VAN GESTEL MAKES A WINNING “STATEMENT”

THERE’S no stopping Hawkesbury’s octogenarian trainer Mike Van Gestel!

And the 81-year-old achieved a new record with his evergreen sprinter No Statement at Newcastle yesterday.

The seven-year-old gelding’s victory in the Benchmark 64 Handicap (900m) at $9.50 was his 14^th – the most number of wins Van Gestel has had with any of his horses.

“I won 13 races with Drop Of Magic, who also was placed 21 times from 103 starts,” Van Gestel said this morning.

“I put blinkers on No Statement after his last run, and it worked.

“He didn’t really need them because he is a fast horse, but getting older was starting to become a bit cunning.”

Fittingly, apprentice Molly Bourke was aboard No Statement yesterday, as she has partnered him in 50 per cent of his wins.

“I wasn’t sure about the track yesterday following all the rain, but No Statement did a good job,” Van Gestel said.

“He was challenged strongly in the straight and fought back well.”

No Statement wouldn’t give in and held off the late finishing Zoe Shark ($5.50) and Sunday Tycoon ($7), who seriously threatened him in the straight.

“Family horse” No Statement was racing for the 79^th time, has been placed 19 times along with his 14 wins, and has earned nearly $500,000.

“No Statement isn’t as slick as he was a three-year-old, but is a very sound horse and we might go back to Newcastle for the Hurricane Handicap (a 900m Benchmark 72 Handicap) at the Cup meeting on September 19.

“I won that race last year with him.”

Van Gestel and his wife Louisa went to the Inglis Australian Broodmare and Weanling Sale in April 2018 hoping to buy No Statement’s older half-sister Sakura Blossom (who subsequently went to New Zealand and won her first two starts).

When they missed out on her – she fetched $50,000 – they bought the Vancouver filly’s dam Berning Affair, who had raced twice in Victoria, for $12,000.

The Bernardini mare was in foal to Press Statement – and that was No Statement.

The Van Gestels subsequently bred a Berning Affair filly by Spieth, before selling the mare to Gerry Harvey, who has since sent her to New Zealand.

That filly is the now five-year-old Dark Glitter, who has won five races and been placed on nine occasions.

Dark Glitter will begin a new campaign at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday in a Benchmark 88 Handicap (1200m).

“Molly (Bourke) is riding topweight Felix Majestic, and I have booked Kerrin McEvoy,” Van Gestel said.

A Royal Randwick winner against her own sex earlier in the year, Dark Glitter was placed in the Group 3 Dark Jewel Classic (1400m) at the Scone metropolitan meeting in May.

. HOOFNOTE: Van Gestel currently has three horses in work (the other being Johnny Smash, who was placed at Newcastle last Saturday), and has recently retired his eight-year-old gelding Titan Star, who raced 140 times for 10 wins and 33 placings.

“I’ve given him to Molly Bourke’s Mum to look after,” he said.

Story John Curtis, August 27, 2025 - Pics Bradley Photos