Most trainers are discouraged when one of their horses goes out at much longer odds than anticipated. Julie Henman certainly didn’t expect her veteran gelding Don Kee to be the rank outsider in a field of eight at Club Menangle on Tuesday March 23rd. “He’d run the fastest time of his career in winning five starts earlier at Menangle, and not much had gone right in four subsequent runs.
“His driver Jack Trainor would win on a broomstick at the moment and the horse was back to a suitable grade. On top of that he’d been giving me the right signals in all of his trackwork. In my heart I thought he was way over the odds at $31.00.”
As the trainer of two runners in the Allied Express Pace (1609m), Julie didn’t know where to look during the running of the race. From barrier 7 Don Kee was always going back after the start, while his much younger half sister Dorothy’s Delight was expected to race handy from her inside gate. On settling down Dorothy’s Delight was behind the leader Titian Raider, with Don Kee four back on the pegs.
“I was confident Don would win at the 400m,” said the trainer. “He’d had a very soft run and his body language told me he was going to run a bold race. Jack Trainor cleverly extricated him from an awkward spot on straightening up where he chimed in quickly. He was going away on the line to win by more than two metres. His half sister battled away to run sixth not all that far away.”
Don Kee’s Menangle win on March 23rd was his 18th career success. Jack Trainor was in the sulky - courtesy Lett Photography.
Thoroughbred trainer Bernie Kelly surprised me two years ago when he revealed that his Provincial Championship winner Bobbing had been born just metres from his home at Hawkesbury. Julie has a similar story to tell about her favourite horse. “I’m not exaggerating when I tell you Don was foaled right outside my bedroom window,” she said. “My father Dennis was the official breeder, and the Modern Art colt arrived on his birthday.
“Dad raced his dam Dorothys Daughter who won ten races and ran twenty five placings when trained by my husband Gary. We’re not dedicated breeders and I’m almost embarrassed to tell you we bred only one more foal from the mare, and that was six years after Don Kee’s arrival. That foal is Dorothys Delight (Bettor’s Delight) who raced with her half brother the other day. Dorothys Daughter is now eighteen years old and still lives the good life on our property. Her daughter Dorothys Delight has already won two races and looks likely to improve on that.”
Thank goodness somebody snapped this one! Don Kee with his mum Dorothys Daughter a few days after his birth.
Don Kee was expertly broken in by the late Neville Condon at Grenfell, after which Julie gave him a couple of light preparations with pre trainers. “There was a line of thought that he may have had hock issues in the early days, and one vet suggested he might even need surgery,” she said. “We decided to geld him and monitor his progress over an extended period of time. Happily he’s never required surgery and has raced sound for many seasons. It was just a maturity thing.”
Julie has been around harness horses since her teen years. She was a member of David Aiken’s staff during the trainer’s most productive years at Bankstown. Aiken’s statistics in the late 1980’s were astounding. In the 1987/1988 season he won 139 races in NSW. In 1988/1989 he posted a whopping 157 wins, while he was relatively quiet in 1989/1990 with 116 wins. On Friday January 6th 1989, he achieved his career best tally of 6 winners on a Harold Park programme. He drove five of those winners himself.
Julie got to drive a huge amount of trackwork and often handled a stable runner at the popular Sunday gymkhanas of the era. She actually drove in a handful of registered races under her maiden name of Julie Walker, but wasn’t able to make it to the winner’s circle. Good fortune may have eluded her on the race driving front, but her personal life changed forever when she met David Aiken’s first cousin Gary Henman, who was a regular visitor to the stables.
Julie and Gary are now the proud parents of Taylah (25) and Lachlan (22). Taylah who chose the nursing profession as her career path, retains a keen interest in her mother’s horses and is actually the official owner of the family warhorse Don Kee. Gary has had a presence in the trotting world for many years as a trainer and driver, and is a respected exponent of both skills. Today he chooses to concentrate wholly on his own small trucking business.
The demands of motherhood saw Julie put her training aspirations on hold for a few years, but she was intent on a return as soon as family commitments allowed. Little did she realise that a Modern Art homebred would one day take her on a long and exciting journey.
