ROD NORTHAM TAKES NO NOTICE OF STRIKE RATES BUT ADMITS IT’S A NICE PROBLEM TO HAVE

Rod Northam has sailed past the 700 career win mark since launching his career in 1999 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.

“I try to keep strike rates out of my mind,” said in form trainer Rod Northam. “Trainers who worry about strike rates tend to barrier trial horses more often, waiting for the right races to come along. They sometimes hold off running horses in order to protect strike rates. It’s not fair to owners and almost certainly impacts field sizes.”

Strong words indeed and uttered by the last bloke you’d expect to be critical of strike rates. Fifty four year old Rod Northam is currently in the hottest form of his twenty six year training career. Following Bullion Mover’s Muswellbrook win on Monday, the Scone based trainer has won 18 home state races from just 46 starts, giving him a spectacular strike rate of 39.10%. After just six and a half weeks of the new season he’s in second place on the NSW premiership behind Chris Waller whose 29 wins from 198 starts have generated a strike rate of 14.60%.

“It’s all very nice and immensely satisfying but I know it’s only temporary,” said Rod. “It’s a result of having had a few nice horses all at the one time and being lucky enough to find suitable races for them. I won’t be changing my old formula. Horses returning from spells will have their two trials and go straight to the races. I’ve never forgotten something the great Guy Walter said to me some years ago. He advised me to forget all about strike rates and worry about the number of races a horse has won, and how much prize money has been returned to owners.”

Rod’s 18 win haul since August 1st includes three doubles and one memorable four timer at Tamworth on September 8th, achieved by his only four runners at the meeting - Speck (Grant Buckley), Fan Harder (Anna Roper), Great Point (Leeshelle Small) and Sebilla (Anna Roper). “I’ve been lucky enough to win four races on the same programme before, but to do it with our only four runners was pretty special,” said Rod.

Sebilla (Anna Roper) was Rod's fourth runner and fourth winner at Tamworth 08/09/2025 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.

Another of the early season Northam juggernaut was Nova Centauri who arrived late to win a Cl 1 at Scone on August 19th at her fifth start. The four year old mare had won a Scone maiden just over five and a half weeks earlier following a second at Dubbo in a BM58. The mare’s rate of improvement was clearly illustrated when she overcame a horror gate to beat all but Unreachable in a Rosehill TAB Highway (1400m) on August 30th. It was no surprise to see Nova Centauri start a solid second favourite in Saturday’s edition of the Highway, especially after coming up with the inside gate.

At her previous start the mare was taken back from a wide gate and spotted the leaders a huge start turning for home. On Saturday Alysha Collett didn’t waste the improved draw and quickly had Nova Centauri in the box seat. At the 600m the well supported Pony Soprano led at a good gallop from Peninsula with Nova Centauri holding third on the inside of Adolphus with Solitario three back on the fence. Unreachable was trapped three wide while the second Northam runner Upwardly Mobile was absolute last after being taken back from a wide gate. Nova Centauri popped off the fence to set out after Pony Soprano at the 200m, but the leader was going to make her earn it. She got the better of Pony Soprano close to home before staving off a late surge from Port Macquarie gelding Show ‘Em Howl. Pony Soprano was a gutsy third with Upwardly Mobile less than a length from her stablemate in fourth spot. Nova Centauri took her record to just seven starts for three wins, three seconds and $122,000.

Nova Centauri enjoyed a dream run before winning Saturday's TAB Highway. Show 'Em Howl (out of picture) was second with Pony Soprano (inside) third and Upwardly Mobile (yellow sleeves) fourth - courtesy Bradley Photographers.

Rod Northam looks back on the day he stumbled upon Nova Centauri in a yearling paddock at Amarina Farm near Denman in the NSW Hunter Valley. “I was looking for a horse or two to fill a couple of spare boxes in my Scone stables at the time,” Rod recalled. “I was inspecting a group of yearling fillies with Amarina Farm’s Craig Anderson, when one of them suddenly caught my eye.”

“I don’t know why I was attracted to the Rubick filly because she was very immature and offset in both knees making her unmistakably pigeon-toed. Many people are put off by pigeon-toed horses, but I’m constantly reminded of a theory espoused many years ago by legendary horseman Colin Hayes, who firmly believed they tended to grab the ground better than many horses of normal conformation. I learned the filly was owned by former internationally acclaimed race caller David Raphael who was happy to lease the filly because of her obvious defects. I made the decision to lease her myself, fully aware she’d take a lot of time. Her pedigree was pretty strong on the distaff side and Rubick had already come up with some topline horses including Jacquinot and the Everest winner Yes Yes Yes. I gave her the required time and Nova Centauri has delivered the goods.”

Rod Northam listens intently to Alysha Collett's assessment of Nova Centauri's win at Rosehill - courtesy Bradley Photographers.

Rod Northam is a trainer who goes quietly about his job producing winners from a team rarely exceeding thirty horses. He kicked off at Muswellbrook where he trained a small team of racehorses and a much larger number of “breakers”. He’d earned recognition as a proficient breaker of yearlings when working for the famous Lindsay Park organisation way back in the early 1990’s.

