“That horse has been up longer than the Sydney Harbour Bridge,” quipped a Randwick punter, as One Destiny made it three from his last four in Saturday’s 1100m BM78. Standing in the way of four consecutive wins was In Flight who beat him just under a length at Rosehill on June 15th.
A longer than usual campaign hasn’t dimmed One Destiny’s zest for racing. Admittedly he’s been in the Gary Nickson stable at Warwick Farm for much of the last eighteen months, but has never raced better than he is currently. “He occasionally has a few days at a property owned by part owner Wilson Yousiph at The Oaks, but I’m certain he’s happiest when in the stable,” said Gary. “He’s just one of those special horses who enjoys the routine of training and going to the races. He was as bright as a button at the Warwick Farm swimming pool on Sunday morning. I can’t find a single reason not to keep going for a while yet.”
One Destiny’s recent spate of form, an obvious partiality for soft ground and Molly Bourke’s three kilogram claim generated some strong support for the gelding in Saturday’s very suitable race. The winner’s connections were lucky to enjoy the luxury of a full claim for Molly who notched her twentieth metropolitan win on Ningaloo Star in an earlier race. The in form apprentice was allowed to use her 3kg claim for her final two rides of the day.
Molly was all smiles after a win on Felix Majestic at Randwick 16/12/2023 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Despite the fact that One Destiny had won two of his previous three starts, Gary Nickson opted for a gear change in Saturday’s race. “I’ve had a tongue tie on the horse for quite some time, but it might have been causing more trouble than it was worth,” said the trainer. “If his riders had to grab hold or check his momentum at any stage his breathing would change. I made the decision to get rid of the tongue tie after his Warwick Farm win and told Molly to be sure he was running freely all the way on Saturday. I wasn’t worried when he made the turn three wide. He’s better out there rather than stopping and starting. It won’t always work out but that’s the plan going forward.”
The talented apprentice followed Gary’s instructions to the letter in the Thank You ATC Members Hcp. Molly was assured of ample pace with the speedy Mogo Magic in the race and was pleased when Shalailed and Triststate also wanted to run in the early stages. She allowed One Destiny to travel freely three wide around the corner, and the gelding appreciated that liberty. Favourite Jedibeel had the luxury of tagging the winner every step of the way and looked the only danger as One Destiny dashed to the front on top of the rise. A weight disadvantage of a whopping 6kgs proved too much for Jedibeel in the dying stages enabling One Destiny to hold him safely. The win took the gelding’s record to eight wins and eleven placings for $378,725.
Molly Bourke couldn't suppress the smile as she went past the post on One Destiny. The young jockey outrode her 3KG claim earlier in the day - courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.
Very few weeks go by when you don’t hear of an auction bargain repaying his or her purchase price many times over. It’s exactly what racing’s smaller players need to hear. Gary Nickson found this professional racehorse while window shopping at the 2020 Inglis Weanling Sale. He was impressed with the conformation of the little colt and was happy enough with his pedigree.
His sire Super One is a son of the record breaking I Am Invincible and produces winners at a healthy rate. The weanling’s dam Star Of Destiny was winless in a five start career but is a daughter of Power Of Destiny, a son of Danehill and winner of a Randwick two year old race. He was also placed in stakes races like the Pago Pago Stakes and the Gloaming Stakes when trained by Kevin Moses. Gary threw in a bid of $5000 but the youngster was passed in soon after. “Later in the day I was approached by the vendor who agreed to accept my modest bid,” said the trainer. “My long time client Wilson Yousiph and his wife Ingrid decided to take the little bloke off my hands and later offered shares to their friends Hector Balestri and Olga Baestri. Wilson looked after him at The Oaks in between preparations. They’ve had a lot of fun and there’s more to come. Just under $400,000 is a hell of a return on $5,000 especially when you’ve got your own property.”
In winning at Randwick One Destiny was backing up 10 days after this win over Vegas Raider at Warwick Farm - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Gary couldn’t possibly be in a better headspace with the current form of One Destiny, but he’s not enjoying the same peace of mind with stablemate Felix Majestic whose progress is being thwarted by Sydney’s endless run of wet tracks. “In One Destiny we have a horse who loves soft ground, while Felix Majestic can’t go one stride in it,” said the frustrated trainer. “We took him to Randwick for a tick over trial last Friday week on the Polytrack which is the driest surface he’s been on for many weeks. He had two rivals from the Waterhouse/Bott yard, both three year olds and both Melbourne city winners. He won the trial by seven lengths and Molly Bourke couldn’t believe how good he felt. I’ve had to scratch him from a couple of recent races. It’s pointless running him on heavy ground.”
