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By Renee Geelen

The boy from the bush who became a constant presence at the horse sales, John Jeffs will be remembered as someone who loved interacting with people.

His achievements as a track manager are almost overshadowed by his character. Jeffs was well known and well respected in his role as front of house for many vendors across the racing and breeding industry.

The late Mr John Jeffs

A person’s life is easily summed up by their achievements. Articulating their presence is a much more difficult task, but when it comes to John Jeffs, affectionately known as JJ to many, it’s a simple task. Jeffs loved people.

John remembered everyone, he treated everyone like they mattered, and he’ll be sorely missed by those who spent time with him. Jeffs died on Tuesday, aged 83.

A life in racing and a boy from the bush
Born in Cowra, Jeffs began his career in racing as secretary of the Cowra Jockey Club, moving to Sydney in 1972 to work as the track manager at Rosehill.

He did a five-year stint in Hong Kong as track manager and clerk of the course there before he returned home to Australia to work as a sales advisor to many across the racing industry.

Geoff Allendorf, who is back in Australia after more than 20 years as a jockey in Hong Kong and Macau, and a trainer in Macau, said: “I knew him from his Rosehill days. I came there in 1974 to be an apprentice jockey.

"I’d come from Cairns and he’d come from Cowra and we were both bush boys, and many times when I’d had a fall (in trackwork), he’d pick me up.

"He was always there. He was a hands-on guy. He was there most mornings seeing that everything was going correctly. He lived life to the fullest, he worked hard and he also enjoyed himself.

"He came to Hong Kong as I went to Macau, but we were still very close. We’d have lunch together quite often. We’d watch rugby league and the sevens together.

“John came from Cowra and he was a country boy at heart. He loved going to country cup meetings, and we all went to those. He never forgot where he’d come from.

"He was dealing in the high end of horse racing, people like Jim Fleming, he’s dealt with the lot of them.”

One of Jeffs’ biggest achievements in Sydney was to upgrade the drainage at both Rosehill and Canterbury for the Sydney Turf Club, who owned the two tracks before their merger with the Australian Jockey Club in 2011.

In an interview with Brian De Lore in 2019, Jeffs said: “Drainage is the key, and that’s what we did in the old days. Gordon McVeigh at Ellerslie was also a great man for drainage, and when I took over Rosehill it was widely known as the worst wet weather track in Australia.

“We spent a fortune on both Canterbury and Rosehill and turned them into the best-wet weather tracks in Australia, if not the world. You can drain a rice paddy field if you want to and if you do it right, it will work. You can drain anything, even a swamp.”

After achieving this, Jeffs went to Hong Kong for five years where he oversaw the installation of a StrathAyr grass track at Sha Tin. On returning to Australia, he found a role with former Sydney Turf Club chair Jim Fleming.

From track manager to yearling sales
John Jeffs became a ubiquitous presence at the horse sales, and it was Fleming who first understood Jeffs’ unique talent for making people feel like they mattered.

“I’ve probably known JJ for 45 years. I used to see him when I went to trackwork at Rosehill, and then I worked with him at the sales for a long time for Eliza Park and Sun Stud. Realistically, he was without peer as far as his meet and greet at the sales,” said Greg Tobin.

“They didn’t do it much at the sales before JJ started. Effectively Jim Fleming was the first to ask him to do it for Tyreel.

"They would hire JJ to be at the sales on inspection days, and someone would come and ask to see the draft and because he knew everybody so well, he’d know their likes and dislikes.

"If you had a draft of 45, and if a trainer came along and he knew they didn’t want a filly, he’d just show you all the colts. And he’d know what type of colt a trainer would like too.”

The front of house role at the sales is common sight at the sales nowadays, especially with larger vendors but it was Jeffs who began the craft and by all accounts was a master of it.

“I first met John Jeffs when he was working for Jim Fleming’s Tyreel Stud at the end of the 1990s, and in the early 2000s John started doing the same role for me at Eliza Park at the Victorian sale and the Magic Millions sales,” said former Eliza Park CEO, Cameron Croucher.

“He was front of house, he would coordinate all the staff for the buyer’s inspection. Any trainer who came along and wanted to inspect a horse, they’d see John and John would get the staff to get the horse ready.

