Flamboyant businessman John Singleton would have struggled to argue with the logic of Clarry Conners when the four-time Golden Slipper-winning trainer nagged him for a horse.
The old friends have climbed some of Australian racing’s biggest summits together, even taking on the world with Belle Du Jour.
Conners never misses a chance to remind Singleton of their successful history and his persistence has paid off with the high-profile owner recently sending over well-performed mare Girl Tuesday.
“I was harping on him for a while that you better give me a horse,” Conners said.
“We’ve had a lot of success together. We’ve won Slippers and Magic Millions’ and Newmarkets. We went to Dubai with that little mare (Belle Du Jour).”
Girl Tuesday will make her debut for Conners in the Listed Winter Stakes (1400m) at Rosehill on Saturday.
Conners figures she will be his first stakes runner since Bolero King more than two years ago and she does boast handy credentials at the distance being unbeaten in two 1400m runs.
Formerly with leading trainer Chris Waller, Girl Tuesday was placed in the Chelmsford Stakes last spring but lost her way during the autumn.
Conners doubts any trainer can improve a horse coming from Sydney’s leading yard but says a new environment can trigger a form renewal.
“I’m not going to improve one little bit on Chris Waller but we will spend time doing some different little things and a change can be as good as a holiday,” Conners said.
Conners has recently been through a significant change of his own.
At the end of last year, a precious chapter of his career closed when he sold his Victory Lodge stables at Warwick Farm to the Galletta family, the owners of now-retired colt Castelvecchio.
It was a tough decision and an emotional period.
“I had 32 Group Ones come out of there. Four Slippers, five Oaks,” Conners said.
“It was emotional. I changed my mind three of four times.
“But it was the right business thing to do. I went there when I was about 25 and was there for nearly 50 years.”
Conners moved around the corner, taking over around 15 boxes from his son Marc.
The two keep separate operations but work closely.
While many of Conners’ peers are enjoying retirement, he still has a hunger to win races.
So does Singleton, and if Girl Tuesday can rediscover her best form, the pair will have found their next shared adventure.
“He said if she is going well we will take on the world,” Conners said.
