By Duane Ranger (courtesy of Redcliffe Paceway)
Caboolture horseman, Stewart Dickson, had a feeling Lancelot Bromac’s 505th race-day start might be one that Redcliffe Raceway patrons wouldn’t forget in a while.
Sure enough, the 13-year-old Art Major gelding notched up his first win in 19 starts at ‘The Triangle’ on Tuesday (May 9), but from the moment they left their Caboolture property on Wednesday afternoon, Dickson knew his old mate was fired up and ready for his regular Tuesday outing.
“He bolted out of the place when I tried to load him onto the three-horse float. Then after his race he could have gone around again. He was really fired up all day,” Dickson said.
Lancelot Bromac, who was bred by Bromac Lodge in Christchurch, was born on October 31, 2009. He was unraced in New Zealand and came to Queensland in June 2011. He has now had 19 Redcliffe starts for a win and three placings.
He’s only ever raced at three tracks in Queensland, namely Redcliffe Paceway, the Gold Coast and at The Swamp.
On Wednesday at 3.42pm he justified his favouritism by winning race five at ‘The Triangle’ by a head.
“We only came to Redcliffe because Albion Park was undergoing maintenance. I enjoy racing at Redcliffe and have done so for many decades, but this old fella likes the wide-open spaces.
“He prefers the big roomy tracks and that’s why he’s only just over a handful of starts there.
“I didn’t mind bringing him this time because I was delighted with the draw (7) and he got the passing lane run after being three deep along the markers.
“I told Lennie (driver Leonard Cain) he had the best horse in the field, and to stick to the markers and hope the gaps opened up.
“And that’s exactly how it panned out. It was a superbly drive from Leonard. Everything went to plan,” Dickson said.
It was the 13-year-old Art Major gelding’s 34th win from 505 starts. He’s also placed on 136 occasions and banked $385,847. His quickest mile rate of 1:53.8 was recorded at Albion Park in July 2019.
On Wednesday Lancelot Bromac paced a 2:00.1 mile rate. His time for the 1,780m mobile was 2:12.8. In human terms that’s like human winning a track race for the first time at the age of 44.
“He just loves to race and certainly has no idea how old he is. He’s still got plenty of get-up-and-go in him and wouldn’t hesitate biting, head-butting, or jamming you up against the fence or railing.
“He knew his Tuesday afternoon out was different yesterday. You could see it in his eyes. He loved being there and meant business,” Dickson said.
Redcliffe Paceway interviewed Dickson on March 23, 2020, he had no reservations that Lance would make it to 400 starts. He was 358 at the time.
“It would not surprise me in the least if he raced beyond 500 starts. He’s that fit and full of himself. He gets around like a horse half his age. He gets real upset if we don’t take him to the races,” Dickson said back then.
Yesterday he said 550 or 600 starts might not even be beyond the realms of im possibility.
“Like I said he has no idea he’s rising 14 and I promise you I’d never race him if he was telling me otherwise. He will tell me when it’s time to retire, but as you could have seen on Wednesday, he’s by no means finished yet.
“He’s one of the family. If I don’t tell you he’s the top seed at out barn, he’d probably kick me,” said Dickson who works a team of nine.
On January 25, 2020, Lancelot Bromac broke the unique Albion Park record, where previously, the grand old campaigner Destreos had lined up a whopping 323 times at ‘The Creek’ between September 2009 and July 2017.
Destreos raced 484 times for 101 wins and earning $827,169 in prize money, while Lancelot Bromac has also placed 102 times, and banked $289,879 in purses since he made his race-day debut back in May 2012.
Lancelot Bromac made his debut with an eighth place on the former Gold Coast track on May 11, 2012, where Shannon Price trained him for his first five starts before Dickson took over when he was two on August 7, 2012.
“Mitchell Manners, who calls races in New South Wales, is part-owner in ‘Lance’ with me. The horse has such a great constitution and I think that’s been the key to his longevity,” Dickson said.
The 73-year-old horseman, who has been training standardbreds for more than half a century, said he loved racing at Redcliffe.
Harness Australia records only go back to the 2000 season, but according to them, Dickson has conditioned
Club president, Bernie Ring, described him as a stalwart of the club.
“Stewart has a knack keeping old horses sound and healthy. He had a good horse years ago by Meredith Wilson from Christchurch called Speedy Lord, who went through to Free-For-All company. What he has done with Lancelot Bromac needs to be applauded. He’s a brilliant trainer.
“Stewie has had some nice horses over the years like had some nice horses in this time, like Speedy Lord, Thomas Nitro, Ashlee Nitro, Good Girl Jamie Lee, Jacky Boy, and Illbewatching,” Ring said.
They were all top horses trained by Dickson, and the one that tops them all is Lancelot Bromac – seven wins and $191, 848 more than second-placed Speedy Lord.
Dickson said also lived by the following motto when it came to harness racing.
“It’s something that my good friend Derek Jones once told me, and I’ve never forgotten it. ‘Win without boasting and lose without excuses’.”
Dickson has trained 900 winners and netted $3.6 million in stakes (2,517 placings), but Dickson has been training standardbreds since the 1970s and knows it’s lot more than that.
Seven of those victories have come this year.
Here’s a September 2020 story I wrote outlining the life of the legendary Stewart Dickson.
