'Gator’s grand race finale

Iron horse Instigator ('Gator) has given a local syndicate their greatest thrill in racing. Trained at Warrnambool by Aaron Purcell and ridden by Braidon Small, Instigator, a 12-year-old gelding, won a thrilling Grand Annual Steeplechase last Thursday at the annual Warrnambool May Carnival. The gruelling 5500m event over 33 fences is Australia’s longest race with prizemoney of $350k and carries international interest. The 'Mastermind' syndicate establish by Wangaratta's Graeme Taylor includes former Wangaratta Rovers players Barry Clarke, Shane Flynn and Andrew Hamilton, along with Wendy Lester and Jack McBain. For Taylor it was his 55th appearance at the time-honoured carnival and an association with the trainer over the last 14 years, which finally saw his Grand Annual dream achieved. He also manages syndicates for an extended number of locals with minor shares in numerous horses with trainers including Matt Cumani, Henry Dwyer and Andrew Bobbin. He estimates the total prizemoney won by horses he has syndicated to be around $7M, with syndicates members sharing the minor spoils. It was an emotional win for jockey Braidon Small, given his battle from 2019 to 2025 with brain tumours which included numerous surgeries and chemotherapy. Instigator was imported by Purcell from Germany in 2019 and was retired after his latest win, given Australian rules state a horse cannot race beyond 12 years of age. For the record, Instigator raced 71 times (32 jumps races) for seven wins and 23 placings and amassed $841,688 in prizemoney.

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