It’s widely accepted that the offspring of harness horsemen and women are apt to follow their parents into the sport. Many prominent trotting trainers and drivers around Australia are third and fourth generation devotees of the standardbred.
I was reminded of the genetic forces within the Watts family when watching Graeme Watts drive a horse called Cee For Colin in an NR60 at Club Menangle on June 29th. Having one of his rare drives these days, Graeme had to go back to last from the outside gate and was further impeded when a horse galloped in front of him in the early stages.
Wearing the red and purple silks initially registered by J.D. Watts, Graeme displayed the patience and composure that had been the trademark of his father Colin and grandfather Jack. He gave the gelding a ton of time to find his rhythm and capitalised on a brisk speed by sitting quietly to the top of the straight. Cee For Colin was rapidly overhauling the leader Imperial’s Gem on the line to miss by only half a head. I’d seen enough to realise that Graeme Watts is still the consummate horseman he’s been for more than four decades.
Cee For Colin is one of only four horses being prepared currently by Graeme from the well patronised Menangle training centre. The son of Art Major has posted two wins and eight placings from only eighteen starts so far and looks likely to improve on that record.
Graeme looks confident as Cee For Colin wins at Menangle 30/03/2021 - courtesy Club Menangle.
Also on the team is Colin Bromac, a 3YO Mach Three gelding purchased out of the paddock as a weanling in NZ. “We actually left him in NZ where he’s had 8 starts for Barry Purdon and his training partner Scott Phelan,” said Graeme. “He’s been placed four times at Alexandra Park and looks to have some ability. He arrived in my stable about six weeks ago and will go to the trials towards the end of the month.”
The trainer has a good opinion of a yearling colt purchased from the APG Sale this year from the Rainbow Farms draft . He’s by the highly successful stallion American Ideal and has already been named American Rainbow. “He’s a great type and is doing more than you could expect at this stage,” said Graeme. “Darren McCall broke him in for us and was wrapped from the outset. It’s a case of fingers crossed.”
Making up the Watts quartet is an unnamed two year old filly by Caribbean Blaster, a former Victoria Cup winner and 2012/2013 Victorian Horse Of The Year. The filly’s dam is the talented Espeshlimade Lombo, winner of 16 races and $341,000. “She had a viral issue early in the piece, and later caught a very bad cold when almost ready for an official trial,” said Graeme. “We were just about to find her a name, but had to turn her out again.”
Stable clients recently purchased a tried horse called Marathon Man destined to join Graeme’s team later in the year. The four year old gelding is currently being trained by the Purdon/ Phelan team in Auckland, and won first up for his new owners at Alexandra Park last Friday night.
Graeme had to put all involvement with horses on hold just before Xmas of 2019, when he could no longer delay surgery for a right hip which had been troubling him for several years. “I put it off as long as possible, but in the end I could hardly walk,” said the experienced horseman.
Some months later Graeme was back on his feet and weighing up his options, when he had a chance meeting with leviathan owner Emilio Rosati who had a big team of horses in work at Menangle with Anthony Butt. The champion NZ horseman had taken over from Noel Daley who’d been training the Rosati horses for the previous twelve months.
Daley had hoped to forge a successful career in his native Australia after three decades as one of America’s most respected trainers, but suddenly made the snap decision to return to New Jersey. Cognizant of Graeme’s wealth of knowledge, Rosati asked the horseman to join the team. “He wanted me to assist Anthony with the fast work of the older horses, before concentrating on the yearlings and two year olds,”he said.
“I enjoyed every minute of my nine months with Emilio, and marvelled at the talents of Anthony Butt. It wasn’t hard to see why he’s an Inter Dominion Hall Of Famer and driver of countless Gr 1 winners. He’s every bit as professional in trackwork as he is on race day - safety vest and helmet done up securely, stopwatch at the ready and always concentrating on the horse he’s driving. A terrific horseman.”
