To family and friends Tony Turnbull always seemed indestructible. On non race days during his training career, he’d work from dawn to dusk before trying to catch up on badly needed sleep. On race days he’d still start at dawn, but invariably work right through until it was time to load up and head off to a night meeting somewhere. Western Districts meetings didn’t faze the great horseman too much, but the Friday night meetings at Harold Park sometimes tested his powers of endurance.
For many years the familiar Turnbull horse truck would roll into the float parking area at headquarters well before the first race. More often than not he’d have five or six runners on the programme, and had been on the road for close to four hours.
After stopping briefly at Meadow Flat to pick up his long time helper Pat Dowler, A.D. would continue to Bowenfels where he’d pause just long enough to pick up a copy of Trotguide at the local newsagency. Then it was through Lithgow and up the Scenic Hill onto Bell’s Line Of Road, all the time praying for a trouble free run into the city.
“I don’t know how you cop the trip from Bathurst to Harold Park week after week,” said the float parking attendant one night as the iron man from The Lagoon vaulted out of the driver’s seat. “It’s just over the hill mate,” said Tony.
Sling Along was a handy second stringer to the champ Hondo Grattan. Tony won several races at Harold Park with the talented pacer including this one in 1973 - courtesy Club Menangle.
That parking attendant would have been asleep for hours by the time Tony and his assistants were back at The Lagoon in the early hours of Saturday morning. He’d frequently race again on the Saturday night at Parkes, Dubbo or Cowra, or perhaps at an Orange day meeting. He hated to disappoint the country clubs who relied heavily on the number of horses he could provide. He saved many a bush meeting from abandonment. It wasn’t as though Tony Turnbull was only getting to an occasional Harold Park meeting. It was a very rare Friday night when he wasn’t a part of the action. Regular winners took a lot of sting out of his massive workload.
When you take trackwork, trials and races into account, he drove a huge number of horses in any given week. His insatiable appetite for winning and his resolve to run a place if possible, obviously increased the ever present risk. A.D. had countless accidents. Some of them minor, some of them pretty serious. He’d brush the minor ones off with scant regard for cuts and scratches or torn colours and climb straight back into the gig.
The serious ones might slow him up for a week or two but he’d move heaven and earth to prove the Doctors wrong, and would usually get his way. A couple of falls in later life took the wind out of his sails. The stubbornness was still there and the spirit was unfailingly high, but the old body was telling him things were not as they used to be.
Another of Tony's favourites. Keystone Major scoring at Harold Park 1987 - courtesy Club Menangle.
Despite the unthinkable lack of sleep, the horrendous hours and punishing miles the iconic horseman recorded statistics which will serve as a benchmark to future generations. He won eight NSW trainer’s premierships and topped the Australian ladder on six occasions. He won eleven NSW driver’s titles, topping 100 wins in a season no less than twelve times. He was the first NSW driver to reach the magical 2000 mark, and finished his career in 2002 with an astonishing 2884 wins.
He’s beyond doubt the most decorated harness horseman in the history of the sport in this country. In 1988 he was inducted into the NSW Hall Of Champions at Olympic Park. In 1990 he received the Order Of Australia Medal and a few years later became the first HRNSW Living Legend. In 1999 he was an obvious inclusion when the industry museum was created at Harold Park and can now be viewed at Menangle.
Perhaps the honour from which he derived the most pleasure, was the release of a 2000 biography by eminent harness racing journalist Harry Pearce. This was the culmination of many hours of research by the veteran writer who’d been a devout Tony Turnbull fan for many years. The book is entitled “A Legendary Reinsman”, and will serve as a lasting chronicle of a distinguished career.
Tony trying his luck at the yearling sales around 1980 - courtesy Club Menangle.
Tony was paid the ultimate honour in the late 1980’s when selected to represent Australia in a world driver’s championship series in Canada.
He was nervous about the overseas trip and very reluctant to leave his training operation. He was accompanied by none other than Peter V’landys who was then the CEO of the NSW Harness Racing Club at Harold Park.
Tony trained thousands of horses throughout his record breaking career including many who reached tight marks at Harold Park between the 1950’s and 1990’s. But he only ever trained one Hondo Grattan. The 1970’s are still regarded as the golden era of NSW harness racing - a decade in which a succession of outstanding horses drew huge crowds to the iconic Harold Park track.
Great mates! Tony and Hondo Grattan were a popular duo at Harold Park in the 1970s - courtesy Club Menangle.
The brown stallion and his unassuming trainer/driver captured the hearts of thousands of trot fans in that magical decade. The little horse with the piston like action raced 119 times for an amazing 58 wins and 35 placings. His prize money tally of $212,000 was a respectable bankroll in the1970’s. He was twice NSW Harness Horse Of The Year. Had the Australian Harness Horse title existed in that era, Hondo most assuredly would have attained the national honour.
Some say Hondo Grattan put A.D. Turnbull on the map. Others believe it was the other way around. If ever a man and a horse were meant to be together it was the duo from The Lagoon - both focused, both fiercely determined, both savouring the scent of battle. Look at any random photo of them together. They were mates!
The first of Hondo Grattan's two Inter Dominion wins - Harold Park 1973 - courtesy Club Menangle.
Tony was rushed to hospital after suffering a major stroke in the early hours of Monday May 17th. It was almost a full week later when he quietly slipped away with several family members by his side. They were comforted by the fact that the much loved elder statesman would soon be with his beloved wife Shirley who predeceased him in 1986, and son Greg who died much too soon in 1999.
The passing of Tony Turnbull marks the end of an era. He was one of the last surviving links with the glory days of the harness racing industry. The days when a crowd of 50,000 somehow squeezed into the limited confines of Harold Park Paceway to watch the running of the 1960 Inter Dominion Grand Final. The days when crowds of 20,000 or more would turn out on a freezing night in the middle of winter.
That familiar country drawl and ready smile will be long remembered by those who had the good fortune to meet him along the way. He was a man of principle with endless devotion to his family, and immense loyalty to his friends. It was always a delight to run into him on or off the track. You couldn’t help but like Tony Turnbull.
Perhaps Hondo's most memorable win! A narrow defeat of Paleface Adios 1974 Miracle Mile - courtesy Club Menangle.
(Banner image - The Turnbulls were out in force at this meeting in the early 1990s. From left - Craig, Cindy, Tony, Steve and Tony's late son Greg - courtesy Club Menangle.)