Les Clarke remembered as a gentleman of racing

By Jordan Gerrans

Veteran Southern Downs trainer Les Clarke is being remembered as a gentleman of the racing game after a career which yielded feature race victories across Australia.

Long based at Killarney outside of Warwick, Clarke’s son and granddaughter followed him into the training ranks in the Sunshine State.

The respected horseman was widely admired by many within the local industry.  

Clarke passed away on the 23^rd of January. He was 85 years of age.

In recent years, Clarke’s name was up in lights after claiming the Warwick Cup with Military Kings in emotional fashion not long after his own son Steve had passed away.

In his heyday, Clarke prepared Untamed who won 24 races including a Rockhampton Newmarket as well as city victories and multiple triumphs at Lismore.

So much so, the Lismore Turf Club renamed their $50,000 Showcase Sprint over 1200 metres after Clarke’s former champion galloper Untamed.

Clarke’s granddaughter Rachael Watts has continued on the family’s racing legacy in recent times and has taken all her learnings from her late grandfather into her own training tenure.

“Everyone valued his opinion,” Watts said.

“He was genuine and hardworking. He was so respected.”

Hailing from Kilcoy, Clarke eventually moved to Killarney where he worked as a meat inspector.

The Southern Downs is where he would remain for the rest of his life as he valued his time with his extended family and his team of racehorses.

He always had an interest in racing from a young age in racing and was given a horse when he was in Kilcoy and it just went from there.

The Warwick Turf Club will celebrate Clarke’s decades of contribution to the industry later this month when they run the Les Clarke Memorial as part of their Mates and Memories Race Day.

The meeting will be held on Monday, February 23^rd.

“Les Clarke’s contribution to racing on the Southern Downs went well beyond the track,” Warwick Turf Club marketing officer Bubbles Barbierato said.

“He was deeply respected for his knowledge, his generosity with his time and the way he welcomed people into the industry.

“When I first began my journey in racing, Les was one of those people who made you feel instantly at home. He was always up for a chat, always willing to share a story or a laugh and he never made anyone feel like they didn’t belong. 

"He was kind, funny and genuinely interested in the people around him, qualities that made him so loved within our community.

“Les’ legacy lives on through the countless lives he touched, and we’re incredibly proud to honour him.”

As he travelled Untamed across the country, Clarke developed close bonds with fellow trainers from New South Wales up to Central Queensland.

Experienced Rockhampton conditioner John O'Sing recalls Clarke lobbing in town with Untamed through the 1990s and they kept a close association ever since.

“He always came up to the carnival and he was nature's gentleman,” O'Sing said.

“There was a few of us, Ray McCall and Garnett Taylor, and a few more who were regulars at the same place for a drink.

“He was also a very good footballer in his day, as well, from what I was told he was good out on the wing.”

Following the tragic death of his son Steve in 2022, grand gelding Military Kings provided the entire family with a few different opportunities to smile.

The Clarke family have been mainstays of the racing industry in the Southern Downs area for decades, with Clarke preparing his gallopers from his stable across the road from the track.

Military Kings claimed the Steve Clarke Memorial race just days after his death, before adding the Warwick Cup to their trophy cabinet not long after.

“It was a great feeling,” Les Clarke said in late 2022.

“When we won Steven’s memorial race earlier in the year, I was speaking after the race and told them that we would win the Warwick Cup with this horse.

“It does not always happen like that, but I am glad it did this time.”

There were emotion-charged scenes in the Allman Park mounting yard on both occasions following Military Kings’ timely triumphs.

“Winning your hometown Cup is definitely something that we always wanted to do and he'd never had the opportunity prior to then,” Watts said.

“That would be one of the major recent highlights.

“Back in the day, Untamed was very good horse. The bar at Lismore is named the Untamed bar after the horse.

“Grandad's place at Killarney, he then named it the Untamed Lodge after that horse.

“He was a very, very good horse that sparked Grandad's interest big time by having such a good horse like that.”

As Clarke wound down his training interests in recent years, the family’s horses went into Watts’ name as the trainer and she has enjoyed success across Queensland.

Clarke’s funeral service will be held on Friday, February 13 at Warwick Funerals from 10:30am.

Racing Queensland extends its condolences to the Clarke family.