Quite a remarkable sequence of events just over five years ago has resulted in Broome businessman Karl Deiley becoming interested in standardbred horses for the first time in his life.
He is now the proud owner of Simba Bromac and Savvy Bromac, the first and only pacers he has raced. Both are prepared by Ravenswood trainer Nathan Turvey, a horseman selected by Deiley in the most unusual manner.
Simba Bromac has earned $228,732 from 23 wins and 19 placings from 72 starts, and Savvy Bromac was the brilliant winner of the Group 3 The Johnson final at Gloucester Park on Friday night, a victory which took her record to 21 starts for eight wins, nine placings and stakes of $87,875.
Deiley explained his extraordinary method of choosing a trainer when he said he knew nobody in the harness racing industry in Western Australia and that he was like an incognito shadowy figure as he ambled around the birdcage at Gloucester Park in 2017, watching all the trainers attending to their horses.
“I watched from a distance as I was analysing the trainers and I liked the way Nathan was treating his horses,” he said. He didn’t seek to speak to Turvey. Instead, he telephoned him and asked him to prepare Simba Bromac.
“I got the call completely out of the blue from someone I had never met,” said Turvey, who agreed to train Simba Bromac. “Karl told me that he wanted a trainer to travel to the country tracks, so I took Simba Bromac to Kellerberrin (in October 2017) and he led all the way and won by almost ten lengths. I returned to Kellerberrin (205km east of Perth) a week later and drove Simba Bromac in the breeze before he won by eight lengths.”
It was then obvious to Turvey that Deiley had seriously underestimated the potential of Simba Bromac, who went on to win a string of races at Gloucester Park.
“I had a few gallopers who raced with very little success in Broome,” said Deiley. “A few years ago, I went to New Zealand for a family reunion when my mother passed, and at the wake in Christchurch I met Bob McArdle, who was a close friend of my mother.”
McArdle, a legendary breeder of standardbreds, was quick to discover that he and Deiley shared a common interest in horses, and he introduced his new friend to harness racing.
“And I fell in love with standardbreds and shared the ownership of Simba Bromac and later, Savvy Bromac, with Bob,” said Deiley. McArdle died in January 2018 and Deiley now owns both Simba Bromac and Savvy Bromac in his own right.
Simba Bromac did not race in New Zealand. He was sent to Australia where he had six starts in Victoria for a win at Cobram in February 2017 before crossing the Nullarbor where his 66 starts to date in WA have produced 22 wins and 16 placings.
Savvy Bromac raced four times in New Zealand for one win and three placings. Her record in WA is 17 starts for seven wins, six seconds and one third placing.
Savvy Bromac was a $20 chance from the No. 2 barrier on the back line in Friday night’s event in which Emily Suvaljko was content to keep the four-year-old mare in fifth position, three back on the pegs, before she charged home to snatch victory, by almost a half-length from the pacemaker and $1.36 favourite Star Of Diamonds. The final quarters were covered in 28.4sec. and 27.6sec. and the winner rated 1.56.4 over the 2130m journey.
Deiley, who keeps a low profile, is looking forward to Simba Bromac concluding a spell and being prepared for feature events at Gloucester Park’s summer carnival.
In the short term, Deiley and Turvey are keen to see if Savvy Bromac can clinch another feature event, the $30,000 Race For Roses next Friday week. “She steps well in stands, so the Race For Roses should suit her,” said Turvey. She is the fastest point-to-point pacer I have trained.”
by Ken Casellas