SHARES AVAILABLE FOR RACE HORSES
Stables located at Fannie Bay Racecourse
I have been heavily involved in the racing industry all my life with my father being a racehorse trainer in Central Queensland. I rode my first horse track work when I was just 8 years-old on a mare called Bonne Tout whose foal became my first winner as a jockey at age 16. I used to earn pocket money driving trotters in their track-work, which was quite acceptable back in the mid-1970s. After completing school, being an apprentice jockey was the first job I got. I started out my apprenticeship with my father then went on to Ronnie MacRae out in Central West Queensland. Along the way I learnt the art of breaking in horses from several stockmen and drovers who were very smart horsemen. Because of weight restrictions I rode mostly in Central Western Queensland where the weight scale was slightly higher. But during my apprenticeship, I had the opportunity to go and ride several horses in the city. The best of them being a horse called Lord Penn who I won on at Eagle Farm breaking the track record with 61kg on its back.
During my time in Central Western Queensland, I went on to win 6-7 riding premierships before moving to Darwin with my wife in 1996. I continued being a jockey in Darwin for several years before taking up a dual licence in 2001 and retiring as a jockey later in 2007. As a jockey I won every feature race in Darwin except for the Derby and Palmerston Sprint, getting beaten by a nose. Back in 2000 I rode Star Bullet to victory in the Darwin Cup. I won my first trainers premiership back in 2013 and have held the premiership ever since, so far making it 8 years in a row. The best stayer I have trained is Lightinthenite winning first up in the Chief Ministers breaking the track record then 2nd up in the Darwin Cup breaking another track record and winning by 9 lengths. My best sprinter has been Handsome Tycoon winning the Pioneer Sprint in Alice Springs and then to the Palmerston Sprint in the same year. Some of the better horses we have trained over the years include: Finke, Dream Face, Captain Punch, The Captain and Zahspeed.
Sharlene is my wife and has been my foreman since I took up a dual license in 2001. Sharlene also came from a racing family in central west Queensland, her dad being a trainer and one of her brothers was a jockey. She started training racehorses herself back in 1990. One of her biggest highlights was when she Trained and Part Owned the winner of the 1993 Birdsville Cup, Engrossing with Bradley Johnstone in the saddle.
Jarrod is the leading jockey in Darwin, winning the jockeys premiership in the 2019/2020 season. He is a valuable jockey, and we love having him apart of the team. Jarrod has had a great career with some of his biggest highlight in Darwin being:
Kim Gladwin is a great, very experienced jockey that we love having apart of team Clarke. Some of Kim’s career highlights include:
Simone tragically passed away after a race fall at the Darwin Turf Club on the 5th August 2013 (Darwin Cup Day). She was, and always will be a big part of the team. Simone’s hard work paid off when she accomplished what no other female had done before her, winning the 2012-2013 Darwin jockeys premiership with 27 wins. She is still to this day, the only female to achieve the Darwin jockey premiership. She is deeply missed and will never be forgotten.