Wednsday, 21 July 2004:
Prominent Queensland jockey Keith Mahoney has been found dead in his car on a bush road west of Townsville.
It is understood the 42-year-old jockey took his own life, becoming the second jockey suicide in Queensland in recent years following the death of Neil Williams at the Gold Coast.
Police found Mahoney’s body slumped in his car on a road near Mingela, west of Townsville.
Mahoney began his career in racing as an apprentice Toowoomba in the late 1970s.
During his career was based in numerous centres including Charleville, the Gold Coast, Brisbane and Caloundra where he became the leading jockey. He also had a brief stint in Sydney in 1993.
His career highlights included the 1991 Ansett Cup–Lightning Handicap double at Eagle Farm on Heavenly Knight.
He also won the Lord Mayor’s Cup twice at Doomben on Cavlon and Jondolar, an Eye Liner Stakes on Quick Response and two Townsville Cups on Party King.
Mahoney, who was suspended almost 100 times during his career, had been riding in north Queensland for the last 12 months after moving to Townsville.
He had just returned from a suspension when he was suspended again at Cluden last Saturday.
Racing and Sports
By Max Presnell
August 13, 2004
Around 20 years ago Bluey Honan had a nasty turn at Royal Randwick and was carted off to the casualty room.
Bluey went down for a compulsory count with a heart attack and later related that he was favourite for the Valley Of The Shadow Stakes, but the nursing sister on duty and the Australian Jockey Club doctor worked him back to the land of comprehension.
"Despite being in pain I was very anxious to back a good thing in the next race," Bluey explained.
Alas, in those days a racegoer would have had more chance of using a bong in the centre of the betting ring than a telephone anywhere on track. Even the dunnies were said to be bugged.
"There was a phone in casualty and I had plenty of credit with an SP bookmaker," Bluey said. "Considering my condition I could hardly ask to use the phone to have a bet, so I pleaded to call the wife. The good sister said under no circumstances was I to exert myself."
At the time the casualty room treated an average of 10 punters a day, with the sister blaming "nervous tension"...
"Getting desperate, I changed tack - could I telephone my solicitor to get a few points of my will straightened out?" Bluey said.
Again he was rebuffed and the nurse told him to settle down otherwise a sedative would be necessary. Yes, he could hear the race broadcast and the fancied horse scored, which is the trend when you fail to get set.
"Oxygen," he wailed as the field went past the post. The following week Bluey, back on his feet and with nothing but praise for the Randwick casualty, went back with a large box of chocolates for the nurse. Bluey had a sweet tooth and would sooner argue the merits of the custard tarts at the local cake shop as the merits of a George Moore ride.
One of the great racing characters, Kevin (Bluey) Honan, mid-80s, died last week.
Had a shortened version of pitch-and-toss - basically just pitching a coin up against a wall, the nearest winning - been an Olympic sport, Bluey would have been first selected for Athens. He could lob a 20¢ coin on an ant, regardless of the hour or lighting conditions. Once, according to folklore, he tossed a cow cocky for $15,000 at the Coogee Bay Hotel and walked away with the pelf. But his racecourse action was just as spectacular.
Only last Saturday at Louth races a sheep man related how he had a slow horse on his property which came to the attention of Bluey's mate George Musson, a Rosehill trainer. Musson asked him if he could take the horse to Sydney for a preparation - free of charge.
The farmer obliged. The horse was a dead ringer for Wentwel, also in the Musson stable. On fast mornings at the track "Wentwel" was the slow bush cuddy which couldn't break 40 seconds for 600 metres with the assistance of a tail typhoon, while the real Wentwel galloped earlier, in the dark. With Bluey leading the charge, Wentwel was backed from 66-1 to 3-1 and his supporters got the money. The lookalike was sent home without a race. He had done his job.
In more recent times, Bluey purchased a horse at the Newmarket sales at Randwick, on the recommendation of a trainer but under a proviso. "I'll buy him and be the major shareholder but I don't want any bills," Bluey stressed.
Thus the horse was called No Bills, and paid his way.
