TASMANIAN thoroughbred racing lost one of its true characters last Thursday with the death of astute trainer Tommy Young.
Young, 77, had a colorful training career and while he never reached the lofty heights of some of the state’s more high profiled mentors he always seemed to have a good horse in his care over a career that spanned more than five decades.
He trained his first winner in 1958 and from there on in he produced many feature race winners including Nakagima that won the Devonport and Hobart Cups in 1989.
Other handy gallopers to have saluted with the jockeys wearing his famous red and green colours were Tasmanian Guineas winner Brainpower and Gold Walk that won a 3YO Cup after which Tommy labeled him a potential superstar.
Tommy loved a bet and when one of his horses was ready to win he was fearless on the punt.
In the good old days when bookmakers were in full force at race meetings the satchel swingers were on their toes when Young crept into the ring to place his bets and he rarely missed the mark.
He was a shrewd punter who earned the affectionate nickname “Truthful Tommy”.
If he fancied one of his steeds Tommy would sometimes go out of his way to dissuade anyone who wanted to listen that his horse couldn’t win in order to get the best odds.
Two years ago he prepared Bachelor Babe to win the 2YO Silver Ingot in Launceston and it was what unfurled post race that typified the legend that was Tommy Young.
When this writer met Tommy for the post-race interview he was keen to divulge how he had “cleaned up”.
He said he couldn’t believe $50 was bet about his steed winning the race and he was keen to tell the media how much he had invested at those juicy odds and how many units he had on the trifecta and quinella.
Tommy Young was one of the old school trainers who, like many of his ilk, chose to bet to survive as a professional trainer and when bookmaker numbers began to dwindle he accepted the change and concentrated on the Tote.
Tommy had his share of run-ins with officialdom that included a couple of disqualifications with one costing him the winner’s cheque for Nakagima’s Hobart Cup victory.
During one of his enforced holidays Tommy attended the races at Devonport to watch one of his former horses go around.
As a disqualified person he was not allowed to enter the racetrack so he watched the race from behind the fence outside the main gate.
The stewards claimed he was in breach of the rules but Tommy refused to accept the ruling and appealed the charge and subsequently won the case.
In recent years Tommy had mellowed and suffering from emphiceama he was forced to trim down his training operation.
Tommy also was quite a talented left handed golfer and he would try to keep his handicap at a level that would give him an edge in competition.
As a token of respect all jockeys wore black armbands in a race at Elwick last Sunday in memory of one of the legends of Tasmanian racing.
A date has yet to be set for Tommy’s funeral service.
By Peter Staples
Racing Journalist
Tasracing