CRAIG CARMODY’S WELL DESERVED WIN AT RANDWICK, THE SCENE OF HIS FINEST MOMENTS AS A JOCKEY

Zenmaster and Winona Costin were fairly flying on the line in Saturday's Midway - courtesy Bradley Photographers.

To cheer home a winner owned, trained or ridden by deserving participants is one of racing’s greatest joys. I got that feeling on Saturday when it was obvious Zenmaster had the opposition well covered at the 200m in the Midway. The five year old had been beautifully rated in front by Winona Costin, and gave a big “kick” at the 200m before going on to beat Starphistocated and Cape Byron. A Saturday success at Randwick was a special thrill for breeder and part owner Kim Harding, for hard working Costin and for popular trainer Craig Carmody.

Two astute pre-race decisions by the experienced Carmody paved the way for Zenmaster’s all the way win. One was the removal of the ear muffs the gelding had been wearing in his trackwork and races from the beginning of his career. The other was a riding tactic to be employed should the horse find the lead with relative ease. “I left the ear muffs off him in a recent track gallop and he was much more switched on,” said the former top jockey. “He’s been a quirky horse from the outset and we found the ear muffs were pretty much a necessity from early days. Not only did he often go too hard in his races but he was a real handful whenever he got trapped between horses. He’d become a little too used to the ear muffs and it was time for a change.

“Just lately we’ve had a one eyed blinker on him because he’s been wanting to lay out in his races. As if we didn’t have enough problems, he’s also been tardy out of the gates on occasions, so we could never confidently predict when he might lead in his races. In doing the form for Saturday’s race I couldn’t find a natural leader. Without the ear muffs I was confident he’d begin better and might just find the front. I asked Winona should she find herself in front, to step up the tempo from the 700m. She executed the plan perfectly. This horse keeps going in his races and I felt it would work in our favour if we took a little gas out of them a fair way from home. It worked out perfectly. He had Cape Byron, Starphistocated and Tartana out of their comfort zone on the turn and was never going to get beaten. It was one of those rare races when everything went according to plan.”

Zenmaster had his Midway rivals struggling at the 200m and went on to win easily - courtesy Bradley Photographers.

Craig and Winona who made it a double later in the day on the Waterhouse/Bott trained Agrarian Girl - courtesy Bradley Photographers.

For a former jockey who enjoyed some of his finest moments at Royal Randwick, the thrill of training a winner at the historic venue is second to none. Craig’s very first Gr 1 success came on Stylish Century in the 1989 Spring Champion Stakes when the pony sized front runner was trained by Bart Cummings. One of his six wins on the brilliant grey filly Angst was the 1993 Flight Stakes. His elite level Randwick wins on “giant killing” Intergaze were two editions of the Queen Elizabeth Stakes, an All Aged Stakes and a Gr 2 Chelmsford Stakes. He’d also won the All Aged Stakes five years earlier on New Zealander Prince Of Praise for trainer Bruce Wallace.

Craig Carmody’s riding career is well documented. He was apprenticed to Rod Craig who was one of a small group of trainers based at Canterbury at the time. His magical first win came on the very tractable Born Red at Kembla Grange on the occasion of his third race ride. The winners flowed quickly and young Carmody went on to enjoy a very fruitful apprenticeship under the guidance of the man destined to become one of his closest friends. Testimony to his great success in the junior ranks was a Sydney Apprentices Premiership in the 1986/1987 season with a very impressive 34 metropolitan wins.

Craig wins the 1997 Queen Elizabeth Stakes on Intergaze spoiling the party for champion Octagonal who was having his final race start - courtesy Bradley Photographers.

The publicity afforded to Sydney’s champion apprentice brought Craig an unexpected surprise. He was selected by a prominent Sydney advertising agency to feature in a television commercial for Telstra’s predecessor Telecom. The theme revolved around a young country apprentice jockey coming to Sydney for his first city race ride. After failing to figure in the finish the youngster was seen back in his hotel room excitedly calling his mother with a report on the day’s proceedings.

He was using the Telecom Subscriber Trunk dialling (STD) service available in the 1980’s. Once the receiving number responded, a loud sequence of high pitched “beeps” could be heard after which the call began. That commercial had extensive exposure in most states for close to three years, greatly enhancing Craig Carmody’s profile. It also brought to light the nickname of “Beeper”, created by fellow jockey Malcolm Johnston and still widely used to this day.

Craig first tested the water in Singapore in the year 1997 while his favourite Intergaze was in the spelling paddock. He liked what he saw and returned later for another short stint at the request of Adelaide trainer David Balfour who’d settled on the island. He also rode extensively during this stay for expat Victorian Mick Kent. This time Craig resolved to come back for a lengthy stay should a suitable contract become available. He was delighted later to link up with Don Baertschiger, another former Victorian who’d made his mark in Singapore. Craig enjoyed a fruitful three years riding successfully for Baertschiger and a handful of other trainers. He was thrilled to win the Gr 1 Raffles International Cup on the Baertschiger owned and trained Con Air, and on one occasion landed four winners on a Kranji programme. He was well liked by all sections of the local racing community and never short of rides.

A Gr. 2 Chelmsford Stakes win on Intergaze 04/09/1999 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.

Craig wasn’t far short of his fortieth birthday when he returned to Sydney in 2005 with nothing to prove as a professional jockey. Ninety four Singapore successes had taken his career win tally to a very impressive 1055. The presence of a powerful Sydney jockey’s room prompted his decision to relinquish his licence after twenty years of race riding. He successfully applied for his training brief and was very fortunate to source boxes at Randwick. Today trainers are finding it all but impossible to find accommodation at the premier course. Focused on becoming a small team trainer, Craig embarked on his new and challenging role.

