Shirley Batten still firing at 93 years of age

By Jordan Gerrans

Even at 93 years of age, Gold Coast horsewoman Shirley Batten is still as sharp as ever.

The veteran conditioner prepared a winner at Casino south of the Tweed border on Monday afternoon and even before Eagle's Fire landed the prize, she was already thinking a few steps ahead. 

“Mum was hoping he would win on Monday to get him into another race,” Batten’s son David said.

The 63-year-old David was on strapping duties as his mother remained on the Gold Coast for the Monday meeting. 

Shirley is one of the oldest licensed trainers in Australia still plying their trade. 

She is a regular at Aquis Park and other tracks around the Sunshine State, but she did not travel south to Monday’s program. 

The race David referenced that his mother was keen to target was the Three-Year-Old and Four-Year-Old Benchmark 65 Handicap over 1100 metres at the Gold Coast later this month. 

As Eagle's Fire has recently ticked over to four years of age, there are not many QTIS options left for the homebred sprinter, so the Battens are as keen as ever to get the gelding to the race.

“That is a QTIS race for three and four-year-olds, you do not get many QTIS races for four-year-olds,” David said. 

“That is probably where he will head. It is rare to see QTIS races for four-year-olds.

“He has been lucky to win one QTIS race and placed in a couple of others, but you can knock up a lot of prizemoney in them.”

With Toowoomba hoop Nozi Tomizawa doing the steering, Eagle's Fire was a tough winner in Heavy 8 conditions at Casino on Monday in a Benchmark 58 Handicap over 1000 metres. 

Jockey Tomizawa was in the saddle when the son of Dracarys broke his maiden status at Gatton in March of last year in a QTIS event and he has been his regular partner in his 20 career starts.

“He handled the hill well in Queensland before so I thought it would be no problem in New South Wales, as well,” the hoop said.

“As he is getting older, he is getting a bit too relaxed but with the blinkers, he was really sharp and keen. 

“I was happy when Matthew McGuren horse (Mawsons Expedition) went, I took a seat and he was too good.”

Eagle's Fire’s win was Shirley's first of the new season and her second of 2025 after stablemate Top Bird won at Ballina in February. 

At 93 years of age, Shirley is still at her stables every morning and afternoon, organising her horses' feed while cleaning out their yards. 

One of the elder stateswomen of the Queensland racing industry, Shirley is adored by all that neighbour her stables down at Aquis Park or those who come across her on a race day.

Shirley has been a licensed trainer for over 50 years and originally trained in Victoria before heading north to the Sunshine State in 1995.

Shirley and David prepare a team of three homebreds on the Gold Coast, with the trio all out of their mare Eagle’s Nest, who they raced.

David says regular stable hoop Tomizawa gets on well with their horses as they mostly like to race up on the speed. 

The team added blinkers to Eagle's Fire for Monday’s assignment and Tomizawa was able to peel off the leaders back at the top of lane and the Gold Coast galloper did the rest. 

“We thought he just wasn’t finding the line at his first two runs back,” David said.

“We thought we would put the blinkers back on.

“We took them off last time because he was going too fierce, but he has matured a bit now. We trialed him in them last week and he went pretty good.

“We thought he hasn’t really finished off his races but on Monday, that was really pleasing to see him be strong all the way up the straight.

“I do not think he is a front-running type, the way he was ridden on Monday – that is how we want to see him ridden. It worked out good.”

The stable go in search of their second triumph of the new campaign at the Gold Coast Turf Club on Saturday with Coco Jewel in the Benchmark 58 Handicap over 1540 metres. 

“She should be very good to beat,” David said.

“She has had two wins on the Polytack and she ran third at Beaudesert recently.

“She just blew out last time. Nozi will probably ride her on Saturday as Casey Waddell is out injured.”