Few names are more famous in Tasmanian racing than Rattray. Covering three generations and almost 50 years in the industry the Rattray name is revered in harness racing and it all started out with Wayne and Gaye.
Wayne “Creamy” Rattray was a football star who eventually would hang up the boots for a career in racing and what a career it has been.
In the final part of this two-part series by Jamie Cockshutt, he covers the Rattray family, the horses that hold a special place in the heart of Wayne and Gaye and the end to Wayne’s racing career. Read part-one here.
The Family
Robert Rattray
Robert Rattray was the first of the four sons to be born for Wayne and Gaye but unfortunately at the age of just two, they learned that Robert was deaf after a bout of German Measles.
Wayne and Gaye were forced to send Robert down to Hobart for schooling, a decision that was particularly difficult for them both.
“That was the hardest decision that we have ever had to make in our lives as Robert was only four years of age at the time,” an emotional Wayne said.
As years went on hard work paid off for Robert who grew into a very mechanically minded individual which led him to finding work with a local hop farmer and being a bit of handyman around the place with fixing machinery.
Robert since met his wife Jennifer and after they were married and the birth of their first daughter Grace they made the decision to move to Western Australia which of course was another tough one for all concerned.
The decision has proven to be the right one though says the proud father and now grandfather.
“As time went on it was the best decision that Robert and Jennifer ever made as they have had a great life over there.
“They have made us so proud as a mother and father and grandmother and grandfather.”
Robert Rattray with Beautide.
Robert never became involved with the horses but he would always keep track of how Wayne, Barrie and Kent were going as well as his nephews Gareth, James, Todd and Wade and he would always love to have a little flutter on them all.
In recent years with the success of Beautide and Devendra, Robert has never missed seeing them compete at the highest level, travelling to Sydney to watch Beautide in several of his wins including the Miracle Mile and Inter Dominion.
Neville Rattray
Neville showed a lot of interest in horses from a young age but ultimately it didn’t result in a career in the racing game.
“He did show a lot of interest in the horses with it all starting with the Pony Club trail riding,” said Wayne.
Neville drove a few winners, but he made the decision after driving at Ulverstone one day that it wasn’t for him and decided to give it away and play football, having a fair bit of success over his football career.
Neville has remained in the state with his family and while he does have a passion for racing, it’s the cars (GTS) more so than the horses.
Barrie Rattray
Barrie is a chip off the old block in many ways like his father Wayne as he always showed that he wanted to be the best at whatever he chose to do in life whether it be football or harness racing.
After a very successful junior and senior football career where he showed plenty of ability representing Tasmania as a youngster, Barrie just like his father, chose harness racing as his profession.
Barrie Rattray with Divas Delight.
It was a decision that has paid dividends to say the least with multiple state titles to his name.
“What Barrie has achieved in the industry with a record thirteen state drivers titles and a record eleven trainers titles is anything that would make parents proud,” said Wayne.
“Barrie along with his wife Denise have made us very proud grandparents of their sons Gareth, James, Adam and Todd.”
Gareth, James and Todd have gone on to make their own name in Tasmanian harness racing.
Gareth was the youngest person inducted into the Tasmanian Harness Racing Hall of Fame, driving over 1300 winners and is also a two-time winner of the Halwes Medal.
James is the journeyman of the family, working in New Zealand and several years in the USA before returning to Australia.
He spent a brief time back in Tasmania before taking a team up to Menangle and that’s when the families greatest ever success happened when James teamed up with Beautide to win the 2014 Inter Dominion Final.
“We were on track to share in the celebrations and it’s something we still talk about today,” Wayne said.
James and Beautide hadn’t finished there as they returned the following season to defend his title, easily accounting for his rivals to make it back-to back Inter Dominion wins.
Todd is the younger of Barrie’s sons but in recent years he has come out of the shadow of his two older brothers by winning both state training and drivers titles and, like his brother Gareth, is also a two-time winner of the Halwes Medal.
Todd and his wife Lyrae had a life changing experience with their own top-class horse Ignatius who was among the best youngsters in Australasia as a two and three-year-old winning 16 out of his first 17 starts and beating many of the country’s best.
Unsurprisingly, Gareth Rattray is full of praise for his grandfather.
Gaye, Wayne and Gareth Rattray with Cody Maverick.
“Pop in my eyes is a legend and one of the all -time greats of Tasmanian Harness Racing,” said Gareth.
“He is a person you enjoy listening to because he knew just about everything about his two biggest passions in life and that’s his football and harness racing
“It’s just a pity he is a Melbourne Demons supporter,” laughed Gareth.
“Pop provided me with my first winner and it is one I will remember forever as it was trained by him and the first of many wins together and I’m happy to say he was the biggest influence on my career.”
Kent Rattray
Kent was always destined to be involved in harness racing and has crafted a very good career as a trainer and a driver.
“He is always there to lend a hand to anybody who needs it as he has a heart of gold,” said Wayne.
“Kent left school and decided all he wanted to do was to help me with the horses and the farm so he quickly learned what the game was all about and he is a driver who had no fear,” Wayne added.
Kent is a good trainer in his own right now and has been for plenty of years.
It was great to see Kent take out the 2016 Easter Cup with Riverboat Jasper which was a huge reward for all of his hard work and a welcome change of luck for him.
Riverboat Jasper wins the 2016 Easter Cup.
In more recent years he had the very smart youngster Sunny Sanz who has an imposing record winning the three-year-old Sires and his younger brother Colby won last year’s 2YO Sire Stakes Final.
“He trains all of mine and Gaye’s horses at his property and that keeps me very busy as I’m out there every morning to give a helping hand whether it’s jogging or mixing up the feeds or giving some advice if needed,” Wayne said.
“I wouldn’t know what to do with myself and the horses if Kent wasn’t just around the corner.”
