Although Gary Portelli had a family connection to racing, it was a single moment that inspired him to take up training.
It’s rare that someone decides to become a horse trainer based on one quick experience but if it wasn’t for a spur of the moment decision, Gary Portelli might be doing something different.
Portelli, who grew up in Windsor, came from a show horse background although his grandfather was a jockey.
“There was always a little push from him. We’d listen to the races and have 50c on a horse on a Saturday as a kid,” Portelli said.
“I thought I’d go more into the show scene and teach kids how to ride.
“I was 15 and we moved to Orange on a farm but not many kids wanted to ride at that level so there was no work there.”
Portelli was working night shifts at an abattoir and admitted “there was not much direction on life at that point”.
Then one of the most influential moments in his life arrived.
“We had a horse that we were trying to re-educate but he was a hard pulling horse and one day I decided to see how fast he could go,” Portelli said.
“So I pulled my irons up in the dressage saddle and I let him go and from that day on I was hooked.
“It only took one gallop. His name was New Jade and the feeling he gave me changed the whole way I thought about things.”
Portelli took out a trainer’s license in 1990 but was still a night shifter worker, this time as a baker.
He had some success but his big break came in 1996 when an opportunity came to take over from trainer John Poletti and take up his boxes at Warwick Farm.
The then 26-year-old Portelli was the youngest person to be granted a trainers license in the metropolitan area at the time.
“Getting a trainers license back then in Sydney was pretty hard,” he said.
It took 11 years of hard work to win his first Group 1 when Rena’s Lady took out the AJC Oaks.
“I had to earn my stripes. I certainly wasn’t handed anything and I think I’ve done it the hard way,” Portelli said.
“Horses taught me how to train more than anyway. I still think I’m learning and I’ve gone through highs and lows of racing that’s for sure.”
Horses make trainers and there was a period where Portelli was really struggling before a few stars came along at just the right time.
“I was having a bit of trouble,” he said.
“I couldn’t syndicate a horse. If I bought one I couldn’t find an owner for it and things weren’t going as well as they should’ve been.
“I didn’t have a good business mind back then. I was just a horseman who never said no to anyone and I kept taking on slow horses because I was too scared to upset someone.
“People do turn on you. People you thought were good clients. They’d see you’re struggling then they’d go to another trainer.”
Then, at the right time, he had a big turnaround.
“Rebel Dane came out and won the Manikato then in the new season I came out and won the Magic Millions Cup with Testashadow then She Will Reign came along,” Portelli said.
“We went from being struggling and having nine yearlings to having 43 yearlings the following year.
“You’ve still got to have the ability to make sure you don’t stuff it up and it’s easy to stuff up a good horse.”
Portelli’s biggest moment came when She Will Reign took out the 2017 Golden Slipper and the Warwick Farm trainer got the horse at the right time in his career after eight Slipper runners without a placing.
“The years of learning had me in a good state to have me training those good horses and a Golden Slipper favourite,” he said.
“I knew how I had to have her on the day and I was never more confident winning a race even though it was a Golden Slipper.
“The stars aligned that day and when things are going well they’re going well.”
Over the years, Portelli has spoken on and off the record about issues in racing, particularly the shady side and is always championing a clean sport.
And one man helped shape him over the years.
“My integrity is everything,” Portelli said.
“I model myself on Bede Murray. He was an absolute gentleman and loved the sport and his horses and flew under the radar.
“He didn’t get the big support but every year he had a good horse.”
And Chris Waller is another trainer he admirers, probably because he too came to Sydney with nothing.
“There’s no doubt that what Chris has done has been phenomenal,” Portelli said.
“I’ve known Chris for a long time and I remember when he had 10 horses at Rosehill and was doing it tough.”
While he admires what Waller has done, he doesn’t want to be him.
“He’s got so much pressure day in, day out. He loves it, but I can’t see myself doing that,” Portelli said.
“His mind must be going at 100 miles an hour and that would kill me.”
Then there’s Annabel Neasham, who had plenty of experience working with horses before taking out her trainer’s license less than two years ago, but she still makes the boys at Warwick Farm shake their heads.
“We’ve got a chat group at Warwick Farm and we tell her we’re jealous of her. She’s been training for five minutes and has one of the best horses in the country (Zaaki) and a horse that most of us will never get,” Portelli said.
While I was talking to Portelli, he had just bought a Lonhro colt for $650,000 at the Magic Millions Sales on the Gold Coast.
The strength of racing on the track has made it tougher to find a horse for good value because everyone wants a piece of the growing, rich, pie.
“Usually I can find a horse for $200,000 quite easily, but not this year. It’s been incredible,” Portelli said.
“There’s bigger prizemoney now so more people are getting involved and there’s more confidence and people are spending more.”
Portelli said there was no chance he’d do what’s becoming more fashionable and form a training partnership with someone, preferring to be in full control.
And you won’t find him posting pictures on social media of him on a skiing trip of having a cocktail on the Mediterranean.
“I hate holidays. I feel more agitated being away from my business and I love going to the races,” he said.
“If you don’t have a passion for this industry then you’re in trouble because it’s unlike any other job.”
“There’s lots of long days. I had got strappers in Canberra on Wednesday and they didn’t get back home until 9pm then they were up at 3am on Thursday for work.”
Looking back on his 26 years of training, Portelli said he wouldn’t change anything.
Deep down he feels he’ll end like Les Bridge and training on into his 80s, but he’s not 100 per cent committed to that just yet.
Especially if he wins the race he wants most.
“For me, it’s the Cox Plate,” he said.
“It would mean I’ve got a serious weight-for-age horse. It’s the heavy weight championship.
“The best horse in the country wins the Cox Plate and if I could win one of them I’d seriously consider returning that afternoon.
“I probably wouldn’t retire but it would be a good way to finish your career.”
Originally published as Trainer Gary Portelli has ridden the ups and downs of racing but wouldn’t have it any other way
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