Terry Clayton Early Input to Horse Racing Landed Him in Hot Water with leading Cunnamulla owner P.J. Clayton….
Babe (Maureen) O’Brien was charged with looking after the stables so Trevor Miller & P.J. Clayton must have been away at the races for the day. Kevdoreen was a beautiful chestnut with blonde mane and tail and was stabled at Miller’s and one of the horses Babe was looking after.
From the horse’s mouth… “I went around there to feed and water them and when I was filling up his water I noticed the mane getting in his eyes and annoying him so I thought I would just cut that bit away from his eyes but as I was cutting I couldn’t get it straight so I just kept cutting till it was nice and straight then I had to even out the neck mane as well to make it all look good but same thing, I had to have a few goes to get it straight. I thought it was an awesome job by the time I finished. Old Babe O’Brien turned up to water and feed some horses and when she saw it the blood drained from her face. That’s when I knew I was in trouble!!!”
The name of the horse with no hair was Kevdoreen. I can remember it like it was yesterday. I counted the floggings I got, it was 7. Luckily, I was put on the train back to Nudgee the next day or it would have been a lot more.
First time I ever saw him cry was when he looked at that horse. Mum said to me you would have been in less trouble if I had of shaved her head. I don’t think the horse was very fast, but he looked magnificent with the big blonde mane. Everyone would tell him on race day how beautiful he looked which is why he raced him I reckon.
Out of all the horses P.J. Clayton trained and owned his favourite was Banished Sword. I always remember him coming home from the races after he raced with wads of $50 notes, he would go to the pub and hand out $50 notes to everyone in the pub.
His best horse was Neptune’s court, he won the Weetwood in 1983. I remember him tell us that Neptune Court paid for our education at Nudgee college. Speck was in him too and so was Waljoe I think. Gavin Duffy rode hm that day and won at big odds. Gavin gave P.J. the wink and nod before they went out on course and said to him you can put the house on him today, PJ. Which he probably did I reckon. Nudgee wasn’t cheap even in them days.
“Everyone always wanted to know what I did with the mane that I cut off, but I never ever told anyone. Well, it’s been 40 years so I guess I can give you a scoop. When I was riding my bike out of the stables, I threw it over the fence in to ole speck causey’s back yard. It landed under one of those mangy old pine trees and was pretty much invisible. Probably still there. Tell Peieta to go and have a look. It would make a good exhibit LOL.”
“You would probably go to jail in this day and age for giving your kid a flogging like that but back in them days you wouldn’t find a judge in the country that would convict him for what I did to his horse LOL.”
“You would think it would put me off racehorses for the rest of my life. Must be something wrong with me.” About to go down in Cunnamulla Racing Folklore😂😂😂