Hobby trainer Craig Cousins in pursuit of Stradbroke Handicap glory with The Inflictor

Hobby trainer and full-time truck driver Craig Cousins is on the cusp of fulfilling a dream run with his Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap hopeful The Inflictor.

Craig Cousins has got the speech ready, he’s got the new suit and he’s got the horse.

Now all the larrikin truck driver and hobby trainer has to do is win the thing.

We are talking about the $3m Stradbroke Handicap.

The Stradbroke, first run in 1890, has had its share of colourful and quirky stories but never before has it seen anything quite like Cousins.

The 60-year-old only has three horses in work but one of them, home bred hero The Inflictor, has qualified for The Star Stradbroke.

It has meant that Cousins has taken the week off his full-time job as a truck driver to enjoy everything the grandest week in Queensland racing has to offer.

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“I have gone and bought a suit, I’ve bought some ties and I am thinking about the Stradbroke all the time,” Cousins said.

“I do little things in my mind, even when I’m driving the truck, and I’ve rehearsed what my victory speech is going to be if we win.”

Cousins was born in Tasmania to a racing family and his much-loved Dad Des, who passed away on Caulfield Cup day nine years ago, was also a small-time trainer.

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Mum Carmel, now 90, hasn’t been enjoying the best of health but she loves her racing and is determined to get to Eagle Farm if she can on Saturday to witness her boy’s big Stradbroke moment.

Truck Driver and hobby trainer Craig Cousins with his fairytale Stradbroke Handicap contender The Inflictor. Picture: Lachie Millard

The Inflictor, to be ridden by young gun female jockey Cejay Graham, won a golden ticket into the Stradbroke when winning The Gateway last December.

Ever since, Cousins has been plotting a path to Stradbroke glory.

But they are busy days as he not only has to worry about The Inflictor and his other horses, but also keep focused on his day job of driving a truck.

“I work for a company called DMK Forest Products and I deliver particle board, plywood and other things to carpenters and shop fitters and joiners,” Cousins said.

“Every day I get up at about 3.15am and I do all the stuff that needs to be done at the stables before I take the horses to the track to do their work.

“My work rider jumps on my horses about 4.45am, then I leave for home about 5.30am.

“I get home by 6am and then I might have a shower and a shave and a coffee and then I head to work and do an eight-hour day.

“I can drive the truck anywhere from up to Gympie, to down to the Gold Coast, to out west to Toowoomba.

“Depending on what my workload is, I’m pretty bloody tired by the end of the week.

“I often find myself thinking about my horses when I’m driving the truck.”

The Inflictor scoring at Doomben with Nash Rawiller in the saddle. Picture: Trackside Photography

One of Cousins’ earliest Stradbroke memories was when the great Daybreak Lover won the prestigious race in 1986.

Now The Inflictor, a four-year-old gelding which is the son of 2016 Stradbroke winner Under The Louvre, gets an extraordinary chance to join some greats of the turf on the Stradbroke honour roll.

The Inflictor is owned by a syndicate managed by Kurt Turner, the eldest son of the late trainer and breeder Ken “Tubby” Turner.

For two decades, Cousins managed a bowls club in Brisbane and he says that even if he won Queensland racing’s greatest prize it wouldn’t change his life.

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He would still return to work driving trucks next week and has no plans to expand his small team of horses.

“Dad passed away on Caulfield Cup day nine years ago, but he would be over the moon with me having a Stradbroke horse,” Cousins said.

“The two things that Dad taught me with horses are that if you can’t feed them the best feed, don’t have them.

“And he also said to make sure I looked after their feet and their teeth.

Cejay Graham will ride The Inflictor in the Stradbroke Handicap. Picture: Michael McInally

“This horse was wandering around cattle yards for a while as a young horse, but even then he was a good horse to handle.

“It will be a great thrill if he wins the Stradbroke, but it won’t change things too much for me.

“I’m too old to suddenly start training more horses and if you do that, you have to start employing people and there’s a lot of obligations.

“At the moment, I’m a one-man band with my training operation and that’s the way it will stay.

“If I want to go to the footy or something, I might get a friend to give my horses some water and feed and clean up their poo, but basically I do 99 per cent of everything myself.”

Originally published as Hobby trainer Craig Cousins in pursuit of Stradbroke Handicap glory with The Inflictor