I gained an early insight into the resilience of Keith Banks during a stint as guest commentator at the 1970 Grafton July Carnival. He looked to have a strong chance in the one mile South Grafton Cup on a handsome little horse called Cast Iron who was closely related to former champion Tobin Bronze. Cast Iron was trained by Keith’s great mate Kevin Hayes, a Rosehill based horseman with a reputation for putting his horses in the right races and supporting them accordingly.
I have a clear recollection of Cast Iron beginning smartly and settling into fifth or sixth spot on the fence as they reached the first turn. I can still see him crashing into the running rail as they turned into the back straight and being retired from the race. Keith’s right foot took the brunt of the impact, leaving him with torn ligaments and tendons. Doctors at Grafton Base Hospital cleared him of any breaks, gave him a set of crutches and allowed him to return to the racecourse.
I actually sat next to Keith on the night flight to Sydney, and his discomfort was obvious as the swelling increased in his right ankle. He was in a lot of pain as I drove him to his Wentworthville home where wife Brenda was anxiously awaiting his arrival. Family and friends were stunned when the tough as teak jockey was back riding winners in eight weeks. Cast Iron also shrugged off any legacy of his stoush with the running rail and went on to win many more races. Just over a year after the Grafton mishap Cast Iron and Banks combined to win the AJC Tramway Hcp.
Keith returns to scale on Our Prefix, one of three winners at Randwick 29/07/1981 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Sadly Keith’s legendary toughness wasn’t enough to get him through a freak accident in the Upper Hunter ten days ago. At 81 years of age and experiencing occasional memory lapses, he became disoriented when his car bogged in rough terrain near the Barrington Tops. In leaving the car to search for familiar landmarks he lost his footing on an embankment, resulting in life ending injuries. His passing came as an unimaginable shock to his family and generated countless tributes from those who’d known and respected him as a jockey, trainer, and all round good horseman.
Legend has it that Keith’s original fascination with horses was with the standardbred breed, inspired by his family’s friendship with legendary trots trainer Jim Caffyn. Young Banks may well have drifted into the harness sport had he not been a diminutive lad of 34kgs at age 14. Even Jim Caffyn suggested the youngster shouldn’t waste his natural jockey’s build.
Keith leaves the steward's room after a routine inquiry late 1970s.
Keith started with Rosehill trainer Colin Papworth, later transferring to Bert Evans when Papworth decided to call time on his training career. He spent the latter part of his apprenticeship with Rosehill legend Fred Hood who also had rising star Kevin Langby in his care at the time. The four time Sydney premiership winner has happy memories of his time with Keith Banks and was understandably upset by his old friend’s passing. “Keith was a quiet young bloke who kept very much to himself, but we became good friends,” said Langby. “We rode in many races together and goodness knows how many track gallops. He was a very strong rider at his weight and knew exactly where he was going in races.”
Keith looked back on his first race ride in 1959 as a baptism of fire. He was following a young Hilton Cope who was in difficulty after breaking one of his stirrup irons in the middle stages of a race at Warwick Farm. Keith’s mount Gold Grove clipped the heels of Cope’s mount and crashed heavily, giving the young jockey a nightmare start to his career. Fractures to his pelvis, thigh, and one arm as well as a dislocated shoulder put him in hospital for six months and on the sidelines for a full year. “I remember it clearly,” said Hilton Cope. “I was all over the place trying to steer my horse and Keith couldn’t get away from me. I felt so sorry for him at the time. Fancy having that happen at your first race ride. Keith was as tough as they came and couldn’t wait to get back. He went on to become a very good jockey whose patience was his best attribute. I remember him as a kind, considerate bloke.”
Keith returned to the saddle with predictable zest and quickly began riding winners. He was thrilled to win his first city race on Atlantic Silver at Rosehill, the track he always regarded as home base. Regular winners in those early days quickly burned out his allowance and like so many apprentices before him, Keith suddenly found himself “yesterday’s news”. He was thrown a lifeline by Walcha racehorse owner Stewart Nivison. The respected pastoralist had a sizeable team of horses in the care of local trainer Ron Martin who was in need of a strong, experienced rider with no weight problems. He picked the right jockey in twenty three year old Keith Banks who flew out of the blocks in his new role.
