Horse Racing & Australian Identity

Tommy Woodcock, strapper and trainer had a lifelong fascination with horses, starting with the six in hand that his Dad used to drive for the Cobb and Co. Coach from Kempsey to Bellbrook.

Tommy is best known as the strapper for Australia's iconic champion thoroughbred, Phar Lap.

Before important races, Tommy would sleep outside Phar Lap’s stable.

Reputedly, Phar Lap would refuse food from anyone but Tommy.

The Age featured this photo of Woodcock and champion race horse Reckless on their front page celebrating the 1977 Melbourne Cup.

This portrait of an extraordinary relationship between a man and his horse was re-published in many international papers.

Bruce had to convince Tommy to let him take this photo. Bruce grabbed a lilo and headed to the stable and eventually Tommy relented.


The actions of Reckless in the image were a surprise. According to Bruce, without a word of a lie, he looked at Reckless and Reckless looked at him, and this big stallion dropped down and put his head on his chest.'

James Scobie, horse-trainer, worked as a horseboy and jockey in western Victoria, starting when he was ten.

At fifteen he rode his first metropolitan jumping winner, as stable rider for Robert Howie of Ballarat.

He was a determined but friendly rival, ‘a fearless and dashing horseman’ according to one account.

From 1882 to 1893 he trained and rode the winners of major horse jumping races, including the prestigious four-mile Grand National Steeplechase which he won in 1887 on his horse Blue Mountain, shown in this painting.

Scobie considered Blue Mountain to be ‘vile tempered’ but also ‘the best thing I ever had through my hands.’

Scobie continued training almost to his death. He won his eighth Victoria Derby in 1937 and fifth South Australian Jockey Club Derby in 1939.

The artist, Frederick Woodhouse Senior came to Australia in 1858 to establish himself as an equine portraitist. The colonial taste for sports such as racing and hunting had created demand for paintings of champion horses.

When Frank Wootton was nine, his father judged him to be ready to race.

The family moved to South Africa to avoid Australia’s fourteen year old minimum race age.

Frank won his first race aged ten, winning 17 races by the time he was thirteen.

The family moved to England, where Frank was known as ‘Wonderboy’.

He became the first Australian to top the jockeys' premiership list. He was the champion jockey in four successive season…all before he was twenty.

When Frank became homesick a kangaroo was imported to his home which further increased his profile and awe with the British public.


'I keep a kangaroo in the garden and spar three rounds with it every morning before riding out.’

After war service Wootton returned to racing in 1920 but he had become too heavy to ride on the flat.

He turned to jumping where he showed skill and under National Hunt rules he won the riders' premiership