John Tapp Racing

I’ve had several emails requesting a podcast with Gratz Vella in the wake of his thrilling third placing in the TAB Golden Slipper with Music Time. The Maltese born trainer drifted into the racing game by pure chance and has held a licence for more than three decades. He’s enjoyed a notable measure of success from his Canberra base and is widely respected by all sections of the industry. Gratz secured Music Time for just $45,000 at the 2023 Inglis Classic Sale and soon discovered that he’d bought a very promising young horse for long established clients. Music Time probably cost himself a win at his first start but quickly made amends with a hat trick, culminating in the Black Opal on his home track. The Gratz Vella story is one that needs to be acknowledged on our podcast.  The trainer says he’ll be pinching himself for quite a while yet. Gratz says he asked his jockey Pierre Boudvillain to ride Music Time as close as possible without overdoing it.  He explains the reason why the gelding got a little bit lost in the closing stages. The trainer acknowledges the support of six owners, some of whom have had horses with him for many years. Gratz goes back to the Inglis Classic Sale of 2023. He recalls being “blown out of the water” on a few early lots, and says his confidence had been dimmed by the time a certain All Too Hard colt came into the ring. He believes the youngster’s immature appearance put a few buyers off. Gratz says the All Too Hard colt quickly signalled his talent. He was given a nickname in his first preparation. The trainer says his Golden Slipper placegetter has already developed one unlikely taste. Vella says he wasn’t tempted to run him again this preparation. Gratz discusses his burgeoning partnership with French born jockey Pierre Boudvillain, currently one of the most talked about riders in the nation.  The Canberra horseman takes us back twenty years to his first Golden Slipper start with a $300.00 “pop”.  Gratz talks about his late father’s arrival in Australia sixty years ago. Michael Vella found a job in Canberra and a suitable house before bringing his wife and eight children to a new land. The trainer pays tribute to his remarkable mother who died only recently at 95 years of age. Gratz Vella’s business acumen was on display at an early age. He, two brothers and a handful of mates collected horse manure from a nearby pony club and carted it around the district in home made billy carts. When the concept became popular with backyard gardeners, the boys investigated bolstering supplies from Canberra racing stables. Gratz says his love affair with thoroughbreds began there and then. He says Robbie O’Sullivan was the trainer to teach him the basics of horse management and would later encourage him to take out his own licence.  Gratz says he kicked off at amateur meetings but quickly made up his mind to progress to the professional ranks. He explains the derivation of his rather curious christian name. Gratz talks of the amazing offer he received from highly successful Canberra trainer John Morrisey. He was destined to stay with Morrisey for twenty years during which time he had the opportunity to prepare a small team of his own. He says Morrisey’s later move to the Gold Coast  prompted his decision to go it alone. Gratz looks back on the horses to help him along the way. He’s got a story or two about a few stable favourites.  His story about the acquisition of his current stable colours is a very entertaining one. He talks of his Aussie born kids and the five grandchildren who’ve come along in recent years. It’s a laid back chat with the kid from the historic township of Zabbar in Malta’s port region. He’s a highly respected and universally liked member of the Canberra training ranks and has no intention of leaving the city adopted by his father six decades ago.    

Kris Lees was thirty three years old when his father Max passed away in 2003. He’d been training a handful of horses in his own right while working as stable foreman for his very respected trainer/dad. He was left reeling when a sudden illness claimed Max’s life at just 63 years of age. Kris made the instant decision to carry on where the multiple Gr 1 trainer had left off. The team totalled 50 horses and Kris was humbled to learn that almost every existing client had decided to leave their horses exactly where they were. Twenty three years on Kris has established a stellar training record and boasts some amazing season by season statistics. It’s seven years since Lees Jnr has been a guest on this podcast and it’s high time we invited him back. The trainer says very few call him by his birth name of Kristen. He talks about his horse numbers at Newcastle and on the Gold Coast with acknowledgement of the people who look after his Queensland operation. Kris is justifiably proud of his training stats over more than two decades. He takes us back to early days when he went to work for his father after getting an exemption from school. He talks of an ambition to be a bookmaker and his friendship with neighbour Ray Wallace, one of Newcastle’s most astute trainers.  Kris looks back on his decision to train a few horses in his own name while working for his father.  He remembers Max’s sudden illness and a premature passing that would deeply sadden the racing world. Lees Jnr speaks with great affection of the “iron gelding” County Tyrone who provided his first Gr 1 win. By an eerie coincidence the horse had been Max Lees’ final Gr 1 winner. He looks back on the privilege of being given a $1.5 million dollar filly very early in his training career. Kris would win seven races including three Gr 1’s with the star filly Samantha Miss. He talks of the mare’s subsequent stud career and reviews the racetrack deeds of her six foals.  He looks back on the surprise phone call from NZ advising him that a hugely talented mare was on her way across the Tasman. He was horrified to see her fall in a race at Ellerslie before being sent to Australia. Lucia Valentina reached dizzy heights for her Aussie trainer. Kris doesn’t hide his affection for the evergreen Le Romain whose 7 wins and 18 placings netted $4.3 million dollars.  The trainer pays tribute to Gr 1 winners like In Her Time, Sense Of Occasion, Vitesse Dane, Amokura, and Kalapour. He talks of his winning associations with father-son jockeys Andrew and Dylan Gibbons. Kris looks back on his extraordinary record in the Provincial Championship Series since its inception in 2015. He’s qualified a whopping 56 horses for 11 Finals for five winners and seven placegetters.  Kris says you don’t need a champion to accumulate mind boggling prize money. He talks of two big earning stable warriors. The trainer talks about the gradual expansion of his Broadmeadow training base. He discusses the importance of barrier trials in the modern racing world. Kris talks about the selection of jockeys for his huge number of runners. He pays tribute to wife Christie, daughter Emerson, and sons Marshall and Manning. A laid back chat with one of Australia’s best horse trainers.

