WE all know about the Canberra cabbie that drove himself into racing reverence when he bought a horse named Takeover Target.
Did you know that North Queensland has its own version? Well sort of.
Townsville has an old cabbie who sold up, bought a stable at Wulguru and trained a horse that won a remarkable 10 races straight - including the coveted Cleveland Bay.
Kevin Golden was a gentle giant of racing in North Queensland for 20 years.
He clearly remembers the day his champion, Prix d’Amour notched her tenth successive win when she crushed a star studded field in the Cleveland Bay.
“She was something else but I don’t know if she was any better than Beyond Space who raced around the same time also in the colours of the Ivers family of Marathon station near Richmond, great stalwarts of the Golden stable.
“Chris Whiteley maintains Beyond Space is the best horse he has ever ridden.”
A big statement and he wasn’t on him often because Bill Cullen was the stable elect for most of the wins of both horses.
Kevin gave training away in 2003 but is still a frequent visitor to Cluden and assists top Atherton trainer Roy Chillemi on race days.
In fact Chillemi uses Kevin’s Wulguru stables when he comes to town. It is an arrangement that has been ongoing virtually since the day Golden gave away training.
“I had few health hiccups at the time and wasn’t enjoying racing as much as I had been.
“When Cate Murphy ended her successful apprenticeship with me and called it a day- so did I.” said the man who says he walked away with absolutely no regrets.
In fact it is true to say said that Kevin Golden, from the very beginning, was a reluctant horse trainer.
“I often swore I would never take up training like my dad, Herb who was a long time trainer who started off with a stable in Lowth Street.
“I used to help him out when I had the cab, and later when he suffered ill health.
“When he died I decided to take over the string. It just happened, never planned - just a progression I suppose”
Kevin bought his cab in 1976 and sold it in 1984. He “filled in time” for a few years as a groundsman at James Cook University.
Herb died in 1988 and that’s when son Kevin took out a license. He has a photo of his first winner, Shine’s Image at Charters Towers and another of Inducement that won the Burdekin Cup at Home Hill in 1968.
“It was the first horse I ever owned but dad trained him”.
The Golden household is adorned with photos and scrap book cuttings of the stable successes over the years.
There is no doubt the win of Prix d’Amour in the Cleveland Bay is the unparalleled highlight of Kevin Golden’s successful stint at training.
“My dad tried for years to win that race. He went close a few times but all his training life he wanted to win a Cleveland Bay.
“When the mare burst clear in the straight all I could think of was him.”
It is quite ironic too that Kevin Golden saddled up four favourites in the big sprint during his career.
Beyond Space was runner up in his year and many believe he should have won.
Yet the Cleveland Bay was not the only big race win. Kevin Golden won two Country Cups at Eagle Farm with Beyond Space (1995) and Prix d’Ámour (1993) both ridden by the former Townsville jockey Kelvin Wharton.
In 1995 he also won the Parry Nissan with Willy Tinsky.
“The owner, Glenn Wilson rang and asked me to train a two year old he had bought in Brisbane. I asked what is
the breeding”?
“By Semipalatinsk,” he answered.
“What! are you trying to win a two mile race?” Kevin asked before agreeing to train the youngster who duly obliged in the North’s biggest and richest two year old race...
There were several others in the stable that made names for themselves and enhanced the reputation of their trainer.
Kevin trained for some of the best known owners in the area including George Yardley, Talbot Heatley and Tom Sheehan.
Romberg, owned by great stalwarts of country Queensland racing the Ross family, was a “speed machine” who won several races. Tiamo Star was another.
Training might have been something Kevin Golden never wanted to do but he did and the record says he did it well.
He won some big races with some good horses and apart from his Cleveland Bay win there was another memorable chapter.
“My dad took two horses to Innisfail for the annuals back in 1974 when the Innisfail carnival was a three day event and horses, punters, jockeys and bookies came from all over the state for a full week.
“’It was massive in those days.
“We won the Fitzgerald Cup on the first day with Royal Shine, the Johnstone River on the middle day with Herb’s Pride and Royal Shine came out and won the Cup on the final day- all ridden by Harold Warren, now a stipe on the Tablelands.
“I came home and said to Daphne lets go and buy a new house.”
And they did. With the proceeds of the punt. And a couple of winning calcuttas, of course.
Not a bad ‘weeks work’ for an old cabbie who went on to become one of the best known and respected trainers in north Queensland.