Still, the Clovelly Hotel was more bountiful. It was a hub of punters, the odd hitman who ended up hit, and anybody looking for an edge. You could have a friendly wager on any sporting pursuit or back your knowledge of the past. One regular had his wife stationed at home alongside the phone with a Miller's Guide just in case a result was in limbo. He would excuse himself for a "call of nature" and return with the necessary foundation to support his judgement.
Now the Clovelly is frequented by yuppies such as Col Tidy, the bookmaker, and Fast Eddie Short.
Sure, State of Origin footballers start a night on the ran-tan there, with a thousand bucks pocket money, and nubile bar wenches tend to customers whereas in our day Nancy Mossman, always with a welcoming smile and willing to negotiate the price of schooners, was the pin-up and publican.
Bluey had only to rattle coins in his pocket and AllanH and the Parramatta Kid would instinctively snap into a tossing pose. AllanH made his pile out of koala bears, stuffed for export, and turf-related matters, while the Parramatta Kid was seasoned for the Clovelly with decades of used-car dealing on Parramatta Road. They practised with coins for endless hours at home when sober but took on Bluey late in proceedings when everybody had a full tank. Nobody could pitch better than Bluey under those conditions.
Like the night when the patience of the publican was tested and the game moved outside onto the footpath. At 2am, AllanH threw a winner, convinced he had bettered Bluey's earlier effort. Whether it was the sudden rush of blood to the head at the thought of victory or what had been imbibed in the lead-up, Allan H had a nasty turn. Later, as the ambulance siren screeched up Clovelly Road, he gasped: "Bluey, I win."
The following words might well have been the last Allan H heard but, hovering over him, Bluey replied: "No Allan, you lose."
AllanH survived...
It must be said that Bluey would never see vanquished rivals short ... of something sweet. He would take a sponge cake, with double cream, around the Parramatta Kid's residence following a big game but the Kid's partner wasn't happy with the situation at all. So much so she had a mastiff trained to go into a savage frenzy at the whiff of sponge or the command of "Kill Blue".
Certainly the State of Origin team can consider itself lucky. If the Blues had ventured to the Clovelly Hotel in that era the odds are they would have left without the price of a telephone call.
The sudden tragic death of recently retired Randwick trainer John Morish has sent shock waves throughout the racing community.
Peter Cain from the Northern Territory Police confirmed that Morish (53) had died as a result of an accidental shooting in Katherine NT.
The police advised that:
'He was on a hunting trip at Wombungi Station, about 130km west of Katherine, with a 37-year-old man and that man's 13-year-old son.
The man travelled to Dorisvale Station to contact police and detectives from Katherine and a forensic examiner from Darwin travelled to the site to investigate the death.
A Ruger bolt action rifle was recovered from the scene by Katherine CIB, who are investigating the incident. At this stage, however, there appear no suspicious circumstances.
Morish had many good years in racing, training 37 black-type races including six Group I's, eight Group II's, nine Group III's and 14 Listed Races.
His major winners included the remarkable March Hare, a Group I winner at two, three and four years, as well as Arkady, Stella Cadente, Rouslan, Klokka, Cobbora, Volcanic, Beaujolais, Schofield and Pleasure Giver to name just a few.
http://www.racingpages.com.au/trainers/jdm-mha.jpg
March Hare
However earlier this year he decided that enough was enough and at the time he said "the costs, the overheads, they were just chewing into the returns, I couldn't make ends meet.
"There is less money in the game now than 10 years ago, with all the costs associated with insurance and the financial outlay of employing workers.
I've always had cattle and I reckon I would make more money out of them in a bad year than I would ever have done in a bad year in racing!"
John was always helpful, courteous and a pleasure to deal with.
He was highly thought of throughout the industry and even though he had left for a long sought after life in the country, his loss will still be felt keenly by those lucky enough to have known him.
By: Jo Adams -www.racenet.com.au Monday, 6 September 2004
http://www.racingpages.com.au/trainers/iho-jdm1.jpg
http://www.racingpages.com.au/morish.html
This is a jolly old thread! :confused:
Jolly as long as its not about you. :)
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