I don’t know Victorian trainer Terry Kelly.
But after studying the field of runners for the $5million thing the establishment has called the All Star Mile, set for dispatch this Saturday at Flemington, I’ve come to appreciate him a great deal.
He trains Foundry who will contest the 2019 All Star Mile.
Now, before I launch into this, I’m of the opinion that Godolphin’s owner, HH Sheikh Mohammed – he of the $90 billion in wealth status – will win the inaugural running of this All Star Mile affair with his million dollar mare Alizee. He may even get second with his other neddy, that good old boy Hartnell. And the ageless Sydney warrior Happy Clapper will be in the fray somewhere too.
But this isn’t about them, who collectively have won millions and millions and millions of dollars between them.
This is about old mate T. Kelly and his beat-up, ageing, former competitive stayer Foundry.
I can just imagine it now, T. Kelly will be up at sparrows, tomorrow morning, will probably get himself a cup of old Joe: black no sugar, be sipping it as he walks outside to the boxes that house his handful of race horses he trains.
Mostly for himself but a few are owned by friends. And friends are how he probably sees his horses too – all nine of them but most occupy the paddocks as there isn’t a great deal of help out Coghills Creek way where old mate T. Kelly trains.
In fact, Coghills Creek boasts just 70 residents all up.
No metropolis, no HH Sheikh Mohammed-style operation by any stretch. Just a few paddocks, a few day yards, a few boxes and a genuine love of the horse situated a fair drive from the closest main track at Ballarat.
Then on Wednesday, after he’s done working a few, mucking out their boxes and feeding them, he’ll head inside to see if Foundry drew OK. The barrier draw is on Wednesday.
I wanted to write a piece on the All Star Mile, something different. Something without the pub talk of, “what’s this race all about?” And, or, “why the f… is it called that when dead beats like Urban Ruler get a run while Harlem who just won a Gr 1 last weekend and former Gr 1 winner Trap For Fools, who was brave in the some race, can’t?”
I’m not interested in joining the chorus of knockers, but I do think Alizee is a shoe-in given how she has come back. Her owner is winning everything and one could never ever refer to HH Sheikh Mohammed as ‘old mate.’
And to me, when I call T. Kelly ‘old mate’ I mean it with the utmost respect.
I ought to explain, old mate is a generic term throughout the racing world here, it’s part of our jargon referring to a man, of any age, but more often young than not, who fits in with the status system of the region or industry.
It usually means he has a good sense of humour and enjoys ironic jokes, is tolerant and easygoing enough to get along in long conversations at places like on the corner, or in the saddling bay at the track, maybe in a pub, and has a reasonable amount of physical courage. The term is usually heard in some such form as: ‘hey tha Tezza’s a good old mate from over at Coghill’s Creek way, you know it – the joint has a General Store and plenty of open paddocks.
“But they do need rain.”
These old mates like T. Kelly bob up all over the racing spectrum – both within the industry and at Pub Tabs. They tend to be sporting two or three day growths, wearing cowboy hats, love swilling beer by the schooner full, are eager to shake hands, always sport smiles for everyone, their faces are road maps with plenty of wrinkles, probably wearing a chambray shirt and a belt buckle in the shape of a long horn steer etc.
I mention these details just by way of pointing out that very few of these men ever meet the likes of HH Sheikh Mohammed or his team of highly educated, highly cashed-up horse players. That sort of union never enters into this type of story.
But it will on Saturday.
Because, old mate T. Kelly will saddle Foundry, formerly owned by tycoon Lloyd Williams, and irrespective of who wins, T. Kelly is going to have a field day.
This is because he astutely purchased Foundry over a year ago from Williams for just $8,500.
Yes – read that again. He bought him from Lloyd for that pittance because he’s a rising 10-year-old, and because he hasn’t raced for nearly two years.
But Kelly had room for him on his farm and if nothing else, the assumption was that the old horse would make a good nanny for the rest of the much younger equine crew at his Coghills Creek property.
From then to now, thankfully, T. Kelly has been able to get some miles into the framework and legs of Foundry, who did win the Gr 1 Metrop over 2400m at Randwick back when Williams owned him.
And the other day old mate Foundry ran in an 1190m barrier trial at Cranbourne where he was 5th beaten nearly 5 lengths by Plein Ciel.
On Saturday he just has to get around and finish the race.
If he does that, old mate T. Kelly, who bought old Foundry for just $8,500 remember, will collect $90,000 for the large team of owners he managed to talk into the horse.
Those owners are:
Mrs A J Bridges, Mr A P Evans, Mr A P Miller, Thirteenth, Mr R Faulkhead, Mr P Harris, Mr R J Gray, Mr N J Brown, Mr L J Simpson, Mr S McNish, Mr M F McDonald, Mr P J Canny, Mr C B Ackland, Mr B Hugget, Mr B Woodgate, Mr A Agterhuis, Mr B O’Brien, Mr B Cactus, Mr A Julius
Clearly, that’s a wonderful ROI and little wonder the town folk of Coghills Creek along with and that list of owners got behind the voting system and made sure Foundry got a start in this All Star Mile race, which by the way is worth a cool $5million.
So perhaps maligning the race isn’t the way to go if you’re in a conversation with fellow racing folk.
Already a wonderful story will develop. Old mate T. Kelly, who has trained just two winners from his last 60 runners which dates back to mid 2017, has won!
That’s an All Star result right there.
