A Bradbury twist in 50/1 winner

Experienced Bendigo harness racing driver Ron Wicks says he’s far from being the punters pal at his local football club!

Wicks, based at Lockwood, is a popular figurehead at the Kangaroo Flat Football Club where he played over 400 games back in the day.

“I love the club and I’m always there each Tuesday and Thursday night—I actually join in with them in the training sessions,” Wicks explained.

“A few of the players love having a bet and got into me about the chances of a horse I was driving for a friend at a Maryborough meeting.  I gave them an honest assessment and said there were three other horses that were way better than us—and if we were lucky, we’d maybe finish fourth.

“So, all the fancied runners galloped, and my drive Yankee Twister (Yankee Spider) just kept plugging away – and the rest has a bit of a ‘Steven Bradbury’ story about it!” he laughed.

It’s history now that six-year-old square-gaiter Yankee Twister, trained at Wicks’ property by friend Jim Grant, scored narrowly at Maryborough three weeks ago at 50/1.

It’s also history that 20 years ago Bradbury unexpectedly won gold at the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics when he avoided all four of the fallen front runners. He was the last man standing and crossed the line to take gold in the 1000m ice skating event.

Wicks and Grant have become close friends over the past 10 years.

“Before that, I’d bump into Jim at meetings and at the Marong track where he was tied up with the committee,” he said.

“He comes out every day because ‘Twister’ is stabled at my place. Jim jogs his horse himself, while I do the fastwork. It works in well because he’s a good water man! He takes care of all the waters and other little things.”

Wicks said Grant lived at nearby Kangaroo Flat, and had always had his own horses, as well as shares in a few trained by different stables.

“Jim just loves the ‘Twister’ and works him out of a paddock. He’s such a lovely horse he could nearly train himself! People like Jim are very good for the game and it’s a pity there isn’t a few more about like him.”

Grant bred Yankee Twister who now has three wins and 13 placings from 48 starts. A half-brother in Lofty Success (Great Success) won five races for Lisa Miles back in 2015 to 2019.

“Jim doesn’t over-race his horse because the hard runs take a bit out of him, and Jim looks after him. So, he probably goes around once a fortnight,” Wicks said.

Although he played his last game of footy for Kangaroo Flat in 2008, Wicks has still been associated with the club ever since in some way or another, including assistant coaching roles. He also follows his two daughters who are “right into their netball—one plays A Grade and the other A Reserve”.

Wicks, who was inducted into the Bendigo Football-Netball League Hall Of Fame in 2014, played on a wing for Carlton in its under 17 squad. But when injury forced him to return home, he turned his attention to his original club and was a member of the 1996 premiership side before playing in a losing grand final in 2000.

“I did a bone in my foot while I was down at Carlton, so I came back to Kangaroo Flat. I don’t know if I was going to make it in the AFL because footy was different back then. But I had a good run.  I do still carry a few legacies, though, with aches and pains in his shoulders and neck,” he said.

Wicks, who was a horse breaker for many years, has three horses in work at his property.

“One of them is a Mach Three filly which I describe now as my project horse. She qualified with a second placing at Maryborough trials behind a smart one,” he said.

“Then one day I came home to find her with her rug nearly off. She was standing on it and had obviously panicked at some stage because I could see where she’d been thrashing around.

“She’s never been the same since. I decided on a long spell in a paddock—with no rug!

“Since I’ve got her back in, she’s fine once I get her in the cart. But getting her in can be a bit tricky at times. I’ll preserve for a while because I know she has ability.”

While the football season is nearly over, it’s a safe bet to say that it won’t be too far out of Wicks’ mind over the off-season.

“We badly need to recruit a few top players. I keep telling our youngsters that if they stay loyal to the club, our fortunes will turn,” he said.

by Terry Gange, for Harnesslink