Veteran trainer Norm ‘Whopper’ Stephens still hungry for a winner at Eagle Farm

OF all the characters in Queensland racing, few surpass the indomitable Norm “Whopper” Stephens.

Norm Stephens.

OF all the characters in Queensland racing, few surpass the indomitable Norm “Whopper” Stephens.

Rising 86 on St Patrick’s Day, Stephens saddles up his promising three-year-old gelding, Ringo’s A Rockstar, at Eagle Farm on Saturday.

The youngster will be chasing his fifth win from eight starts.

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Renowned for his resilience and dry wit, Stephens won the Stradbroke as a 16-year old apprentice in 1948, gained notoriety in the art world in 1974 as the subject of Sam Fullbrook’s Archibald Prize-winning portrait, and in 1987 trained Ballock to win the Silver Slipper in Sydney.

He has been nicknamed “Whopper” since embarking on a life in racing as a tiny apprentice at Deagon during World War II.

“I weighed three stone 12 pounds (24.5kgs) when I rode my first winner at the Creek (Albion Park),’’ he recalls. “I’d just turned 14 and the horse was Exit, a real mad bugger.

“Nobody would ride him at the track but I was a pretty game kid and the old bloke who trained him rewarded me with the race ride.’’

Norm “Whopper” Stephens will try and jag a winner at Eagle Farm on Saturday with Ringo’s A Rockstar.

The wiry veteran has been based at Deagon since he was 12 and rode trackwork until he turned 80. Whopper has lived in the same house for 55 years, rises religiously at 2.30am and is ready to go when the racecourse gates open just after 3am.

“A while back, a bloke in a house yelled to me that he’d been there 20 years and was sick of the bloody horses going down his street before dawn,’’ Stephens says. “I told him I’d been taking ‘em down the street for 70 bloody years, so how did he reckon I felt.”

Stephens retired as a jockey at 55 after a career spiced with big-race wins, frequent jousts with authority and a reputation as a “money rider”.

Few jockeys had a better record on two-year olds. He was masterful on young horses.

And Stephens could always see the lighter side, even during tense stewards’ inquiries which threatened his livelihood.

His quip about riding a “skinny” horse is part of racing folklore, as are numerous other humorous asides from the living legend

“At the inquiry, the stewards kept talking about me pushing through a gap where there was only room for half-a-horse. I told ‘em I’d never seen half-a-horse,’’ he says. “I told ‘em I was trying to go through the gap because I was riding a skinny horse, not half-a-bloody-horse.’’

“Whopper” Stephens has enjoyed a long career as a jockey and now trainer in Queensland.

On another occasion, his misinterpreted instructions to a solicitor representing him in an appeal over a running and handling disqualification in Toowoomba did not help the jockey’s cause.

“The solicitor didn’t know much about racing and I told him my mount had stood flat-footed at the start,’’ said Stephens. “He told the appeal board the horse had flat feet and could not jump with the rest of the field.

“We lost that one and I had 12 months’ holiday.

“I went bush and worked as a roustabout and horse breaker to make a living.

“All the jockeys battled in those days. It was very competitive but I was a steady earner because I was loyal to blokes who were loyal to me.

“It was tough for a lot of years because prizemoney was no good, there wasn’t a lot of racing and I had my share of suspensions and disqualifications.

“I used to ride 22 horses work a morning at Deagon and even when I gave it away in 1987 a losing ride was only $27. Things have changed a lot.’’

During his long and colourful career in the saddle, Stephens received some interesting “slings” from winning owners. The “presents” included a bag of pumpkins, 10 guinea hens, a block of ice cream and 100 quid ($200), all in one pound notes.

Norm Stephens received some interesting “presents” during his riding career.

“The money was nice, but it took four bloody days to count it,’’ he quips.

“There were dozens of great characters in racing in the old days.

“Blokes like bookie Frank Burke, punters like The Milkman (Bill Lenehan), commission agent Jack Honey and Nimble Bob. Nimble Bob was one of the funniest blokes. He was a tipster and punter who sometimes dressed as a woman when he backed a horse for a lot of money. They also called him ‘The Lady in Black’.’’

Female apprentice jockey Brooke Ainsworth, 23, yet to ride a city winner on a Saturday, has been engaged by Stephens to ride Ringo’s A Rockstar.

“I won’t actually meet Whopper until Saturday but I’ve heard a lot about him,’’ she said.

“My dad rode against him in the old days and held him in high regard. I know Whopper will have his horse right on the day and I just hope I can do him justice with the ride.”

Originally published as Veteran trainer Norm ‘Whopper’ Stephens still hungry for a winner at Eagle Farm