Gippsland: Spritely Stan brings joy to Jack
By Damien Donohue, March 21, 2018 - 7:14 AM

Locally trained 10-year-old Stanborough and his knockabout trainer, Damien “Jack” Walkley, were afforded the biggest ovation of the day when successful in the Ladbrokes Info Hub Benchmark 58 Handicap (1200m) at Sale on Friday.
Stanborough ($11) was cleverly ridden by emerging apprentice Chelsea MacFarlane, holding a position close to the speed, pushing through in the straight and finding plenty to defeat Lebombo Rose ($7) and Kentucky Flyer ($1.90).
Walkley was delighted with his elder statesman’s victory.
“He’s a lovely old horse, a real gentleman and great around the younger horses at home. He hasn’t been too far away of late — his form isn’t as bad as it looks.
“He loves dry tracks, and it’s great to win a race with him.”
Stanborough behaviour at home belies his birth certificate, Walkley says.
“He’s still very spritely, bucks and jumps around like a two-year-old.”
Last Friday’s win was the Gallo di Ferro gelding’s 11th from 82 starts.
He scored his maiden victory at Moruya in 2012 and has raced far and wide since, winning at Sapphire Coast, Warracknabeal, Balaklava, Kyneton (twice), Geelong, Moe, Cranbourne, Traralgon and now Sale. 
Walkley has taken over training of Stanborough this preparation from the formerly Rosedale based trainer Bob Beecroft, who in recent times has prepared a small team from a lifestyle property at Loch. 
Stanborough won four times as a nine-year-old under Beecroft’s care. 
Beecroft underwent major heart surgery in January, and Stanborough made to the move to the picturesque Boisdale dairy farm operated by Walkley and wife Debbie, who milk their herd of cows twice daily while keeping up their long-time involvement in racing, breeding and training a small team (usually one or two) as a hobby.
Walkley’s passion for racing began as an apprentice, indentured to Glengarry trainer Peter Dennison. 
A hard-working trainer, Dennison also ran a dairy farm and was a school teacher. He trained the grand old local warrior Go Better, who won 25 races, many with Terry Macalister aboard. Walkley won on Go Better in a Bairnsdale Hibernian Racing Club Cup.
Weight wasn’t Walkley’s friend and he was race riding for only a short time, but spent a decade riding work for former Sale trainer Ron Crawford. 
During that time, Crawford had a very successful team including the outstanding galloper Luther’s Luck, who debuted a winner at Sale in 1983 and retired in December 1988, having raced 79 times for 19 wins, 15 seconds and 10 thirds. 
Apart from amassing $319,745 in stakes, Luther’s Luck won a record nine races at Sandown, including the 1986 Liston Stakes.
Walkley drifted away from racing, focusing on shearing and farming, but took out a trainer’s licence in 1998. 
Wife Debbie is the daughter of Gippsland Racing Hall of Fame trainer Mario Farrugia. 
In his 50 years as a trainer Farrugia has saddled up some handy gallopers, with Proud Value and Rajah Supreme at the top of that list. Bridle Lane, Asset Lea, Popeye Jack, Riverland, Vincentino and Enterprise Man are others that come to mind.
These days the raceday face of the Farrugia operation is Debbie’s sister Kerry, a successful jockey in the 1980s and ’90s. 
Kerry was the first female apprentice in Victoria to outride her country claim, achieving this in November 1985 at a Sale meeting, where she combined with her father to win four races on the day, with Top Gleam, Venture, Super Hagen and Popeye Jack.
Another sister, Julie Stockdale, mother of talented apprentice Brandon, won plenty of races around the picnic circuit including four in a day at the legendary Omeo races. 
Team Walkley’s current stable star, six-year-old gelding Go One Better — yes, named after Walkley’s old mate Go Better — is currently recovering from the removal of bone chips from a knee. 
The winner of six races from 41 starts, Go One Better is by the Walkleys’ resident broodmare Annie’s Courage. 
Annie’s Courage (Rory’s Power-Sheer Courage) was the result of the Walkleys’ first foray into breeding. Walkley named the mare after his mother.
“She had sugar diabetes, raised 10 kids and worked two jobs while she did it — I reckon that’s a fair bit of courage and that’s how we named her,” he said.
Annie’s Courage won five races in Gippsland and was placed in Melbourne. 
Popular jockey Roger Booth, who tragically died last year in Darwin, rode the mare to four victories. 
Walkley has high hopes for a two-year filly by Ilovethiscity from Annie’s Courage, who will race as Iloveannie.
Stanborough will race at Bairnsdale this Saturday in a benchmark 64 over 1600 metres.

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