Wayne Dimech was in his mid-teens when Hondo Grattan was dominating the harness racing headlines in the early 1970’s. He had obviously inherited the harness racing genes from his Maltese forebears, and gradually became mesmerised by the deeds of the little brown stallion from The Lagoon. Accompanied by his late father Paul, Wayne missed very few of Hondo Grattan’s Harold Park triumphs. He made sure he was close to the radio whenever the horse competed outside his home state.
Hondo Grattan’s impeccable manners, faultless gait, high speed and boundless courage inspired young Dimech’s interest in harness horses. Every time the little warrior with the familiar white nose roll lunged at the line to win another race at Harold Park, Wayne’s passion for the sport grew stronger. He knew horses like Hondo Grattan were as rare as blue diamonds, but he was already dreaming about acquiring a trainer’s licence one day and launching a search for a champion of his own. It was to be twenty years before that search began.
Wayne saw most of Hondo Grattan's Harold Park wins including his last stride defeat of Paleface Adios in the 1974 Miracle Mile.
When it was time to join the workforce the Merrylands youngster gained an apprenticeship as a car and wagon builder with the institution then known as NSW Railways. Three years later he was allowed to switch to a carpentry apprenticeship and was destined to spend another five years learning a craft which has subsequently served him well. He later had a stint with Alcan Home Improvements during which time he became interested in the maintenance of sliding doors and flyscreens. Anybody who’s had a sliding door run off its tracks or malfunction for any number of reasons, will understand why Wayne Dimech opted to create his own Sydney wide mobile repair business.
He later diversified by actually making security doors for clients old and new. By this time he was training a team of six or seven horses which necessitated an important change to his working schedule. “I’d work the team early and sometimes go to the races at places like Bulli, Bankstown or Fairfield,” said Wayne. “Rather than trying to combine my business with horse training I decided to separate the two. I had a double garage fitted out as a workshop at home, and worked most nights on my security door orders between 8pm and 12pm. I found I got more done this way, than trying to do both jobs at once.”
Wayne’s training involvement began in the early 1990’s. He leased a number of horses and learned many of the fundamentals by trial and error, with valuable help from talented trainer Paul Lasnick. He drove many miles of trackwork behind Lasnick’s better horses becoming adept in the understanding of pace. He was beginning to think his first winner as a trainer would never come, but decided on one more throw of the dice with an unraced filly he was able to lease from trainer Ian Wilson and his client Stuart Kidd. “She was called Wise Tina and was by the little known American import Bonzo Hanover. “I wasn’t a breeding buff but I did know that Bonzo Hanover was a son of the legendary stallion Albatross,” said Wayne. “We got her to the races in late 1993 and she managed five placings at her first eleven starts, but I was still a maiden as a trainer. Finally she got to win a race by default. Six horses fell in a mares race at Bankstown, and she was one of only four left standing. She got home by two metres in a 2.07 mile rate with John Wheeler driving. I couldn’t believe I’d finally cracked it.
“She later won races at Fairfield and Bulli before reeling off three wins on the grass track at Richmond. She finished up with a record of 65 starts for six wins and nineteen placings, and I’d grown pretty fond of her. When the lease expired we sent her back to Ian Wilson who tried unsuccessfully to sell her as a broodmare. On sheer sentiment I decided to buy her back and breed with her myself. Little did I know a remarkable story was about to begin.”
Wayne's passion for horses is obvious in photos like this. With his homebred Merrywood Lynn after a Gr. 2 win at Menangle - courtesy Club Menangle (Hamilton Content Creators).
Wise Tina turned out to be a veritable blue hen, producing six foals for six winners, including a couple of horses who took Wayne Dimech to a bigger stage. The Bonzo Hanover mare left Come On Curly (2 wins), Merrywood Prince (an astonishing 33 wins and 106 placings), Merrywood Contessa (4 wins), Merrywood Duchess (14 wins), Lucky Merrywood (8 wins) and Wiseking Merrywood (6 wins) - 67 wins between her six foals. The use of the word “Merrywood” in the naming of many Wayne Dymock trained horses begs an explanation. “When we started to breed our own horses fairly extensively we decided to use a brand name,” said the trainer. “My wife Suzanne and I sat down to work something out one night, and we came up with a simple formula. I grew up at Merrylands and she at Villawood. Merrywood rolled off the tongue, and the rest is history.”
