Regular followers of South Australian racing feel very comfortable with the presence of Paul Gatt among the state’s leading riders. He’s one of those jockeys who seems to have been around forever. Truth is he’s only 41 and probably in the best headspace of his career.
He turned in one of his trademark copybook rides to win Saturday’s BM58 at Gawler on the $11.00 chance Fight For Freedom from the Bill Bogarts stable. Paul had the five year old gelding away like a flash at barrier rise and quickly dropped into the box seat behind Sylvan Crest and Nahkeel. He left the fence inside the 600m and glided across the heels of the two leaders on the turn before strolling away to win emphatically.
Paul rode a copybook race to win the BM58 on Fight For Freedom at Gawler on Saturday - Courtesy of Atkins Photography.
His winners have been rolling in at a healthy rate in recent months, with a nice little Morphettville treble three weeks ago providing the icing on the cake. That’s the way Paul Gatt has operated for his entire career - a thoroughly reliable, hard working professional who can look back with pride on his impressive tally of 1560 winners.
He was much more composed at Gawler on Saturday than he was at the same venue on August 30th 1995 when he made his race riding debut. He’d begun his apprenticeship with David Hayes at Flemington, but was transferred to Peter Hayes at Lindsay Park when his master departed to take up a training contract in Hong Kong.
Paul was understandably nervous as he donned a very famous set of colours before going out to ride the royally bred Autumn Thunder in a 1400m Class 1. The royal blue and green silks with the spotted cap were the instantly recognizable colours of Robert Sangster’s Swettenham Stud empire.
The flash pedigree and high profile colours did little for the son of Sir Tristram who finished ninth of thirteen and was shortly afterwards given his marching orders from the legendary Angaston training base. He was destined to win only one race, as far afield as Mt. Isa.
“Lindsay Park had a huge number of runners and I got my share of rides although most of them were the second or third stringers,” recalled Paul.” It took me almost a year and 71 rides before my big day came. I led all the way to win a 2100m Cl 1 at Balaklava on Passepartout for Peter Hayes. That horse never won another race. He finished up over the hurdles in Victoria with no success.”
Paul responds at the presentation after winning on Rebel Raiser at Morphettville - Courtesy Atkins Photography.
Three months later that elusive first city win came up when he scored on a mare called Glow Bug at Morphettville for trainer Steve Cunningham. Peter Hayes provided Paul’s first black type winner when Bodacious Babe won the Gr 3 Bay To Birdwood Cup at Morphettville in November 1996. By age 19 the young jockey had out ridden his city and country claims, and for the next eighteen months competed on level terms against the fully fledged jockeys.
Testimony to Gatt’s consistency throughout his twenty five year career are his seven premiership wins. He was champion apprentice on one occasion in the late 1990’s, a two time winner of the SA title, and champion Adelaide metro jockey four times. In the current season he’s chugging along in sixth spot on the ladder with 27 wins as this story is posted.
“He’s always been a tremendously consistent rider,” said TRSA Handicapper Craig Kutcher. “He turns up and gets the job done week after week. He’s been in the top five or six Adelaide riders most seasons since becoming a fully fledged jockey.”
Leon Macdonald had some nice things to say about Gatt even though the jockey has rarely ridden for his stable. “It’s just the way things panned out,” said Leon. “I’ve had several top apprentices who continued to ride for me as senior jockeys and I was never in a position to give Paul regular riding. I agree with the popular opinion that he’s one of the most reliable jockeys in SA. I thought enough of him to put him on Gold Guru one day at Victoria Park.”
The date was February 22nd 1997, and the emerging topliner was having his fifth start when he contested a 1250m 2YO event at Victoria Park. Leon opted for a junior claim, and the promising apprentice Paul Gatt was his first choice. “I wouldn’t have been on his back more than fifteen minutes, and to this day I have no doubt he’s the best horse I’ve ever ridden,” said Paul. “He came from 5th or 6th and just blew them away. He gave me a fantastic feel.”
