Episode 428: Greg Eurell

Great to catch up with a man who’s had a more diversified background with horses than most Australian trainers. The former Olympic show jumping gun and respected horse breaker Greg Eurell turned to the training of thoroughbreds thirty years ago. Nine Gr 1 wins including a Cox Plate are testimony to his talents. Greg talks about the bustling Cranbourne training centre and the facilities available to trainers. He talks of his successful training partnership with Jim Mason. Greg talks of the availability of work riders and the time required to get 60 horses worked. He acknowledges he talents of his wife Danielle who rides daily trackwork before heading off to her day job in Melbourne- a very unlikely day job at that. Greg talks about the accessibility of his preferred race meetings. He takes us back to early days in Sydney’s Hills District and his involvement in pony club. The talented horseman is reluctant to talk about his inclusion in the Federation Equestrian team as a teenager. Greg was selected for the Australian squad bound for the Moscow Olympics in 1980. He and team mates were shattered when the Aussie equestrian team withdrew for political reasons. He says it was a long wait for the 1984 LA Games, but he made the squad again and actually took two horses of his own to the USA. One of them didn’t make it into the arena. Greg speaks with great reverence of the champion show jumper Johnny Mac, his once in a lifetime horse. He says the horse was discovered by another competitor. He looks back on Johnny Mac’s stunning success in elite company, and fondly remembers the presentation of a prized trophy by an iconic figure. Greg discusses Johnny Mac’s pedigree and his unlikely colouring. He talks of his late father’s busy Sydney plumbing firm. A qualified plumber himself, Greg decided to move away from the family business and set up shop as a horse breaker in Victoria. He finished up in keen demand and breaking horses for some high profile trainers. He talks of his modest transition into training and the horses to kick start his new career. Greg pays tribute to Princess D’Or, the talented mare he brought to Sydney to win an important stakes race at Warwick Farm. He recalls the first time he laid eyes on the spectacularly marked Apache Cat. He still can’t believe the brilliant sprinter gave him 8 Gr 1 successes. He talks of the horse’s obscure pedigree and his exceptional temperament. The trainer takes us through Apache Cat’s amazing career. The horse gave him two major scares during a 19 win career. The former Olympic competitor talks with great affection about the mare who would become Apache Cat’s successor at the elite level.  Greg remembers the nightmare that unfolded when Pinker Pinker suffered a fatal reaction to a commonly used injection. The Cranbourne trainer acknowledges a handful of special horses who flew the flag with distinction for the Eurell stable. It’s a laid back chat with a master horseman.