By David Nagel
Cranbourne Turf Club (CTC) bid a special farewell to one of its most familiar and respected faces on Friday night with Clerk of the Course Kevin Wynne retiring from the racing industry.
Wynne spent 44 years as a jockey, capturing some of the biggest races in Australia, headlined by a Great Eastern Steeplechase, two Warrnambool Grand Annuals, a Brierley and an Australian Steeplechase at Flemington.
He also put his stamp on the local racing scene, riding four consecutive MJ Bourke Hurdle wins at Pakenham aboard champion jumper Blue Sonic.
For the last two decades he been a dedicated Clerk of the Course, ensuring the safety and welfare of participants and racehorses by facilitating their safe movement to and from the mounting yard and barriers.
The Wynne name is famous around Cranbourne, with Kevin’s wife Dianne a trainer, and daughter Sally a jockey and trainer who has worked alongside her dad as a Clerk of the Course in recent years.
Sally was grateful on Friday night for the huge acknowledgement that the CTC had provided for her dad.
“I’d first of all really like to thank Neil Bainbridge (Cranbourne CEO) for putting this night on, he’s done a super job, he’s made the family feel really welcome, and it’s great to celebrate such a long career,” Sally said.
“I’ve always been there, always been by dad’s side since I was a little kid, going to Oakbank every year, sitting in the Chapmans truck when he used to drive for horse transport, breaking in young ponies.
“Just my whole life has always been with dad.
“Then later on, to be actually able to work with him as a Clerk of the Course, it’s just been phenomenal.
“I don’t think there would be too many who could say they worked with their parents, every single day…it’s awesome.”
Sally said her dad had been around horses since he was a kid.
“He’s been doing it all his life, he used to skip school when he was little and run and grab the pit ponies from the local mine and bring his mum back home on the pony,” she said.
“It’s been going on forever, it’s his passion, it’s his love, so with any luck, I’ll keep him going at the (training) track.
“He can come and ride the pony work with me and keep him involved.”
Sally said her parents had been such a huge inspiration as she navigated her way through the jockey, training and Clerk of the Course ranks.
“Mum has been a trainer and one of my biggest supporters throughout my career as a rider, just a sounding post, and I’ve learned so much from both of them,” she said.
“You couldn’t ask for two better parents to ground you into racing.
“When I’m Clerking now and something goes wrong, as I’m going in to catch a horse or something like that, I always think ‘what would dad do’.
“If you just watch, you can learn a lot from somebody that knows horse behaviour.”
A final fairytale didn’t eventuate on Friday night, with Sally training and riding her horse Ling Ling in the last race on the program.
“It would just be awesome if I could be the last one that dad leads in,” Sally said pre-race.
But the final word goes to Kevin who, despite retiring from the racetrack, won’t be far away from horses for too long.
“My earliest memory of sitting on a horse would be over 70 years ago and I still like riding the horses,” he said.
“I’ve done it all my life, I love it, and I’ll keep riding them to the day I die I suppose.”
