Danny Frahm strolled through the Sky Channel car park hauling a king sized two wheeled suitcase. It was a Sunday morning in 2009, and Danny accompanied by wife Mireille had driven from Moree to make a guest appearance on the Inside Racing programme. I had asked the country racing legend to bring half a dozen photos from the early part of his riding career in order to give the interview a biographical theme. He felt it made more sense to bring his entire photo collection along with a scrapbook or seven and allow us to pick what we wanted.
Danny opened the suitcase to reveal a treasure trove of memorabilia gathered over a career embracing almost fifty years. Had the show’s producer not bundled us into the studio, the veteran jockey would have been well on the way to identifying every photo. The sparkle in his eye gave him away. Here was a bush racing legend who had loved every moment of the only life he’d ever known. He was in his early sixties at the time and still riding in races. He was hoping to squeeze a few more photos into his suitcase of memories.
One of the photos in the suitcase showed apprentice D. Frahm in Brisbane during his apprenticeship to Harry Hatten - courtesy Bill Poulos.
Twelve years went by before I got to interview Danny Frahm again and that was in a podcast as recently as last July. Towards the end of that interview he bravely confessed he was holding his own in a battle with cancer. Just over a week ago the much loved horseman lost that battle, passing away in hospital at age 75. The tributes were flowing within minutes, and continued until he was laid to rest on Monday.
One of his closest friends was Moree journalist Bill Poulos who wrote thousands of words about the great horseman for regional newspapers and magazines. “Danny was one of the best bush jockeys in Australia who was competitive in any company,” said Bill. “He was respected in the jockey’s room and mentored scores of young riders over the years. He was the go-to man whenever advice was sought. Away from racing he was always doing something for somebody. He simply enjoyed helping others. One day he’d be mowing a neighbor’s lawn, the next you’d find him taking someone’s rubbish to the tip. Danny Frahm was only a little bloke, but a giant among human beings. He’ll be greatly missed.”
Danny at the height of his powers in the 1970s. He was an 8 time premiership winner in the north and northwest of NSW - courtesy Bill Poulos.
Danny rode in hundreds of races with bush icon Leon Fox who’s now in retirement in Inverell. When Leon began his training career in 2002,
Danny Frahm was his jockey of choice. “I put him on my horses whenever he was available,” said Leon. “I needed someone who could give me a sound assessment of the horses I was starting off with. He was not only a top race rider but a horseman through and through. He understood the animal, and I greatly respected his opinion. He rode many winners for me, and politely suggested I get rid of a few others along the way. He was a champion bloke and a great mate.”
Respected Tamworth trainer Sue Grills was another unabashed Danny Frahm fan. She rode in races with him early in her career and used his services extensively when she turned to training. “I was only one of the many kids he helped during his long career,” said Sue. “He would take an interest in any youngster who cared to listen. I remember a race at Tamworth many years ago when he was racing alongside a kid who’d lost both stirrup irons and was panic stricken. Dan’s mount had no hope of winning the race, so he raced tight against the other horse and talked the kid through the predicament. If the stewards did notice what he was doing, I’m sure they could see he was trying to prevent an accident. That was Danny Frahm, a brilliant horseman and an even better bloke. I’m proud to say he rode many winners for my stable.”
Dan declined many good rides in Sydney because he preferred to look after country clients. His loyalty to supporters was legendary - courtesy Bill Poulos.
Henry Cameron hasn’t ridden in a race for thirty years but enjoyed a very successful career in north and north western NSW - a career which brought him hundreds of winners and regional premierships. Henry spent the last eighteen months of his apprenticeship with Keith Smith at Barraba. Danny was based in the same town at the time. “I owe him everything I achieved as a jockey,” said Henry. “He took a great interest in my progress and was a wonderful tutor. I haven’t seen a better horseman. I saw him do the impossible one day at Tamworth many years ago. He was riding a grey horse called Housemaster for Keith Swan. Dan stayed calm when his saddle shifted backwards in the straight. He kicked both feet out of the irons and rode bareback over the last furlong. Somehow he got that horse home. They still talk about it in this region.”
Trust Bill Poulos to come up with a photo of the famous Housemaster incident. The usual polished Frahm style was missing but the unflappable horseman got Housemaster over the line - courtesy Bill Poulos.
Successful Tamworth trainer Mark Mason first met Danny Frahm when he worked as a trackwork rider for brothers Keith and Trevor Smith at Barraba in the late 1970’s. His memories of the great country jockey could fill a book. “He had no access to a sauna in Barraba so he had to resort to pure torture to keep his weight in check,” said Mark. “He frequently mowed the lawns for local pensioners. He did this on the hottest of days wearing a plastic raincoat. Locals marvelled at his stamina and dedication.”
“When his great mate Geoff Smith moved his training operation to Gunnedah on one occasion, Danny took on a massive workload. He’d often ride his usual trackwork quota at Barraba before driving to Gunnedah 115km away. He’d gallop a few for Geoff until late into the morning and then head home via Somerton where he might do a couple for his friend Keith Swan. Sometimes he wouldn’t be back in Barraba until almost dinner time. His loyalty to those who supported him became legendary.”
