Gentleman Jeff: A quiet achiever remembered

Jeff Gadsden’s presence at Mildura harness racing meetings was as constant as the horses he loved – trademark bucket hat, biscuit in hand and chatting with friends outside the family’s regular race day stalls.

After more than four decades in the sport, the Mildura harness racing community is mourning the loss of the respected horseman following a training accident at his Merbein property.

Gadsden, 75, sustained spinal injuries in a fall while jogging a horse on August 16 and was flown to Melbourne’s Alfred Hospital, where he passed away surrounded by his family on August 26.

For Gadsden, horses were a constant thread from childhood. Growing up at Robinvale, 80 kilometres from Mildura, he learnt to ride with his family’s ponies before moving on to stock horses.

His introduction to standardbreds came in the late 1970s, when he and his wife Jennie leased their first pacer. Their first winner came with Beau Walk at Nyah in December the following year.

From the moment he sat behind a pacer for the first time, harness racing was in Jeff’s blood. He developed a reputation as a fine breaker and farrier, all self-taught or learnt from others around him.

For him, the joy was never just in the racing itself, but in the work of bringing out the best in the horse.

“He was just an old horseman,” his son Michael said.

“He always reckoned he was born too late – he’d have loved to work the farm with horses, I think. He was kind, and his horses were always so quiet it would take them 10 or 20 starts to learn how to race!” he said.

“Even when he was in hospital after the accident, he was telling the nurses how beautiful horses are – that unless you work with them, you wouldn’t understand how magnificent they are.”

Jeff and Jennie were married for more than 50 years, growing dried fruit on their Robinvale property, but there was always time for the trots and their children Michael and Lucinda both inherited their parents’ interest.

The Gadsdens were integral members of the Robinvale Harness Racing Club, with Jeff serving terms as vice president before being awarded life membership and Jennie a member of the club’s ladies’ auxiliary.

Jeff was also part-time clerk of course at Robinvale restricted meetings – and it was Beau Walk, after retirement from racing, that became his clerking pony.

After Jeff and Jennie retired to a small property at Merbein about five years ago, the couple enjoyed their best racing successes.

With just a small team, Jeff was finally able to showcase his horsemanship with horses like Little Believer, Im Stuck Man, Mustang Max, and the exciting To The Nines.

In 2023, Im Stuck Man was crowned Mildura Horse of the Year, a milestone Jeff proudly noted had been “44 years in the making”. This season had been his most successful as a trainer, recording a personal best nine winners.

Michael, now a professional trainer and farrier based at Charlton with partner Emily Wombwell, said his father was particularly proud of To The Nines, a three-year-old with five wins and four placings this season.

“Dad would never say much, never go on about how good the horse was going – you just had to go off the vibe,” Michael said.

“But I know he was just chuffed with that little horse. He was very proud of him, in his quiet way.”

Michael said during his 10 days in hospital, Jeff was able to share final conversations with his family, including Jennie, Michael and Lucinda.

“He said he’d had the best five years of his life since he and Mum retired, spending more time doing what he really loved – his horses and his grandkids,” Michael said.

“He adored his grandkids. He was so happy that Emily and I are expecting a baby in December – I think he’d almost given up on me!

“There are things he told us in those few days that he wouldn’t have said any other time. It’s been a tough time, but at the same time you’ve got half a smile on your face, grateful that we had him at all.”

Funeral details will be confirmed at McGlynn Hunt Funerals Mildura.

From Terry Gange for Harnesslink