Rarely does a day go by when Wayne doesn’t spare a thought for old “Prince” as he was always known. The remarkable Merrywood Prince was by the highly successful Panorama, and competed in a staggering 261 races. As aforementioned he won 33 times, ran second 54 times and was third on 52 occasions. His prize money tally of $309,000 would be double that figure today, and into the millions had he been born a thoroughbred. Eighteen of his wins were recorded on the iconic Harold Park track. “When he was a four year old he suffered a suspensory ligament strain which I thought would greatly limit his career going forward,” says Wayne. “He had a very long spell and for the rest of his career spent more time in the bungee pool than he did on the training track. That off -fore suspensory somehow remained intact for the remainder of his career.
“Early days he was very uncomfortable on the half mile tracks. He’d fly down the back straight, but as soon as he got three wide on the last turn he’d get very rough. His regular driver Wayne Innes said he had no problem racing one off the pegs. Eventually we decided that whenever he was back in the field, we’d try to get to the chair. He wasn’t a tough horse early days but he got stronger and stronger with age. He won many races by zipping around the field in the middle stages. He was an amazing animal.”
Wayne Innes gets Merrywood Prince home over Rock On Lord and Karinya Jack 17/06/2005 - one of his 18 Harold Park wins - courtesy Club Menangle.
Dimech has been asked countless times his reason for not driving in races. He went around in several trials early in his career, and has driven the bulk of his horses in work ever since. “I was never going to train more than four or five horses which meant my race drives would have been very limited,” he said. “It’s a competitive business and drivers need to be going around all the time to be familiar with the form of rival horses. It made sense to get them as fit and healthy as I could and put the professionals on come race day. Early days John Wheeler and Graeme Watts did the bulk of my driving, with Wayne Innes taking over later. Wayne was my regular driver right through to his retirement just before the closure of Harold Park. In more recent times younger blokes like Jack Trainor, Todd McCarthy, Cameron Hart, Will Rixon and Robert Morris have all done a good job for me.”
Wayne’s ability as a trainer has been well documented. Business commitments have precluded his taking horses for outside owners with a few exceptions. Perhaps the most notable acknowledgement of his talents in recent years came from top Riverina horsman Bernie Kelly who persuaded him to train a horse from time to time. Dimech won a very impressive twelve races with Macca Kelly and half a dozen with Stening for the discerning Wagga horseman.
Despite having maintained an impressive winning strike rate from the commencement of his career, Wayne had to wait until October of 2020 to win a race at Group level. He was quietly chuffed when his homebred Merrywood Lynn won the Gr 2 NSWBC 2YO Fillies True Blue Series at Menangle with Josh Ghallager in the sulky. The thrill was equally exhilarating one year later when Merrywood Lynn with Jack Trainor at the reins, repeated the dose in the 3YO version of the same series. Merrywood Lynn finished up with a record of 39 starts for six wins, seven placings and $103,000 a fairy tale result for a filly bred from a $600 mare called Just Lola. “I really didn’t need another broodmare but couldn’t resist the temptation when Just Lola became available for that kind of money,” said Wayne. “She was unraced but is by the champion sire Art Major, and comes from a family from which Peter Trevor-Jones has bred many winners. You never know when a nice horse might pop up from these proven families.”
Wayne notched his first Group win when Merrywood Lynn won the NSWBC 2YOF True Blue Series at Menangle 2020. Josh Gallagher wore his own colours on the night - courtesy Club Menangle.
Wayne’s commitment to his company “Dimech’s Doors” went close to costing him the opportunity to train an outstanding horse in recent times. He was surprised when experienced harness horseman Jake Stockton called him early in 2021 asking him to train a Sweet Lou colt he’d purchased for $30,000 at the Nutrien Yearling Sale in Melbourne. “I actually declined when he first offered me the colt, but allowed myself to be talked into it over the following few days,” said Wayne. “Thank goodness I did.”
Naturally Gifted was a gelding by the time he made his debut. He was a natural two year old, and did everything right to win comfortably at Penrith at his second race start. A few weeks later he won his Bathurst Gold Crown heat by a big space before beating all but Tardelli in the Final. Almost twelve months later Naturally Gifted was shunned by punters in a NSW Pacers Derby heat at Menangle. He went out the rank outsider at $81.00 but looked more like a $5.00 chance in running. Perfectly driven by Cam Hart he came out of the 1x1 to grab the lead in the straight, while long odds on favourite Better Be The Best was held up behind the leader. Although slightly flattered by the favourite’s misfortune, Naturally Gifted scored an emphatic win.
