JIM LAKE - MILDURA CUP 'WONDER'

Jim Lake didn’t start training horses until he was 40.

Spending most of his life around the Riverina district – Barham, Cohuna, Gunbower and the like – he grew up on a dairy farm and, as a kid, worked in the shearing shed.

With a justified degree of pride, Jim talks about how he kicked off as a roustabout before eventually running the shearing show. He would later purchase a dairy farm which also kept him from being idle for the next 20 or so years.

But he always had his eye set on the horse training caper and, in 1982, took out his license.

A typical bushie with a real affinity for horses, he’d spent a lot of time helping out with the local pony club and his efforts were hardly wasted as his daughter is now a highly accomplished equestrienne.

Chasing his dream, Jim settled on a 50 acre property at Gunbower, which boasts a private 1200m track, and grows a bit of lucerne on the side. Always willing to lend a hand, Jim looks after the local track as well.

Clocking up 67 years, Jim shows no signs of slowing and still rides his horses work and shoes them himself.

Although he prefers to stay behind the scene, rather than creating one, Jim and his horse – De Mars – were the toast of the town at the end of May after capturing the Mildura Cup in thrilling fashion.

Jim purchased De Mars – a smashing Grass Wonder 4YO – from the Eliza Park draft at the 2006 Ready to Run sale in Melbourne, paying $60,000 for the privilege.

Eliza Park Racing Manager, Sue Ellis, a clear admirer of Jim’s husbandry skills and dedication to detail, recalls how the Gunbower trainer beat a path to the colt’s door at Oaklands Junction.

“Jim loved the horse and I reckon he spent more time in the box than the staff.”

Jim takes up the story: “I was contacted by Tony Penglase who has had a bit of luck of late with horses like Count To Zero and Danzylum.

“He’d evidently been looking for someone to train horses from up my way and an old wool classing mate of mine dobbed me in.

“I was just about out of the game by then but I agreed to meet Tony at the sales.

“We picked out about eight horses and I told him how much I liked the Grass Wonders and he backed me all the way. He told me to keep bidding and eventually the horse was knocked down to us for $60,000. I was shaking!

“The most I’d ever spent on a horse up until then was $2,000.

“But Tony – and his partner Julie (Estep) – are terrific people and are very patient. They want their horses right for the day and don’t ever push you to race them before they are ready.”

De Mars didn’t start for almost a year, but after a pair of cheques at Kyneton and Swan Hill, he broke through for his maiden victory at Kilmore in December 2007.

The horse has now won seven and placed on six occasions from 23 outings for over $115,000 in stakes.

And Jim reckons we haven’t seen the best of him yet and to keep an eye out for the Swan Hill Cup on Sunday (7 June), the race in which De Mars ran third to Diamonds at Dawn last year.

Jim only has the two horses in work with the other – Twin Warrior – also owned by Tony and Julie.

Unfortunately Twin Warrior, who was purchased from the Eliza Park Ready to Run draft 12 months after De Mars, did a bit of damage in a recent float incident and won’t be sighted for a while.

But Jim reckons the horse has his share of ability too and he’ll just bide his time and get the horse right.

While other trainers who have just lost half their stable would be mortified, Jim Lake is more than content to fly solo with De Mars and they may just blast off another Cup at Swan Hill on Sunday.

Stay tuned.

PS. Racegoers with a fair sort of memory might recall the deeds of a steed called Fair Paint who raced in Jim’s colours back in the early 80s.

Fair Paint, whom Jim purchased for just $500, would win the Schweppes 1200 at Flemington and 23 other races in a sterling 106 start career.

By the time they’d hung up his racing plates, Fair Paint had brought home a cheque in 76 starts for $142,390 in stakes.

And just to cap it all off, Fair Paint was still winning show ribbons as an 11 year old!