Spotlight On: Tom Callaghan

Young Tom Callaghan is finding his way in life.

The fresh-faced Novocastrian joined the leading stables of Chantal Turpin and Pete McMullen at their Somerset Farms property, west of Brisbane, earlier this year following a brief Brisbane trip months earlier.

Callaghan, 18, accompanied his father, Mark, a renowned horseman in his own right, with a small team of pacers late last year and enjoyed the short stint in the Sunshine State.

The enthusiastic youngster caught the eye of the leading couple, who then made an offer to relocate permanently.

“We were on the lookout for staff and more so, a junior driver, and Tommy impressed during that brief campaign with his father. Pete and I discussed it and made an offer for him to join our stable and in January, he moved up,” Turpin explained.

“Tommy has been a great boost to our stable. We’re thrilled with his progress, and he gets on great with Pete and Pat (Croghan – foreman). It was a huge move for him, moving away from home and learning to fend for himself in many ways plus adapting to a completely different style of racing, he had to learn new form and traits of all other drivers but hopefully he’s enjoying his time up here.” 

Born and raised in the Hunter region, Tom is the youngest of three boys for Mark and Simone Callaghan. He’s grown up surrounded by horses and visiting multiple tracks throughout his home state with his big brothers Jack and Harry.

During the late 1990s and early 2000s, Mark prepared an excellent team of standardbreds spearheaded by Gancia Guy, a New Zealand-bred gelding who won 19 races for the stable while banking more than $120,000.

Gancia Guy contested several feature events including the likes of the Treuer Memorial, Newcastle Mile, Miracle Mile qualifiers, J. D Watts Memorial, Bohemia Crystal FFA and the Newcastle Cup, among others.

During such races, Gancia Guy was taking on the likes of such notables like Our Sir Vancelot, Christian Cullen, Jofess, Quantum Lobell, Kyema Kid and Young Mister Charles.

Others sharp performers for the Callaghan stable include Parisology, Rave Moonraker, Somnio Denario, Culinary Delight and Strawberry Courage.

As it stands, Mark has prepared close to 500 career winners.

In more recent times, the stable has produced the likes of Vega Star, The Cid, Royal Gamble, Laceys Lad and Glenn Ford among others.

“Dad has always had a handy type within the stable. He’s pretty clever with a horse and I’ve learned a lot by watching him do his thing with the horses,” Tom said.

“Looking back, we had a great upbringing with the horses while doing our sport. Obviously, Jack and I have taken on a career with the horses while Harry is looking at becoming a schoolteacher.”

Tom, like his brothers, attended Avondale School, an independent Seventh-day Adventist co-educational early learning, primary and secondary day school, located in Cooranbong, in the Hunter Region of New South Wales.

“I wasn’t completely fussed on the academics. I loved playing soccer and became a big fan of the local A-League team, the Newcastle Jets. Jack and Harry enjoyed a game of soccer too; we’re all very competitive even though there’s a two- and half-year gap between each of us,” he said.

“When not at school or playing soccer, we were with the horses. Jack and I love the horses while Harry was always happy to find a different way in life and he’s currently doing all his studies to become a qualified teacher.

“We didn’t do the minis growing up, Dad said driving the bigger horses will only be more beneficial. Vega Star was our best horse, and I remember doing plenty with him when he was racing. I had the bug early and Vega Star only increased my passion.

“I was probably 13 or 14 when I really got interested in the horses. I started doing a bit of work with the quiet ones within the stables and gradually built my confidence over time with more and more trackwork.”

While his school grades remained satisfactory, Tom’s desire to work closer with the horses was becoming his primary focus and, in particular, watching his big brother Jack develop as a young junior driver was captivating.

“We’re a tight group. I speak with Jack on the phone every day and watching him firsthand launch his career was amazing. Knowing what he went through to get there and being in a similar position, I knew I wanted to be a race driver from that moment moving forward,” he said.

“It’s been really cool watching Jack develop as a driver, he’s taken his opportunities and established himself as a really good driver. He’s been great for me. He’s given me advice and tips to make a difference in the race bike and that’s a big help.

“Jack started with Dad before joining Luke McCarthy and moving to Menangle and carving out his own name. That’s part of the reason I took this opportunity to move to Brisbane; I wanted to create my own brand and style and heading north was great way to do that.”

After going through his trial process, Tom commenced his driving career during the back half of the 2022 season and took his maiden drive at Newcastle on September 30, behind Swell Time - a talented mare prepared by his father.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t a Cinderella outcome. Tom and Swell Time finished at the rear of the field.

But he didn’t have to wait long until enjoying the sweet taste of success. His first winning drive came at Newcastle on October 24 aboard the Melanie Elder-trained Man From Braavos.

“I’ll never forget it. It was the last race on the Monday afternoon program [and] all the favourites were fighting out the finish, but luckily I came out on top and he was strong. We went a fast time, we rated 1:55.4,” Tom said.

“Swell Time is a special mare. Dad bought her cheap from New Zealand and she’s been plagued by heaps of issues throughout her career. I remember Dad saying to me before I was even driving, ‘this is the mare that will help put you on the map Tommy’.

“I’ve won 10 races on Swell Time, including two at Albion Park, while I also recorded four straight victories at Newcastle early on. She’s been a top mare for me, and Dad is planning on breeding from her - and he never breeds.

“I’m planning on being here in Queensland for a bit longer and I’ve been lucky enough to partner both Dele Row and Blacksadance. Ideally I’d love to return home and win the Newcastle Mile while the Miracle Mile is the race I’d most to win. It’s the pinnacle race.”

Since being based in Brisbane, Callaghan is quickly establishing himself as a “go to” concession driver and his numbers continue to rise.

Throughout the 2025 season to date, he’s already driven more winners than previous seasons. And he’s enjoyed feature race success when combining with Udderly Sweet to win the Group 3 $50,000 QBRED Breeders Classic 3YO Colts & Geldings Final at Albion Park for Turpin and McMullen.

Callaghan has found his purpose, now he’s enjoying the experiences as he builds towards a fulfilling career.