The late Wayne Crossland honoured at Mount Isa

By Jordan Gerrans

The colours Wayne Crossland-prepared gallopers wore throughout the late trainer’s career received a heartfelt spin around Mount Isa’s Buchanan Park on Saturday afternoon for the last time. 

The respected North West horseman passed away this month after a battle with cancer.

He was 69 years of age.

The local club honoured the Mount Isa Cup-winning trainer’s memory and career by running the Vale Wayne Crossland race over 1000 metres on Saturday afternoon.

While Crossland did not prepare a horse in his own name for more than a decade before his death, the silks he used were kept intact.

When the late conditioner took a horse to the races around the Sunshine State, they donned his colours: purple, yellow maltese cross, yellow sleeves and yellow cap.

The trainer and connections of Le Weasel – who were particularly close with Crossland – decided to use his colours in the memorial race instead of their own on Saturday. 

Le Weasel finished second in the Vale Wayne Crossland race but regardless of the result, the late trainer’s family who were on course on Saturday were proud to see his memory honoured.

Crossland’s widow Sharon and daughter Cheryn were at the races for the special occasion.

Mount Isa Race Club president Jay Morris prepares Le Weasel and would have loved to see his Capitalist gelding win in the memory of his late mate and mentor.

“The family were very happy to see the colours go around again,” Morris said.

“It was a nice day for the family and all involved. We will keep this race going now for the coming years and make it a memorial race.”

Bittergreymagic for trainer Shryn Royes and jockey Jason Hoopert won the first edition of the Wayne Crossland memorial race. 

The late horseman came from racing stock with his father Warwick also a trainer.

Crossland had called the North West city home for a tick over four decades after growing up in Far North Queensland.

While he made his name as a thoroughbred trainer, it was actually another code of racing that brought him to the area initially. 

In those days Mount Isa still had a greyhound track and he travelled a chaser out west with an eye to winning the local Cup in the early 1980s.

Crossland liked what he saw in the regional city and Sunshine State racing identity Graham Saunders helped him get a job and the rest was history.

The Saunders family owns Le Weasel.

Saunders recalled on Monday morning how he helped Crossland get a job as a meter reader in the town and he remained in the role for decades.

Morris says through Crossland’s job as a meter reader he became a popular figure throughout the town as he was often recognized going house-to-house to complete his role.

Like Crossland, Morris also hails from FNQ and that is how their friendship began.

“He was one of my closer mates out here and when I moved to town he had been training here for a long time in the area,” Morris said.

“His father and my grandfather lived on the coast around the Innisfail and Gordonvale area and they were very good mates – so he sought me out.

“That was 20 odd years ago and we started going to the races together a lot. He was always involved in racing and had a couple of handy horses.

“We did a lot of travelling to races together, he was a genuine good bloke.”

The president says Crossland was the first person to put his hand up if the club was about to have a working bee or prepare their facilities for an upcoming race day.

A galloper named Regulus – who was a close relation of the great Might and Power - was the best horse Crossland ever put the polish on.

Regulus retired in June of 2008 with 12 wins and 18 minor placings to his name from 56 starts, which included the 2006 Isa Cup.

The Zabeel gelding won races in the North West before heading to the city where he won at Eagle Farm.

He headed back to the bush and won on several other occasions.

Morris recalls how Regulus was beaten ‘an eyelash’ in the Birdsville Cup of 2006.

Morris and Crossland would regularly travel horses together to carnivals across the state.

“He taught me a lot and was a very good horseman as well,” Morris said.

“He was a very good show jumper and always had a handy horse in his stable.

“His horses always looked tremendous; they always look so well turned out. He had a knack of figuring out horses as well.”

Crossland prepared other top gallopers such as Fabulous Fuhrlong, Double Dip, Peat Bog, among others.

Crossland’s funeral will be held on Tuesday with his wake to follow at the Mount Isa Race Club.

Racing Queensland extends its condolences to the Crossland family.