Zac Purton’s former boss Trevor Hardy retires after 50-year career: ‘I have enjoyed it all, but it has gone backwards’

The man who helped shape Zac Purton into the champion jockey he is today says racing isn’t what it used to be, but has no regrets about his 50-year career in the sport.

Coffs Harbor trainer Trevor Hardy was Zac Purton’s boss for much of his apprenticeship. Picture: Supplied.

The trainer who helped make legendary jockey Zac Purton says there is too much red tape in racing nowadays as he retires from the sport he loves after a 50-year career.

Coffs Harbour trainer Trevor Hardy had his final runner on Friday, and says it is harder than ever for regional trainers to have a crack.

Hardy took Purton on as a skinny 14-year-old, with the now champion Hong Kong-based hoop saying he taught him everything he knows.

Hardy, 83, trained more than 400 winners and 700 placegetters from 3500 starters over his career, but is most renowned for producing Purton along with fellow Group 1 winner Glen Colless as his only two apprentices.

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While he acknowledges the massive prizemoney on offer, Hardy says the amount of change over his five decades in the sport has seen racing go backwards.

“I know all the older people say we saw the best of racing,” he said.

“I think there are too many rules and regulations that you need to do now.

“The prizemoney is good, don’t get me wrong, but then you never had all those city trainers coming up to these places all those years ago.

Trevor Hardy produced two Group 1 winning jockeys in Glen Colless (left) and Zac Purton (right). Picture: Tim Marsden

“We could win races, we were racing against other horses from the coast back then.

“Racing has been great to me and I have enjoyed it all, but I think it has gone backwards.”

Hardy rates both Purton and Colless as the two best jockeys to come out of the region and says he will miss racing now that he has given it up.

Purton said his former boss was “old school”, but helped carve him into the champion jockey he is today.

“I knew nothing about horse racing until I stepped into his stable, he taught me everything and obviously did a very good job of it,” he told Racenet.

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“His recollection of my early days and my recollection are a little bit different.

“I remember him being a very hard and strict boss, but that was him, he was an old-school mentor and very by the book.

“You can’t find a person that has a bad word to say about him, everyone respects him and gets along with him.”

After winning a Brisbane metropolitan jockeys premiership as an apprentice, Purton enjoyed a golden run of form under Hardy.

Trevor Hardy enjoyed a golden run through the 90s. Picture: Trevor Veale — The Coffs Coast Advocate.

“He was 60-odd at the time and I was only 15, so there was a big age gap but we got along good,” Purton said.

“Every time I used to come back, he’d have a new car, a new horse truck, a new pergola out the back, a new TV.

“He used to joke it was all because of me, it wasn’t a joke but, it was true.

“He had some great horses during those years, Elite Score, Elite Ted, Yohan Lover, it was a good time to be there.”

Hardy says he plans to travel now that he has given up racing.

“You can’t keep going forever,” he said.

“My partner, Wendy, and I want to do some travelling now, we have a few trips around Australia that we want to do and have a look at,” he said.

“I will miss it, you don’t do something for 50 years and then stop doing it and say you don’t miss it.”

Originally published as Zac Purton’s former boss Trevor Hardy retires after 50-year career: ‘I have enjoyed it all, but it has gone backwards’