David Brown is one of several trainers alarmed by recent rumblings about the future of the Penrith Paceway. The regular Thursday night meetings are the lifeblood of those trainers who work day jobs - the harness horse devotees who are able to pursue their passion outside working hours. David Brown has been juggling harness racing with his busy concreting business for close to twenty years. His team has rarely exceeded three or four horses at any one time, and the vast majority of his race starts have been at Penrith.
He was there as usual last Thursday night with his customary two runners. The first of them War Western looked unlucky in an early race, finishing a close fifth to Louisiana Freedom after a chequered run. A few races later the stresses of Dave’s working week paled into insignificance, when his second runner Withoutdoubt scored perhaps the best of his four career wins. Predictably all four have been on the Penrith track on Thursday nights.
Adding to the trainer’s delight was the fact that Withoutdoubt was driven to perfection by his seventeen year old son Jack - widely recognized as one of the rising stars of Australia’s junior driving ranks. A look at the replay of Withoutdoubt’s win illustrates why he has that reputation. This young bloke gets horses balanced, and displays patience rarely seen in a driver of such tender years. He saved every spoonful of petrol on Withoutdoubt, bringing the gelding from last of eight runners to join the leaders just before straightening. His trademark composure was again evident in the closing stages as he adroitly coaxed his Dad’s horse to a two metre win over Cheetah Lodge. It was a good night at the office for young Brown who also won the opening race on Captn Me for his current boss Jack Trainor.
Jack brought Withoutdoubt from last to win at Penrith last week - courtesy Lett Photography.
Withoutdoubt was Jack’s 52nd winner - an impressive tally in just twenty two months of race driving. Twenty four hours later he made it win number 53 on Orchid Stride at Newcastle. Just two days before this story was posted he was granted an A grade licence which enables him to drive at Saturday night Menangle meetings. He’ll be one happy lad when he opens his metro account at headquarters. Jack spent ten months with the Kerry Ann Morris stable before deciding to accept an offer from Jack Trainor. Fittingly it was Dave who supplied the first of his 53 wins - an NR48 at Newcastle in which he popped out from behind the leader on The Mach Army to score a milestone win.
The soon to be eighteen year old has been mesmerised by harness racing from the moment he learned to navigate all available websites. He could read a harness race expertly from age ten, and quickly developed a photographic memory for the performances of horses and their racing characteristics. Today he’s bordering on fanatical when it comes to knowing his form. One prime example of his fascination with harness horses came when he discovered an old movie on YouTube highlighting the deeds of Dan Patch, the legendary American pacer who was so dominant in the early twentieth century that nobody wanted to take him on. Jack’s family will attest that he watched “The Great Dan Patch” at least twenty times.
Another swooping win for Jack Brown on the Jason Grimson trained Diamond Party at Menangle - courtesy Club Menangle.
Unlike his son, Dave Brown was a late starter in harness racing. He was in his thirties when he became aware of his uncle Fred Brown’s passion for the sport. Slowly but surely Fred’s enthusiasm started to rub off on his nephew, who found himself getting to more and more trot meetings. As his interest heightened Dave started to toy with the idea of buying a yearling or two and acquiring a trainer’s licence. His first two yearlings were fillies, neither of which managed to win a race. He decided to have one more throw of the dice at the 2002 Bathurst Gold Crown yearling sale. The fairy tale that was to follow would prove life changing.
He parted with $2400 for a colt By America’s Pastime from Zenavon. “To my untrained eye he was small, scrawny and very unimpressive but Fred pushed me to throw in a bid,” recalled Dave. “Had Fred not been there it’s unlikely I would have brought him home. To cut a long story short Fred was with me a couple of years later when the horse we named Easy Past Time won his first race at Lithgow. Sadly we lost Fred not long after, and it saddens me to this day that he didn’t live to see that horse go on to win a total of 23 races with 27 placings for around $134,000. Old Easy taught me a lot more than I taught him. I’ve been looking for another one like him ever since.”
A Harold Park win for Easy Past Time (Simon Turnbull) 08/05/2007. Runner up was Luke Breeze (Trevor Munday) - Courtesy Lett Photography.
It’s true Dave hasn’t been able to find another Easy Past Time, but he has come up with a number of useful horses sourced from APG and Gold Crown sales for very modest outlays. One of his favourites was Waste of Time, a $4500 Bathurst purchase who won a total of $123,000 in two states. “He won about $80,000 for me from 21 wins and continued to win races after I sold him to Queensland interests,” said Brown. “He was a great little pacer and a professional racehorse. Potentially one of the best horses I’ve had was He’s My Mate who went amiss after only 25 starts. He won four races and recouped his $6000 purchase price several times over.”
Dave and his hard working wife Maree run D&M Concreting Services, a very busy operation which currently employs ten permanent staff. Dave drifted into the business by sheer accident when he engaged Wilberforce concreter Ron Roach to lay the slab for the home he was building in the same locality. “I gave Ron a hand after the concrete had been poured, and he must have seen something in me,” says Dave. “Next thing he offers me a full time job with his company. I grabbed the opportunity and finished up staying for four years, learning a lot along the way.”
David is one of 30 trainers to use the 1600m Hawkesbury training track.