Things were tough at the beginning and are even tougher today, but the eleven time Gr 1 winning jockey remains as buoyant and optimistic as he’s ever been. Craig has made the most of limited opportunities with horses given him to train, and others sourced at realistic prices. For a number of years he worked a team of twelve horses from boxes made available by his great friend Les Bridge at the veteran trainer’s landmark “Sir Dapper Lodge” on High Street at Randwick. Craig still has six horses stabled at the Bridge premises, with another eight housed in a nearby barn at the top of High Street.

Mates then and still mates! Craig with former master Rod Craig after a Randwick win with Intergaze - courtesy Bradley Photographers.

The fifty eight year old expresses great gratitude for the ongoing support he receives from owner/breeder Kim Harding. For many years Kim has been mixing the breeding of horses with the occasional yearling sale purchase, and from time to time finds herself with an overload of broodmares, weanlings, yearlings and horses in work. There was a time some years ago when her long time trainer Les Bridge was unable to accommodate the number of horses scheduled to go into work. Kim immediately turned to Craig for assistance and so began an association which has produced a healthy number of winners. For instance Zenmaster made it win number four in scoring at Randwick on Saturday.

A Canterbury win under the lights for Edna (Kathy O'Hara) in the Kim Harding colours 09/12/2022 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.

It’s well documented that Craig continued to ride work and plenty of it, from the moment he made the transition to training. It was fourteen or fifteen years ago when he first became conscious of the mild twinge of pain in his left hip. He dismissed it as the inevitable legacy of race falls and continued to handle the bulk of stable trackwork duties. Two years later his troublesome left hip was beginning to register a strong protest. Perhaps another year went by before the pain began to get out of hand. His concern deepened when the same kind of pain suddenly appeared in his right hip. He wonders how he was able to keep going until the middle of 2025, when a bi-lateral hip replacement became a matter of great urgency.

Thanks to the well documented skills of respected orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Michael Solomon, Craig underwent trouble free surgery last May. Not surprisingly he tackled rehabilitation with his trademark dedication, spending several weeks in the famous Wolper Hospital at Woollahra followed by a stint as an outpatient at the Calvary Hospital Kogarah. He even continued the exercises at home long after the recommended rehab period had passed. By then he was ready to take over goal kicking duties for his beloved St. George-Illawarra NRL side.

Eight months on and Carmody is riding four or five horses in trackwork six mornings a week. He’s pain free and has regained total flexibility. “The hip replacements have worked wonders,” said the multiple Gr 1 winning jockey. “I came back to trackwork very gradually and it was a great relief when I was able to pick up where I’d left off. I really enjoy riding work and I’ll be doing it until the old body tells me to stop. I get some great help from eventing ace Tyson King who handles any tricky ones while Winona Costin and Chad Lever each give me one morning a week. It was great to see Winona land a double at Randwick on Saturday. I’ve had a lot of luck with Chad over the last couple of years. He travels in from Hawkesbury one morning a week and his feedback is very valuable. Olivia Chambers is also riding some work for me currently. She’s a talented kid who’s starting to punch home a few winners.”

Chad Lever in the Harding colours gets Ballyhoo home for the Carmody stable at Kembla 13/09/2025 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.

Craig’s mildly excited at the moment about a certain unraced three year old he has in the stable by the unspectacular name of Sir Les. Contrary to opinion he’s not named after Craig’s great friend Les Bridge but rather after Les Patterson, the iconic fictional character created and portrayed by the late Barry Humphries. The equine Sir Les happens to be a son of Everage, who was named after the most famous of the Humphries characters. Everage won three two year old races when trained by Carmody in the 2013/2014 season including the listed Keith Mackay Quality at Randwick and was placed in two other stakes races.

“She went off the boil as a three year old and the decision was made to retire her,” recalled Craig. “Gerry Harvey bought her for $150,000 at a broodmare sale and more than got his money back when he sold her Fastnet Rock weanling for $450,000. Gerry was very disappointed later when Everage died prematurely at stud. Her final foal, a colt by All Too Hard was passed in at a subsequent yearling sale and amazingly finished up on an online platform. I nailed him for $7000 and it wasn’t long before I had some co-owners. Kim Harding was first in, followed by my old school mates Manny Spinola, John Cistulli and Peter Murphy.

“We were all pretty chuffed with his 850m trial win on the Kensington track in early December. He began awkwardly from the inside gate but quickly tracked through to be right behind the leaders turning for home. He had no hesitation in taking a rails run before strolling away to win under a hold. The depth of the opposition is unclear but every one of his rivals is from a leading stable. He pulled up a little shin sore after the trial and had to have a short break, but he’s been back in work for three weeks and we couldn’t be happier. I hope Sir Les gives us as many laughs as his namesake did.”

Outside the iconic Yankee Stadium in The Bronx with Keline, Liam and Mandy during Liam's 2023 trip to the World Series Little League baseball competition.

Craig Carmody’s in a pretty good place at the moment. He’s giving the new hips plenty to do in morning track workouts and a few members of the team are making their presence felt. Keline, his wife of twenty one years has bounced back from a recent health issue while children Mandy (17) and Liam (15) are in robust good health and getting on with their young lives. Liam continues his involvement with the Cronulla Little League Baseball team and is currently trying to consolidate his spot with the Under 16 side. Young Liam Carmody was a member of the Cronulla Under 12 team which participated in a World Series competition at Cooperstown NY (USA) a few years ago.

One brief phone conversation with Craig Carmody clearly confirms his ongoing passion for horse training and an inherent love of the animal. This bloke established a flawless reputation as a “straight shooter” in his twenty years as jockey and enjoys the same kind of respect in his current role. I’m sure I was one of many to give Zenmaster an extra cheer as he thundered home for Winona Costin in Saturday’s Midway.