailing, Delacour travelled more generously than is often her custom. “James got away from me for a few strides on straightening, but my mare really knuckled down from the 200m,” said Hannah. “I was always confident we had them covered and she was really strong on the line. Norm and his team have done a super job with this mare. She’s just as keen in her work as she is in her races. I’ve discovered it’s best to just let her have her own way a little bit. Hopefully she’ll keep getting better.”
It was a day to remember for talented twenty four year old Hannah Williams. She won the TAB Highway on the Matt Dale trained Penthouse, and made it a double on Delacour from her only two rides at the meeting. In so doing Hannah took her win tally to 86 in just over two seasons of riding, posted her first metropolitan win and her first metro double. A few months ago Hannah and partner Nick Heywood moved permanently to Goulburn where both are in keen demand with local trainers. With her 3kg claim still available at metropolitan and provincial tracks, Hannah can expect to be spending plenty of time on the road in the immediate future.
Hannah wasn't fazed by the presence of James McDonald on Red Card at Hawkesbury - courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.
It’s well documented that Norm Gardner enjoys breeding a winner as much as he does training one, and combines both operations under the banner of Summerhill Thoroughbreds. Norm and Diane Gardner keep around seven mares on their forty acre property at Bywong on the outskirts of Canberra. He frequently uses spare paddock space to give his racehorses a change of scenery between races. Delacourt’s dam Canon Law once roamed the same paddocks. “I spotted her on an online sale when she quit racing some years ago,” said Norm. “She had won a race in Victoria but wasn’t much good. She was by the very good stallion Commands out of an unraced mare called Countess Pedrille, a family I like a great deal. The next dam was Cannerelle who had a promising colt called I Am Invincible racing at the time for the Hawkes stable. That colt finished up winning a couple of stakes races before going to stud, where fame and fortune awaited. Hawaii Five Oh became his 93rd stakes winner in Saturday’s Hawkesbury Guineas, and his 2023 service fee has just been fixed at $302,000.”
At $4000 online, Canon Law turned out to be a bargain basement acquisition for the Gardners. Norm bred, owned and trained her son Law of the Land (Beautiful Crown) who posted nine wins and a whopping seventeen placings. A filly called Zuzzudio (Zizou) won three country races and ran second in a TAB Highway. A Bel Esprit filly called Sweet Chimes suffered a sesamoid injury and never raced, while Delacour was the result of a mating between Canon Law and the prolific winner getter Magic Albert, who was standing at Wagga’s Kooringal Stud. “She was the most striking foal we’d had on the property in years, and she grew into a lovely yearling,” said Norm. “We got friends Eugene Utting, Will Cowie, Greg Smith and Steve and Tony Cheung to join us in a syndicate, and it’s been a great journey so far. With two of her daughters on our farm we decided to sell Canon Law online four years ago, and by an amazing coincidence she brought $4000, exactly the amount of money we’d paid for her some years earlier.”
One of nine wins for Delacour's half brother Law Of The Land at Goulburn 03/09/2015 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Norm Gardner is one of eight trainers left at the top class Thoroughbred Park Training Centre on Canberra racecourse. It’s well documented that trainers like Nick Olive, Matt Dale and Luke Pepper have all relocated to alternative venues in protest against the lofty worker’s compensation premiums demanded by the ACT Government. “I’ll hang in as long as I can because it’s a great place to train horses,’ says Norm. “The training facilities are really good and we can travel to so many other meetings on first class freeways. The Canberra Race Club administration is in regular negotiation with the Government in an effort to get us a better deal.”
Norm’s introduction to stable life began in schooldays when he helped out before and after class at Fred Schadel’s Wagga stables. He soon made the transition to riding trackwork which quickly fired his enthusiasm to ride in races. With his weight already way over the professional limit, he did the next best thing and applied for an amateur licence. Norm still talks about a happy five years on the picnic circuit which yielded around thirty winners including a Wagga Picnic Cup. He rarely left the Riverina where meetings were infrequent, and gradually his interest waned.
A horse called Castle Game gave Norm Gardner one of his 30 wins as an amateur jockey.
Norm’s mother Kathleen tolerated his involvement as an amateur jockey, but was aghast at the prospect of her son pursuing a full time career in the racing industry. Not entirely sure about what he wanted to do and largely to appease Kathleen, Norm opted to enrol for a plumbing apprenticeship and actually stayed away from racing for a full decade. Like many before him Gardner was never able to completely shake the racing bug. He made a low key return by purchasing a young horse and dedicating every spare moment to its education and training. He couldn’t believe his luck when the horse broke down hopelessly in a hind leg on the occasion of its first serious gallop. He decided on one more throw of the dice by outlying $2000 for the purchase of a Jon Murray filly who’d bled when with another trainer. Norm “took the punt” and thankfully Sienna Storm never bled again. “She won a maiden at Goulburn and a Class 1 at Wagga with several placings thrown in,” recalled Norm. “She left me a few foals all of which were winners so I’ve got to say she launched my racing career.”
Father and son Steven and Tony Cheung were the owners to get Norm Gardner up and running as a serious horse trainer. They gave him an Arena colt called Coliseo to train, and the results were stunning. Coliseo won six races with twelve placings for $293,000. “He won a Wagga Cup, was second in an Albury Cup and a Canberra Cup and ran fourth in a Manion Cup at Rosehill which gave us a massive thrill,” said Norm. “I’m delighted to think that Steve and Tony are still with me today and happily they share in the ownership of Delacour.”
Norm has maintained a healthy strike rate throughout his 25 year training career - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Norm loved a Bianconi gelding called Le Cavalier who retired in 2020 with a record of nine wins and twenty eight placings for $272,000. He’s been a regular visitor to the TAB Highway winner’s circle since the inception of the concept in 2015. He won two Highways with the unsound Atom Eve in 2016 while Caccini, Bootlegging and Upper House have all won a Highway apiece.
Delacour is obviously getting preferential treatment in the Gardner stable at the moment, but he’s also enamoured of a couple of promising fillies who recently stamped their potential by winning open maidens as two year olds. “I’ve got a good opinion of Miss Ghent, a lovely Dundeel filly who won by a big space on Black Opal day,” said Norm. “She then ran a pleasing race for sixth only 2.4 lengths behind Amur in a Gr 3 fillies race at Rosehill. She’s having a little break at the moment. The other one is Destructive Diva, a Smart Missile filly who came from well back to win at Canberra on Cup day before finishing a respectable sixth in the Gr 3 Kindergarten Stakes at Randwick over the carnival. She’s a daughter of our dual TAB Highway winner Atom Eve. There’s a bit of sentiment there.”
Norm’s immediate focus with Delacour is a crack at the $200,000 Wagga Town Plate on May 4th. He’s never had a runner in the famous Riverina sprint, but it’s a race he’s had high on his bucket list since launching his training career in 1996. “It’s the logical target for a five year old mare who’s obviously at the peak of her form at the moment,” said Norm. “It’s a proven fact that mares seem to hold form when they’re in the right frame of mind. Hannah Williams seems to have a good understanding of the mare’s quirky racing habits, and will ride her again at Wagga. All we can do now is keep her ticking over happily, and pray for a decent barrier draw on the day.”
Hannah made it a double from just two rides at Hawkesbury on Saturday - courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.
(Banner image - Delacour gives it her best shot to get the better of Red Card in the BM78 at Hawkesbury - courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.)