Toowoomba trainer Mark Goodwin remembers his daughter ahead of emotional Townsville Cup quest
Veteran trainer Mark Goodwin will drive from Toowoomba to Townsville with his stayer as he looks to land the $150,000 prize after giving so much to racing in a storeyed career.
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Journeyman trainer Mark Goodwin could be forgiven for turning his back on racing.
It claimed the life of his 27-year-old daughter and left him with a broken neck and busted back.
Goodwin, a veteran trainer based at Toowoomba, will never forget the day his daughter Leanne died in a sickening fall as a jockey at Roma in 1998.
While he still bears the scars of that day emotionally, he has an incredibly positive mindset on life and is happy to front up to the sport he loves day in, day out.
“We have given a fair bit to racing over the years but you can’t live in the past, you have to look forward otherwise you’d struggle to keep going,” the 78-year-old said.
“It is bloody hard.
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“My daughter was a jockey and she got killed at Roma in a race fall, she was a really good rider.
“The horse she was riding, Garnett Taylor had it, it snapped its leg and I have never seen something happen so quickly in my life.
“She got knocked out and never regained consciousness.
“It was a long time ago, but you never get over losing your kids that’s for sure.
“I got smashed up myself another time, I have had horses put me through the fence and broke my neck, my back was dislocated in three places which has stuffed it.
“I survived it all and kept going, and here we are.”
On Saturday, Goodwin will attempt to win the $150,000 Townsville Cup with his born again stayer Warp Speed, who vets declared would be lucky to race again when the Downs trainer first got his hands on him.
Much like Goodwin, Warp Speed is a battler doing his best against the odds.
And much like his trainer, still has plenty to give.
The pair this week made the 1300km trip north from Toowoomba to Townsville by road in the hope of landing the Townsville Cup.
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“It is a two-day trip, I’m not a young man anymore so it’s not getting any easier,” he laughed.
“I have a mate coming with me, we will go to (Rockhampton) on the first night on Wednesday, and then go onto Townsville after that.
“I had to do a lot of work when I first got the horse because he had a lot of suspensory trouble, the vet didn’t think he would ever come back.”
Goodwin jokes there isn’t a job he hasn’t done during his 50-plus years in racing, but he isn’t far from the truth.
“It started back when I was a young fella, it was more a hobby thing for me because I had all these jobs in the bush and I was a jack of all trades, master of none.
“There is nothing in the bush I haven’t tried, if there was something going, I’d do it, that has been my life.
NAMAZU salutes in the 2022 Townsville Cup ðŸ†
— RaceQ (@RaceQLD) August 6, 2022
What a perfectly rated front-running steer from youngster Alex Patis! Congratulations to Rockhampton-based trainer Ricky Vale 👠@CludenPark#QLDisRacing🇠pic.twitter.com/XBkXim8vND
“I didn’t play golf or bowls, training has always been my hobby.
“I went to Roma in 1980 and took up full-time training with a dozen or so horses and had great success.
“I went to Macau for a while there as an assistant trainer after Leanne got killed, I couldn’t settle down, then I went to Sydney for a bit.
“I was out at Chinchilla with a few horses where I had some success, then my wife got crook so we came back to Toowoomba.”
Warp Speed will have to topple the reigning Townsville Cup champ in Namazu, but it pales in comparison to what his trainer has overcome in life himself.
Originally published as Toowoomba trainer Mark Goodwin remembers his daughter ahead of emotional Townsville Cup quest
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