OH ARTHUR HAS TAKEN FOREVER TO GET HIS ACT TOGETHER BUT HE’S AWAY AT LAST

Oh Arthur ran the opposition ragged to win at Rosehill Gardens. Kimberley Secrets ran her usual genuine race for second - courtesy Bradley Photographers.

When you come across a five year old with only three runs under the belt you can be sure the animal in question has tested the patience of many people along the way. One such horse is Saturday’s brilliant Rosehill winner Oh Arthur, whose problems have been a mixture of both physical and mental. His late start as a racehorse can be attributed to a combination of factors - immaturity, a succession of niggling issues and a surgical procedure to correct a breathing issue. Add to this some unruly behavior at the barrier trials and a boisterous attitude in the stable. Without the unrelenting patience of horse people like Tim Martin and Lucy Longmire, it’s unlikely we would have seen Oh Arthur do what he did on Saturday.

The gelding aroused some interest on June 22nd when he won a Goulburn trial by a massive 8.66 lengths. That trial however was a mere scamper over 750m, and punters preferred to “have a look” when Oh Arthur stepped out in an 1100m Super Maiden at Canterbury sixteen days later. Their judgement was astray. With experienced Adrian Layt on board, he simply ambled to the front, exploded clear on straightening and won by an emphatic 2.15 lengths at the ridiculous odds of $26.00.

Oh Arthur outsped his rivals to win a Super Maiden at Canterbury with Adrian Layt in the saddle 08/07/2026 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.

Lucy’s understanding of Oh Arthur then came into play. In order to let him absorb the Canterbury experience and to ensure she could find the right race, the trainer elected to wait seven and a half weeks before starting him again. Perhaps the gap between runs and the extreme outside draw at Rosehill turned some punters away. Whatever the reason, he again started over the odds at $15.00.

Oh Arthur wasn’t actually the best away but quickly levelled up and Adrian Layt elected to go forward. Rarely will you see a horse muster so much speed so quickly under his own steam. He crossed them with ease and was coasting in front after 250 metres. At the 600m Oh Arthur led Kimberley Secrets, Formal, favourite She’s An Artist with Lull three wide and Who But Roo not far away. The Goulburn galloper looked to be full of running on straightening where Kimberley Secrets was giving chase, while She’s An Artist was making little impression. Not surprisingly Oh Arthur felt the pinch in the dying stages, and the genuine Kimberley Secrets got close but failed by a head to peg back the lightly raced speedster.

Oh Arthur showed blistering speed to lead from the outside gate before holding on to beat Kimberley Secrets (Coriah Keatings) on Saturday - courtesy Bradley Photographers.

Tim Martin’s long time friend Mark McGuire actually bred Oh Arthur from his mare Tsarlight, a lightly raced daughter of Starcraft whose only win in five starts came in a Coffs Harbour maiden in 2015. The snap decision to have her covered by Flying Artie was made under unexpected circumstances. She’d been booked to Extreme Choice at Newgate Farm but that stallion became unavailable on the very day the mare’s vital signs demanded an immediate cover. Mark McGuire made the call to switch to the former top flight sprinter Flying Artie who has since been transferred to Blue Gum Farm in Victoria.

Two years down the track Mark formulated a syndicate to race the Flying Artie colt. He obviously retained a share himself, Tim Martin came on board as part owner and trainer, while good friends Alex Kay and Ryan Kay quickly snapped up shares. Arrangements are currently in place for Brian Keating to also join the ownership group. Mark McGuire also came up with the “Oh Arthur” name in honour of long time friend Arty Vandermolen who’d been a shareholder in some of his horses over the years.

Tim doubled as strapper at Rosehill. On Lucy's left are Mark and Bronwyn McGuire - courtesy Bradley Photographers.

“It was obvious from the outset that this boy was going to require plenty of patience,” Lucy Longmire recalled. “There’s nobody better with young, green horses than Tim Martin who needed all of his knowledge and skill to get the horse on track. Tim decided to give Oh Arthur one trial at Hawkesbury in February 2024 before putting him away for a long spell. With Grant Buckley in the saddle, he finished fourth of six just three lengths from the winner after doing plenty wrong as you’d expect. He did show a bit of natural ability by the same token.”

Oh Arthur was left in the paddock for several months and was brought up very slowly when he finally resumed training. It wasn’t until his workload started to increase that Tim became suspicious of his breathing. “It’s a fairly common problem and you’re constantly hoping it won’t happen to one of your horses,” said Lucy. “Once we got over the disappointment the decision was made to book him in for the necessary procedure. Everything went well but we thought it wise to give him another good break just to be sure.”

