Racing: Richardson has driving ambition

Despite a wide run, Sam Spratt kicked Atom Cat (No 5) clear for an impressive win in the Matamata Cup on Saturday. Photo / Supplied

Graham Richardson would love to know the name of a certain Sydney woman.

He owes his highly successful training career to her.

The woman walked up to him one day when he was selling cars on Sydney's Parramatta Road and said: "I bought a car from you five years ago.

"I've just discovered it was a stolen vehicle."

Richardson declared right then he was going back to New Zealand to pick up the love affair he had with racehorses.

He always knew he would.

Right from the time he became best mates at school in Matamata with Michael Gibbs, son of high-class horseman Jim Gibbs.

But the kid who grew up in a family that had no idea what the back end of a horse looked like had to get adventure out of the way first.

After relatively brief fulltime stints with Jim Gibbs, Laurie Laxon and Dave O'Sullivan, he and a couple of mates headed for Australia and sold encyclopedias and cars on the eastern seaboard.

"I didn't tell anyone, but right back in my school days I always had this real desire to one day become New Zealand's No 1 trainer."

Winning one of New Zealand's two group one premier sprints, the Railway with Kailey in the first few years of wearing a trainer's badge isn't bad.

That would quench the thirst of many, but such is the determination of the quietly-spoken Richardson, he said at the time he felt there was better to come.

You have to be very talented to win a trainers' premiership, but even more important, you have to have numbers.

And Graham Richardson has never trained a huge team, nor courted the blueblood yearlings that springboard trainers into the headlines.

Rather, he generally surrounds himself with what you'd call bread-and-butter horses. Like Atom Cat, stylish winner of Saturday's $45,000 Team Wealleans Matamata Cup.

If Atom Cat had disappointed his connections with a below-par Pukekohe run at his lead-up race, he more than made up for it on Saturday.

He was three and four wide down the back straight and Richardson had given up hope when the horse was six and seven wide on the home corner.

Remarkably, instead of wilting, Atom Cat powered clear to win almost with ease. Auckland owners Wendy and Don Pye have a very smart performer on their hands for next year.

If you ever want to have a shot at Graham Richardson - because he can take a joke on himself - refer to him as a retired jumps jockey.

When he came back from Australia he spent one year with Mike Moroney, a further year with Sydney trainer Pat Quinn, then the next 12 years back with Moroney.

He admits to it only under pressure these days, but Richardson took out a jumps riders' licence with Moroney, rode one winner in 60 mounts and gave up immediately that duck was broken.

The massive smile he produced when Yenda came back to the birdcage after a Te Awamutu steeplechase victory was because he knew that was the last time he was going to have to do it.

Richardson has always thought ahead. On Saturday he hosted an owners' day, with close to 100 stable contacts and won the race he sponsored on the programme with classy improving mare Show Up.

"I was desperate to get my money back," he jokes.

Richardson has a lot of time for The Oaks-owned Show Up. "She will only get better."

She displayed plenty of heart when challenged late and will be aimed at the Railway and Telegraph Handicaps.

MATAMATA CUP

* Even at school Graham Richardson wanted to be a top horse trainer.
* After an interesting Australian OE, he knuckled down to learn the trade.
* Results demonstrate he's learned it well.