David Gilbert
IT may come as a surprise to many, Tatiara trainer Darryl Dodson has never won a trainer’s premiership until the season just completed.
Despite having had countless winners over the years on both sides of the border and constantly putting the tiny settlement of Telopea Downs on the racing map, it was the 2021/22 season which saw Dodson step up and finally take out the Limestone Coast trainer’s premiership.
The quietly spoken Dodson has been in the racing game for around 40 years and has invariably had at least one handy horse in his stable.
At the moment, Dodson has two good gallopers on his books, the in-form Big Sue who has already won two races at metropolitan level this year and the promising Young Jimmy, a winner of three races in the Limestone Coast last season.
“I knew nothing about the racing game when I started out and some may say that is still the case,“ Dodson quipped earlier in the week.
“My parents had no interest in horses and I headed in blind and poked along in my early days and asked a few questions.“
Prior to taking out his trainer’s licence, Dodson worked as a shearer and in land development of the Telopea Downs area.
His best horse was Double Gin (1989-1995), a winner of 18 races and half a million dollars in prize money, beaten an eyelash in the 1990 Adelaide Cup by the Hayes trained Water Boatman.
“Water Boatman was our nemesis in a few races including the Onkaparinga Cup when Tony McEvoy, then working for the Hayes stable, told me after the race that the Hayes camp had a very high opinion of Water Boatman and he went on to win a Caulfield Cup,” he said.
“Sarason (early 1990’s) was also a very good galloper, winning six races, five of those in the city, two at Cheltenham and two at Moonee Valley including the Group 2 Alister Clark Stakes.“
Dodson will be presented with his premiership this Sunday afternoon at the annual luncheon/presentation day for Limestone Coast Thoroughbred Racing.
BRILLIANT RETURN BY DERBY WINNER
THERE was no more an impressive winner at Globe Derby Park last Saturday night than Jawsoflincoln when the Greg Scholefield (Naracoorte) trained three-year-old pacer commenced a new campaign after taking out the SA Derby in late April.
In an outstanding return to the track, Jawsoflincoln led all the way from barrier two and left his rivals standing to win by 14 metres for driver Gaita Pullicino.
His mile rate of 1.55.3 was 3.5 seconds quicker than any other recorded on the program.
That was his eighth win from 14 starts since joining the Scholefield stable in Naracoorte last year.
The long drive home in the dark last Monday night from Charlton probably went unnoticed for the Alyce Finnis stable.
Especially after the three-year-old pacer Ever Hoping quickly regained winning form in the final event, the NR 56-66 pace over 2100 metres.
Ever Hoping ($4.60) had finished down the track at Mildura when first-up in late July but had no problem leading all the way at Charlton for driver Jason Lee.
FALSE START TO NEW SEASON
LIMESTONE Coast racing did not even get to the barrier for the opening meeting of the new season here at Mount Gambier last Sunday.
The meeting was called off three days prior due to the state of the track, not the weather.
“This was the meeting we were concerned about going ahead,“ Mount Gambier Racing Club president Peter George stated.
With Mount Gambier track manager David Shepherdson on leave, Racing SA official Greg Rudolph and former Morphettville track manager Ian Ricardo came to the Mount to inspect the track last Wednesday week.
It was already in the heavy range and the pair deemed the track not safe to conduct a race meeting.
“It’s draining well but a few patches haven’t recovered as well as we would have hoped from the previous meeting on July 6,“ George added.
Some jockeys who rode at that July meeting expressed concern on the day about how the track handled the seven-race card.
Consideration was given to transferring last Sunday’s meeting to another Limestone Coast track but none were suitable at short notice.
It was a similar fate for the first meeting last season when the Bordertown meeting on August 8 was abandoned due to the state of the track and the weather conditions.
The next meeting here at Mount Gambier will be one of the bigger meetings of the season.
It will be the fundraiser for prostate cancer on Sunday, September 11, a function that used to be conducted on the first day of the cup carnival and has not been run for the past few years due to Covid restrictions and track redevelopment.
“I am very confident that everything will be in order for racing to return in just over four week’s time,“ George said.
WINNERS WELL SPREAD AROUND
THE recent completion of the 2021/22 racing season resulted in 14 South East trained gallopers having success at metropolitan level.
That was well down on the 30 local winners in the 2020/21 season and 29 the season previous.
Trainer Peter Hardacre had five winners from his Mount Gambier stable and the only other trainer to have multiple city success was Tatiara mentor Darryl Dodson with three winners.
Just three gallopers won two city races, namely Kill Thrill, Spin The Reward and Big Sue.
The longest priced winner was the 100/1 chance Wurlies Lastchance, successful at Murray Bridge nearly 12 months ago for Bordertown trainer Lindsay Cadzow.
It all makes for an interesting result to the 2021/22 Horse of the Year award (for locally trained gallopers and performances anywhere) which will be announced this Sunday at Naracoorte.
Local apprentice Jacob Opperman had a good season at city level winning 16.5 races in Adelaide (one was a dead heat) and two in Melbourne.
Opperman will be back in Adelaide tomorrow for a quartet of rides, primarily to ride the Lee Creek trained Royal Mile at the gelding’s first run this campaign in the Group 3 Spring Stakes over 1200 metres at Morphettville.
JUSTIFIED THE SUPPORT
IN hindsight, it is no wonder that the Travis Doudle (Adelaide) trained Not Usual Glorious was backed for plenty before winning the Apsley Cup at Casterton in mid June.
The five year old gelding was well supported to start the $3.60 favourite and led all the way to thrash his rivals with Neil Farley as the pilot.
Young Doudle has since taken Not Usual Glorious over to Melbourne twice for all the way wins at Caulfield and Moonee Valley.
COMING UP
This Sunday: Coleraine races; Limestone Coast Thoroughbred Racing luncheon/presentation afternoon at Naracoorte.
Sunday, August 21: Bordertown races.