With another edition of the historic Sydney Cup coming up on April 11th, it seems an appropriate time to catch up with a man who won it twice as a jockey in 1959 and 1961. Bernie Howlett’s riding career lasted only seven or eight years but was followed by a long innings as a successful trainer. In more recent times Bernie has earned recognition as a very astute breeder of horses. In fact he’s one of a chosen few to have ridden, trained and bred Gr 1 winners. He’s now a healthy eighty eight year old, living in Canberra and content to reflect  on his very rewarding life in racing. Bernie does us the honour of joining this week’s podcast to take us on a trip down memory lane.  He brings us up to date on plans for his future in racing. Bernie goes right back to childhood days in Tamworth and many trips to local race meetings with his dad Jack.  He acknowledges the deeds of older brother Arthur, himself a talented jockey and trainer. Bernie recalls the early tuition he received from legendary country trainer Arthur Gore and his apprenticeship to Eric Flett at Manilla. The veteran recalls his first ride in a race at Quirindi and his first win at Barraba. With ten bush winners under his belt Bernie made the decision to seek an apprenticeship in Sydney and literally knocked on the doors of several Randwick trainers. Finally a trainer called Frank McGrath agreed to sign him up.  Howlett reflects on his first city win on a hulking two year old owned by an AJC Committee member. He won another one on the same horse a few days later. He looks back on the thrill of being selected Dux of the AJC Apprentices School in the 1957/58 season.  Bernie says his golden run was halted by a nasty fall at Warwick Farm. Head injuries kept him out of the saddle for several months. He looks back on an association with dour stayer On Line which would lead him to a Sydney Cup win and a ride in the Melbourne Cup the following year. Bernie was to repeat his Sydney Cup win just two years later. This time he relegated an Australian turf idol into second place. He talks of the “return bout” with Tulloch in the Brisbane Cup less than three months later. This was to be the champion’s swan song. Bernie remembers the support of several trainers who helped him along the way during his time in Sydney. The former jockey and trainer clearly recalls a second placing in the Caulfield Cup and the suspension that cost him the ride on the same horse in the Melbourne Cup. He takes us back to 1964 and his low key start as a trainer. Bernie reflects on a fruitful decade training out of Kembla Grange during which time his only Gr 1 winner came along. He makes mention of some other smart horses he got to train.  The veteran pays tribute to several talented young riders to spend time under his tutelage. He talks of his keen interest in the breeding of thoroughbreds and the colt destined to give him Gr 1 success in another phase of his career. Bernie is justifiably proud of his contribution to the Australian population- 6 daughters, 1 son and 14 grandchildren. Great to catch up with a man who achieved the rare distinction of riding, training and breeding Gr 1 winners. 