The trainer has toyed with the idea of taking him to Melbourne in search of better tracks but is aware of the dangers of suddenly switching him to the reverse way of going. Gary’s hoping to find a track good enough to get a run under his belt before the Forbes Cup next month - a qualifying race for the Big Dance to be run on Melbourne Cup day. Felix Majestic has been a tremendous money spinner for the stable putting together six wins from only eighteen starts and banking $445,000. Four of his wins have been at Rosehill with one at Randwick, all on firm tracks. He had his first crack at black type level in the Carrington Stakes in January, finishing a creditable third to Zou Tiger and Tamerlane before being spelled. He resumed last month in Mnementh’s June Stakes on a H9 at Randwick finishing near last. Gary wasn’t surprised when Jason Collett said the four year old was totally ineffective in the heavy ground. The weather completely controls the fate of Felix Majestic.
Molly Bourke was having her first ride on Felix Majestic when the gelding led all the way to win this BM78 at Randwick 16/12/2023 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Another interesting member of the twelve horse Nickson team is maiden three year old Ternini who recently returned to work after a spell. The gelding showed so little at his first preparation that Gary was close to recommending his retirement. “Had his part owner Wilson Yousiph not owned his own property we might have called it quits,” said Gary. “Wilson turned him out for a long break, and he was a different horse next time in. His work was good enough to run him in a 900m maiden at Newcastle and we decided to go into the race without a trial. His effort to finish second at $101 was a very pleasant surprise. He got lost early and was behind a bunch of horses turning for home. He started to stretch out when Alysha Collett got him to the outside and finished off really well to beat all but Mr. Midnight. His fifth at Kembla next start was pretty good and then he disappointed at Warwick Farm, but he’d had enough by then. He should win a race or two this time in.”
Gary Nickson has spent every day of his working life involved in the racing industry. Early in life a riding career appealed greatly, but rapidly increasing weight quickly put paid to that aspiration. He did the next best thing and became a trackwork rider, kicking off with trainer George McCahon at the long defunct Roseberry track. It was trainer Brian Culbert who introduced young Nickson to the Canterbury training precinct in the early 1970’s. He rode regular work for Culbert and established a small breaking-in business in his own right. He became very proficient at the art, quickly garnering a loyal client base. Gary launched his own training career with a handful of horses in the 1978/1979 season but found it necessary to supplement the income with an outside job. He spent a decade with the major frozen seafood importing operation Wales and Company, the last few years as Australian Sales Manager.
Gary won his first race as a professional trainer with Fortify at Kembla Grange and has made the most of every opportunity since. His skills have been showcased on several occasions by his success with discarded horses. One of his favourites was Grass Salad who’d been plagued with injury when trained by Tommy Smith, Vic Thompson Jnr and Kevin Robinson consecutively. Perhaps it was the appeal of a challenge that prompted Gary to part with $1600 for the royally bred reject at an Inglis Tried Stock sale. Gary syndicated the horse among family members and set about the business of “patching him up”. With painstaking care he guided Grass Salad to ten wins which included his first city training success at Canterbury in 1983.
His achievements with Grass Salad were exceeded by another amazing feat with the chronically unsound Tandrio who’d won several races for astute Randwick trainer Mal Barnes. “He had a pretty bad tendon and some serious joint issues, so I wasn’t expecting too much,” recalled Gary. “He spent more time at Brighton Beach than he did at Canterbury and slowly but surely we got him somewhere near right. It was an enormous boost for the stable when he won the Tramway Hcp with Peter Cook. It was an even bigger thrill when he pulled up sound and we headed for the Epsom. With Peter Cook unavailable we got Terry Duckett who was riding plenty of winners at the time. Tandrio led and got it pretty easy for the first half of the race - so easy in fact that Noel Barker on Riverdale started to pressure him before the turn. Noel pulled the right rein. Riverdale beat us comfortably, but our bloke held on for second. That’s the closest we’ve come to a Gr 1, but we’ll keep chipping away.”
One of Gary's biggest thrills! A Tramway Hcp win with the unsound Tandrio (Peter Cook) in 1984 - courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.
The Grass Salad and Tandrio stories are testimony to the talents of Gary Nickson. He’s a “thinking” horseman who doesn’t leave a stone unturned in trying to solve the many riddles that racehorses can throw up. He’s ably supported by his wife Wendy and brother Colin who takes all of the administration pressures off his shoulders. Colin, a former high profile handicapper looks after nominations, acceptances, riders and plays a key role in the programming of the Nickson horses. Colin is best qualified to offer a final tribute to the dedicated Warwick Farm trainer.
“Gary has had his share of setbacks but is as keen as he was when he started with George McCahon all those years ago,” says Colin. “His passion for the horses has never diminished. He loves what he does and can prepare a talented horse as well as anybody. Most importantly he’s intensely committed to his owners.”
Even allowing for a little family loyalty, that’s a pretty good wrap. Thanks Col. Keep finding the right races for Gary’s horses and there’s little doubt he’ll have them right on the day.
A winning combination at the moment! Gary Nickson and Molly Bourke - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
(Banner image - One Destiny continued his hot run of form with another win at Randwick on Saturday - courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.)