Club Spotlight: Charleville

By Jordan Gerrans

When champion trainer Peter Moody gets back to Charleville these days, the locals reckon it is like nothing has changed.

The Queensland Racing Hall of Fame member best known for his feats with the great Black Caviar, Moody (pictured) is still the same kid that cut his teeth in the racing game in the area all those years ago, those in Charleville say.

The racing industry is an integral part of life in Charleville and the surrounding towns, with the local Central Warrego Race Club hosting as many as seven meetings a year – with one of those this coming Saturday, a five-event non-TAB program.

Moody, who is now back training at Pakenham in Melbourne following a break from the caper, is one of the great racing exports from the area.

Moody’s biography was named “A Long Way from Wyandra”, which is an hour down the road from Charleville, where he first got a taste of the racing bug from age eight up to 19.

The larrikin horseman attended school in Charleville before going on to become one of the top trainers in Australia. 

He still has cousins in the area and Central Warrego Race Club secretary Carrie Wyatt says Moody always loves to get back to his roots, including seeing his friends from his school days at the town.

“He has never changed, when you meet him now, he is the same person he was as a kid,” Wyatt said.

“He will often come back around here away from race days, that was more when he was not training and had more time on his hands.

“He came out a few times for the Battle of the Bush when he was not training.

“He is tentatively booked to come out again to speak at a function around our May meeting later this year, which we are all looking forward to.”

Moody has 56 Group 1 wins to his name, but he will always be remembered for the amazing unbeaten run of mighty mare Black Caviar, going 25-0 in her career.

According to Wyatt, Charleville, Wyandra, and the surrounding areas were abuzz when Black Caviar was at her peak.

“It was so exciting to think a young fella like that, that was not highly educated and left school at year 10 could be on the world stage like that and acquit himself perfectly,” she said.

While Moody took a break from training in recent years, he was a regular visitor to his home track, becoming a Battle of The Bush ambassador in 2019 through Racing Queensland.

“It is a great idea to get interest and in country racing and I have been impressed by what I have seen,” Moody said at the time.

While the Charleville track does not have the same prestige as Flemington or Royal Ascot, one local trainer believes it is the best facility in south west Queensland.

Charleville trainer Leslie Baker, a born and bred local, has trained there for a decade, and says his home track is clearly the best in the area, declaring they are “impressive facilities for a little country town”.

The club was redeveloped in the 1980’s and boasts a wide sand track that can run staying races up to 1800m.

Baker got into the training game through his family and will have one of his horses go around on Saturday.

He has a team of four in work but as the racing season is just kicking off in the area, he will start Just Favulous on Saturday, with the other three to build into their 2021 campaigns in the coming weeks.

“He goes alright, Just Favulous, and we will hopefully be able to win a couple of races,” Baker said.

“I will have a few more of my horses back in the coming weeks at other race meetings.

“I like to support the other clubs around our area.”

Baker has a hometown Charleville Cup to his name earlier in his career as well as a second place finish in the Birdsville and Longreach Cups.

After being the club secretary for many a year, Wyatt is these days looking to take a little bit of a step back when possible.

She calls herself the acting secretary until the committee can find a long-term replacement.

Wyatt recalls the days when Charleville would race 11 times a year but says the seven race dates they have now fits perfectly.

The Charleville Newmarket, which doubles as a Battle of the Bush qualifier in May, and Melbourne Cup day are two of the biggest days on the racing calendar for the club.

Recently the Central Warrego Race Club have started to run race days in conjunction with community groups to help bring new eyes and people into racing.

“It is the only way forward for small clubs like us,” Wyatt said.

“It introduces new people to racing that may not have come to the races before and shows people they can have a nice day out even if they are not right into their horse racing.

“We need a wide sector of people to come and enjoy everything we have to offer.”

Long-time local racing administrator Wyatt has always been in racing, first getting a taste of the industry from her father and grandfather, who both owned horses.

“Some of my earliest memories are going to the racetrack,” she recalled.

As many as seven trainers work their horses at Charleville every morning in 2021, with two based at the track itself, with the others at their own properties.

Mark Johnstone can lay claim to being the leading trainer in Charleville these days, having 15 boxes and will have a big team of horses to go around on Saturday.