“His toughness was always a talking point in this region. One day at Coonabarabran he suffered a broken ankle when a horse went berserk in the gates. Realising Dan was seriously injured, the starter scratched the horse and looked for the quickest way to get him back to the jockey’s room. Dan told the barrier staff to sit him under a nearby tree and get the race underway. He told them to come back and fetch him later.”
The stirrup leathers may have come down a hole or two late in his career, but the Frahm style changed little - courtesy Bill Poulos.
To this day Mark Mason rues the fact that Dan was riding one of his horses when his career ending fall took place in 2010. The 64 year old jockey had finished well back on Nomadic Prince and was actually easing up when the gelding stumbled and dislodged him well past the winning post. He was quickly on his feet and walked about quite comfortably after the race. It was two days before acute pain sent Dan for scans which revealed a transverse process fracture of the C7 - in effect a broken neck. He was devastated some weeks later when specialists insisted on his retirement after close to half a century as a professional jockey.
Time off for injuries probably cost him a total of three to four years of race riding, but in the other forty six years he established a rock solid reputation in the north western region. He had no idea of his career win tally but several friends believe it was nudging 2000. He won every major race on the NSW Tablelands - some of them several times over. He was slightly peeved that there was no Tamworth Cup trophy on his mantel shelf. He went very close one year on Brooklyn Maid but the famous country feature continued to elude him.
Despite the many injuries he sustained in race falls over half a century, Danny was always upbeat about the fact that he was troubled only marginally by arthritis. In a Gunnedah race crash in 1993 he sustained a very similar neck injury to the one that finished his career at Armidale seventeen years later. Rather than let the grass grow under his feet, Dan secured a short term franchise on a Coffs Harbour laundromat during his time away from racing. Mireille was happy to go along with his new venture. As soon as doctors gave him the green light, the plucky Frahm returned to the Tablelands to regenerate his career. Broken arms, wrists, collarbones and even the loss of a kidney failed to diminish the passion this man had for riding racehorses.
Dan's resilience was well known. Here he is after a win on Bambu - courtesy Bill Poulos.
Danny said he never rode an elite horse but teamed up with a handful of bush champions. He won an extraordinary number of races on horses like River Ridge and Jimalong. He rode River Ridge in twenty of the horse’s fifty three wins, and was on Jimalong in many of the gelding’s thirty eight wins. These freakish bush horses were trained by Danny’s great friend and longtime supporter Geoff Smith.
One surprising piece of trivia to emerge from the Danny Frahm story is the fact that he rode only one winner on Sydney metropolitan tracks. He declined countless opportunities to ride northern NSW horses in the big smoke because of his intense loyalty to country owners and trainers. He preferred to honour his heavy local commitments rather than undertake a long trip for one ride against tough opposition. For the record his lone city win came at Randwick in the early eighties on a mare called Lady Bendina trained by Geoff Smith’s brother Trevor.
As much as he disliked being away from home, he did accept five separate contracts to ride in the French territory of New Caledonia. He had one spectacular season winning thirty six races from only fifty three rides to win the local premiership. In 1988 he won New Caledonia’s biggest race The Coup Clark Cup on Mightor for high profile trainer Claude Lafleur. Far better than lucrative riding contracts or major race wins was the chance meeting with the lovely local girl who was destined to become his wife. Mireille was delighted to move to Australia, where she would fall in love with country horse racing, and work on her new role as Danny Frahm’s greatest supporter.
From recent times! Danny, Mireille and a couple of friends at home in Moree - courtesy Bill Poulos.
More than twenty years ago the evergreen bush jockey was invited to attend a country racing awards presentation night at Randwick. He had no reason to suspect that a very touching accolade was about to come his way. Dan was stunned when called to the stage to accept the coveted “Country Racing Life Achievement Award”. Many would agree no official acknowledgement of a country jockey’s career has ever been more richly deserved.
He talked about that special occasion in last year’s podcast. He was proud to say in his earthy country drawl that the award was “still sittin’ on the cupboard at home.” Dan brushed off the suggestion that his contribution to bush racing was immeasurable by saying “I was only doin’ my job mate.” At the conclusion of the interview I thanked him for his time, to which he replied “thanks for all the trouble you went to.”
Trouble! There wasn’t a moment’s trouble involved in having the opportunity to talk to a jockey like Danny Frahm. He was an interviewer’s dream because he saw his racing life in black and white - just like the old photographs in the two wheeled suitcase he dragged into the Sky Channel studio all those years ago.
Dan was getting towards the end of his career when this one was taken. He was 64 when Doctors advised him to quit following an Armidale fall in 2010 - courtesy Bill Poulos.
Danny and the late Noel Colvin. The two rode in many races together and remained good friends when Noel became a starter on north-western tracks - courtesy Bill Poulos.
(Banner image - When Leon Fox became a trainer Danny was his jockey of choice. Here they are after Tree Lopper's win in the Moree Cotton Cup - courtesy Bill Poulos)