It’s now history that Gold Guru went on to win eight races with eight placings for over $2.4 million in prize money. He reeled off a dashing Gr 1 treble in the Autumn of 1998 - the Australian Guineas, the Ranvet Stakes and the AJC Derby.
Paul was thrilled to have one ride for one dominant win on the grand old stayer Zipping for Lloyd Williams and Graeme Rogerson who was the official Macedon Lodge trainer at the time. “For some reason they brought the horse to Adelaide for an Open Hcp at Morphettville in October 2005,” recalled the jockey. “I was in the right place at the right time and picked up the ride in the 2000m race. Like Gold Guru he had a nice run and won by nearly five lengths. He’s the second best horse I’ve ridden.”
Just for the record Zipping won sixteen races including two Gr 1’s for a whopping $4.5 million. He’s best remembered for his four Melbourne Cup appearances which yielded three fourths and a ninth.
Paul is a touch disappointed that he hasn’t been able to win more than one Gr 1 to date. Injury and unforeseen circumstances have probably cost him a couple more. His 2005 SAJC Derby win was a perfect illustration of the glorious uncertainty of racing.
“I rode a $51.00 chance called Tails Of Triomphe who’d won an ordinary race at Warrnambool ten days earlier but he looked to be out of his depth in a Derby,” recalled Paul. “His trainer Terry O’Sullivan told me to be in the first four, and not to go inside horses under any circumstances. Tails Of Triomphe walked out of the gates and was last of sixteen at the winning post the first time. Early rain on the day had made the going very sticky on the fence, and from the 1000m everybody wanted to get away from the rail.
“Despite my instructions not to be on the fence I couldn’t pass up the run that was presenting itself. I went from last to hit the front turning for home where I was able to ease out into better going. I had defied instructions but we’d won a Derby. The fact that he was a $51.00 chance took the pressure off. I’m not sure I would have ridden the same race had he been $2.60.”
Paul had to defy instructions to win the 2005 Derby on Tails Of Triomphe - Courtesy Atkins Photography.
Tails Of Triomphe raced twenty six times after his Derby win for just one win in Victoria. Paul rode him into third place in the 2008 Adelaide Cup and got to go around on the rising seven year old in the Sydney Cup of the same year finishing midfield.
The jockey regrets the fact that he hasn’t been able to ride a winner in Sydney from a handful of attempts, but enjoyed each experience. He’s ridden in the Gr 1 Golden Rose on two occasions finishing out of a place on Chosen Light in 2003 and De Lago Mist in 2006. He’d ridden the David Hayes trained De Lago Mist in two wins earlier in the season - the Gr 3 Marsh Breeders Stakes at Morphettville and the Gr 2 VRC Sires Produce Stakes in which she survived a protest.
The closest the jockey has come to a Gr 1 success in Victoria, was his third placing on Straight Ace for trainer Nikki Burke in the 2002 Oakleigh Plate won by Sudurka.
Paul has great regard for the horses who’ve helped him to hold his prominent spot in the strong Adelaide riding ranks. He won seven races on Karlovasi including the listed Manihi Classic for his great supporter Richard Jolly. David Jolly and recently retired Peter Jolly have also given him strong backing.
An unexpected win in the 2005 SA Derby gave Paul a huge thrill - Courtesy Atkins Photography.
He won a string of races on the consistent Riziz for Ken Sweeney including the listed Adelaide Guineas, the listed Oakbank Stakes, the listed Victoria Sprint Final at Flemington and the Golden Topaz at Swan Hill.
Karacatis gave the popular jockey six wins including the listed W.H. Wylie at Morphettville. Another genuine horse from the Richard Jolly team was Hioctdane who gave Paul a stakes double - the Gr 3 Veolia Stakes and the listed Hill Smith Stakes. The pair also combined to run second in Escado’s SA Derby.