It was July 2025 before Oh Arthur was ready to head to the trials. Lucy had now taken over the horse’s training and opted for two soft outings, one on the Canberra Synthetic and the other at Goulburn. “He was reasonably tractable in both trials, so I made the decision to take him to Grafton for a 1000m maiden on Ramornie Hcp day. It was a day I’d rather forget,” she said. “Apprentice Jack Baker rode Oh Arthur and must have wondered what was going on at the 600m when the horse suddenly lost the plot. He was up near the lead when he suddenly threw his head up and started to hang out. He made the corner hopelessly and took a couple of others with him. He was all over the place in the run home and finished officially sixth but a long way off them. He got absolutely lost. Back to Goulburn and into the paddock again. We were so disappointed.”

Oh Arthur was just about ready to race in his following preparation when old lady luck intervened again. The gelding knuckled over pretty violently in his trackwork one morning and sustained an injury in his hind quarter. “I thought we were never going to see this horse at the races with no problems,” said Lucy. “Out he went again and it was quite a while before he threw off that soreness in his hind end. Now you’ll understand why he was a late four year old when he won that Goulburn trial in June and is now a five year old with only three starts on his CV. I’ve got to thank Adrian Layt for his contribution this time around. He now lives near Kembla Grange racecourse but frequently drives to Goulburn to ride work for us. He’s a great horseman with vast experience in the saddle. He’s the right kind of jockey for Oh Arthur.”

Adrian Layt was thrilled to get the result on Saturday. He's contibuted largely to Oh Arthur's progress - courtesy Bradley Photographers.

Oh Arthur is one of only two racehorses in Lucy’s Goulburn stable currently, but she pre-trains anything up to fourteen horses around the clock. Her reputation in this important facet of the business has brought her some very prominent clients. Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott are regulars along with Ciaron Maher, Peter Snowden, Blueblood Thoroughbred Syndicators, Michael Freedman and Melbourne trainer Clint McDonald. “We did a lot of work with Clint’s great filly Streisand last year,” said Lucy. “You can imagine how thrilled we were to watch her win the Blue Diamond and run second in the Golden Slipper this year. It’s hard not to feel as though you’ve contributed in some small way.”

From 2017 to 2023 Lucy enjoyed a successful partnership with her older twin sister Emma (older by eight minutes just for the record). They raced under the appropriate banner of Twinstar Racing and enjoyed the support of some very loyal clients. “We dissolved the business in 2023 for the simple reason that our respective partners were trainers in need of our support. Emma and Patrick Murphy made a good training team and are the proud parents of four year old Peggy. Patrick’s just getting over a health scare and can’t wait to get back to work with his wife by his side.

Twin sisters Lucy and Emma Longmire at the races 2013 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.

“My partner Tim Martin needs no introduction. He enjoyed some wonderful years in the Sydney training ranks and made his name with horses like Exceed And Excel, Heavens Above and Typhoon Zed who won five high profile Gr 1 races between them. He’s a super horseman and a valuable sounding board for me. Best of all he graciously accepts his role as my lieutenant and tells everybody that I’m a great boss.”

For the record, the other racehorse in the Longmire stable is the former Waterhouse/Bott trained six year old Les Vampires. The Pierro gelding won five races for his previous handlers including three in the city and the listed Gosford Cup last May. “He’s mixed his form a little in six runs for us, but there were two good efforts,” said Lucy. “His close third to Tazima at Randwick in a BM88 was heartening, and he raced well in the Grafton Cup when seventh only 3 lengths behind King Pedro.”

Tim with Tye Angland after a win by Heavens Above in the 2017 Coolmore Classic - courtesy Bradley Photographers.

On a serious note Lucy has already begun floating Oh Arthur’s name as a likely Kosciuszko candidate and invites sweepstakes ticket holders to watch his next run. “I’m looking at two possibilities at the moment,” she said. “He’ll run in either a 1000m Cl 3 TAB Highway at Randwick on September 19th, or the 1100m BM78 on Golden Rose day at Rosehill one week later. A good run in his lead up race would spark a bit of interest among the lucky slotholders. The best thing about this horse is his freakish gate speed. A wide draw doesn’t necessarily rule him out.”

Should Oh Arthur make the Kosciuszko field he’ll have no more interested spectator than Lucy’s 76 year old mother Tempe, who still lives in Goulburn and follows her daughter’s horses very closely. “Mum and Dad bought a farm at Goulburn in 1989 for no other reason than to give Emma and me the opportunity to follow our dreams with horses,” said Lucy. “She was our best supporter back then and still is today. She took us everywhere to pony club and show venues early days and encouraged us every step of the way. My Mum is a treasure. I can’t imagine her reaction should we be lucky enough to get into the money in The Kosciuszko on October 17th. Like most racing people we dare to dream.”