Many veteran racing fans on and off course felt a tinge of sadness as the runners filed onto the track for Saturday’s Petaluma Hcp at Randwick. A single black armband being worn by all jockeys respectfully marked the passing of their celebrated elder statesman Bill Camer just two days earlier. With his devoted family at his side, the ninety two year old slipped away peacefully at an Eastern Suburbs nursing home after a long illness. The flood of tributes that followed were testimony to this man’s legacy as a former outstanding professional jockey.
Had it been left to Bill Camer, he would have continued to ride in races until a step ladder was required to get him into the saddle. He was 56 years old in 1987 and still enjoying the few rides that were coming his way, when an unexpected track mishap placed a fly firmly in the ointment. He was trotting around the Randwick infield on a filly called Barranca from the Max Crockett stable. The three year old stumbled and crashed without warning, spearing the veteran jockey shoulder first into the ground. Bill instinctively held onto the reins and received a severe wrench to the arms and stomach muscles as Barranca clambered to her feet and took off.
That wrench triggered a hernia which landed Camer in the Prince Of Wales Hospital for corrective surgery. His mood was predictably dark. He knew that a lengthy absence at this sensitive stage of his career would all but remove him from the favour of owners and trainers. I refer to a phone interview I conducted with him shortly after the accident. My suggestion that a serious injury at this time in his career would probably hasten his retirement, triggered the following response. “Retire be buggered,” Bill shouted down the phone. “I’m as healthy as a cricket, my nerve’s good, so is my bloody eyesight and I’ve never been lighter. Why would I want to give it away.”
This was the last time Bill Camer would don a set of colours. He was one of several old time jockeys assembled by Steve Hart for a special photo shoot in 2016 - courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.
Inevitably the lengthy absence did change the course of his future. Owners and trainers tend to wait and watch for a while when jockeys return from injury. When the jockey in question is already 56, they tend to wait a bit longer. Bill remained a regular at Randwick trackwork where several trainers drew on his vast experience and valuable input. Such was his love for race riding that he thought nothing of driving to a provincial meeting for one or two rides. Eventually the effort far exceeded the rewards, and the curtain came down on the distinguished career of one of the best riders of a golden generation.
Bill Camer was born in the Queensland sugar cane town of Ayr in 1931, the only boy in a family of three. His father’s name was Tranquillo Camer, but he was known throughout the district as Tom. “Dad was born in Italy of Swiss parentage,” explained Bill in the 1987 interview. “When I first came to Sydney there was a persistent rumour that my name was an abbreviated version of some long Italian name. I got sick of telling people that my family name had always been Camer and was of Swiss origin.”
Despite notable success in some of Australia’s most famous races, Bill always regarded his very first win as his greatest thrill as a jockey. “It was 1946 and it was my very first ride in a race,” he recalled. “The race was at Cluden Park in Townsville and the horse was called Peach Time trained by my boss John Hughes. When I first became an apprentice I stood 4 feet 1 inch (1.24 metres) and weighed just 4 stone 2 pounds (26kgs). A story in a Townsville newspaper described me as the smallest jockey in the world. I probably was. I obviously filled out later, but I could always ride at a weight other jockeys could only dream about.”
Bill was a product of the Queensland “jockey factory” of the 40’s and 50’s when budding top riders were lured to Sydney by lucrative stable retainers. George Moore, Neville Sellwood, Noel McGrowdie, Tommy Hill and Bill Briscoe all left Queensland to make their marks in the south. Camer’s strength and his ability to ride at a featherweight, quickly helped establish him with Sydney trainers.
Bill would ride better horses than Karendi later in his career, but there’s little doubt the son of Wayside Inn was his all time favourite. “He was one of a consignment of yearlings to arrive at Pat Murray’s stables in 1951,” recalled the jockey in our 1987 interview. “He was the smallest and weediest of the bunch, but had a wonderful attitude. I was rarely off his back from the day he was broken in, and we became great mates. We won several races together including a Doncaster and a Stradbroke in the same year. Not a bad little double. I loved him.”
