Episode 369: Cliff Brown

When Cliff Brown arrived in Singapore in 2008 equine virus had paralysed the racing industry in most parts of eastern Australia. It was nine months before Cliff was able to transport Aussie horses to his new training base. After a tardy start he went on to enjoy 13 fruitful years in Singapore. He talks of the endless Covid lockdown which brought him back to Australia last year. Cliff looks back on a very satisfying thirteen years in a city he grew to love.   The trainer profiles some very talented horses he got to train in Singapore. There was one he didn’t train but admired greatly. Cliff talks about The Inferno who won eight of his nine starts in Singapore before being flown to Melbourne where he won the McEwen Stakes before being narrowly beaten in the Gr 1 Moir. Those performances earned him an invitation into The Everest. The fifty two year old horseman takes us back to his early years at Narbethong where his father bred a few horses. Cliff says his dad Don wasn’t a hands on horseman but an expert on thoroughbred pedigrees. He talks of a homebred called Average Game who sired two of his all time favourite horses. Cliff pays tribute to Cheviot- his first Gr 1 winner. He acknowledges the deeds of Tarnpir Lane with whom he won a Gr 1 Rosehill Guineas and a Gr 2 Memsie Stakes. He placed in several elite races. Cliff says he was an average trainer when he had Tarnpir Lane. Cliff loved Markham, one of his three South Australian Derby winners and later destined to run third in a Melbourne Cup.  He profiles Blue Murder, yet another SA Derby winner. Cliff talks of his Adelaide Cup success with The A Train. He admits it wasn’t a strong Cup but a Gr 1 is a Gr 1 anywhere, anytime. He talks of his current base at Mornington and the excellent facilities available to local trainers. Cliff talks of his children India (23), Harvey (20) and Felix (16) who spent a large part of their early years in Singapore.