Six winners in a month is a great achievement for any country stable. Dwayne Schmidt’s June sextet came about largely through his utter frustration with the endless wet weather in northern NSW. Desperate to find a dry track the Grafton trainer loaded five horses onto his truck early in the month and headed to Tambo, 200 kms north of Charleville. He was warmly welcomed by the local committee members who were looking forward to a race meeting that promised to be one of the best in the club’s history. Dwayne was gobsmacked when rain came from nowhere to wash the meeting out.
When told of an upcoming meeting at Injune the trainer loaded up and headed for the little township 450 kms away. This time the rain stayed away and three of his five horses flew around the dirt track to win convincingly. His treble was provided by Perfect Point (Samantha Zoljan), Manic Light (Jacob Golden), and The Bell Jar (Maddie Mankelow). Dwayne was more than pleased to learn that all races at Injune carried prize money of $10,000.
By the end of the month another three wins had come the way of the Schmidt stable - Dusan won two races at Murwillumbah (10th and 23rd June) while Outback Pat (Noriyki Masuda) was successful at Ballina. Dusan was ridden in his Murwillumbah wins by Jake Bayliss and Jace McMurray respectively.
During Dwayne’s Queensland mission his wife Tahaila was injured in a freakish accident at their Grafton base, sustaining a skull fracture and broken nose. Tahaila is back on light duties at home following treatment at the Gold Coast Hospital and looks forward to resuming trackwork duties shortly. She’s one tough lady.
Dwayne Schmidt’s training career began in 1995 following a brief stint as a jockey. He rode a number of winners before excessive wasting began to threaten his health. He’s justifiably proud of the fact that his first winning ride came on the hallowed turf of Royal Randwick.
Dwayne’s dual state achievement in June earns him the Country Trainer Of the Month Award. Twelve complimentary bags of Pryde’s EasiPerformance will soon land in his Grafton feed room.
Dwayne wins on Houston Bound at Taree mid 90s.
Jockey Dwayne Schmidt's final race ride was a winner - Blazing Thoughts at Taree in 1995.
Dwayne's daughters Cassandra (right) and Priscilla both had successful riding careers and continue to be heavily involved in racing.
(Banner image - Dwayne's wife Tahaila is back in action after a recent stable accident. She's on general duties at the moment but will return to trackwork shortly.)
