My lasting memory of Wyong concerned the then jockey Arthur Lister when he prodded his whip into the backside of a rival horse.
Perhaps the Magic Millions on the Gold Coast, belching $14.5 million in prizemoney, holds centre stage but Wyong with its first stand-alone Saturday after a 150-years rich in turf lore deserves prominence.
Major meetings the Magic Millions ebbs and flows with quality and the 2025 chapter doesn’t look flash. Certainly the $3 million Two-year-old Classic lacks the wow factor of last year when taken by Storm Boy.
But Bauhinia, a strong fancy in the $3 million Magic Millions Three-year-old Guineas, usually lacking the pizzazz of the youngsters, could be special. She raised eyebrows winning the Wyong Magic Millions on December 11 in spectacular fashion, releasing a spectacular finish.
Sure, the filly was aided by a strong tempo and receiving four kilos from the pressured runner-up, The Novelist, subsequently beaten, but established a track record for 1200 metres, commendable for filly having only her fourth start.
With Tom Berry engaged, Bauhinia, trained by Lee and Cherie Curtis, drew 20 on Saturday and begins sluggish although she got hammered early at Wyong.
Of course, Wyong will be a far vision from Lister’s berserk action.
Unlike Mel Schumacher’s famous leg pull in the 1961 AJC Derby, Lister’s action was hardly discreet. So bold it was unbelievable.
Just what was he up to? It was clarified by the black-and-white steward’s film which flickered like an early Charlie Chaplin epic, but it was under the stern perusal of the late Bob Dawbarn of Newcastle, one of the great stipendiary stewards.
Dawbarn used a set of navy binoculars so powerful, folklore maintained they could spot a jockey changing his mind.
Coupling this with his keen nose for a “dead-un” made him formidable indeed, emphasised in the biography I Just Want To Be A Jockey – The story of Arthur Lister (Boolarong Press), by his wife, Helen.
“There was nothing complicated in Arthur’s racing life,” wrote Alan Thomas, the Sky Channel broadcaster, in the foreword. “He just had to earn money to make a living, even if it meant deception, which, in his era, was the norm.”
Fortunately I was present, not only at Wyong for the rear attack, but throughout a period which had more in common with the television series Deadwood than Royal Ascot.
Lister was disqualified for 12 months over the Wyong incident for improper practices after riding Blue Tudor, backed from 25-1 to 10-1, in a three-horse race.
Coming to the turn Medieval Maestro, the favourite, led and Blue Tudor was struggling to stay in touch.
“In desperation Arthur poked his whip under Medieval Maestro’s tail,” Helen Lister writes. “The horse propped and Arthur’s horse hit the lead. But then Medieval Maestro would get going and Arthur jammed his whip in his tail again. He propped but not enough for Blue Tudor to win.”
Later Lister denied to stewards he had done anything wrong. “I was under the impression my whip got caught in Medieval Maestro’s tail,” he pleaded. “All I was trying to do was shake the whip loose.”
Despite the skullduggery Wyong hummed in the Lister period. Trainer Jack Denham was on the boil, follow the stable money with little risk of losing. The betting ring fibrated with activity.
However it was also a training ground for future champion jockeys. Darren Beadman and Robert Thompson rode their first winners at Wyong as did the recently retired Sam Clipperton.
The best horse trained at Wyong, in my time, was Lord Hybrow, tuned by Neville McBurney to the extent of scoring in the Wyong, Doomben, Brisbane and Summer Cups.
Takson was the best topliner I witnessed over the circuit taking the 1978 Wyong Cup, under Malcolm Johnston, before the Caulfield Cup. Alas it induced financial pain for the jockey and trauma to rival jockey Glen Frazer, who came down. The Supreme Court ruled Johnston had to pay $120,000 in damages.
I didn’t see Chris Waller’s Durston who completed the double in 2022 but was present when Capitalist triumphed in the Wyong Magic Millions for two-year-olds before scoring in the Gold Coast extravaganza and Rosehill’s Golden Slipper.
Capitalist was prepared by Peter Snowden who has two acceptors this year, Quietly Arrogant and Memo, in the Magic Millions Two-Year-old Classic.
Maidens in the Memo mould does not trigger enthusiasm. Unlike his sire, the filly was beaten in the Wyong Magic Millions but she should have won.
Later Memo was downed at Randwick, in circumstances appalling to the eye. From the one gate, hopefully by race seven the Gold Coast inside won’t be inferior, Kerrin McEvoy can make amends.
Rain is predicted for both Wyong and the Gold Coast which could nullify the awkward launch for Bauhinia about who Berry, according to reports, told Lee Curtis: “She will be the best horse you’ve ever trained”.
And when the whips are out Berry will find the right target.
One Response
Another great story on Wyong Max very interesting and some information on jockey Arthur Lister which I didn’t know about.