There’s rarely a day goes by when Bendigo harness racing trainer Danny Curran doesn’t remember the good times spent with a lifelong buddy.
Growing up in Victoria’s north west grain farming district near Chinkapook, west of Swan Hill, Danny became friends with Robert Dacey, both sharing a love of horses.
“As teenagers we did our bakery apprenticeships together at the Nyahwest Bakery and it just continued on from there,” Curran, who now trains from a property on the outskirts of Bendigo at Marong, said.
And despite the fact that Dacey is no longer with us, losing a battle with cancer last July, his legacy continues in the form of handy country pacer Sunrose Master, trained by Curran.
Sunrose Master (Vintage Master-Sunrose Mary (Village Jasper) was sent out a warm $1.60 favorite in the $10,000 Empire Stallions Vicbred Platinum Country Series final at Swan Hill last Thursday. He led from the start and was perfectly rated by junior driver James Herbertson, who made it two-from-two, having won on the pacer in a Gunbower qualifying heat 12 days earlier.
Curran said he had advertised the gelding for sale a few times, but surprisingly got little interest.
“I decided last year that my stable numbers were getting up a bit and you can’t keep them all. Before Robert died, he told me to move the horse on if I ever wanted too, providing he had some form on the board,” Curran said.
“He sure had that because he’d won at Ballarat and then finished second at Melton and I thought my phone would go crazy, but I couldn’t believe it when there wasn’t a lot of interest.”
Sunrose Master has now posted six wins from 38 starts for over $35,000 in stakes.
Curran said after completing his bakery apprenticeship in the early ‘70’s, he later bought the Sea Lake and Charlton bakeries.
“Rob took off traveling, like most people seemed to do then after finishing apprenticeships, but when he came back home, I gave him a job,” Curran said.
In the years to come, both took different career paths, but remained the best of mates – Dacey gaining employment with Telstra, while Curran purchased a supermarket at Charlton.
“I still bake up bread, pies, pizzas and the works at home when I get the chance because I loved the bakery work, but in the end the 2am starts got the better of me,” Curran said.
And the fun-loving horseman later showed his versatility by running a hotel for six years, then decided to try his hand as motelier in both Swan Hill and later Bendigo, before raising chickens at a farm at Lockwood South. He and his wife Jenny also spent a two-year stint in Darwin, where Curran played football for St Mary’s.
“Yes, we’ve had a few changes of scenery along the way, but when I had the White Swan Hotel and Burke and Wills Motel in Swan Hill, Rob was pretty much the main man with our horses,” Curran said.
“They were stabled at his place at Nyahwest and I virtually only did the fast work. Rob did all the jogging, mixed up the feeds and cleaned the stables – we couldn’t have done it without him.
“When we moved to Bendigo, that left Rob virtually without a horse so he went and brought two well-bred broodmares from Alabar Farms, that were in foal.”
The result was a line of horses named “Sunrose”, with which Dacey had great success – including Sunrose Don (17 wins), Sunrose Mary (11 wins) and Sunrose Village, which won two races in Victoria before being sold to WA and winning a further six.
Curran said when Sunrose Master first arrived at his place early last year, he wasn’t “overly excited”.
“Then one day I was just poking along with him and he got a fright and took off. He showed me he had some ability that I didn’t really know he possessed,” Curran said.
“And fortunately, the horse hasn’t looked back. He should continue on his winning way for quite a while yet, I hope.”
Curran has had some impressive performers over the years including Eleven Grand, a winner of five consecutive races before breaking a leg; Packard who won 15 with 11 placings for $52,000 from 64 starts; and Fenech, a winner of 11, with nine placings from 30 outings for over $47,000.
“I’ve been around horses all from life. Dad had draft horses when I was young, and he also use to buy ponies and get me to ride those around. Then when they were nice and quiet, he’d sell them!
“I went to the very first Nyah meeting in 1967, and still have the racebook. I’ve always loved the trots and actually grew up with a former well known reinsman in Terry Pearse as a neighbor. Terry was a popular and talented driver around the Swan Hill area.”
Despite clear memories of December 25 and 26, 1974, when Cyclone Tracy devastated Darwin and in which 71 lives were lost, Danny and Jenny still venture north during the winter months.
“It was scary. We were in a small flat, but we came out of it very lucky with just a few cuts and abrasions. It did take us a few years to get over it,” Curran said.
And with the annual pilgrimage just around the corner, will Sunrose Master be again on the market?
“We haven’t decided yet. We’ve only got two other horses going around at the moment,” he said.
But with Curran track record as a “a born trader” of bakeries, supermarkets, hotels, motels – as well as horses – there’s every possibility his stable star could be destined for a new home!
Terry Gange
NewsAlert PR Mildura