A mare called Cleared gave Rod his first training win at Muswellbrook early in 2001 with Nathan Cumberland on board. A few country winners followed but almost a year passed before Simmysue provided his first metropolitan win at Canterbury with Brian York in the saddle. Rosa’s Spur became his first stakes winner when she won the Gr 3 Dane Ripper Stakes at Eagle Farm with Craig Williams doing the honours. Just a few weeks later the dreaded EI virus paralysed the racing industry principally in NSW and Queensland.

Not surprisingly Rod rates the talented but unsound Big Money his best ever performer. The son of Choisir won ten races and $800,000 in prize money despite having to deal with nagging foot issues for most of his career. High on his list of favourites is After All That who won five races with seven placings for almost half a million dollars. The trainer had a lot of time for Myamira who won seven and placed eight times for $300,000. Her wins included a South Grafton Cup and a Belle Of The Turf at Gosford.

One of Big Money's ten wins was the Southern Cross Stakes at Randwick in 2013 with regular rider Robert Thompson (yellow colours) in the saddle - courtesy Bradley Photographers.

The race Rod Northam has all but owned since 2010 is the Inglis 2YO Challenge run at Scone during the May carnival. His winners in order have been Okane, Tinszelda, Voodoo Lad, Sargent Doakes, and Spilt. Voodoo Lad won a Country Championship Qualifier and ran third in the Final for the Northam stable despite soundness issues. The horse was later transferred to Darren Weir to continue his training on the beach at Warrnambool, a bitter disappointment to Rod and his team.

Northam remains adamant that Odyssey Moon had as much ability as any horse he’s ever trained, certainly in the two year old category. Under the Northam banner he won a juvenile event at Randwick, placed in a Skyline Stakes and Pago Pago Stakes before finishing eighth just 2.2 lengths behind Vancouver in the Golden Slipper. He followed up with a dead heat for second behind Pride of Dubai in the Sires Produce Stakes. He later won three races in Victoria for Robert Smerdon, but Rod believes the best was never seen of the son of Snitzel. “He really should have been gelded early on, but his flash pedigree prompted his owners to leave him an entire,” said the Scone trainer. “I have no doubt he was Gr 1 material as a gelding. That’s the way it goes in this business.”

Odyssey Moon (Tye Angland) wins the Inglis Nursery at Randwick in 2014. Rod says he had as much ability as any horse he has ever trained - Courtesy Bradley Photographers.

Apart from his well documented talents as a horse trainer Rod Northam has unwittingly garnered a Theo Green reputation as a master of apprentice jockeys. Reece Jones, who came out of his time twelve months ago, says Rod’s support and guidance has greatly influenced a career which has so far netted him well over 400 wins including a Gr 1 Metropolitan on Land legend. Currently Rod is directing the careers of talented girls Chelsea Hillier and Leeshelle Small. “They’re both very talented, very professional and not afraid of hard work,” says Rod. “I’ll be doing my best to give them opportunities, and I hope other trainers recognise their talents.”

Going forward Rod is optimistic of the future prospects of several horses on his thirty horse team. He speaks glowingly of four year old Divine Prophet mare Upwardly Mobile whose three wins to date have all been recorded on the Scone track. Her cracking fourth to stablemate Nova Centauri on Saturday signalled a city win in the near future. He expects Hellbent gelding Speedy Henry to improve on his already impressive record of three wins from six starts. Those three wins have come at Dubbo, Scone and Bathurst, but Rod’s quietly confident he’s a city winner in waiting.

The trainer looks forward to the upcoming resumption of recently turned three year old Splash of Steel. The Winning Rupert gelding hasn’t yet won in four starts but has placed at Canterbury and Scone and finished a creditable fourth in the Wellington Boot before being turned out for a spell. Rod also speaks well of Antilocapra, a four year old Vancouver mare who has wins at Scone and Gunnedah on the board as well as a close second to Super Norwest in a Cl3 Highway at Rosehill in June. It shouldn’t be long before Antilocapra adds to Northam’s healthy TAB Highway tally.

Antilocapra (Reece Jones) wins her maiden at Scone 04/03/2025 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.

Although not enamoured of strike rate rankings Rod will simply have to get used to the fact that few trainers in Australia can top his current figures. Here is a man whose connection with horses began on a Singleton dairy farm run by his parents in the early 1980’s. One of his grandfathers was a farrier and a trainer of high jumpers on the NSW show circuit. His father Pat trained a few horses from time to time mainly in the amateur ranks. His mother Shirley had a brother called “Bronco” who never found a horse he couldn’t ride.

It was always in the genes for young Rod Northam. Over the following two decades he worked in several areas of the thoroughbred industry including two invaluable stints with the iconic Lindsay Park operation. He got the right grounding and the right tuition from some of Australia’s best horsemen before he so much as contemplated his own training career. Is it any wonder the Taree born fifty four year old currently boasts more than 700 winners, eight at stakes level and a current NSW strike rate of 39.10% per cent. Sorry Rod, didn’t mean to bring it up again.

(Banner image - Alysha Collett rode a copybook race to land Saturday's TAB Highway on Nova Centauri - courtesy Bradley Photographers.)