When Emilio made the decision to move Anthony and the bulk of his team to Victoria, Graeme was suddenly out on a limb. After consultation with his father, siblings John, Michael and Colin and long time owners like John Fizzell, Bruce Aanensen and Fay and Gordon Allsop it was decided he should regenerate his career as a full time trainer.
Graeme was a regular at Harold Park from an early age. He was 23 when this one was snapped in 1986 - courtesy Club Menangle.
“I must acknowledge the loyalty of John Fizzell and Bruce Aanensen who’ve had shares in most horses that have come through my stable,” said Graeme. Not only have they raced horses with me, but have contributed countless hours of assistance around the stables. My thanks go to the many owners who’ve stuck through thick and thin.”
On several occasions over the years Graeme has put his harness interests on the backburner to work in thoroughbred stables. His first involvement was with the Ingham’s Crown Lodge operation at Warwick Farm when Vic Thompson Jnr was head trainer. Graeme stayed on for some time when John Hawkes took over the role, and later landed a spot with the greatly revered Warwick Farm trainer Guy Walter, who died much too soon in 2014 . Then came the first of two stints with the recently retired Billy Prain.
“I actually went back to harness racing for a while but decided to return to the gallops when Billy Prain called and offered me my old job back,” said Graeme. “Sometime later ill health forced Bill’s early retirement. It was around this time my troublesome hip packed it in. I immediately booked myself in for badly needed replacement surgery .”
The history of the Watts family is well documented in Australian harness racing. Graeme’s legendary grandfather J.D. “Jack” Watts began his career in the 1920’s and later drove more champions than any other driver of the era. One of them was the iconic Walla Walla whose name became part of the Australian vernacular. In later years J.D. Watts handled champions like Ribands and Caduceus.
The legendary horseman was training his horses at the newly developed track at Fairfield when the AH&I Society was granted approval to conduct registered trotting meetings in 1964. How fitting it was that J.D. Watts should win a race with Smoke Cloud at the inaugural meeting of the new club. The meeting was conducted in front of almost 10,000 people with 45 bookmakers fielding on the locals, and several more on the “away” events. Jack Watts was 79 years old when he passed away in 1975.
Graeme with father Colin, and brothers Michael and Colin Jnr. at Menangle for the induction of J.D. Watts into the Menangle Legends Honour Roll - courtesy Club Menangle.
The Fairfield Club created the J.D. Watts Memorial as far back as 1976 and the race was run annually at Fairfield until the closure of the track in 2017. Thankfully Club Menangle agreed to take it over ensuring a perpetual tribute to a great pioneer of the sport.
Graeme’s father Colin is currently struggling with eyesight issues, but is in reasonably good health at the remarkable age of 94. He was recently sighted among a large number of mourners at the Bathurst funeral service for his respected contemporary Tony Turnbull. Colin was 24 years old when he drove his first Harold Park winner Bogan Queen in 1950. Exactly forty five years later he won his final race on the iconic track when he drove Nyamuri to victory.
Career highlights for Col were the 1966 Inter Dominion Trotter’s Final on Yamamoto, and the 1968 Spring Cup on Oligarch. It was reported at the time that Colin was the first person to breed, own, train and drive a Cup winner at Harold Park.
Colin acquired a one and a half acre property right alongside the Fairfield track in 1973. From that property he enjoyed great success with horses like Trunkey Wish, Gloomy Lass, Fair And Square, Yaldhurst, Americana, Te Kanawa, and Step Outside. Between them those pacers won a large number of races at Harold Park.
Colin Watts was in his 40s when this one was snapped at Harold Park in 1972 - courtesy Club Menangle.
Graeme made an inauspicious debut as a race driver in 1982 behind a mare called Aja Two Thousand at Bankstown. He came back with his head down after galloping away and finishing a long way behind them. He made up for it at only his second race drive when he won on a grey mare called Double Jet for valued client John Graham, a leader in carpet retailing at the time.
By an interesting coincidence Graeme’s first winning drive at Harold Park was also courtesy of a grey horse called Greatcoat. He won several races on the son of Trenchcoat whose perfect temperament gave him a life after racing. In later life Greatcoat became a much sought after carriage horse at weddings all over Sydney.
