Victorian trainer Gary Lawlor is the first to admit that over the years, horses have been very good to him – and not just those in his current harness racing stable.
Lawlor, who hails from Camperdown, has shown a Midas touch over the years training both standardbreds and thoroughbreds.
“I worked hard in my late teens and then when I was 20, I had 12 months at Meadowbrook (Standardbred) Stud, run by Kevin and Patsy Abrahams, when it was at Riddells Creek,” Lawlor said.
“It was reasonably full-on because I was involved with the breeding side. When I left, I had enough to pay cash for my very first home.”
Lawlor got his first city winner at the old Melbourne Showgrounds harness racing track when he was an 18-year-old with Abbe Peak and has since won a couple at both the Moonee Valley and TABcorp Park Melton venues.
“I’m certainly proud of that achievement. It’s pretty special and I reckon I would have been one of, if not the youngest, to get a Showgrounds winner,” Lawlor said.
“Around that time, my dad Joe had a champion in Heytesbury Meadow, who was sired by Meadow Vance.”
Joe was a passionate industry participant and bred many horses with the Heytesbury prefix in their race name.
“He was one of the first to bring stallions from the USA. I think he got three or four out here and bred some top-liners,” Lawlor said.
Doing a favour for a friend saw Lawlor shift into the thoroughbred ranks for a three-year stint.
“I was asked to break-in a galloper and then ended up buying it when the owner got into a tight financial spot. I think I paid $1500,” he said.
“The horse raced as Opposing Miracle and won 10 races and over $80,000 in stakes. I took it to the city on two occasions and each time Paddy Payne beat us by a short half head.
“In the gallops game, I had 33 winners and won a couple of cups including the Avoca Cup. I got a double at Stawell one day and landed another horse I had, Stylish Miracle at 50/1 at Geelong.”
Lawlor said training thoroughbreds worked well while his children were teenagers.
“Then when they grew up and got married, I gradually moved back to the trots. But while I was still involved in both codes, I did get a unique double—one at the gallops during the day and then a trots winner at night!” he said.
“I shifted away from the gallops because it was difficult to get jockeys. Any of them that showed ability were lured to the city. My sons Brian and Darryl rode trackwork.
“Brian is now a gallops trainer in Ballarat and going along okay with five wins. He’s also an A Grade farrier so he’s pretty busy.
“Darryl does shift work and helps me at home with the pacers.
Lawlor decided to retire from full time work 18 months ago after spending the previous decade on shift work as a pasteurizer operator at Camperdown Dairy.
“I’m loving working with the horses full-time. We’ve got three in work and Darryl does most of the race driving for me – so far our strike rate’s been pretty good.”
The stable chalked up a Melton double recently when Reactor Factor (Auckland Reactor-Chloes Courage (Courage Under Fire) and Notnegotiable (Badlands Hanover-Total Credits (Courage Under Fire) both scored impressively.
Notnegotiable is a full brother to a smart pacer prepared by the Lawlor team in Bad Billy. He retired with 19 wins and $220,000 in stakes and is now being broken-in to saddle to eventually become a pony for Gary Lawlor’s grandchildren.
The third member of the stable, bay mare Shady Credit (Shadyshark Hanover-Total Credits (Courage Under Fire) scored at Terang on Wednesday night.
“My dad was a genius when it came to pedigrees and Darryl has inherited that. When it comes to studying breeding and pedigree matching, it just comes natural for him.
“Reactor Factor was passed in at a Sydney yearling sale after not getting a bid. Darryl was all over it and we ended up paying just $5000. He was a bargain because he’s now won four races,” Lawlor said.
Terry Gange
NewsAlert PR Mildura