The Matriarch of the Family
“The first meeting with Gaye was at a local football match, she was there with one of her close friends,” said Wayne.
Gaye was brought up around the standardbred as her mother and father had always had interests with the horses, so the love for the animals and racing comes from her family as well.
“After about three to four years together we got married and started out on our family. We had the four boys in pretty quick succession, and we couldn’t work out how this was happening,” laughed Wayne and Gaye.
It wasn’t easy back in those to have a family with four boys all under the age of four but as time went on Wayne looks back and reflects on what a fantastic mother Gaye has been to all of the boys.
“I was the luckiest man alive as I found the woman that brought the best out in me and made me strive to be the best of my ability.
“She has just been a pillar of strength throughout our lives together,” Wayne said.
The horses
Karalta Stables is synonymous with Tasmanian harness racing with Wayne and Gaye purchasing the property just outside of Scottsdale and ultimately that would be the inspiration behind the name to a lot of their horses.
Wayne and Gaye made mention of a few special ones that hold a dear place in their heart.
Cody Maverick
He won nine out of 13 career starts and was driven by both Kent and Gareth Rattray throughout his brief career.
“He was as gifted as any pacer I have ever put a bridle on,” Wayne said.
“Cody was on the verge of greatness.
“The 17th of August will go down as one of the saddest days in our lives after his accident,” said Wayne reflecting on the accident that ended the racing career of Cody Maverick.
Astral Francais
Astral Francais was purchased as a yearling and broken in by Barrie and Kent, he was always trained by Barrie throughout his career.
He won 19 out of his 32 career starts.
“I was his caretaker trainer when he travelled interstate.
“He was a freak of a horse that could do anything which everyone witnessed when he took out the four-year-old Sires in Victoria and he also captured the Simpson Sprint as a three-year-old at Harold Park,” said Wayne.
Napoleon Stone
She was the winner of 32 races for Wayne and rates among the best he has trained.
“Napoleon Stone was one of the best mares if not the best that I trained,“ said Wayne.
Her biggest win came in the Tasmanian Pacing Championship. She also won the three and four-year-old Sires where she beat the boys which is a testament of just how good she was and along the way also captured the Tasmanian Oaks.
Genghis Karalta
A very gifted and athletic pacer who won back-to-back Easter Cups in 1993-94. He went on to win plenty of other feature races which saw his record end at 36 wins from his 83 starts.
Genghis Karalta.
“Raced with plenty of success on the mainland against some of the best pacers in the land at the time.
“He is a horse that would have really enjoyed racing on the spacious Menangle track,” Wayne said.
Vicar Neptune
Won 35 races including a run of several in succession.
“Vicar will go down as one of my all-time favourites as he was a very special horse.
“He would always win when we needed him to so he will forever hold a special place in our hearts. It was a sad day when Vicar passed away at Tubby Peace’s property in Victoria,” Wayne said.
Karalta Bay
Karalta Bay won 42 of his 102 starts including 19 races as a three-year-old, a feat that is unlikely to be matched again.
“He was the complete racehorse as he could make more than one run in a race. He had gate speed and plenty of strength and toughness which took him on to win the Tasmanian Pacing Championship,” Wayne commented.
Karalta Jet
Karalta Jet’s 27 career wins included the 1993 Tasmanian Pacing Championship with Barrie Rattray onboard.
“He is another horse that is very special as we bred him. He had plenty of gate speed,” said Wayne.
Swishinova
Swishinova was bred by Barrie and purchased by business owners from Ringarooma in Mr and Mrs Laurie Hayward who also had plenty of success with gallopers.
“Seeing as they were going into the pacers for the first time, they were switching over so that’s how he was named.
“He was a very good horse who won 35 races and if he was able to step from the tapes, he would have won plenty more,” said Wayne.
Hall of Fame induction
Wayne’s induction into the Tasmanian Harness Hall of Fame back in 2016 was a night that he will never forget as he finally joined the state’s finest.
He sits on the honour roll alongside his son Barrie who was one of the first to be inducted at the inaugural Hall of Fame ceremonies.
But what was even more special for Wayne is that he sits up on the honour board alongside his grandson Gareth who was inducted the previous year. I know in talking to both Creamy and Gareth how much they mean to each other, so to finally see three generations of the Rattray dynasty in the Hall Of Fame is something that they all hold very close to their heart.
Wayne’s career record will stand up there along with the all-time greats of the sport.
Wayne trained over 900 winners in a career spanning more than 30 years in Tasmania and on the mainland, which saw him win six state training titles.
He was the first trainer to train 100 winners in the season of 1989/1990 with a tally of 113.
There weren’t many of the state’s feature races that he didn’t win as he trained multiple Tasmanian Pacing Championship winners along with multiple Sire Stakes races.
In 2008 he had two very smart two-year-old’s in Cody Maverick and Karalta Crown which took all before them in that season.
Creamy ended up driving over 280 winners in his time in the gig where his relationship with his great mare Napoleon Stone stands out as he won plenty of feature races aboard her.
End of racing career
For Wayne a positive swab result was the beginning of the end of his career, though he remains dubious on how the result came about.
“The whole process of the swab seemed very flawed by the people handling it, but I received a six-month disqualification, Wayne said.
“After that I thought stuff it I had enough of the industry after this whole saga.”
But with the disqualification it gave the opportunity for Barrie and his family to return to Tasmania and take over the training of all the horses at the family property at Longford.
Kent who was training with Wayne at the time decided to move back to Scottsdale with his partner Jodie.
In closing the Tasmanian harness racing industry is much better for the contribution that Wayne and Gaye have made, and the Rattray family will go down as possibly the best of all.
It was an honour and a privilege to sit down with Wayne and Gaye to put this together as it’s a story that had to be told.