WYONG WINNER SIR LES HAS A DUAL PURPOSE NAME IN HONOUR OF A RANDWICK TRAINER AND A SHOW BUSINESS ICON

It was only a Wyong Maiden but Sir Les looked like a horse going places when he romped home on Saturday - courtesy Bradley Photographers.

It’s unlikely there was a more impressive maiden win anywhere in Australia on Saturday than the almost four length romp by first starter Sir Les at the Wyong meeting. Part owner and trainer Craig Carmody had targeted the $60,000 Super Maiden after two impressive trial wins by the Inglis Online purchase. Chad Lever rode Sir Les in the second trial win and has since travelled from Hawkesbury to Randwick on several occasions to partner the gelding in trackwork.

Carmody, who’s still riding regular work at Randwick has been going to great lengths to teach Sir Les to “get off the bridle” in his gallops and was hopeful Lever would get the opportunity to do the same in Saturday’s race. When Stellaa Lass flew out of the gates it looked as though Sir Les had a ready made pacemaker. That all changed when Jay Ford grabbed the Kim Waugh trained filly and went straight back into the field, leaving Sir Les in front. Having been “dug” out of the gates he was keen to get on his way in the early part and got quite aggressive for 200 metres or so but had come back to his jockey well before they got to the hometurn.

Despite having his first look at the central coast track the gelding cornered well and quickened impressively to leave his rivals floundering on straightening. He vindicated his $1.90 quote by strolling home with ears pricked, posting a margin of 3.66 lengths. Stellaa Lass was second with The Magnet third. The computer age has allowed race day judges to post margins undreamed of twenty years ago. Spoke to Chad Lever on Sunday morning and the jockey clearly shares Craig Carmody’s enthusiasm for Sir Les going forward. “I was a bit concerned when we got left in front early and he did get pretty strong for a while but by the 600m he was pretty good,” said the former South Australian. “I loved the way he quickened and his manners were perfect. There’s no doubt he’s a city class horse.”

He's a sturdy looking boy! Sir Les scored the easiest of maiden wins at Wyong with Chad Lever in the saddle - courtesy Bradley Photographers.

Craig Carmody has been “itching” to get Sir Les to the races and considered the 1000m of the Wyong event to be the perfect starting point. Most informed punters were of the same opinion. Reports of rain on the Central Coast late in the week had the trainer slightly concerned. “I’ve had the feeling a couple of times that he’s not completely comfortable in rain affected ground,” said Craig. “I actually rang local trainer Kim Waugh a couple of times on Friday and she was confident the track would be low range soft at the worst. Kim trained the second placegetter Stellaa Lass, and laughingly suggested that I might have scratched Sir Les had she told me the track was a bog.”

Craig Carmody, Chad Lever and strapper Tyson King with Sir Les after the $60,000 Super Maiden at Wyong - courtesy Bradley Photographers.

The Sir Les story began when Craig purchased his dam Everage as a yearling for $20,000 at an Inglis Classic Sale. The filly was by 2007 Golden Slipper runner up Zizou from Snippets mare Quipster. Craig was delighted when good friend Mick Kent Snr offered to take a half share. Craig rode extensively for Mick during his successful training stint in Singapore and the friendship had remained strong after both had returned to Australia.

They named their filly Everage after Barry Humphries’ iconic character presumably because she was out of Quipster. In Carmody’s hands Everage turned out to be a very talented two year old winning races at Rosehill and Canberra in her first preparation with a second in the Widden Stakes thrown in. Following a let up she came back in good form to run second in the Gr 3 Kindergarten and followed up with a good win in the listed Keith McKay Quality. After two more Randwick seconds Everage was turned out for a good spell.

Sir Les' dam Everage grabbed some black type with this win in the listed Keith Mackay Quality at Randwick 20/04/2013. The late Nathan Berry was the filly's regular rider at the time - courtesy Bradley Photographers.

