with all the negative stuff thats doing the rounds I thought I might try somthing to bring out some positive stuff.... so what got you hooked??

this is my story,

A short trottin’ story
I come from a family of horse people, one of my earliest memories was of me trying to convince my Dad we should have a horse in the backyard, just like Pop. Dad said “mate we just don’t have the room here” my response “ we could just get a little one, maybe a foal! “ Too young to realize, my mum and Dad got married very early in life, mum was looking after us 4 kids, dad a fireman on a regular, but limited income and another large mouth to feed was out of the question.
I was entranced by horses from my earliest memories, I don’t why, I just was.
A few years later, when I was about eleven ( many years to me, at the time) dad had made several promotions in the fire brigade and an opportunity had come to learn the ropes of the trotting game from a fellow fireman, Ron Connell.
I was in there straight away! Mucking out boxes, putting on boots, hosing down and cooling off, all the things the adults really didn’t want to do, mate I loved it!
Dad was doing his ticket ( driver’s permit) with a big skinny chestnut mare Ron had, called “Gay Marie” , a well bred NZ mare, who apparently had become disenchanted with the racing side of things. Gay Marie actually left a couple of handy progeny later in life despite her disaffection with racing, although she had apparently won a race before Dad got her.
Anyway Dad completes his trial drives and we take her to Cessnock trots for her first start for us ( notice how I say US! I was well and truly part of the team at this stage! ) It’s Dads first drive in a race and old Gay Marie doesn’t surprise anyone, she runs fair dinkum a hundred yards last. Didn’t try a yard! But that was pretty much what we expected by that stage.
Gay Marie becomes the first horse we sack! I really don’t remember how I felt about that at the time.
Anyhow* very shortly later Dad has leased a late 3YO gelding from “Spotlight Watson” of Kurri Kurri who had a bowed tendon, but had shown some promise. His racing name was “Charmed Gift” and for us he was well named!
Charmed Gift, a 1967 foal by Attacks Gift from “Charmhaven”, a mare that Rugby League legend John Sattler, drove his first couple of winners on. Not a well known fact.
“ Spot” as well called him, ( an undying habit in our family is to name a horse after the person you got it off) was one lovely horse, a beautiful nature, a tryer that wasn’t blessed with enormous ability but had a go every time he went around.
A couple of trials and many gear and shoeing adjustments later and Spot was ready for his first lifetime start, September 1970,at Newcastle, over 10 furlongs and 28 yards.
Horse and driver both went super leading throughout in the mud to win by a nose!
Spot was no star but his finest moment was about 18 months later, he’d won another race by then and was a 2.26 class horse (C2 on today’s terms), any way Dad decides he’s going to have a trip away with the horse, try some “big tracks” like Penrith and Canberra, because he reckons Spot feels like he’s not happy on the tight turns of Maitland and Newcastle ( both 550 metre and 600 metre tracks in those days.)
We get to Penrith for the Thursday night meeting, Spot’s a 100/1 in against horses like Hal Peterson ( K.Newman) and Royal Calypso ( P.Hall)… in a bloody ‘26 front at Penrith!!!
Dads mate Roger says to dad “we’ve got no hope here mate save our dough for Canberra ,what do you reckon?” Dad says nah I reckon I’ll something on him tonight, just in CASE!
Spot jumps out, sits behind the leader Hal Petersen, Dad and horse go for a run that’s not there at the 600m, get legs taken, all over.
We ( Dad, Roger and I, (who was wagging school for a few days) camped at Penrith in the stables that night before heading to Canberra the next day.
We get to Canberra and old spot is absolutely out of his skin! I had never seen him so “bull at a gate” He’d changed a bit from my old casual mate to being fair dinkum on his toes!!
I was a bit worried about Spot, and had a “heart to heart” conversation with him in the stable before we geared him up “ mate if you don’t do the job today it may be all over, Dad and Roger have backed you off the map”
Spot is in a standing start (only form of start in those days unless you were in the miracle Mile, which obviously we weren’t) over 12 furlongs or three laps of the half mile circuit.
Starter lets the tapes fly and Spot does something he had never done before and never did again in his entire life, he gallops hopelessly at the start !, got left at least 100 yards. I was gutted! All this way for a knock down and now this!
Now Spot was the sort of horse that would jump in the first two or three and finish in the first two or three, giving the leaders a big start was something he had never done and, in our minds was something he was incapable of overcoming.
I was standing at the entrance to the track, which was situated at the bottom of the home straight, in other words we were looking up the horses backsides as they went down the home straight. As the horses went up the back straight the first time around, Spot had finally got back in his gear but was a bloody long way behind the last horse let alone the leaders. I couldn’t believe it! It was completely NOT SPOT.
As the race progressed Spot was gradually making ground on the field, I thought at one stage, gee me might actually beat one or two home, wouldn’t that be a run!
With a lap to go Spot had caught the field and dad was gaining cheap, gradual yards up the fence, and I thought “ great effort but it’s going to tell in the last 800m”
Up the back straight the last time spot and dad kept making ground along the inside and when they got to where we were standing at the bottom of the straight, Spot was in the thick of it, only about two lengths off the leader, I thought geez, what a run!
As the field ran down the straight, I couldn’t hear the call because everyone around me was cheering on their horse, but I could see dad shift Spot off the fence getting pretty close to the post…. Then I heard the announcer say “ photo finish resting between Susan Bonney and Charmed Gift”
I thought, you RIPPER he’s run second!!
Then the course announcer says “Charmed Gift the winner, by a half neck, trained and driven by B.E Gibson at Waratah in Newcastle and what a run! They don’t bring them all this way for nothing!!
I was hooked….., and have been ever since!

That’s my “hooked” story,

Dan.