It seems you can be in this racing game a lifetime to eventually prove Andy Warhol right that “everyone will be word famous for 15 minutes.” Ok that’s where that is where “15 minutes of fame” stems from.
And so, it came to be Frankie Stockdale’s turn last week at least. Except minutes equals hours, days, weeks, years, centuries.
Social media helps, going viral, means spreading like a virus, and you would have seen that almost iconic shot of Frankie cheering (clamouring) over the fence at Pakenham last Thursday night as Dubai Honour sauntered to his third win in a week and meant that near on $50,000 jumped in with stakes (plus the punt).
“Been doing that for years mate,” says Stockdale.
“Me and the friggin’ family, always get down the fence in the straight to watch them going past and give them a cheer when they are in front.”
So, none of this newfound media attention, radio and television interviews were going to bother Frankie Stockdale, a voice as real and earthy as the - dare I say somewhat Charles Manson look that goatee brings - to his appearance.
Which is why we are talking at the Woolamai picnics on Saturday afternoon (trademark like black Trilby hat on top) where Dubai Honour’s stablemate and travel mate The Cruiser is trying to win the 5 Blind Open Trophy at the picnics. (And yes, Frankie burst through the heaving crowd to find that familiar spot on the fence a furlong out to give The Cruiser a lift. He needed it, he only finished fourth.)
Winning trips from Hanging Rock to Moe within 24 hours and on to Pakenham five days later is nothing for Dubai Honour (as it turned out) or indeed The Cruiser.
Take Dubai Honour, his $35,000 yearling purchase, he’s won at Longreach and Townsville and the once-a-year meeting at Jundah, Frankie is wearing the Jundah Race Club shirt at Woolamai gifted to him on a central Queensland odyssey tour two season back. (Jundah is the home of one of racing’s real characters too - Daryl Dolgner, whose story we told here a few years back, the horse trainer given “life”, but wrote to The Queen for a pardon and is now back in the game - Post | ClarkOfTheCourse
The Cruiser was there as well, the $40,000 half-brother to multi-millionaire Mazu, also a Longreach winner, but beaten in a Muttaburra Cup, on a journey that took them as far north as Townsville and Cairns and out to Barcaldine.
“I’d do it again tomorrow, would love to get out to Birdsville and do the circuit out there, Betoota an all that.
“It’s just too tough here, just trying to win a maiden, it’s like we are going nowhere, shit horses, I can’t make them go any faster.
“Seven months living in a truck, not knowing where we were going, pulling into places and welcomed by everybody. We did it all, at Jundah there was a rodeo on after the races, quarter horses, barrel racing, party all night non-stop and get up the next day for the Bell races.
“We went there with nothing and ended up with nothing but never had to ring anyone for a loan. It was old fashioned fun.”
As we reminisce at Woolamai, drifting towards the bush, next to Stockdale in the earthy old race day stalls at Woolamai is another hardy racing soul Tony Rosolini, who’d won the first and $2300 prizemoney with a $1m Aquis Frankel cast-off Summerhill.
“I used to ride those Benbara horse for you didn’t I,” says Frankie remembering those Rosolini red, white star colours. Rosolini nods and starts about Benbara and better days as is easier to do.
Like Frankie, he used to ride everything. An old school horseman, his father Bill trained, “was always breaking in on the side, he was a carpenter by trade, but we were always brought up with the horses.,” Stockdale said.
There was brothers Shane (still pre-training) and Bill (now training greyhounds) and Frankie, with his Uncle Allan Douch as his boss as the fearless young Frankie outrode his flat claim in quick time.
Doing pedigrees, try nicks of the Farrugia’s, Frankie’s wife Julie was one, rode picnics, won four at Omeo in a day, rode up until days of the birth of their son Brandon, her father Mario a Gippsland legend. Still is today.
But young Frankie as a winner from the start, Call Me Luck when he was just 15 and he just 44kg. Times and bodies changed, eventually to jumpers, Grand Nationals a breeze, like Tennessee Bue, but Stockdale was always on a high. Be they rodeos, boxing or good times.
It was to come to a sadly crushing and tragic end. It was December 1999, behind the wheel with a blood alcohol of .177, Stockdale on the wrong side of the Mulgrave Freeway, drove head-on into a car and Ivica Klanga was killed and family injured. Nine years, reduced to seven was the sentence.
Hasn’t drunk since.
“I just trained like an animal and learned the guitar,” says Stockdale.
“I went in there and just saw these blokes playing the guitar, they were singing the songs flat out, it opened my eyes up. I can’t play it now, but it saved me then,” he said.
In at the same time was Luke “Stumpy” Williams ( Bruce Clark: The life journey of Luke ‘Stumpy' Williams is something else (racenet.com.au), in for a couple of years for drug offences.
“He sent me a text message yesterday, a couple of big love hearts on the end,” he said.
Getting out was Stockdale’s rebirth. Son Brandon was making his way, and a new (daughter) Franki was born with Julie. She was at Woolamai Saturday, playing around with David and Emma-Lee Brown’s daughter Annabelle. Dynasties eternally continue.
“I remember my first winner back like yesterday. It was a maiden at Bairnsdale, Summer Dream, what a bloody good day that was. Meant everything at the time.”
As are most days for Stockdale now.
But that ready to run trade business that sustained much of his later racing life is back burning now.
“I made a bit of money out of trading horses, but that’s a hard caper now. Bought a Fastnet Rock for $80k and sold it to Hong Kong for $500k (High Rev – who won four for David Hall) but haven’t sold one for a while,” he said.
So, it’s back to stalwarts.
Dubai Moon is nominated for Pakenham again this Thursday (and elsewhere), ditto The Cruiser – The Valleys - Moonee and Yarra - but nothing would surprise to see them on the road again later this year. Jundah sounds nice.
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