Episode 498: Frank Cleary

A hat trick of recent country wins by improving gelding My Last Hooray rekindled memories of Frank Cleary’s glory days in Australian racing. The popular trainer wound down his training operation following two health scares in 2020, and has been training only a handful of horses in recent times. He even hinted that he may walk away from a business that took him to racing’s biggest stage. On learning that My Last Hooray isn’t the only horse on his books, we decided to investigate the immediate future of the Queanbeyan based trainer. He certainly doesn’t confirm likely retirement. Frank talks about two unraced young horses currently in his care. He reflects on the chest pains that sent him to hospital in 2020, and a second ailment that followed closely on his heart scare. Frank talks of the racing involvement in his family background. It’s well known that a young Frank Cleary showed great promise as a rugby league player in pivotal positions. He says he actually started in the Aussie Rules code. Switching to league in the late 60’s he quickly gained a spot in the Queanbeyan Blues Under 18’s side. He looks back on two encounters with a touring British test side. Frank says several niggling injuries eventually finished his football career and sent him in the direction of a new livelihood. You won’t believe some of the things he did for a living in his pre horse training days.   He says his life changed dramatically the day he attended an Inglis Tried Stock sale and came away with a $1400 unraced gelding. That horse shaped Frank’s destiny. The trainer says he had to wait a long time for his first Gr 1 win but it happened to be in one of the oldest classics on the AJC calendar. Select Prince was by Imperial prince as was another Cleary favourite Friend’s Venture. Frank says he was an amazing horse. The trainer thought someone was “pulling his leg” when he got a phone call from a man purporting to be an American owner asking him to train a horse. Frank remembers the late Ken T. Jones who continued to support his stable for several years. He remembers the unsound horse who motivated Jones’ original phone call. Cleary has never forgotten a day at the Gold Coast Sale when Ken Jones had to be talked into buying a Zoffany colt who was destined to become one of Australia’s best two year olds of 1992. Frank remembers Clan O’Sullivan’s impressive early form and his defeat in the 1992 Golden Slipper when he got no favours. Fast forward some six years and Frank recalls the purchase of a Danehill colt who would atone for Clan O’Sullivan’s Slipper defeat. Frank takes us back to the events of Slipper day 1999 when the hot pre post favourite was a late scratching from the famous two year old race. He pays tribute to jockey Mark de Montfort. He looks at a few other good money spinners to carry the Ken Jones colours. Frank looks back on a bold move he instigated in the late 1990’s. He decided to give training a try in the big smoke when stables became available in a new block at Rosehill. His neighbour was a young Kiwi trainer who was testing the water in Sydney. The veteran trainer says there were no stars in the stable during his Sydney stint, but a few handy horses kept him ticking over. He talks of a flying visit to Melbourne with a horse called Shot Of Comfort. It was a good result for the stable and for owner Dominic Beirne.  Frank was chuffed to win his only hometown Cup with Bomber Command in 2009. He reflects with delight with his all time top training effort- six wins  on the Forbes Cup programme in 1994. The trainer pays a heartfelt tribute to his wife Sue. Frank gives a shout out to his four sons with special mention of Joe who’s rapidly gaining recognition as a trainer in his own right. It’s a lovely trip down memory lane with one of the real characters of the Australian training ranks.