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By Julieanne Horsman

They say never to work with children or animals, but Steven Sampson is doing both at the same time and loving it.

The semi-retired primary school teacher has maintained a stable of a few horses as a hobby for the past 20 years and now that he has a more flexible schedule he is looking to expand.

“I would like to make a real go of training now,” Steven said. “Still as a boutique stable of eight to ten horses, but as we grow there’s still some room to welcome a few more owners into the team.”

This Tuesday’s race meeting presents the perfect opportunity for Kembla Grange Racecourse’s newest trainer to get noticed as he chases his maiden win on his new home track.

Steven, who relocated from Cessnock last year, had his first starter at Kembla Grange 16 days ago when Starinion ran second in the Metal Transport Industries Provincial Class 1 Handicap 1200m.

At odds of 80/1 the five-year-old Stratum Star gelding almost pinched the race, leading all the way before going down to Robert and Luke Price’s promising filly, Aisle Two.

“He was one hard hit-out short,” Steven said. “I have a high opinion of the Price horse, but we think if he’d had that Moruya run he could have won.”

Starinion was due to race at Moruya on 16th January, however the meeting was washed out. He gets another chance on Tuesday and Steven is hoping he can go one better than last time in the 5YO&Up BM64 Handicap over 1200m.

Steven Sampson with Starinion

“I’d like to see him in the first two or three, travelling,” Steven said. “He loves to lead and he’s hard to catch when he’s rolling. If you watch his last run at Kembla, he kicked back in the final 100 and really showed his turn of foot.”

“He’s drawn well and if we get the right run, he’ll be right there. To train our first winner at Kembla would mean everything. It’s what we’ve been building towards since making the move.”

Rebecca Bronett-Prag will again take the ride and was full of praise for her mount after an easy gallop yesterday morning.

“I couldn’t be happier with him,” she said.

“He is nice and relaxed in his work and has bounced back from his last race really well. I did the main gallop on him on Tuesday, and it was a nice, strong piece of work.”

“He is a really genuine horse and led by default last start. He just pinged the gates and put himself up there. If someone else wants to lead I am happy to just sit off. Hopefully we don’t get too much rain over the weekend.”

Steven is quick to note that a major benefit of being based at Kembla Grange is having access to skilled trackwork riders.

“In Cessnock we were lucky to get our horses worked twice a week, if that,” he said.

“Starinion did well with the training he had - 11 starts for a win, two seconds and two thirds. But having the facilities here at Kembla close by is making a real difference for him.”

Starinion, who is a half-brother to handy Zoustar mare Star Of Chaos, is owned by prominent racehorse breeder and cattle farmer Paul Frampton, but he probably would have ended up somewhere else if Steven had not put his hand up.

“I worked with Jeff Englebrecht at Muswellbrook many years ago and he had a great owner named Paul Frampton,” he said.

“When I was down to my last horse at Cessnock, I gave Paul a call and asked if he had anything he’d lease to me. He said yes, I’d love to and we went from there.”

Sampson Racing now has four horses in the stable, all owned by Paul Frampton. It’s a family business with Steven’s wife Mel and son Christopher both alongside him.

“It’s great to be able to work with my family,” he said. “We’ve built a solid team here. Kembla is fantastic. It’s competitive, but it has a great atmosphere with first-class facilities. We’re proud to be part of it.”

Steven has come a long way from the 12-year-old boy who rode trackwork before school for legendary bush trainers including Harry Williams and John Lundholm in Coonamble.

“Our motto at Sampson Racing is Care, Connection, Class,” Steven said.

“We tailor our training to bring out the best in each horse, with a strong focus on wellbeing, patience and understanding their needs. We believe that gives them the best chance on the track.”

All the fields, form and replays for Tuesday's meeting at Kembla Grange