The Sweet Lou gelding was kept safe at $13.00 in the Derby Final one week later, with Better Be The Best favourite at $2.60. Nathan Turnbull elected to press forward from the start on Better Be The Best and the favourite took a long time to find the front. Hart was able to manoeuvre Naturally Gifted into the 1x1 on the back of New Zealander Alta Meteor. He didn’t need to “peel” until the top of the lane where Better Be The Best had kicked clear, but there were no challengers from the pack. Naturally Gifted tried valiantly over the last hundred metres to get within a head of the winner and appeared to be in front one stride past the post. Wayne Dimech had gone agonisingly close to training his maiden Gr 1 winner.
Not quite as good as the Derby Final but Wayne was chuffed to win the Derby Heat with Naturally Gifted (Cam Hart) - courtesy Club Menangle (Hamilton Content Creators).
Just two weeks later Naturally Gifted started at $1.30 in winning his Gold Chalice Heat at Bathurst, before running one of his best races in the Final. He got caught outside the leader throughout, but never stopped trying in finishing a close third to Bainbridge and Catalpa Rescue in a 1.55 rate. The gelding was the lone three year old against seasoned horses in the Renshaw Cup at Penrith, and looked desperately unlucky in defeat. Held up behind the leader he wasn’t fully tested in the straight before finishing third to Port Au Prince and Total Diva. He had a full tank of petrol right on the line.
Wayne wasn’t entirely surprised when Jake Stockton received a tempting offer from an American owner for the talented gelding. As a businessman himself Wayne fully understood the mathematics of the proposed deal and encouraged Jake to do what had to be done. He was philosophical when he learned that Naturally Gifted’s new owner had opted to continue racing the horse in Sydney with trainer Jason Grimson.
When it comes to racing colours Wayne Dimech is a hopeless sentimentalist. His homebreds race in the familiar black with a white V, the colours originally registered by his late father Paul. Dimech Snr raced several horses over a period of years in the colours inspired by his beloved Western Suburbs Rugby League team. You’ll see the occasional Dimech runner in dark blue with pale blue sleeves, formerly the colours of the late Paul Lasnick whose family bequeathed the silks to Wayne in 2009.
Trevor Munday wore the old Paul Lasnick colours in this Harold Park win on Merrywood John - courtesy Club Menangle.
At 65 years of age Wayne is just now entertaining the notion of handing over the running of Dimech Doors to elder son Tate, who’s already well trained in the business. It’s a totally different story with Wayne Dimech harness trainer, who’s a long way off retirement. He’s one of thirty trainers to utilise the unique 1600m training track situated between Racecourse Rd and Rickaby Street at Clarendon. The track is on land owned by the University Of Western Sydney, but maintained by HRNSW who hold a long term lease on the property. Until recently Wayne was assisted at trackwork by his uncle Joe Borg who lives on the Dimech property at nearby Berkshire Park. “He doesn’t come to the track these days but helps with other duties at home when I’m away at race meetings or fixing doors,’ said Wayne. “He’s as keen and sprightly as ever and people can’t believe he has turned 90.”
With son Tate (30) focused on the family business, and Corey (28) working in the Information Technology field, Wayne and Suzanne are already planning on some downtime together. Suzanne, who fills a key role behind the scenes in the day to day operation of Dimech Doors, has had the unenviable task of persuading her husband to take a break - a break from doors and horses. There’s an unconfirmed report that a Whitsunday cruise might be on the agenda shortly. It’s a good thing Wayne’s first ever cruise is a relatively short one. If cruising becomes a regular pastime for this trots addict, he’ll need to increase the distances gradually, rather than sail straight to Fiji or Samoa. He’ll be hard pressed to find a trots meeting in the south sea islands.
Wayne was in buoyant mood when interviewed by Paul Campbell after the Derby Heat win - courtesy Club Menangle (Hamilton Content Creators).
Another Dimech homebred Merrywood Duchess wins her MO in the Harold Park twilight 21/11/2008 - courtesy Club Menangle.
(Banner image - Wayne Dimech with Wayne Innes after a Harold Park win with Merrywood Prince in 2005. Left of picture is the late Paul Dimech - courtesy Club Menangle.)