The Cleaner shooting for fairytale
Racing's feel-good story of the year will provide an emotional ending like no other if Tasmanian cult horse The Cleaner wins today's $1 million Carlton Draught Railway Stakes (1600m) at Ascot.
Former Gosnells-based FIFO miner Paul Burt, a part-owner and Tasmanian golfing partner of trainer Mick Burles, revealed yesterday that the gelding's bid for victory would be dedicated to two special women.
One was his wife Lisa, who died from brain cancer in Perth in 2006, leaving him to take care of their two young daughters, and the other was fellow owner Bill Fawdry's daughter Lisa, who had surgery to remove brain cancer tumours only last Tuesday.
Burt said Lisa's parents, Ron and Carol, would join him at Ascot today and winning his former home State's richest race would be a fairytale as the loss of his 35-year-old wife still lingered.
"I wish she was here," Burt said as he looked over The Cleaner yesterday morning. "She died the day before my little girl's third birthday, which was pretty sad and it was why I moved back home to Tasmania.
"Bill's daughter was also coming over here and really looking forward to it, but then she got diagnosed with brain cancer a week or so ago. So if we win this, it's dedicated to them."
Burt had never owned a racehorse until he, Fawdry and a third owner, Jimmy Lowish, answered an SOS from Burles to buy The Cleaner - or Bill, as he is known - when the veteran trainer ran out of money to pay his bills.
"It's been life-changing. It's taken us on a trip you can only dream of and he's paying our way," Burt said.
"I never ever dreamed about this, but it just shows you don't have to be a millionaire to get into this game.
"A lot of people in Tassie now are even putting syndicates of 20 blokes together for 50 bucks a week each or whatever on the back of him and what he's done. They want to go to the races and enjoy it.
"Just the roar of the crowd when he won at Moonee Valley, I got a shiver up my spine looking at them cheering him. It's phenomenal the way people love this horse."
Bought for just $10,000 as a yearling, The Cleaner has flown to Perth as the $4.80 Railway favourite after a starring role in the Melbourne spring, where he won three consecutive Moonee Valley races and also ran impressively in the Cox Plate (2040m) and Emirates Stakes (1600m).
Burles said yesterday he had his front-running gelding going as well as he had for any of his 45 starts which have gleaned nearly $1 million in prize money.
"He's not an easy horse to train and he's not easy to keep the weight on either," Burles said.
He admitted he was concerned about the seven-year-old's condition after the long flight west, following an initial 11-hour boat ride from Tasmania to the mainland.
"But he'd be about spot-on to what he's been every race. Everybody says he's had too much racing … but he pulled up a bloody treat after the Emirates.
"They say it's all against me, but I don't really think it is and if he brings his Victorian form, they won't get near him."
There is also some background synergy in The Cleaner's lodging at the Ascot stables of legendary WA trainer Fred Kersley.
Burt installed pumps at the property when he was still working in Perth and recalled asking Kersley how to go about owning a horse.
"It's been life-changing, it's taken us on a trip you can only dream of and he's paying our way.""The Cleaner's part-owner *Paul Burt *