He rode a flurry of winners for Martin in the first few months, and it wasn’t long before most leading northern stables were chasing his services. During his Walcha stint Keith enjoyed an association with a very talented sprinting mare called Tar Girl. He won a string of races on the Damtar filly including the prestigious Challenge Stakes at Randwick in January of 1966. He rode Tar Girl perfectly to win the historic sprint by a narrow margin from the classy Farnworth ridden by the all conquering George Moore. To notch a win over his idol and role model greatly added to the young jockey’s elation.
Keith unsaddles a winner around the time he gained the Handy Proverb ride in the Caulfield Cup.
Journalist Harley Walden came up with an interesting Banks statistic in his 2020 blog article. Referring to the jockey’s time in the NSW north west, Harley recalled that Keith went close to landing all six winners on a Gunnedah programme. He won the first five races and was set to ride a heavily weighted horse in the final event. With only a handful of riders remaining in the jockeys room, officials were unable to come up with enough lead to enable him to make the allotted weight. A heavier rider was substituted, the horse won and Keith Banks was robbed of an opportunity to join an elite list.
Other notable wins to appear on the jockey’s CV include the 1964 STC Lord Mayor’s Cup on Fair Patton, the 1980 STC Christmas Cup on Sutimie, 1979 Grafton Cup on French Command, the 1980 Hawkesbury Cup on Peninsula, a Kembla Illawarra Cup on Zing Along, a Nowra Archer Cup on Humble Sovereign, and a Newcastle Penfold’s Classic on Millanta’s Wish. Never afraid to travel long distances in quest of a feature win, Keith ventured to far north Queensland in 1971 to win the Townsville Cup on Never Out for Kevin Hayes. It’s interesting to note that the previously mentioned Fair Patton was one of Keith’s two Melbourne Cup rides, finishing ninth to Polo Prince in 1964. Seven years later he went around again on 100/1 pop Cool Alibi finishing sixteenth in the Cup won by Silver Knight - great trivia when regaling grandchildren with yarns of his days as a jockey.
A Warwick Farm win on French Command for trainer Peter Roach.
An easy win on Humble Sovereign for trainer Cobber Elliott in the Nowra Archer Cup.
In an era when there were many more lightweight riders than you’ll find today, Keith Banks was one of the lightest. His ability to make the limit weight at full strength assured him of regular rides throughout his career. He was chased by trainer Bill Chaffe and owner Brian O’Connor to ride Rocket Fuel in the 1969 Sydney Cup at the featherweight of 7st 1lb (44.9 kg). He rode the gelding so well he probably would have won the historic two miler in any other year. In 1969 however, he was unfortunate enough to run into champion stayers Lowland and Rain Lover and had to be content with third money. Around this time Keith did a lot of riding for Warwick Farm owner/trainer John Poletti whose betting plunges had become well documented. He provided Poletti with a dream result on one occasion by landing a double at Doomben on Sir To Me and Opening Duel.
Back to scale on Land Of Oz after a Randwick win in 1981 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
There’s one fabled story about Keith’s ability to ride at a weight far below the capacity of most senior jockeys. In the spring of 1985 a talented three year old colt called Handy Proverb emerged as a stayer of enormous potential. The son of Twig Moss had impressively won the Peter Pan Stakes and Gloaming Stakes before finishing a meritorious third to Easter in the Spring Champion Stakes. Although the Victoria Derby was his ultimate mission, trainer Brian Mayfield-Smith was tempted to consider a Caulfield Cup start at a luxury weight. Keith told me the story one day, and I think I can recall his words almost verbatim.
“I was at the tie-up stalls at Rosehill one morning within earshot of Brian Mayfield- Smith and part owner Bob Lapointe. I heard Brian say he’d love to run Handy Proverb in the Cup with only 45.5kgs, but added that there wouldn’t be an experienced jockey in Australia who could ride that light. Normally I wouldn’t dare stick my head into a conversation, but something made me do it. I reminded them I had the experience under my belt and that 45.5 kgs wouldn’t be a problem. I got the shock of my life a few days later when Brian told me I was on Handy Proverb in the Caulfield Cup.”
