Champagnes on Gaye after shock winner

By Jordan Gerrans

A heart attack suffered in the Sunshine State has brought a trailblazing female rider out of retirement and it has not taken long for her to land back in the winners’ enclosure.

Gaye Gauci-Marchant prepared her first victory as a trainer in almost a decade on Sunday at Murwillumbah as she travelled south from her Gold Coast base with galloper Champagnes On Me.

The racing caper has taken Gauci-Marchant all over the globe.

She most recently trained out of Wangaratta in country Victoria before having her last starter in a race in the back end of 2015.

Gaye goes by the surname of Gauci-Marchant these days but she made her name in the game as Gaye Mullins when she became one of Australia’s first female riders.

Queensland’s Pam O’Neill become the nation’s first female jockey back in 1979.

Not long after, Gaye became the first female apprentice to ride in a race through the Victorian system.

After a career in the saddle, Gaye eventually made her way into training. 

In 2022, Gaye and her husband Ernie Marchant – a former jockey himself as well - sold up their property in regional Victoria, stepped away from racing all together, and purchased a caravan and headed off throughout Australia.

That was until they lobbed at Jacobs Well in Queensland.

“We got that far and I had a heart attack,” she said.

“And, after that, I said to Ernie that I wasn’t going to die doing nothing so we decided to get back into racing.

“I had another heart attack a few months later but I’m ok now. I have had bone cancer and diabetes. Every day is a bonus.”

The 61-year-old Gaye alongside Ernie did not initially get back into training themselves straight after.

Firstly, they gave a close mate in Jason Patton – another former rider from Victoria – a hand in establishing his barn at Aquis Park.

That is what Gaye and Ernie have mostly done over the years - work for other trainers around the globe while also dabbling in their own training and riding.

They spent time with Michael Kent in Singapore as well as a period of time at Seoul while also working under John Sadler. 

“I said I would never do it again,” Gaye said with a laugh.

“We stuck with 'JP' until April of this year before we decided to take a few out on our own.”

Kiwi galloper Champagnes On Me brought Gaye back into the training ranks in early May of this year when the mare finished second in her first look at Australian race conditions.

The training team and Champagnes On Me’s majority owner Jacqueline Fenwick celebrated like the mare had won on that day at Warwick. 

They felt just getting her to the races and having her beaten in a photo-finish was an achievement in itself for them.

The daughter of All Too Hard had a couple more runs before she found a winnable race on the Northern Rivers last Sunday.

Fenwick was there to celebrate the occasion.

Fenwick owned the horse when she was racing back across the ditch and despite being told by many people that Champagnes On Me would not win another race – she stuck with her five-year-old.

Sunday’s victory over 1550 metres was the mare’s second in 34 attempts.

“She was tossing up between moving to the Gold Coast and staying in New Zealand and she eventually came over,” Gaye said of Fenwick.

“She was getting rid of all her horses in NZ but there was one horse she didn’t want to leave behind and it was her favourite.

“When the horse finally arrived, we thought she was a beautiful, big strong-bodied horse.

“But, we didn’t look at her form and when we did, she had 30 starts for one win and it was two years ago.

“We knew we were up against it as the horse may not get a run but Jacqui was confident she would win a race.

“Lots of people were telling her that she would never win a race with the horse but she eventually got there.”

Promising apprentice Jai Williams trialled Champagnes On Me at the start of her preparation and has struck up a bond with the stable and ownership team.

The 20-year-old finally jumped aboard her under race day conditions and delivered the victory the team were craving on Sunday. 

The mare is entered for a race at the Ballina Jockey Club on Sunday over 1900 metres. 

The Gaye and Ernie team are ticking along in ‘semi-retirement’ with a team of six horses they rotate through the three stables they rent from Peter Robl.

“We try and do all the one percenters and spoil our horses,” she said.

They have high hopes for Ocean Raider – who was previously trained by Robbie Griffiths and Mathew de Kock – while they also are working with a crop of babies.