With daylight savings behind us for another year the ten race Saturday programmes in Sydney are getting underway well before midday. In fact the Midway Hcp, opening race at Hawkesbury’s stand alone meeting was scheduled for 11.20am. Six of the twelve runners are trained in provincial regions and needed to leave their home bases at 7am or earlier in order to comply with a Racing NSW requirement to be on course two hours prior to the race.
With Jumeirah Beach his only runner at Hawkesbury, and Pennart his sole representative at Newcastle, trainer Jason Deamer made the call to finish the chores at home before saddling Pennart many hours later. Jason enjoys the luxury of having a father who’s not only an expert horseman, but equally experienced in the livestock transport business. John Deamer has scaled back his floating operation in recent years but still has a truck on the road and was happy to get Jumeirah Beach to Hawkesbury in plenty of time for the Midway. There were several anxious moments before the giant gelding scored a spectacular win to open the programme on the twentieth anniversary of Hawkesbury’s stand alone Saturday meeting.
With in form Braith Nock claiming 2kgs, Jumeirah Beach began only fairly and settled down in front of only Herb and Camaguey. He travelled a couple of horses off the fence down the side where Nock had him in a good rhythm behind a clump of leaders. The young jockey probed for a way through on the corner and found a gap of sorts between Gold Pattern and Direct Fire. On a less robust horse he may have sneaked through unnoticed but on Jumeirah Beach he got into an awful traffic jam. As Chad Schofield held his line on Gold Pattern, the big horse from Newcastle was forced inwards and collided heavily with the hindquarters of Direct Fire, who wobbled like a drunken sailor for a few strides. Undeterred the plucky Nock angled for another gap and found one between Northern Eyes and Prince Of Sorts. Race watchers thought the perpetrator of the scrimmage might plod home for a nice fourth but the big boy had other ideas. Perhaps broadcaster Luke Marlow summed it up best when he shouted “he couldn’t still get up could he, he’s surging at them, look out, that’s a win Jumeirah Beach has somehow won. He got flattened at the top of the straight but drove through to win from Northern Eyes - that’s an incredible win!” Thanks Luke, your comments were echoed by many.
Jumeirah Beach (Braith Nock) dwarfed Northern Eyes as he charged late to win the Hawkesbury Midway - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
You’ll never guess the whereabouts of Jason Deamer at the time the Midway was run. With his Newcastle runner Pennart not due to race for four hours, the trainer grabbed the opportunity to pick up a few items at Bunnings’ nearby Bennetts Green store. “I got myself into a quiet aisle and activated the Sky Racing App on my phone,” said Jason. “I closed my eyes when I saw Braith heading for that very skinny gap between horses at the top of the straight and gave up completely when he crashed into Direct Fire’s hind end. At best I thought he might plod home for fourth or fifth, and I was surprised when he picked himself up and started to charge. It was easily his best performance to date and it won’t do his confidence any harm.”
Jason’s team rarely exceeds twelve horses. Currently he has eleven in the stable eight of which are raced by Dynamic Syndications ownership groups. His association with Dynamic began six years ago when the company transferred Decroux from the Waterhouse/Bott yard to Jason’s Newcastle stables. The Lope De Vega gelding went on to win four races, one at Kembla, two at Canterbury and the 2020 Taree Cup with Christian Reith in the saddle. Hard To Say is unquestionably the best horse Jason has prepared so far for Dynamic Syndications winning eight races with five placings for $806,000. The five year old Exceed And Excel gelding is in pre-training after a beneficial eight week spell and will be taken along slowly with some of the easier spring carnival targets on his radar. Hard To Say has taken his all female syndicate on an exciting journey to date, and the ride looks to be far from over.
