October
JuneOne for Daz
Ballarat trainer Shay Keating landed a nostalgic victory with Viv Said No on her home track last Tuesday.
The Helmet gelding (so named because of cricket legend Viv Richards’s refusal to wear one during his playing days) was Shay’s first winner since her father, Daryl, passed away recently after an illness.
Viv Said No prevailed in a benchmark 64 over 1400 metres under the in form Christine Puls after starting rank outsider at $31.
Daryl had been a trainer for nearly 50 years after gaining valuable experience with a local icon in the late Noel Kelly.
Among his best performers were Dance The Night (10 wins capped by the 2000-metre Group 3 Matron Stakes at Flemington under Michael Evans), Full At Last (2005 Gold Topaz at Swan Hill under Ben Melham) and King Carnage (nine wins including back-to-back at Moonee Valley in 2010 for Steven King and Queensland apprentice Brent Evans).
Pufnstuf was his most successful galloper recently, with four wins including a hat-trick on the Geelong synthetic in 2017. He is now trained by Daryl’s daughter.
As a 14-year-old apprentice, Shay Brown had early successes on Midnight Renegade at Stawell and Sweet Promise on Hamilton Cup day for Daryl. This was 1988 and trainers were often hesitant about putting inexperienced girls on their horses but neighbour Paddy Payne was quick to utilise Shay’s 3kg claim on Flying Eskimo to reduce its weight to 58 kilos, yielding a popular win in the Horsham Cup.
Shay was busy with her VCE on Ballarat Cup day 1989 but made sure of being there for the opening race and duly saluted on Air Pocket for her father in a close finish in a capacity 1000-metre maiden field at 25/1. Stable followers were elated.
Daryl and Velma Brown and family have been great contributors to the racing industry and it was a large number that celebrated Daryl’s life at the Ballarat Turf Club on June 5.
Ballarat (Vic)