Family matters for Desert Cowboy

By Andrew Smith

Co-trainer Peter Rowe only has one brother, but it seems that neither of them are the favourite son of the Rowe family.

Local cult hero Desert Cowboy without a doubt receives the most attention in the Rowes' Cannon Park stables.

As he prepares for the start of the famous Cairns Amateurs Carnival on Friday, Peter - who trains in partnership with father Trevor – revealed the sweet secret to success for the 10-year-old.

“He just loves liquorice, he’ll have a packet a week basically - we rattle the packet and he’s got his head around the corner waiting for it,” Peter said.

“Mum (Helen) spoils him a bit - I think it’s her third son basically, me and my brother get shafted when Cowboy’s in work, it’s all about him.

“He’ll have a piece every day and after a race - you put him away after a bath and it’s the first thing he’s looking for.

“We look after him and we wrap him in cotton wool - so when he’s a little bit sour we’ll put him out for a couple of weeks and bring him back.

“I think that’s been the key the past couple of years that although he hasn’t raced a lot he’s been in and out of work quite a lot.”

Landing in the Rowe stable almost six years ago as a Class 4, Desert Cowboy has gone on to add 11 more wins to his CV from 67 starts, along with 22 placings.

Trevor echoes his son’s sentiments that the horse they simply call “Cowboy” is definitely the favourite.

“We look after him, we pamper him and he’s the first horse fed of a morning, first horse worked of a morning -  he’s just become part of the family to be quite honest,” Trevor said.

“We’ve just had a lot of success for him, he’s a lovely old horse - his nature just draws you to him.”

Peter added: "He’s got plenty of character - he’s a 10-year-old but he throws a new trick in every day.

“He’s terrified of other horses, he’ll walk out to the track like an old stager but when he comes back off the track it’s chaos.

“He’ll jump around, shy at everything and you know he’s feeling well when he’s doing that.

“If he does everything right, something’s wrong so he’s got plenty of character.”

By far the best connection Desert Cowboy has though is the one with jockey Krysten Swaffer.

The apprentice hoop rides the gelding in work every day and has been on board 10 times for two wins and four placings.

The association proved valuable for the 24-year-old to regain her confidence after twice returning from injury.

“I’ve probably been riding him four, four-and-a-half years now, so he’s probably been the longest horse I’ve ridden since I’ve been here and he’s just a gentleman,” Swaffer said.

“After I came back from my shoulder reconstruction, he was kind of the first one I went back on and he’s such a big confidence booster, I know he’ll look after me.

“It was the same this year - I had another pretty bad fall kind of the same point as last year and I only rode him the other weekend.

“I said to Trev ‘I’ll come in, I’m just riding Cowboy’ because he’s just a horse I trust and I know he’s going to look after me around the track.

“He’s just one of those horses you just trust with everything - you can get on and you know he’s not going to hurt you, he’s a gem and he’s more human than horse.

“He knows he gets ridden first, he gets hosed first, he gets fed first - you could say we spoil him a bit but he deserves it, not many horses win 15 races and still love their job.

“Especially mornings if we trial him and he was to wait until the end of the day - he gets cranky and stands at the end of his box and won’t look at anyone until he gets fed and he’s happy.”

Both Trevor and Peter agree the relationship between Desert Cowboy and Swaffer has served to boost the careers of both horse and jockey.

“I don’t know what the connection is, but they certainly get along,” Trevor said.

“I know people think it’s silly but if Krysten isn’t here and we need to get someone else up on him, he actually turns his head around and has a look and says ‘what’s going on here, where’s Krysten?’ ”

“A lot of horses click with somebody - when Krysten was learning to ride trackwork when she first started her apprenticeship, he’s such an easy horse to get along with,” Peter said.

“They just get along, he loves her.

“She comes back every now and then and has a bit of a tiff with him - I think it’s just a love hate relationship, a lot more love than hate.

“He does throw in a couple of cheeky moments with her but she can laugh it off with him, she knows there’s no nastiness, it’s just him having a bit of a play.”

Swaffer won’t be on board for Desert Cowboy’s run in Friday’s Open Handicap at Cannon Park, with the Rowes opting for the heavyweight hoop in leading provincial jockey Ryan Wiggins.

“I’ve found that Cowboy is going well for female jockeys but now he’s right up there in the weights and most of the female jockeys are very light so they’ve got to carry a lot of dead weight,” Trevor said.

“Ryan is quite heavy so instead of carrying seven or eight kilos of lead, he won’t carry any and I think that could be the difference.

“The dead weight seems to stop him winding up like he normally can, he just needs that extra bit of time to wind up now and we’re hoping with no dead weight on him that’ll do the trick.”

Desert Cowboy has a solid record at Cannon Park, winning nine times and finishing second on ten other occasions.

A huge crowd is expected for the eight-race card on Ladies Day this Friday, with Swaffer believing the Amateurs Carnival’s famous party atmosphere will play to Desert Cowboy’s advantage.

“It’s just very full on, but it’s a good atmosphere - you get the crowd yelling over the fence and a lot of horses love it,” Swaffer said.

“He definitely loves it and he’s a crowd pleaser that’s for sure but it’s just like a normal cup meet times ten with the people, the atmosphere, the music.

“Some horses don’t respond well to it but the majority are used to it but it’s a good vibe, it’s fun having the crowd over the fence cheering you on.”

As for whether the Amateurs will be Desert Cowboy’s swansong, the Rowes are content for their veteran to let them know it’s time.

“We keep him happy and I think wherever he’s happy he’s going to keep racing,” Peter said.

“Whether he pulls up after this weekend or goes another campaign we’re not sure but he’ll tell us when he’s had enough.”

Swaffer added: “I think he just loves his job - you see a lot of horses, they do get sour, they do get over being in the stables but he just loves it, he loves the attention, he loves the work loves his job.

“He’s happy to be here and I think that’s a good reason why he’s a 10-year-old and he’s still going around and still loving it, he just loves this whole scene.”