NEW South Wales’ oldest trainer ALBERT STAPLEFORD is calling time on his remarkable career.
The legendary trainer, who turned 93 last month, has decided not to renew his licence when the new season begins on August 1.
Fittingly, The Entertainment Grounds will acknowledge Stapleford’s remarkable career by hosting a family function at his home track meeting at Gosford on June 22.
“The club is only too pleased to recognise Albert’s wonderful contribution to the racing industry by welcoming he and his family and friends in the Directors’ Lounge,” Gosford Race Club chief executive Daniel Lacey said today.
“To mark Albert’s retirement, we will have a commemorative racebook printed for the June 22 meeting and Bradley Photographers has kindly put together a montage of photos, which will be presented to him.”
David Stapleford said today that his father had chosen not to renew his licence for the upcoming 2023-24 season.
“Dad’s hearing and sight isn’t as good as it was, but he still recognizes voices and has had a magnificent career as a trainer,” he said.
“My brother Brian has been a great help to Dad, especially in the latter years as his foreman.
“Dad has only the one horse in work, Toldyas I’m Lucky, who has been nominated for a Class 1 Handicap (1262m) at Taree on Tuesday,” he said.
“But we’re not sure if she will get a run.
Only 12 horses can start (with provision for four emergencies) in the Taree race, and the four-year-old mare is currently 21st in order of ballot, with acceptances to be taken in the morning.
Albert Stapleford achieved a great milestone on his home track on January 25 when Dissenter (Tyler Schiller) won a 2600m Benchmark 64 Handicap, providing him with his 500th winner.
Not that he needed to prove anything further to anyone given his unquestioned skill with a horse, but he brought the mare back to 2100m in a similar class race a week later at Gosford, and with talented apprentice Schiller again on board, up came win no 501.
Dissenter, a six-year-old mare, was retired after finishing seventh over 2400m at Warwick Farm on February 22.
Stapleford was born in Phar Lap’s Melbourne Cup year (1930), and grew up at Millfield, near Cessnock in the Lower Hunter Valley.
Whilst he was apprenticed in Sydney in 1944, he grew rather quickly and, with a riding career impossible, headed back home the following year and began work at the famous Segenhoe Stud.
Stapleford could not have wished for a better beginning to his training career at 17 years of age, winning a Muswellbrook Maiden with his debut starter Renmark.
He had terrific success with a horse named after him, the now deceased stallion Magic Albert, who won seven of his 13 starts, including the Group 2 Peter Pan Stakes at Rosehill Gardens and Group 3 Spring Stakes at Newcastle’s Broadmeadow racetrack in 2001, defeating Viscount, who had taken the Royal Randwick Group 1 two-year-old double (Sires and Champagne Stakes) earlier that year and subsequently won the Group 1 George Main Stakes at Randwick before finishing third in Northerly’s Group 1 Cox Plate the same year.
Stapleford also won four metropolitan races with Magic Albert as a two-year-old.
Of all his 501 winners, he will be remembered – and bookmakers of the day never forgot either – for one of them in particular.
Stapleford engineered a mammoth plunge on his Gosford winner Rutherford in a Rosehill Graduation on December 14, 1974.
As much as 330-1 was bet, and the horse overcame a wide draw to hit the front in the straight and hold on narrowly.
Legend has it that SP betting shops, which were still active even though the TAB was in business, were hit hard.
Rutherford was ridden by Stapleford’s close friend, the late Jack Thompson, and he was delighted to also train the jockey’s last winner, It’s Lunchtime at Wyong in 1983, when “Thommo” was 62 years of age.
For more than seven decades, Albert Stapleford has trained racehorses – and done it brilliantly and without any fuss. Even more importantly, he earned the utmost respect of everyone in the industry.
Well done Albert. Congratulations on a career to be so justifiably proud of.
*Words John Curtis - June 1, 2023*