The filly struggled to regain her best form as a three year old and the decision was made to move her on. Her stakes win and a handful of black type placings attracted the attention of Gerry Harvey who was able to acquire her for $155,000. The master of Baramul Stud got his money back and then some when he sold a Fastnet Rock weanling colt from Everage for $300,000. That weanling later made the racetrack under the name of Bazza but showed little in two Victorian race starts and quickly exited the scene. Bazza’s half brother Gigastar (Exceed And Excel-Everage) won three moderate races in North Queensland, while another half brother Above Everage (More Than Ready-Everage) was unplaced in five starts, one in Victoria and four in the Northern Territory.

Suffice to say Sir Les is by far and away the mare’s most talented offspring, once again highlighting the unfathomable conundrum thrown up by genetics. It’s well documented that Craig Carmody is a long time admirer of the talents of the late Barry Humphries, comedian, actor, author, and satirist whose passing in 2023 saddened generations of show business devotees. As mentioned earlier Craig was thrilled to be granted Everage for the name of his filly out of Quipster. It seemed a natural progression to name Everage’s colt foal by All Too Hard after another of Humphries’ legendary fictional characters Sir Les Patterson.

The iconic Sir Les Patterson as portrayed by his creator Barry Humphries. Some found him repulsive, but most got a laugh out of his outrageous behaviour - courtesy Google Images

Known to stage and television audiences around the world, Patterson was obese, offensive, and lecherous. His trademarks were tangled hair, protruding teeth, gaudy tie and food stained shirt. His usual “props” were a cigarette and full glass of scotch whiskey, while his frequent burping completed a grotesque alter ego. The slightly prudish may have vowed never to watch him again. To those of open mind he was uproariously funny. Craig Carmody only needs to stumble upon a Les Patterson performance on YouTube to all but lose control. He says there was only one name for a colt out of Everage and was very happy to have it approved by the Racing NSW Registrar Of Names.

The Randwick trainer says there was a dual purpose to his naming of the promising gelding. He had no stauncher supporter during his riding days than legendary trainer Les Bridge who’s now in his late 80’s but continues to train a small team from his High St stables at Randwick. “When I quit the saddle and decided to train it was Les who invited me to use a bank of stables at “Sir Dapper Lodge”, said Craig. “Not only did he arrange accommodation for my horses, but he gave me enormous help during my early days as a trainer.

“Some years ago now he was unable to take some additional horses for his valued client Kim Harding. He kindly recommended me to a wonderful lady who has become a close friend and great supporter. You could say this horse’s name serves as a tribute to both Barry Humphries and the remarkable Les Bridge. When the time came to formulate a little syndicate for our All Too Hard colt, it was my pleasure to bring Kim Harding on board. Also in the partnership is my wife Keline and three former school mates Manny Spinola, John Cistulli and Peter Murphy. It’s early days yet but we’re away to a good start and the horse looks very promising.”

Thumbs up from veteran Les Bridge after Classique Legend's win in the 2020 Everest - courtesy Bradley Photographers.

Craig Carmody likes to be in attendance wherever his horses race. Here he is at Gosford in 2020 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.

It’s now history that Everage died prematurely at stud after producing the colt now known as Sir Les. He was actually passed in at a Gold Coast sale in 2024 falling short of a $40,000 reserve. Craig was later alerted to the fact that he’d been catalogued for the Inglis Digital Sale and made immediate enquiries. “There was a bit of sentiment attached and I simply had to throw in a bid or two expecting him to bring pretty good money,” said the trainer. “You could have knocked me over with a feather when we landed him for $7000. I wouldn’t have a clue why he was so cheap but that’s the way it played out. We’ve got his debut out of the way and now we’ll probably go to Kembla Grange on April 18th for a Cl 1 Midway over 1000m. I’d like to keep him to the short trip for the time being to ensure some speed in the race. I want him to learn to relax before we step him up in distance. I’m not usually a spiritual type, but I really feel I was meant to have this horse.”