Paul’s most successful partnership with any given horse was his eight win haul on the David Jolly trained Tramuntana, including five on the trot early in the gelding’s career. He landed two nice wins on Queensland trained Suzy Grey when trainer Alan Bailey brought her to Adelaide in 2002 - the listed City Of Marion at the now defunct Victoria Park, and the Gr 2 Swettenham Stud Stakes at Cheltenham which also closed its doors to racing in 2009.
Paul unsaddles Tails Of Triomphe after a surprise Derby win 2005. Strapper is Dwayne Dunn's younger sister Briony - Courtesy Atkins Photography.
Paul boasts an impressive record on the provincial and country Cup circuit in SA. He’s won a Balaklava Cup, a Gawler Cup, a Bordertown Cup, three Murray Bridge Cups and four Port Lincoln Cups. Like many participants in the SA racing industry, he has nothing but praise for the “new look” Murray Bridge track and is excited about future plans for the development of the training precinct.
Perhaps the lowest point in Gatt’s career came in early 2014 when a nasty fall at Morphettville left him with very complicated fractures to his left leg. Breaks to the tibia and fibula required the insertion of a steel rod and several screws. When he resumed over six months later, Paul was still carrying the additional “hardware”. He rode with discomfort for quite some time and was delighted when his specialists agreed to remove the rod and screws. “It was so much more comfortable and you could see the improvement in my riding,” he said. “I’m pain free and very focused at the moment.”
One of Paul’s most ardent fans is his 75 year old Maltese born father Emanuel who frequently travels to country and provincial meetings with his son. If he’s not at the races, Emanuel is glued to the TV coverage and never misses one of Paul’s rides. He migrated in his late teens and met his Maltese born wife Doris in Melbourne. Paul has an elder sister Connie who’s the mother of two.
On two occasions Paul Gatt decided to try his luck at popular overseas strongholds. He enjoyed one good season in Macau where he rode 26 winners for several trainers including Aussies Barry Baldwin, Mick Kent and Peter Leyshan. He later had a short stint in Singapore where things didn’t work out as he’d hoped. He rode several winners for trainers like Laurie Laxon, Don Baertschiger and Steve Gray but just couldn’t gain the traction he had in Macau. The frustration was exacerbated by the fact that he’d just come off a great South Australian season in which he’d won the state and metro premierships with 96 wins.
Away from racing, Paul has the unwavering love and support of a model family. His wife Brooke divides her time between Chloe 17, Jordan 12, and Jayla 10 and her own little business at Mount Barker 30km from the heart of Adelaide. For the past four years Brooke has successfully run a ‘streetwear” clothing shop for male and female customers.
When Brooke Gatt finds the time to talk racing with her husband, the lady is well versed in the subject. Her father and grandfather were both successful trainers, while her brother Clayton Douglas has been a “dual code” whiz in the saddle. He’s equally at home on the flat or over the jumps, and as recently as last Saturday rode a winning double at the Colac meeting in Victoria.
Ace Adelaide race photographer Terry Hann came up with the most interesting comment I’ve heard about the laid back nature of this very serious jockey. “On more than one occasion at the races I’ve seen him do something that tells you a lot about the bloke,” said Terry. “While waiting in the mounting yard for the arrival of connections, he’ll grab a handful of grass and pop it into the mouth of a pony being ridden by a Clerk of the Course. This rare gesture highlights Paul’s pre race composure and his obvious love of horses.”
Terry who owns and operates Atkins Photography in Adelaide was kind enough to locate a picture of Paul Gatt giving the pony a treat at Gawler recently, and that photo appears in our story.
Terry Hann captured this special moment at Gawler recently. Horse lover Paul Gatt presents a handful of green grass to the Clerk Of The Course's pony - Courtesy Atkins Photography.
Those hardy ponies who carry the Clerks Of The Course on SA racetracks will be hoping their favourite jockey is around for a while yet. Those close to Paul Gatt are of the opinion a few more racing seasons will come and go before he appears behind the counter of Brooke’s little shop at Mount Barker.
(Banner image - One of Paul's three winners at Morphettville 28/11/2020. Skillful Steps wins a BM58 - Courtesy Atkins Photography.)