Inter Dominion glory still holding warm memories for Vic Frost

By Andrew Smith

Winning an Inter Dominion crown is the pinnacle for many in the harness racing game.

One man who knows just how difficult it can be to climb the mountain is looking forward to the battle playing out in his own backyard this Saturday night.

Legendary horseman Vic Frost reached the peak of his career when he took out the 1992 Inter Dominion title with his champion pacer Westburn Grant.

The multiple Group 1-winning driver and trainer claimed a raft of titles including the 1970 Miracle Mile, Australian Derby and Australian and Queensland Pacing Championships.

He was inducted into the Queensland Harness Racing Hall of Fame at the 2022 Queensland Harness Awards for his decades of service to the harness racing code.

Now 84, he is still training winners alongside wife Gail Geeson, with the duo having 13 wins between them this season.

However, nothing has come close to that night at Moonee Valley in 1992 when Frost saluted with his superstar standardbred.

Despite it being over three decades ago, the memories of that special occasion have not faded for the veteran.

“I remember everything about it really, it was a fantastic night,” Frost said.

“It had been a long time and I had been trying to get into the Inter Dominion most of my life, and I eventually got there in the end.

“It was great to do it with Westburn Grant - he won a lot of big races to get there, but he got that one as well, so it was fantastic.

“I'd have to put it on top of my career highlights – he had won a couple of Miracle Miles, which was the top at the time, but then eventually he got the Inter Dominion, so that topped it all.”

Throughout his storied career, Westburn Grant won 38 of his 67 starts and over $2 million in prize money – a huge purse for a horse in the early '90s.

He also claimed back-to-back Australian Harness Horse of the Year crowns in 1991 and 1992.

Post retirement, he lived a long and healthy life until passing away just shy of his 35^th birthday in 2020.

The standardbred was buried on Frost and Geeson’s property at Pottsville in Northern New South Wales, and will always hold a special place in their hearts.

“He was a champion in all ways - he had a very good head on him, and good horses have got to have a good head and good temperament,” Frost recalled.

“That's what makes champions - they've got to be able to do the speed, back off and then do it again when you want it, not when they want to do it.

“So a lot of horses beat themselves because they don't probably race properly, but champions just do it.

“Even when he retired, we bred from him…and as he got older, still being a stallion, he used to just free roam all around the place and go and visit his daughters and granddaughter.

“He was just like a human, he'd go all around the farm every day…sometimes you’d have to kick him off the track when you're working, but that's the type of horse he was, absolutely beautiful.”

Since Frost and Westburn Grant’s glory days, there has been a significant uplift in the riches on offer for the Pacing Final.

Runners competed for $400,000 in 1992, while Saturday night’s race at The Creek will see $1 million in prize money go on the line.

While they will not have a runner on ID25 Finals night, the Frost-Geeson combination are still buoyed by seeing the famed series call Queensland home until 2027, even if it meant slightly stronger competition for their stable.

“I think it's fantastic, hats off to the directors and all that who have gone to a lot of effort to do that and a lot of expense as well, I say good on them,” Frost said.

“You'll get all the best horses in Australia and New Zealand coming here every year to race in those big races.

“Mind you, at the same time, us locals, we find it very hard to beat them, so sometimes we're glad when they go home (laughs).

“But for the betterment of the sport, it's great to see the good horses come here.”

Geeson added: “I think it's a really, really big boost for Queensland racing, the fact that we can afford to do it is a really big thing.”

“It's such a holiday destination the Gold Coast and Brisbane and for all the southerners to come up and have a holiday as well, it's very inviting for them.

“For us locals, it's just a big thrill to have such a big event on our doorstep. And yeah, very exciting.

“I don't have any horses racing in it, but I'm up there each night and you also get to see all your friends from down south that you haven't seen before.”

The couple will also be keeping a keen eye on several of Frost’s former proteges who will be in action at Albion for the closing night of the Queensland Constellations.

Shane Graham, Matt Elkins and Trent Dawson all paid homage to the master trainer when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2022, with Elkins on stage for the presentation to Frost.

True to form, the veteran reinsman was humble when asked if his lasting legacy would be more focused on the mentoring of other participants, rather than his achievements on the track.

“Well, I've only just tried to advise them, and at the end of the day they’ve got to do it themselves - I can only just advise what I think and what I would do,” Frost said.

“Yeah, they've come through, and they're top trainer drivers now, so that's fantastic.

“When I look back on them now, I think well I might have had something to do with them, and that's great.”

Geeson was more forthcoming when praising her partner in both life and work, for the impact Frost has had on the current crop of top drivers.

“He was just a legend back in his day, and he still is but he was the number one back then,” Geeson said.

“Shane Graham, Matt Elkins and Trent Dawson were our leading drivers for the stable, and they were juniors when we put them on, and they've just come through their ranks and they're really big, good time drivers now.

“Vic’s taught them a lot, and he's quite proud of that.

“He's still going now - he's 84 and still gives me advice but I’m very proud.”