An effortless win for Keith and Waitovu Girl at Randwick 29/07/1981. The winter chill was leaving its mark on the Randwick turf - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Keith flew to Melbourne to ride the colt in his final hit out at the now defunct Epsom track, before settling down to observe a pristine diet for the rest of the week. Drawn in barrier one the jockey had to hustle the brown colt out of the barrier to avoid being cut off by too many rivals and was quickly in second place behind Rising Prince. Keith would have been cursing under his breath at the winning post the first time when Handy Proverb began to pull hard resulting in his saddle shifting forward. From that point on the jockey had only limited control.
Handy Proverb was still in fourth spot at the 600m behind Rising Prince, Fil De Roi, Riverdale and Acumen but the damage had been done. As the Sydney colt dropped out Tristarc went on to beat Our Sophia with Lacka Reason in third place. The best opportunity ever presented to Keith in a major race was thwarted by a shifting saddle. Nine days later with his gear intact, Handy Proverb romped home in the Victoria Derby with Jim Cassidy on board. Keith was entitled to wonder what might have been.
As the Banks family struggles with the reality of a tragic loss they’re comforted by the countless expressions of sympathy and the tributes being bestowed upon a very special man. Keith’s daughter Janine is the mother of his beloved grandchildren Mersadies (25), and twin boys Zachary and Jesse (21). “He’s been there for me every day of my life,” said Janine. “He’s been an extraordinary father to me and my brother Darren, and a devoted husband to my mum Brenda, his wife of 61 years. He was a huge influence in the lives of my kids. He never missed a school assembly or sports event in which his grandchildren were involved. As a horse devotee myself I couldn’t have wished for a better tutor as I was growing up.”
Mersadies who’s reached a high level in several riding pursuits in recent years gives most of the credit to her Pop. “He’s been a wonderful grandfather in every way, especially as a skilled and patient teacher when it came to horses,” said Mersadies. “He helped me tremendously when I was first learning to ride, and later taught me the art of breaking young horses in. I started with ponies but later graduated to thoroughbreds thanks to his great ability to impart knowledge. There wasn’t much about horses my grandfather didn’t know.”
Keith with daughter Janine and granddaughter Mersadies.
Grandpa Keith with Mersadies at an early birthday party.
This was "Jimmy Johnston", the pony Keith bought for toddler Mersadies. Keith took him for a test run first.
Keith Banks didn’t deserve the cruel twist of fate that terminated his race riding career one morning in 1986. He was galloping a mare at a strong clip in semi-darkness on the woodchip track at Rosehill when a fox or dog suddenly darted between the horse’s legs. Keith was hurled over the outside fence and landed among a clump of trees near the 1000m. The jockey lay unconscious as the runaway mare found her way back to the horse stall area. A worried band of searchers took a long time to locate the hapless jockey and an ambulance was quickly on the scene. Keith had suffered a spasm at the base of the brain - a complicated injury requiring a long and frustrating period of rehabilitation. He suffered debilitating headaches for many months while a continuing balance impairment brought down the curtain on his long time riding career.
His love of horses and a desire to keep them in his life led Keith to a training career. When boxes became available at Corbould Park Caloundra, he and Brenda decided on a sea change. The former jockey enjoyed notable success from his Queensland base and later returned to the familiar surrounds of Rosehill for a brief stint. Following in the tradition of his astute friend Kevin Hayes, Keith placed his horses with great care and was instrumental in landing a few tidy coups. In 2000 at age 57 he established a spelling and pre- training property near Scone, and understandably named it “Rosehill Lodge” - testimony to the fact that the famous western precinct had played such an important part in his life. For more than twenty years Keith enjoyed the support of the many clients who recognised his innate talents with horses.
I’ll always cherish my memories of the days when I’d be checking colours as riders filed out of the jockey’s rooms on Sydney and provincial tracks and sometimes at major bush carnivals. It was a rare occasion if Keith Banks didn’t stop for a quick chat on his way into the parade yard - always humble, instinctively polite and interested in what others were doing. Keith Banks was one heck of a nice bloke, and one of the best horsemen of his generation. Gone but never forgotten by his loving family and a legion of friends.
Keith riding one and leading one in the Rosehill Lodge round yard.
The horse whisperer at work at Rosehill Lodge.
(Banner image - Keith in the year 2000 with one of the first yearlings he was given to break in at Rosehill Lodge.)