Father/Son dual premierships for Garnett and Clinton Taylor
Published 29 July 2024
On the surface it may just seem generic that Clinton Taylor will win his second Rockhampton Jockey Club trainer’s premiership at the conclusion of racing at Callaghan Park on Tuesday (tomorrow).
Far from it in fact.
By doing so, Clinton will join his father, the now Sunshine Coast based Garnett Taylor with having won two RJC trainer’s premierships.
Thereby, another chapter in the 155-year history of horse racing in Rockhampton will unfold in that they will be the first father and son to have achieved that unique feat.
Coming into Tuesday’s last Rockhampton race meeting for the 2023/24 season, Clinton has an unassailable lead with 30 winners, nine more than closest rival Graeme Green.
The pair will be the first father and son to have ever won two such premierships in the history of racing in Rockhampton.
Clinton Taylor won his first RJC trainer’s premiership in the 2021/22 season.
His father Garnett, to whom he was once indentured at Miles as an apprentice jockey, won dual RJC trainer’s premierships in both the 2008/09 and 2011/12 seasons.
It can be said confidently, that in fact no father and son trainers have ever won a single such Rockhampton premiership but certainly not two since the commencement of racing in 1869.
“Ï am certainly unaware of a father and son achieving it’’, respected Rockhampton racing historian John Day confirmed.
Both Garnett and Clinton were blissfully unaware of their accomplishments until informed on Monday.
“That’s a great effort by Clinton. He is doing a terrific job. I had no idea we were the first to have won two premierships there, so it is something for us both to share,” Garnett Taylor said.
Clinton Taylor said similarly of his father’s premiership successes in Rockhampton but downplayed his own achievements preferring to get on with the job of now concentrating on next season.
“Its great to have combined in doing this with him (father) but now I just want to hope I can go on and, in the process, unearth another Chinny Boom or Astapor,” Clinton quipped.
Under Clinton Taylor’s guardianship since their yearling days, the star stable pair combined to win almost $1M in prizemoney including multiple Brisbane wins before just recently transferring interstate.
Clinton Taylor 39, honed his training skills in 2018 around the Condamine area of the Darling Downs before moving to Rockhampton nigh on five years ago,
His ascension in the training ranks in Rockhampton in such a short time is unprecedented while he sits in 10th placing on the overall Queensland trainers ladder this season with 65 wins.
Both Garnett and Clinton Taylor are fiercely competitive individuals motivated by a burning passion to win.
Garnett has three Callaghan Park starters on Tuesday while for Clinton it will be a quiet day just saddling a pair of horses, however they will not have clash starters.
For the record Taylor senior’s starters are Rip Up Ruby (Race 2- TAB 5); Bold Rouge (R 3 – TAB 1) and Bold Splendor (R 5 – TAB 9).
Clinton runs Catmiss (R 1 – TAB 6) and Bush Diamond (R 4 – TAB 5).
Racing commences at Callaghan Park at 1.17pm tomorrow.
