RaceCafe..#1...Tipsters Thread.... Share Your Fancies For Fun...Lets See Who The Best Tipsters Here Are.
Chris Wood

R.I.P - R.T.Cleaver

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Thanks for that Chris and BC

Many,many stories and yarns over the years with Raymond.

Super Comet and the alleged false start at Te Rapa,

Top trainer and great placer of horses.

Ray had many  "early morning discussions" with Cambridge Track managers including Ray Hawke.

Had a very very good but  unsound horse by Reindeer, Prancer for the Pollocks.

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Ray Cleaver was the son of jockey Fred Cleaver. He was apprenticed to Don Grubb at Feilding and George Greene at Takanini before moving to Cambridge. Volare was another good horse he trained there. He trained many good horses at Cranbourne including Honest Politician and Dot Com. His best most recent runner was the Don Eduardo gelding Donarchie the winner of 8 from 74 starts and $187,193.

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11 minutes ago, gubellini said:

Ray Cleaver was the son of jockey Fred Cleaver. He was apprenticed to Don Grubb at Feilding and George Greene at Takanini before moving to Cambridge. Volare was another good horse he trained there. He trained many good horses at Cranbourne including Honest Politician and Dot Com. His best most recent runner was the Don Eduardo gelding Donarchie the winner of 8 from 74 starts and $187,193.

Have you left out Wanganui ? I would have thought far more associated there than Cambridge.

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34 minutes ago, slam dunk said:

Have you left out Wanganui ? I would have thought far more associated there than Cambridge.

Did Ray train EL MAR , an open handicapper, while training in Cambridge? 1600 too 2000 mtr horse.

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And GUB,  some of our best jockeys rode for Ray Cleaver.

Jockeys that rode Elmar  were:

Earl Harrison, Warwick Robinson, Chris McNab Brian York,Maurice Campbell and maybe Shane Dye .

Ray Cleaver's mum and dad Fred and Ngaire ?  retired to a home unit near us in the 1980's .

Ray was a tough bastard but looked after his mum and dad and his children.And Sue.

Ray told me one day that Joe Bromby and Alan Jones were nearly on his level when it came to being "astute Trainers ".

 Ray Clever's carefully planned coup  with  SUPER COMET  at TeRapa and the "false start" earned Ray lots of mana ,Kudos.

          It does not compare to  that of Alan Jones and Torbek /Shady Deal .

But It came very close.

Ray knew what times the Trains would hoot on the Main trunk Line .

 The Te Rapa Mile start is just 20 metres from the railway line.

Apparently Mr George Lawson and his stipes spent days foraging for a Kids Hand held Hooter.

Tony Enting may have helped with the searching. 

Quote

 

s hand held Hooter.
Starter Mr Fred Hain did not call a false start. Most riders heard a hooter. Or a Train Hoot.

Not Super Comet's rider.Kicked hard from barriers and kept going.

I was on the main Side on Video Camera from the tower that day. Jim Lambert Judge.

Stipes on floor below.

 

Good on You Ray Cleaver.

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There are simple reasons why we all like this industry and the different people associated with racing is at the top for me.

Ray Cleaver is one best trainers to place a horse, usually to suit Ray, and a fine bloke to have a beer with.

Amusingly, your name came up last week is a conversation that had us laughing about the past. 
RIP.

 

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Rev Super Comet won 7 races from 47 starts. His only win at Te Rapa was on debut on the 25/3/81 ridden by Grant Cooksley. He was 2/2 in the betting and paid $4.50 and $1.70. The race was over 1200m not 1600m. Later in his career he was trained by Harvey Wadham and Shane Laming.

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15 hours ago, crustyngrizzly said:

Seem to recall a nice One Pound Sterling horse he had called EXCHEQUER.

Yep a very handy grey gelding he was. I have a race video from a race at Te Rapa featuring him in it. :wub:
Ray had some handy horses through his stable over the years that many have already mentioned like Prancer & Elmar I remember.
Also Sean’s Pride and the good filly Avana who from memory used to race in a shadow roll?? 🤔

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