David has one of the most interesting histories amongst the current crop of thoroughbred trainers in Australia.
Growing up in the Riverina area of New South Wales, working with horses was a part of daily life for David.David represented Australia in Europe, Japan and America, as part of the Australian Show Jumping team. He made the team in 1990 and became Captain of the Australian Team in 1992. In 1994 he was a reserve for the World Championship Team and in 1995 he successfully competed in Europe, and was named as part of the Australian Team for the Olympic Qualifiers.
In 2000 he was short-listed for the Sydney Olympic Games Team, riding Cadbury (seen right), one of Australia's top showjumpers.
At the same time as he was representing Australia around the world in the Show Jumping arena, David was also developing his interests in training racehorses.In 1986, David began training racehorses, primarily his aim was to buy young horses, get them going and on sell them to Singapore and Macau.
In 1990, he started to establish himself as a trainer, with a small team of horses, this team was kept small as David was still in contention for the Sydney Olympic team.
However, during this 'quiet' period of training, David managed to train numerous winners, including:
Burrowye Lord - 1998 Grand National Steeple and Australian Steeple
Centrix - 2nd in the 1999 National Hurdle
After the Sydney Olympics, David began to concentrate 100% on his training career, he began the transformation of his property at Mornington, from a spelling farm, to what is now a fully self-contained world-class training establishment.
David has had considerable success with steeplechasers and hurdlers in the past, however the focus for the stable now is on aquiring and developing horses that can be competitive at the highest level on the flat.
Recent performers from David's stable include:
Chalet Amis - 5 time Melbourne Metro winner, over $150,000 in stakes
Noble Jon - 1st 2001 SA Grand National
Mr Classical - 1st 2001 Gippsland Grand National
Raven Protector - 2nd in Listed Quezette Stakes 2002
Vegas Show - 3rd in Listed Crocket Stakes 2002
Two City Doubles - Nul Autre & Woody Woodpecker win at Sandown, while 5 weeks earlier Midori Gift and Prime Target win at Sandown
In 2000, David received a nomination for the prestigous Fred Hoysted Award for excellence in training.
