TASH BURLEIGH AND OLD POKERJACK GRAB A SHARE OF THE SPOTLIGHT ON GOLDEN EAGLE DAY
An artistic touch from Mark Bradley as Pokerjack strolled home in the Bisley Workwear BM 78 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Tash Burleigh doesn’t usually get emotional when one of her horses goes past the post in front, but it all got the better of the Goulburn trainer in the moments after Pokerjack’s emphatic win in the 1100m BM78 at Randwick. To have her stable favourite competing on Golden Eagle day was a pretty special experience in itself. To watch him put a sizeable margin on useful horses was the stuff racing dreams are made of. To look at the slow motion replay of the closing stages and to observe the broad smile on the face of jockey Amy McLucas, was more than Tash could handle. “Amy’s grin made me realise how much the win meant to so many people,” said the former jockey. “For Amy, for myself and for owners Lakis Polyviou and Dr. David Smith it was one hell of an occasion.”
The Amy McLucas smile triggered an emotional response from those close to the veteran gelding - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Pokerjack hadn’t won in eight starts coming into Saturday’s sprint, but his strong fourth behind Roselyn’s Star in a BM78 at Rosehill on October 11th had convinced Tash that another city win was not far off. The eight year old was noticeably held up for some distance inside the 200m, before surging late to miss third spot by a slender margin. “That race was run on a firm track which is not his preferred option these days,” said Tash. “Even in his work you can tell he appreciates some give in the ground. “I was thrilled to see some rain on Friday. Adding to my confidence was the fact that he’s looking better than he has at any stage of a pretty long preparation.”
The pre-race plan on Saturday was to ride the gelding with cover, but all of that changed when Pokerjack was handed an uncontested lead. Approaching the 600m Amy McLucas had the veteran travelling generously in front of The Astronomer and Who But Roo with Confess Our Dreams caught three wide. Memoria and Brave One were handy with favourite Istolea Merc travelling poorly towards the tail of the field. McLucas looked confident as they topped the rise and Pokerjack looked to be enjoying the outing. The gelding charged clear inside the 200m with the race safely in his keeping. The veteran won easily from Brave One and Memoria, taking to six his metropolitan win tally. Overall, his record stands at 45 starts for 8 wins, 8 placings and $500,335 in prize money.
The old boy was airborne on the line in the Bisley Workwear Sprint - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Pokerjack has been in the Burleigh stable from the commencement of his career. Tash says he was a feisty little horse as a two year old, and still has a few quirky habits. “I ride him the bulk of his work and it’s fair to say you’ve got to be ready for him at all times,” said the trainer. “He wants to overdo things when you gallop him on the main work track at Goulburn, so we usually restrict his work to the little sand warm-up track at the back of the racecourse. Obviously, we have to switch him to the main track when he needs a serious gallop but we don’t do it too often. He’s a slightly built little horse and this kind of work seems to suit him.”
Three of Pokerjack’s six city wins have been in TAB Highway races, made possible by the fact that he contested the first one as a Cl 1 horse in a Cl 2 Highway in August 2022. That win was at Randwick in August 2022, while the other two were recorded at Rosehill over the following few months. Amy McLucas was the rider in all three. Homebred Pokerjack is by the highly successful Casino Prince, himself the sire of 18 Gr 1 winners. His dam Princess Ailani, a daughter of My Boy Charlie won three provincial races for Matthew Smith in 2015 before being retired to stud. Pokerjack was her first foal, the second a Sooboog filly who won two races for Tash under the name of Princess Spice. Sadly, Princess Ailani died after foaling Princess Spice who has subsequently taken her dam’s place on the broodmare band owned by Lakis Polyviou and Dr. David Smith.
One of three TAB Highway wins for Pokerjack - Rosehill 07/01/2023 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
When asked to nominate the best horse she’s trained to date, Tash had trouble separating Pokerjack and the very talented Al Mah Haha. The latter won a Canterbury maiden for the Waller stable before being transferred to Tash early in 2019. At start number four Al Mah Haha provided his new trainer with an indescribable thrill by winning a Country Championship Qualifier at Goulburn defeating his stablemate Bocelli.
It took many days for Tash to process the fact that she had two runners in one of the feature races at The Championships. Just a few weeks later the former jockey was brought back to earth with a thud when Al Mah Haha kicked out after being placed into the barrier for the Final, sustaining lacerations to a hock. Her worst fears were realised when news of the gelding’s withdrawal was relayed through the public address system. It didn’t get any better. Tash’s second runner Bocelli didn’t go a yard on the H9 track and finished with the tailenders. She tries not to think about the fact that Al Mah Haha would have relished the conditions.
A year after that nightmare experience Al Mah Haha got another crack at Country Championship glory. The son of Al Maher qualified a second time when he beat all but Julian Rock in a Moruya Qualifier with Koby Jennings in the saddle. Tash opted for a conditioning run before the Final and that resulted in a second to Electric Girl in a Cl 2 at Kembla Grange this time with recently retired Sam Clipperton doing the honours. Three weeks later Clipperton gave Al Mah Haha the run of the race to grab the lead inside the 200m in the Championship Final, before being collared late by Gracie Belle. The winner had followed Al Mah Haha from the top of the straight and finished up squeezing through on his inside. Two Goulburn Cup wins over the following eighteen months complemented Al Mah Haha’s record.
A second Goulburn Cup win for Al Mah Haha in 2021 with Jordan Mallyon in the saddle - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Tash posted around fifty winners in a four year riding career which began in 2011 and terminated in 2015 when she was offered a stable foreperson’s role by Goulburn trainer Graeme Spackman. With no encouraging riding opportunities on the horizon, she decided on a change of direction. “I’d enjoyed the riding experience, but it was time to plan my future and the offer came along at exactly the right time,” said Tash. “We lost Graeme to cancer just two years after I started my new role. He was a remarkable man and a very gifted horseman. Shortly before he died Graeme suggested I should get my own trainer’s licence and keep the stables going into the future. He was a key figure in my life. All these years on I’m still based at Leeway Lodge with a dozen horses in work. I’ve had opportunities to train more horses but could never offer the accommodation. My worries are over. Danielle Seib recently relocated to Thoroughbred Park at Canberra, and the Goulburn Race Club has kindly allocated me another nine boxes. I’m hoping I can soon find tenants for those extra boxes.”
Tash the jockey wins on Baggy Green for the late Guy Walter at Goulburn 17/02/2012 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Apart from her very busy role as a professional horse trainer, Tash Burleigh is also doing a wonderful job dealing with the demands of motherhood. Tash and husband Ash Goulder are the proud parents of four year old Elly and Archer (“Archie) who’s just eight months old. “The place wouldn’t run as it does without Ash,” she said. “He’s a very capable farrier and looks after most of my horses as well as servicing a few outside clients. He drives the truck whenever required and is a top class strapper.”
With more than 100 wins on the board Tash has well and truly established her credentials and is looking forward to gaining patronage from owners whose horses are not cutting the mustard in town. She’s able to learn all there is to learn about her horses, by riding the bulk of stable trackwork herself. A Randwick win by Pokerjack on Golden Eagle day put Tash Burleigh’s name up in lights, and she’s hoping that kind of publicity might help to put a few “bums on seats” at Leeway Lodge. With nine new boxes now at her disposal, the “vacancy” sign is up.
Tash rode 50 winners in her four years as a professional jockey - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