"He did that for Eliza Park from about 2002 until the end in 2013. When I started Equine Air Freight, John came on board as a consultant and assisted me greatly in the Asian region with clients and introductions to different people across Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore.”

An engaging personality
The key to Jeffs' role at the sales was being able to deal with people from all walks of life. Tobin said: “Everyone now has someone in this meet and greet role, but he was at a different level. JJ treated people the same, even well renowned tyre kickers would be given their due.

"They might not buy today, but they might buy tomorrow. He was the consummate professional. He did know everybody. He was that good.

"He had enormous energy for a bloke who didn’t look like he could be on his feet all day, and he’d stand there for hours on end and chat away, it was really phenomenal.

"He was a force of nature. He did his job so very well and he never ever tired of it. The industry is less for his passing. When these iconic figures step off this mortal coil, it’s not only a loss from knowing them, it’s a piece of the industry gone.”

It’s a sentiment that Croucher articulated as well: “He had that uncanny knack to relate to people very well, and was very engaging, professionally and socially.

"It didn’t matter if you were a young person just starting out with a broom in the hand, or someone who had a lifetime of experience. He was able to relate on all levels,” Croucher said.

“He was really engaging with people. He was a good listener, and he would listen closely to what someone required and he would give his opinion. He was great for young people, but was also a reliable source of information for people with lots of experience.

“The way in which he dealt with people, particularly young people, he was happy to impart knowledge and explain why systems had been developed. He also had the ability to speak to people on all levels, whether they are looking to buy a horse or have a problem, or vets or buyer’s agents, he had that ability.

Making people feel like they were important
One of the great skills that Jeffs had was making everyone feel important, and he didn’t hold a grudge if anyone disagreed with his opinions.

“He was a very honest man. His opinions were what he genuinely felt, they were not just made up to get the sale across the line. It built trust,” said Croucher who outlined how people felt they could trust that Jeffs wasn’t just there to get horses sold. He wanted to match the right trainer to the right horse and find the horse that suited someone.

“He wasn’t frightened to share his opinion, and sometimes his opinions were quite descriptive, and I have some fond memories of talking about different things in the industry and the way he delivered his opinions was very humorous.”

Long time friend Allendorf concurs: “I’ve that many guys text me or ring me (since Jeffs died yesterday), we all knocked about together. Even Doc Chapman from Rosehill, he still remembered the good old larrikin days at Rosehill.

"Trainers like Doc Chapman would be putting extra horses on the grass to gallop, and Johnny would be trying to protect his grass. He could have a debate or even an argument with someone, but it was always forgotten. It wasn’t personal,” said Allendorf.

A quality friend
The intangible quality of a person can be difficult to quantify. Jeffs talked to everyone and had a wide variety of long term friendships across the industry.

He worked his sales role for many different vendors over the years, from Tyreel and Eliza Park to Kitchwin Hills as well as for several New Zealand vendors.

“We developed a very good friendship. We travelled together on different secondments, and he was a good travelling buddy. I remained good friends even after he wasn’t working with me, right up until the last week when I visited him in hospital last Monday,” said Croucher.

“Cameron and I were with him last Monday, but when I saw him in January, I thought, he’ll be doing this when he’s 88. He was rising 83 and I thought he’ll still be doing this for years.

"He was fit and healthy until we found out he had this cancer. Cancer is a very cruel part of life,” said Allendorf. “There was no stopping him. This was what he loved doing, and it kept him in the game, and kept him interacting with people.

"I talked to Johnny every week. I knew his boys growing up, he lived in the house right out the front of Rosehill Racecourse and I’ve known his boys all their life and he’s known my boys.

"We had the same values, we loved racing, and everybody would catch up with Johnny at the sales. He didn’t mind a good lunch or dinner.

“He had a great memory. When people came to the sales, he seemed to know everyone, he knew their name, not just their faces. He could interact with them well, and that’s why everyone loved dealing with him. He’ll be sorely missed.

“Most people you’d run into would have only positive things to say about him. He touched a lot of people in the industry. His boys will miss him. He’ll be missed, big time.”