Local trainer Gordon Spowart says the gift of friendship and community has kept him in the game

Only a stone’s throw from the Geraldton Turf Club lives one of the most successful local trainers in the Mid West.

With 19 trainer of the year honours, Gordon Spowart has cemented himself as an all-timer.

Inspired in his early days watching his father compete as a jockey, Spowart helped out by riding in training for his dad. Spowart fell in love with the sport and soon found himself training his first horse, Mr Bojangles, in the 1970s after it was given to him by his cousin.

Mr Bojangles was the driving force behind Spowart starting to train horses on a serious level, opening the door to his life in racing.

Spowart said his stable started small but continued to increase in size as more winners were trained under his name.

“It just grew and grew and grew,” he said.

“At our peak we had 20-odd horses.

“Obviously now I only muck around with five or six, but I still enjoy it.”

Arguably Spowart’s most successful year was 1987, with his sprinter Arkenstone.

Arkenstone sired Australian horse of the year Placid Ark, the first horse to win the Lightning Stakes, Oakleigh Plate and Newmarket Handicap in the same year — 1987.

In the sport now for more than 50 fruitful years, Spowart said the people in the racing community in the Mid West made it easy for him to roll in again season after season.

“I have made some lifelong friends in this industry,” he said.

“It is more than just racing for me for sure, especially now I enjoy the social nature of it all.”

Winning his first trainer of the year honour in 1985, Spowart went on to win another 18, with his last during the 2016-17 season.

That season, Spowart was the clear favourite, finishing with 184 points — almost 90 points clear of runner-up Sarah Childs, who finished on 94.5.

Spowart finished that season with an incredible 24 individual race winners as well as his star horse, Sasse De Blishke narrowly missing out on horse of the year, falling short by two points to Barry Newnham’s gelding Mister Panon.

It’s fair to say Spowart has seen just about all you can as a trainer in the Mid West, and as he gears up for another Geraldton Gold Cup day, he says the health of racing in the Mid West is promising.

“We are very lucky up here,” he said.

“We have some great people in charge, and one of the best tracks around.

“Racing here is certainly in a good spot.”

With the cup only one meet away, Spowart is preparing one of his top performers this season, five-year-old gelding Master Alex, for the 1400m Abrolhos Plate.

Spowart said Master Alex was suited to the distance and if he was able to secure jockey Madi Derrick, the horse could impress.

“He is a great horse and is really suited to the 1400m distance,” he said.

“Hopefully we can secure Madi. She really knows how to get the best out of him.”

While Spowart won’t have a runner in the 2100m Geraldton Gold Cup, he said Newnham’s On The Mark and Allan Hughes’ Butterflyrock were two locals to keep an eye on.

“They are both great horses and have performed well this season,” he said.

“It will be interesting to see how they go against some great Perth-based trainers who will make their way up for the run.”

The $125,000 Geraldton Gold Cup and $50,000 Abrolhos Plate run on April 6 at the Geraldton Turf Club.