News

Jul 31, 2023

Bourke's renaissance heads to HQ

More than half a century ago as the foremost jumps jockey in Australia, Kelvin Bourke won the Grand National Hurdle and Steeplechases at Flemington. The 74-year-old will be back at Headquarters on

More than half a century ago as the foremost jumps jockey in Australia, Kelvin Bourke won the Grand National Hurdle and Steeplechases at Flemington.

The 74-year-old will be back at Headquarters on Saturday with tough stayer Savvy Valentino as an in-form trainer, having won five country races from nine starters in just more than a week to the end of July.

Bourke reflected on how quickly time has passed but added he is still keen as ever as a conditioner and he is inspired by the younger staff he has placed around him.

"I'm not sure where the 50 years went but I won the 1972 Grand National Steeplechase on Ramleigh and the Hurdle on Our Leo," Bourke said.

Bourke is enjoying a training renaissance, saying his team of 15 horses is the biggest he has had in work for more than two decades.

He has trained 12 winners at Flemington but can't remember when he last had a winner there.

When Bourke retired as a jumps jockey he set up a training property at Drysdale and had immediate success with the likes of prolific city winner Swift Talent and Geelong Cup winner Anfitrion.

In the early 2000s though, he concentrated on being a pre-trainer and had numerous top horses come through his stable.

They included Makybe Diva in 2003 when she was trained by David Hall, while he also pre-trained Elvstroem, Haradasun, Super Elegant and Zazzman for Tony Vasil.

Danny O'Brien was also a client and some of the horses Bourke pre-trained for him included Glamour Puss, Master O'Reilly and Demerger.

Bourke's business was almost derailed by a combination of health problems and the Victorian State Government requisitioning half of his property in order to build the Drysdale bypass.

Bourke is happy to win a race anywhere and his team consists of lowly rated tried horses who have joined his stable.

His past five winners were all in Benchmark 58s and came with five different horses. They were Masina and Alassak at Casterton on July 23, Crown Harmonium the next day at Ballarat Synthetic, then Sandblast at Warracknabeal on July 29 and Warlist at Warrnambool on July 31.

"I've got the property up and running plus I've got myself up and running," Bourke said.

"It's a great training property and I've got a good crew of younger blokes who are keen and they are toeing me along."

They include his son Justin, assistant trainer Ash Warton, stable foreman Danny Wilson and farrier Jordie Coffey.

Bourke said he's an old-fashioned trainer who is still happy to learn.

He said Warton, who is also a trotting trainer, had been a capable cyclist who had ridden in the Melbourne to Warrnambool bike race and is now teaching him about heart-rate training.

"It's quite complex but he's got a good handle on those things, which are a bit new to me. I'm not stupid, I'm happy to learn," Bourke said.

Savvy Valentino finished third at his previous start in the Deane Lester Flemington Cup (2800m) and will run in the Benchmark 100 over 2530 metres on Saturday.

"He's a tough horse. I think he could be a Jericho Cup horse," he said.