It’s just over six years since Scott Darby last appeared on our podcast. At the time his popular racehorse syndication company was gathering momentum. Today Darby Racing is a front runner in a very tough business. Seventeen and a half years after its launch, the company looks back on 1500 wins by syndicated horses including 79 at stakes level and 9 at Gr 1. To mark Darby Racing’s first week as one of our valued sponsors it makes good sense to get its founder and managing director  back on the podcast. He takes us back to early days when he was overpowered by an ambition to become a jockey. When his riding aspirations fell by the wayside Scott looked for an activity that would keep him in the framework of the racing industry. He got involved in the syndication of two horses owned by friends, and enjoyed the experience. The rest is history. When Scott joined us on the podcast on Monday March 9th he was still walking on air after a Gr 1 Newmarket win with Caballus at Flemington -Gr 1 number nine for Darby Racing. He admits to being a little nervous when he shelled out $315,000 to acquire the gelding online in 2023. Scott remembers Darby Racing’s first yearling sale purchase- a Choisir colt at a NZ Ready To Run sale. Registered in Australia as Estalane he failed to win on a metropolitan track but was successful 8 times in north Queensland. The new company was up and running. Today Darby Racing boasts a full time staff of 5 headquartered at Narellan south-west of Sydney. Scott pays tribute to the team.  He acknowledges the support of wife Edwina who was a late starter in the racing game but quickly fell in love with the sport. Scott talks of an early ambition to become a jockey. He remembers an unsuccessful visit to Tulloch Lodge and his first experience in a racing stable. He pays tribute to the $15000 filly whose two black type wins catapulted the new syndication company into the spotlight. Scott talks of another cheap filly from a Gold Coast sale destined to take her large ownership group on an exciting ride. Darby Racing came up with another “price buster” at the 2015 Inglis Classic Sale. As Yankee Rose that $10,000 filly was a precocious two year old and won the Golden Gift before beating all but Capitalist in the Golden Slipper. She later won the ATC Sires Produce Stakes to give the company its first taste of Gr 1 glory. There was more to come in the filly’s three year old season. Darby Racing “swooped” again at the 2016 Inglis Classic Sale when they landed a Manhattan Rain filly for $20,000. That filly was syndicated to twenty owners and would go on to win six races from twelve starts accumulating $3.2 million in prize money. Imagine the reaction of the “terrific twenty” the day She Will Reign won the Golden Slipper. Scott pays tribute to the special horses who’ve taken Darby Racing to another level in the field of racehorse syndication. He acknowledges the talents of his current group of “go-to” trainers. Scott talks of the racing colours that have become instantly recognisable to punters around Australia. 

Blake Spriggs answered immediately when I tried his mobile number one day last week. What a delight it was to hear such clarity, sparkle and fluency in the voice of a man who this time last year had his Doctors gravely concerned. Medical professionals who played even the smallest part in the former jockey’s rehabilitation continue to marvel at his attitude, determination and rate of recovery from an endless list of injuries.  Blake had prepared himself well by the time neurosurgeons delivered the heartbreaking news that his riding career was over.  The articulate thirty three year old joins us on the podcast, to look back on an ordeal that all jockeys hope will never befall them.   Blake says every member of his medical team has expressed surprise at the rate of his recovery. You’ll be amazed to learn what he can do just one year on from the worst kind of race fall. He says more than two weeks passed before he had any knowledge of the damage to his body. You might feel squirmish as Blake recounts the long list of injuries. Blake focuses on the brain bleed that convinced Doctors he would be wise to abandon any thoughts of a comeback. He pays homage to his dedicated physiotherapist and reveals some amazing coincidences about his stay in Canberra Hospital. Not surprisingly a few months into his rehabilitation he started to think about the horse or horses he’d miss the most. Blake says one horse stood out. Blake was happy to reminisce about his 17 year career as a jockey. He begins by paying tribute to his father Dale Spriggs who rode close to 3000 winners in a 40 year career. He remembers riding in many races with Dale and one particular quinella they provided. The former jockey talks of his sporting prowess during schooldays. Blake pays tribute to his late grandfather who taught him valuable lessons about horse management. He talks of his initial apprenticeship to Newcastle trainer Steve Hodge and the thrill of winning on the occasion of his very first race ride. He looks back on a transfer to the Waterhouse stable and a short time with Jason Deamer at Newcastle, Blake fondly remembers the magical day at Rosehill as a 3kg claiming apprentice when he rode five winners. He takes us through all five wins. He acknowledges some of the horses who helped him along the way with special mention of his Gr 1 Metropolitan win on Sir John Hawkwood. Blake acknowledges the support of his mother Leanda who managed him during the early part of his career. Brother Dustin and sister Dimity also receive an honourable mention. He looks back on a Moree Cup win viewed by his late grandfather. Blake says he was inspired by many during his long and lonely recovery, none more than son Brooklyn who only recently turned three. He’s currently contemplating life after racing and is happy to have gained some business knowledge during his time as co-owner of a Sydney used-car dealership. He hopes to put that knowledge to good use going forward.  This is an uplifting chat with a very gutsy former jockey.