Julie has been Don Kee’s constant companion from the outset, apart from two occasions when circumstances prompted her to leave him with other trainers for short stints. In early 2015 she sent him to David Aiken in Victoria in pursuit of his Vicbred bonus which he collected with a win at Bendigo. He also managed three other placings on outside tracks. “I drove down and back for all but one of his five Victorian starts,” said Julie. “You guessed it, the only one I missed was his Bendigo win.”
Julie and Don Kee have been all but inseparable for the duration of his long racing career - courtesy Peter Collier.
Peter Rixon was also entrusted with Don Kee’s care for one fairly lengthy stint when Julie took an extended overseas holiday. “I’ve had the travel bug all my life and Don Kee’s prize money has given me the opportunity to see a lot of the world in recent years,” said Julie. “Gary has accompanied me on a few occasions but he’s not a devoted traveller. Good female friends have joined me on other trips. Peter Rixon did a great job with Don during my absence winning several races with him.”
The ten year old’s win at Menangle on March 23rd was his eighteenth from 189 starts. Throw in a whopping forty one placings and $116,000 in prize money and you can see why Don Kee is Julie Henman’s pride and joy. “He’s a very straightforward horse and needs no special attention other than a spot of acupuncture on his back from time to time,” says the trainer. “Darren Binskin administers the treatment for me when needed. He’s very expert in the field. After almost 190 starts, Don’s overall soundness is amazing. There’s a bit of scar tissue on both hind legs from escapades through wire fences early in his life, but it has never presented a problem.”
Just for the record here are a few interesting stats from Don’s long career. Penrith has been his favourite track with seven wins, while he’s posted five victories at Menangle. Add three wins at Newcastle, one at Young, one at Goulburn and the aforementioned Bendigo success and you’ve got a total of eighteen.
Another day at the office! Julie and Don arrive for a recent Menangle assignment.
Testimony to his manners and racecraft is the fact that a total of ten drivers have steered him to victory, some on multiple occasions. The list comprises Gary Henman, Blake Fitzpatrick, Josh Aiken, Darren Hancock, Ellen and Will Rixon, Lachie Manzelmann, Jason Grimson, Stephanie Lippiatt and his current pilot Jack Trainor. “He’s a gem to drive and knows exactly what he’s doing,” says Trainor. “Best part is he still enjoys the job and puts in every time. When I pulled him out last week he was all business.”
Don Kee is by no means a big horse but big enough, and wears very standard gear. “A half pole on his near side is enough to keep him tracking straight,” said Julie. “He’s better with a tongue tie while a tail tie helps his concentration. He wears knee boots and shin boots but only as a precaution. In all he’s a pretty uncomplicated horse.”
Julie and Gary after an early Penrith win with Don Kee - courtesy Lett Photography.
When asked to outline any bad habits Don Kee may have developed, Julie was quick to point out his obsession with helping himself to water buckets belonging to other horses. “Whenever I take him out of his stall at the trots he heads straight for the nearest bucket especially if he can smell molasses in the water,” she said. “He drags me all over the place on these little raids.”
Don Kee isn’t the only animal receiving VIP treatment at the Henman’s Bargo property. Animal loving Julie creates a flurry of excitement every time she walks out of the house. Five dogs, ten cats, one sheep, and two shetland ponies look to the kindly lady for their sustenance and regular gestures of affection.
It might seem fanciful to spend so much time on the profile of Don Kee. After all he hasn’t even approached the heights attained by another son of Modern Art who looked to have the recent Miracle Mile in his grasp when sidelined by a foot abscess. Lochinvar Art’s twenty eight wins and nineteen placings have already netted him close to $1.4 million dollars. His stud potential makes him a very valuable horse.
Lochinvar Art’s owner Kevin Gordon couldn’t possibly be any more enamoured of his champion, than the Henmans are about their son of Modern Art. Rarely does a day go by when Julie doesn’t pinch herself to believe she’s had such a fantastic ride with the little foal who first saw the light of day outside her bedroom window at Bargo.
The cake and the party hats came out for Don Kee’s 10th birthday last year! Back row on the right is highly respected horseman John Geary who recently lost his battle with cancer.
(Banner image - Gary Henman wins on Don Kee at Menangle way back in 2014 - courtesy Lett Photography.)