The younger Watts has achieved notable success as a trainer in his own right. He rates Te Kanarama as the best horse he’s ever trained and driven, and still rues the fact that lingering problems prevented the Panorama gelding from realising his full potential.
Despite being plagued with respiratory and foot issues, Te Kanarama won a 3YO Sires Stakes Final, a Breeders Crown 3YO Final, a WA Gold Nugget Classic and an Inter Dominion heat at Gloucester Park defeating champion Sokyola.
Number two on Graeme’s list of favourites is Smooth Leyenda, a very talented mare trained by his father in the late 1990’s. “Dad was starting to phase himself out of race driving by this stage, and I had the pleasure to drive her in most of her races,” he said. “She won 16 races in all, including the Queensland Oaks Final and the El Dorado Fillies Final in Melbourne. She was a super mare.”
Another outstanding mare prepared by Colin and driven exclusively by Graeme was the consistent Step Outside winner of 19 races including a string of Sires Stakes Finals and the Renshaw Cup at Penrith. Graeme has the daughter of Troublemaker in third spot on his list of career favourites.
The consistent mare Step Outside was trained by Colin Watts but driven by Graeme in all of her 19 wins. One of those wins was in the 2000 Renshaw Cup - courtesy Club Menangle.
One prolific winner he did get to train was a Thor Hanover mare called Duchess Dulcinea, who won eleven races most of them at Harold Park. Graeme often reflects on the deeds of the mare for no other reason than to illustrate how important it is not to “sack” horses too early. “She was useless as a two year old and made little improvement at three,” he said. “She wore no boots and was a perfect pacer but just couldn’t or wouldn’t go.
“Her owners, the late Terry Shanahan and his wife Stephanie asked me to put her away for a long period with a view to giving her one last try. Her work improved next time and we decided to give her a trial at Fairfield. Les Chant had his top class mare Goldrush Girl in the trial and I didn’t expect to get anywhere near her. Admittedly I did get through on her inside at the top of the straight, but to my amazement Duchess Dulcinea “blew” Goldrush Girl away. She never stopped winning after that. She won a Newcastle Cup and ran third in a Gr 1 Ladyship Mile. We couldn’t believe it was the same horse.”
Graeme had a handful of drives on the Bruce Wood trained Daroobalgie in the early 2000’s, and was thrilled to win a 2YO Sires Stakes Final on the colt from the outside of the front row.
Jack Watts in his heyday was revered as a trainer and driver of harness horses, and it’s clear that his son Colin inherited the right genes. You’ve only got to listen to Colin’s assessment of his son’s talents to realise those genes continue to flow. “Perhaps he’s got a better eye for a horse than me and his grandfather,” said Col. “He can see little things in the conformation or characteristics of horses that other experienced horsemen fail to see. He’s quiet and relaxed around them and completely composed in his race driving.”
Colin and his late wife Shirley were the parents of four sons who have in turn been responsible for twelve grandchildren. With such strong family numbers Colin is hopeful another trainer or driver is waiting in the wings, but to this point no likely prospects have emerged. “There are no trotting people among my three,” says Graeme. “Jenny and I have watched for any tell tale signs as they’ve grown up but horses are well down their list of priorities. Chris and Cameron are in the electrical trade, while Rebecca is a lawyer currently working as a University in-house counsel.”
Graeme intends to put his inherent skills to full use as he slowly establishes his new business in the Menangle training centre. He doesn’t want to increase the size of the team too much, preferring the hands-on approach used by his eminently successful forebears. “Mind you I could handle another two or three,” said the likeable horseman.
If another two or three should turn up, they’ll be in the very best of hands.
Graeme sporting the colours associated with the Watts family for decades - courtesy Club Menangle.
Image 6 - Banner Shot - Graeme in the warm up at Harold Park with Duchess Dulcinea. This mare showed nothing early but improved dramatically to win 11 races - courtesy Club Menangle.