On leaving Roach’s employ David found himself getting a few odd concreting jobs around the district. His reputation quickly grew, and seemingly overnight D&M Concreting Services was up and running. Even Dave and Maree are stunned by the growth of the company over the last decade. “We’ve got some wonderful clients including Bell River Homes for whom we’ve been doing up to 150 “slabs” a year in recent times,” said Dave. “The biggest “pour” we’ve ever handled was a 1300 square metre slab at Oberon in the middle of winter. “I’m not joking when I tell you I saw two wood ducks walking across a dam one icy morning.”
Dave’s the first to admit he’d be unable to operate successfully without the support and business acumen of Maree, his wife of thirty three years. The indefatigable Mrs. Brown keeps the ship steady from their home office at Wilberforce, and is ready for any problem large or small that might pop up during the day. She contributes to babysitting duties when required for daughter Rebecca’s three year old son Beau, and somehow finds the time to act as Secretary of HOTTS (Hawkesbury Owners and Trainers Track Society). This group is responsible for the upkeep of a unique 1600m circuit which is situated on land owned by the University Of Western Sydney and leased long term to HRNSW. Equally as surprising is the fact that Dave finds time to act as President of the Track Committee, and can often be found on the tractor or behind the wheel of the water cart. The thirty trainers who use the facility are grateful for his contribution.
The ability to immerse themselves in work has played an important role in helping the Browns to cope with the sudden and tragic loss of their much loved middle daughter Ashleigh three years ago. A non stop work schedule and the undying support of Jack, Rebecca and Joanie have helped the couple through the most difficult period of their lives.
Dave with daughters Ashleigh and Rebecca (left) after one of Easy Past Time's Harold Park wins - courtesy Lett Photography.
Jack’s not the only family member to create an impression as a race driver. Older sister Rebecca has posted 75 wins in the sulky, earning many plaudits along the way. She has several Menangle wins on her CV, and was around in the twilight of Harold Park’s unforgettable era as the headquarters of NSW harness racing.
She has indelible memories of consecutive wins at the historic track on the Riverina mare Perfect Jenna and a win under amazing circumstances on Appeal A Lot in 2010. A traffic jam prevented a handful of drivers from getting to Harold Park in time for the first race. Although Rebecca had not yet gained her metropolitan licence, stewards made the decision to allow her to drive Appeal A Lot when it became obvious there was no other suitable driver on course. Then 18 years of age, Rebecca rated the horse to perfection in front and won the race comfortably.
Dave Brown can be seen shaking his head when he realises there are 19 horses currently domiciled on his twenty eight acre Wilberforce property - a property which has been in the Brown family since the early nineteenth century. It’s not hard to tell that trainer Brown is in this trotting game for the long haul. There are six imposing brick stables which were not there a few short years ago. Yards and paddocks abound, and a six horse “walker” recently appeared from nowhere. Three huge silos are testimony to Dave’s commitment to a healthy feeding regime for his small team. He makes frequent trips to country areas to buy top quality bulk feed.
He gives great credit for recent successes to Jake Bates, partner of the Browns’ youngest daughter Joanie. Jake lives in the Brown household and renders great assistance in the training of the horses. He’s rewarded by the boss with the occasional race drive, and only recently won a race at Penrith on War Western. Joanie Brown is focused on a career in hairdressing, but enjoys nothing more than helping out with the horses on Sunday mornings.
Dave puts He's My Reason through his paces on the unique mile track at Hawkesbury.
Although he breeds a foal or two most years, Dave is a regular at the APG, Gold Crown and Redcliffe sales. He shops for value and is noted for his success rate with moderately priced yearlings. Right at the moment he’s looking forward to getting two 2021 purchases to the races - A For A Reason youngster called He’s My Reason and a Bling It On gelding called Gotta Bling it. He’s equally excited about two yearlings he purchased earlier this year. One of them is a cracking colt from the Redcliffe sale by the recently retired veteran Cammibest. The other is a Sweet Lou colt knocked down to Dave at the Sydney APG auction. The 55 year old trainer is acutely aware that his horse numbers are rising fast. Too fast in fact. On top of the racehorse population the Wilberforce property is also home to three broodmares who will foal this spring to Downbytheseaside, For A Reason, and Bling It On respectively.
In the hosing bay at Hawkesbury. Dave is the President of the track committee.
Dave is one of those trainers who has never contemplated driving his own horses in races. “You can’t have one drive a week and expect to compete with drivers who are going around all the time,” he said. “In my twenty years in the sport I wouldn’t have had ten race drives. I ran third somewhere one night and that’s my claim to fame. I’ve always tried to get the driver who best suits the horse in question, and that has worked pretty well for me. My daughter Rebecca has won several races for me, and I’ve got a son who’s showing plenty of promise.”
His dual role as a commercial concreter and harness horse trainer creates obvious stress. With the support of family and young Jake Bates, Dave somehow manages. He’s always pleased to see the changing of the seasons when daylight is more plentiful. In the summer months, he can slip a horse to Hawkesbury for a twilight “hopple up” if he chooses. If you happen to hear Dave mumbling to himself as he’s bowling a horse around the one mile circuit, he’s probably communicating with his late Uncle Fred. On the bad days he’d be giving him a mouthful. On the good days he’d be thanking Fred for talking him into buying that scrawny little yearling at the Bathurst sale twenty years ago.
Another Harold Park win with Easy Past Time - not bad for a $2400 yearling - courtesy Club Menangle.
(Banner image - It was a bleak night at Lithgow when Easy Past Time (Simon Turnbull) gave Dave his first win as a trainer - courtesy Club Menangle)