In the Spring of 1954 Camer shared in a unique two year old double which would launch the stud career of the iconic Star Kingdom. The stallion’s first two starters were Kingster in the Breeder’s Plate and Ultrablue in the Gimcrack Stakes. Both youngsters won for trainer Jack Green and jockey W. Camer, neither of whom could have imagined what lay ahead for the Irish bred. Bill partnered Kingster in all but one of his first fourteen starts. Apart from the Breeder’s Plate success he piloted the colt to victories in the AJC Sires Produce, the Hobartville Stakes and fittingly the 1955 W.S. Cox Plate.
With Kevin Moses at the 2019 jockeys reunion - courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.
It’s now history that Star Kingdom would go on to become leading Australian sire five times, leading two year old sire seven times and leading broodmare sire three times. One of his most extraordinary performances was to sire the winner of the first five Golden Slippers. Among his progeny were 52 stakes winners - names like Biscay, Citius, Concert Star, Todman, Fine And Dandy, Noholme, Reveille, Time And Tide, Sky High, Skyline, Kingster, Star Affair, Planet Kingdom and Kaoru Star. Is it any wonder his influence is being felt to this day.
Bill had the distinction of winning a Warwick Stakes on Sky High, one of the stallion’s most talented sons. “I also ran second on him in a Caulfield Guineas and a Canterbury Stakes,” said the jockey. “I was doing a lot of riding for the Jack Green stable at the time, but had only a handful of rides on Sky High. You would have needed the army to get George Moore off him.”
Here's one from the 1960s! Bill with veteran trainer Jack O'Sullivan, a former jockey whose career highlight was a Melbourne Cup win on Hallmark in 1933 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Mere mention of the name “Wiggle” never failed to get Bill on the soap box. “What a filly! What a two year old,” was his usual expression. “Easily the best two year old I ever rode, and certainly the best filly. A mountain of power with the aggression of a colt.”
Camer rode Wiggle in all of her early wins and was in the saddle on June 14th 1958, when as a late two year old she blitzed a classy field of seasoned sprinters in the Stradbroke - the jockey’s second win in the famous Brisbane sprint. The daughter of Rego won 14 races in Australia before being sold to America where she won another 6 races. The great mare would leave seven winners at stud in the USA, none of them even approaching the talents of their Aussie dam. One of her sons Diagramatic went to stud in NZ where he sired the outstanding dual Gr 1 winning filly Tidal Light.
Does Bill Camer figure even remotely in Melbourne Cup history? It’s well documented that he had a handful of rides in the iconic event, and in 1959 he actually finished second. Even a placing gives a jockey bragging rights for the remainder of his career. Bill’s ability to easily make 7st 6lbs gained him the ride on 20/1 “pop” Nether Gold. He threaded his way through the pack from a midfield position to beat all but classy stayer Macdougal. The winning margin of three lengths gave Bill little room for “what might have been” but second was almost as good as a win for the 28 year old Sydney lightweight jockey.
The evergreen Camer was 48 when he won this race at Warwick Farm in 1979.
Apart from Wiggle the only other horse to earn reverence from Bill Camer is the dynamic Divide And Rule, that talented son of Alcimedes who was effective from sprint distances up to a mile and a half. Darby McCarthy was his jockey in a five length demolition job on the opposition in the 1968 AJC Derby. Bill was elated to get the call from trainer Dick Roden the following autumn. He won two Sydney races on Divide And Rule leading up to the Brisbane Winter Carnival, and was in the saddle when the three year old landed some mammoth wagers in winning the Stradbroke in race record time - Camer’s third Stradbroke success. He then stepped up sharply in distance in the Tatt’s Cup and may have been a touch soft when beaten by Gypsy Moss. He showed the benefit of the outing by trouncing good horses like Rajah Sahib and Shorengro in the Doomben Cup - his Australian swansong. Divide And Rule was later sold to America where he raced only six times for two wins and two placings.
