(by Duane Ranger (courtesy of Redcliffe Paceway)
You could be forgiven for thinking that Peak Crossing trainer, Charlie Martin, has the Midas touch.
In just 18 career starts, the 31-year-old landscaping contractor has recorded five wins, and nine placings – one of which was a third in the recent Group Two Redcliffe Gold Cup.
Martin’s latest victory came at Redcliffe Paceway on Sunday night (June 30), when he trained the Zac Chappenden-driven Mynamesevan (2), to win the third event – the Hustler Raptor NR45-48 Pace.
But Martin’s run of success is certainly not beginners luck or any early-career fluke. The Wagga Wagga-born horseman has been employed by some of Australia’s best trainers, and learnt from each and every one of them.
“I’ve worked for several good trainers over the years. They all knew that when I worked for them my stay would be a brief one. When I was young my grandfather (Geoff Martin) told me to learn as much as I could from as many trainers I could, incorporating everything I learnt from each of them into my own personal training style.
“I was also told to build my own castle in life and not be a part of other people’s castle building. This year I finally decided to do just that, and now I work a team of three – Mydadsaid, Mossman, and Mynamesevan,” Martin said.
He said he had trotting on both sides of his family. His grandfather Geoff was a prominent trainer, who won several Albury premierships, and on his mother’s side, his grandparents “come parents” were Charlie and Marge Calleja.
“I used to go to my grandparents farm (Charlie and Marge) all the time when I was a kid, so much so my parents let me move in with them when I was 13. I loved the country life, I loved my grandparents, and I loved horses,” said Martin the oldest of three siblings.
“At that time, I switched from Bendigo Secondary College to Kangaroo Flat Secondary College and stayed there for three years before I left school at 16 and went and worked for David Miles. But even though David and I got on well and he was a real good horseman, I thought this game isn’t for me, so I went back to school.
“I thought the industry was nuts. Here’s me working seven-days-a-week every second weekend, and my mates were all playing footy and leering up. I tried to juggle my footy and Moonee Valley trots, but it became impossible, especially if we had a starter in an early race. Since then, I’ve always had other jobs to help me build my own castle,” Martin said.
In his teens and 20s, Martin worked for several trainers including David Aitken, Tony Peacock, Brian and his son Matthew Gath, Dennis Wilson, Heath Redwood, David Miles, Darrel Graham, Tony and Gaita Pullicino, John Scott, and Shane Henley. He then went into mining and trucking industries.
“I learnt a little bit from every trainer I’ve worked for and it has helped me immensely in the way I do things. John and Shane got me going. They got me my early drives. I drove a few winners but these days I’m a big believer in leaving the steering to the professionals – those that know the horses and do it day-in-day-out.
“Because of my love of the animal and all the experience I’ve had with other trainers, I’ve learnt all about attention to detail. Treating each horse as an individual and tending to their respective needs is huge.
“I never work horses together. I give them one-on-one. Often when training together I’ve seen one horse pull up a bit to race with the other. It all comes down to love of the game and putting in the time. I’m not afraid of hard-work. I start at 3am and keep going till late with my landscaping and horses,” Martin said.
So how did a New South Wales native, who has spent a lot of his working life in Victoria end up training in Queensland?
“My mother was working at he Peaks Cross Pub and I came up here on holiday about three years to visit her. When I was there I got talking to Mark Rees, who was having a feed there. He said he needed some horses fast-worked and it all started from there. I moved here and as time went on he allowed me and my cousin Jordy (Prentice) to work a few of our own,” Martin said.
But Martin wasn’t happy with the quality of standardbred that he was training, and wanted racehorses that could win every time he fronted with them.
“I then approached my Uncle, Steven Prentice asking if I could have a go with his good pacer, Mydadsaid. Steven bred and owned him and was going to take him home, so I said what did he have to lose?”
Not long after, on March 17, Martin trained his first winner at Marburg. The Leonard Cain-driven, Mydadsaid, notched up his 10th career win in a 1:59.9 track record, eclipsing Misty Creek’s previous mark by 0.5 of a second.
Then next start Mydadsaid repeated the dose winning the Oakwood Capital Gol Strike Series Final from 30 metres behind. The 4-year-old Sportswriter gelding has provided Martin with four of his five wins so far, including his most recent at ‘The Triangle’ on June 21.
Last Saturday night (June 29) Mydadsaid ran a gallant third in track record time behind Aroda and Saint Veran in the Group Two Redcliffe Gold Cup.
“I’m just grateful that my Uncle gave me the chance to prove my worth. If it wasn’t for him and Jordy I don’t think I would have got this horse. I’m grateful that I got such a good on so early in my career. We especially picked out that Marburg race,” Martin said.
Even though Mydadsaid was the current stable star, he believed Mossman had his seven-win, 7-year-old Terror To Love gelding, Mossman had more ability.
“Mydadsaid is a complete tradesman and does exactly what you ask of him. If I want him to gallop or pace he will do both in an instant. Whereas Mossman is just ‘full=on’ all the time. He has raw ability but doesn’t know how to curtail it.
“Hopefully I’ll get on top of all that soon. If I do he will win more than seven races,” said Martin.
He also had a lot of time for Sunday’s winner, Mynamesevan.
“I’ve always liked Zac (Chappenden) as a driver. I reckon he’s really underrated. He has great hands and really gets them going. He controlled the race from the outset and then dictated all the pace. I like to use Zac, Lenny and The Richardsons – Alanah and Adam, when I can,” Martin said.
Mynamesevan was the $3 favourite and won easily by 3.1 metres with a 1:59.5-mile rate. His sectionals were 31.1, 30.3, 26.7, and 28.7.
Martin owns Mynamesevan with his partner Rachel Logue and her mother Heather. The 4-year-old Hurrikane Kingcole gelding has now won five of his 36 starts and placed in six others.
His quickest mile-rate of 1:55.4 compares to Mossman’s 1:53.1, and Mydadsaid’s 1:53.8.
Footnote: Martin’s next starter will be at Albion Park tomorrow night (Saturday July 6) when Leonard Cain will steer Mydadsaid (10) in race eight at 8.12pm.
