Rapid Round with Ron Quinton

In today's instalment of 2022 Rapid Round - Jockey Edition, we feature a quickfire round with multiple Group 1-winning jockey and now trainer Ron Quinton.

TDN AusNZ: What is your earliest memory of racing?

Ron Quinton: There was a great champion back in my day by the name of Tulloch. He was a great champion, probably one of the best horses we have ever seen in this country, and I took a particular interest in him while I was at school.

TDN AusNZ: What has been your most memorable or notable moment in your career?

RQ: A very hard one to answer as I have had many notable moments through out my career both as a trainer and as a jockey. I guess my Golden Slipper wins were all very, very special where I rode Marscay, Sir Dapper, Rory’s Jester and Marauding to claim victory.

My association with the great grey mare Emancipation in the mid-eighties would be another one that is very hard to beat. She won 19 out of 27 starts and I won 18 of those on her. Throughout her entire career there was only one day I didn't ride her and that was a day she raced in Melbourne and won VRC Edward Manifold S. with Kevin Moses on board.

As a trainer, my highlights would probably be a quinella training four Coolmore winners and winning the Salinger S. in Melbourne with Easy Rocking, and I guess I better throw in the winning the Oaks down there with Bulla Borghese.

Gallery: Ron Quinton-trained Coolmore Classic winners, images courtesy of Sportpix

TDN AusNZ: What do you love most about your job?

RQ: I have always had a love for horses. I absolutely love riding them. I do enjoy training them too. I believe training is probably harder than being a jockey, there is a lot more involved. As a jockey you ride them, get off and walk away.

As a trainer you have to bring them home and try to make them better or go faster. I think, though, from a very early age I really liked horses and had a deep-rooted passion for them and this industry. A passion for an industry that has been so great to me. I have had a wonderful career, I am not the most successful trainer but I do well with the stock I get.

I don't really have any other interests. If I was to retire, I really don't know what I would do, I don't play golf. So horses are my life. My son recently asked me, 'Dad what would you do if you didn't train?' and I told him, ‘well, I'd probably go mad, Son’.

TDN AusNZ: Do you have a horse you are excited about in the near future?

RQ: We have a lovely filly by the name of De An Andretti. She showed me enormous potential having won her first race start, she went on to run as well in her second start but about nine days after she became very ill, she was a very sick horse for quite a long time. She is back on the road again now so this preparation will tell us a lot. She has an uncapped ability if she can return to what she has shown us before.

I also do have some nice young ones almost ready to come back to the stables; one is an Exceed And Excel filly out of Dixie Blossoms and I also have an Exceed And Excel colt out of Daysee Doom who is being broken in right now.

There are a couple of other yearlings that clients of mine have purchased at the Magic Millions Sale and the Inglis Classic Sale who I am quite excited about as well. What do they say about a trainer; ‘Whenever he has an untried horse, there is hope’.

TDN AusNZ: Is there another trainer who has inspired you in your career?

RQ: Yes. There has been three, the first one is my former boss Theo (Theodore) Green.

The second, a lovely guy I had a 20-year association with, Neville Begg. I rode a lot of winners for Neville, we had a lot of great times over our 20-year partnership.

The third is John Oxx, I had a wonderful experience when I went away riding in Ireland for three years, I think I learnt quite a bit off John about the training caper. I did go over there as a jockey but I asked a lot, I mean a lot of questions and I think it really has helped me a fair bit with my training.

TDN AusNZ: What is it that makes you get out of bed every day to train horses?

RQ: Well, you’ve gotta do it! But when I do have a nice couple of horses in the yard that are showing promise and look like they may have good potential, well it makes it a lot easier.

TDN AusNZ: What’s been the hardest part in your career so far?

RQ: I've been relatively lucky, over the last couple of years I haven't had a great team of horses and that has been hard. It's probably the worst run I've had since I started training, I mean nothing has changed, we haven't changed anything at all. We feed the same, we do the same things with every horse that we have done with every horse in the past.

I think I just haven't quite had the quality of horse becasue it's very hard going to sales these days. If you only have $115,000 to spend it's very, very hard. I end up sometimes keeping some shares in a few of the horses we buy to help the other owners along.

I am hoping for a bit better run with some of these quality-bred young ones coming into the stable. Also have a couple of 2-year-olds here, if they can gallop they could make lovely 3-year-olds. I have a very nice Smart Missile horse and also a So You Think gelding, they both have been given every chance to mature. So coming into their 3-year-old year they could be okay.

TDN AusNZ: What is the best horse you’ve ridden and trained?

RQ: The best horse I rode has to be Kingston Town, I only rode him twice but he was the linchpin of my period as a jockey. I won the Cox Plate on him, he actually won three Cox Plates, I rode him in his middle win. Emancipation's definitely not far off him either, having said before she won 19 races out of 27 starts she was a champion mare there is no doubt about that.

The best horse I've trained, well, Easy Rocking won the Salinger S., he was my first Group 1 win, he only won five races but they were all Group races, so he was very special to me. And the two loves of the stables were Dixie (Blossoms) and Daysee (Doom). They were hard to separate, you know they were just winners. They were really talented mares and I'm looking forward to their progeny coming into the stable.

Gallery: Some of the best horses Ron Quinton has trained and ridden, images courtesy of Sportpix

TDN AusNZ: If you could win one race what would it be?

RQ: I'd love to train a Golden Slipper winner, it is the best 2-year-old race in the world and it is so highly recognised within the racing worldwide. Having won it as a jockey, it would be so very special to win it as a trainer. I might be dreaming but I remember Tommy Smith winning a number of Golden slippers, but he also trained and bred one. He told me how special that was so I would love to join him by training one.