The Deamer/Dynamic Syndications combination won this one with Hard To Say (Ash Morgan) at Randwick on Melbourne Cup Day 2023 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
If genetics counted for anything Jason Deamer was a lay down misere to find himself a niche somewhere in the racing industry. His late grandfather Carl Deamer was a successful Newcastle based jockey in the 60’s and 70’s, while his dad John rode and trained with distinction before launching a highly regarded horse transport business. Despite his strong pedigree Jason showed little interest in becoming a jockey during early teens but suddenly changed direction in 1990. He weighed only 42 kgs when he rode his first winner at Newcastle on Australia Day 1991. The horse was Classic Benny, owned jointly by his parents and close family friends and of course trained by John Deamer.
He enjoyed a work experience stint with departed legends Betty Lane and Tiger Holland before seeking an apprenticeship in Sydney. He had opportunities to work for Gai Waterhouse and Lee Freedman but opted for a position with Allan Denham. He rode around twenty winners for the Denham operation including city successes on Kaladan and Fitting for popular owners Geoff and Beryl White. He recalls riding subsequent Gr 1 winner Jetball into third place behind topliners Gold Brose and Just Awesome in a two year old event at Randwick. Forced out of the saddle by increasing weight, Jason stayed on with the Denham team for quite some time. He remains enamoured of his time with one of Sydney’s most celebrated racing families.
Jockey Jason Deamer wins on Fitting at Rosehill in 1993. He wore the famous Geoff and Beryl White colours - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Jason returned to Newcastle in the late 1990’s and continued to ride trackwork for a raft of trainers including his father and the late Max Lees. It was Max who offered support when Deamer opted for a brief riding comeback, mainly for fun rather than with any serious professional intent. “I rode a few winners and enjoyed the experience but quickly got it out of my system,” he said. “It was then just a matter of settling on a career path and getting on with it.”
One early adventure was triggered by an invitation from Cessnock owner/trainer David Throsby to accompany a promising grey two year old filly called Lovely Jubly to the Gold Coast for a tilt at the Magic Millions 2YO Classic. Jason rode the filly work and tended to her every need leading up to the famous juvenile race run in record heat in January of 2002. Scott Seamer was her jockey when she overcame a few hiccups to score a dashing win. Jason got the job again a few months later when the filly returned to Queensland to win the Gr 3 Champagne Classic at Doomben followed by the Sires Produce - T.J. Smith Gr 1 double at Eagle Farm. He actually got to train the Lion Hunter filly himself for a handful of runs in 2003, and hasn’t forgotten the thrill of finishing second to Bollinger in the Gr 1 Coolmore Classic at Rosehill, beaten just over a length.
Inevitably the third generation horseman decided to go solo as a professional trainer a little over twenty years ago with a firm resolve to keep his team to manageable numbers. His subsequent strike rate is clear testimony to his commitment and attention to detail. Perhaps the most effective string to his bow is the ability to find the most winnable races for his horses. Jason’s constant review of video replays invariably leads him to the right assignment for every horse in his care. He’s a regular at places like Taree, Port Macquarie and other north coast venues in search of exactly the right race for horses of limited ability.
Jason painstakingly searches for the right races for his horses. Races like the 2019 Tuncurry - Forster Cup which he won with Lady Evelyn - courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.
He’s also a very judicious observer of Queensland racing programmes. Only three weeks ago he was at Doomben with Jumeirah Beach to win a BM70, and who’s to say the trip away didn’t give the gelding the lease of life necessary to win at Hawkesbury in such brilliant fashion on Saturday. Jason won races at the Sunny Coast, Doomben and Eagle Farm with Hard To Say when the horse was coming through the ranks, and just fifteen months ago he won a Class 6 at Doomben with Awesome Lad who’d finished near last after a tough run in the Four Pillars two weeks earlier. Friends and long time clients describe him as a thinking horse trainer. He likes to know every last detail about every horse, every day. It takes a pretty smart horse to hide anything from Jason Deamer.
Jason Deamer rarely has more than 12 horses in work at Newcastle, but maintains a healthy strike rate - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
(Banner image - Jumeirah Beach supporters couldn't believe their eyes when the huge gelding recovered from interference to win The Midway - courtesy Bradley Photographers.)