In later years Bill always looked back on Divide And Rule as a push button ride for his jockeys. “He was a beautiful horse to ride in a race,” was Bill’s unwavering assessment. “If he got cluttered up in a field he would just shorten stride and come off the bit. When an opening came he would charge back onto the bit and away he’d go. He was a freak racehorse.”
Bill wins a race at Rosehill on Divide And Rule shortly before the colt's brilliant Brisbane campaign.
The former jockey had no doubt about his most disappointing experience in racing. “I won the Caulfield Guineas on Rajah Sahib and flew back to Sydney immediately,” he recalled. “When I got into the terminal I was informed that George Moore would be riding the horse in the Cox Plate and all of his races during the spring. I was absolutely devastated and for the rest of my riding career I never got a reasonable explanation. Imagine my feelings when Rajah Sahib went on to win a Doncaster and a Stradbroke.”
Bill made one other major statement in Brisbane when he won the 1964 Doomben $10,000 on The Tempest for T.J. Smith defeating two classy horses. Cele’s Image ran second after winning the Stradbroke two weeks earlier, while third placegetter Rashlore would win the Newmarket the following autumn. Camer was Tommy Smith’s go-to jockey again in the spring of 1975 when the trainer produced the former South Australian Authentic Heir in the Epsom with only 48.5 kgs. The jockey made the weight comfortably and rode an inspired race to win the historic mile from classy mare Cap D’Antibes and Skyjack.
Bill wins the 1975 Epsom on the handsome stallion Authentic Heir for Tommy Smith. He rode the horse at the featherweight of 48.5 kgs - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
I recall Bill’s excitement when he landed on a very smart two year old called Sovereign Slipper for the Ray Guy stable in the early 70’s. Following wins in the Breeder’s Plate and Silver Slipper, the Le Cordonnier colt had his chance when third to John’s Hope and I’m Scarlet in the Golden Slipper. He gained a handsome consolation in winning the AJC Sires Produce Stakes two weeks later.
Bill linked up with brilliant 2yo Sovereign Slipper in the 1971/72 season. He won the Breeder's Plate and Silver Slipper on the precocious youngster before finishing 3rd in the Golden Slipper. Then came an emphatic win over Rogue River and El D'Amour in the AJC Sires Produce Stakes - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Bill Camer’s passing further weakens the ranks of jockeys from the unforgettable days of the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. Still marching proudly in the vanguard is the remarkable Ron Hutchinson, 96 years young and continuing to reminisce about those long forgotten years with amazing clarity. Sydney’s Cliff Clare is 93, still driving his car and still looking back on his successful riding career. Laurie Billett, rider of 1965 Golden Slipper winner Reisling still enjoys a reunion at age 89. My apologies if I’ve forgotten others from this unique generation of jockeys.
It’s gratifying to think that a lifetime of good health and fitness helped carry Bill into his ninety second year. At the height of his powers he was the perfect jockey’s build and enjoyed the luxury of the perfect jockey’s weight. He was strong, he was vigorous, and he had style to burn. Very few of the horses he rode over four decades, didn’t enjoy his company. Bill Camer was the quintessential Aussie jockey.
Sincere condolences to Bill’s wife Barbara, son Brad, daughter Tina and grandchildren Annebelle, Nicholas and Jack. He had their love and support to the end.
A Bradley Photographers classic from the 1975 Epsom presentation. Bill Camer and Tommy Smith received their trophies from Sir John Kerr, Governor General of Australia. Just a few weeks later Kerr stunned the nation when he dismissed the Whitlam Labor Government - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
(Banner image - Bill was all smiles as he returned to scale on Authentic Heir after a win in the 1975 Epsom - courtesy Bradley Photographers.)