MELBOURNE Cup-Caulfield Cup winning jockey Scott Seamer yesterday credited the late Keith Swan with giving him the major kick towards his recent Group 1 successes.
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The leading jockey rode for Keith Swan for four seasons to win four northern jockeys' premierships before moving to Ballina and then Brisbane and his ultimate Melbourne Cup-Caulfield Cup fairytale success with Kiwi galloper Ethereal.
Seamer was in Tamworth yesterday for the funeral of the legendary Somerton trainer.
Keith Swan was laid to rest at the Lincoln Grove Memorial Gardens lawn cemetery yesterday with his favourite hat and renowned racing colours.
It followed a funeral service to a packed congregation at St Nicholas's Catholic Church in Tamworth.
Swan lost his battle with cancer last Saturday to end a training career almost unparalleled.
He became the youngest licensed trainer in the nation when he gained his trainer's badge at age 19 and over a period of more than 50 years won 24 Northern and North Western Racing Association trainers' premierships and a myriad of country cups.
He also won a Ramornie Handicap with HNWRA Horse of the Year Indian Chief.
His good sprinter, Caissa, a runner-up in the 2002 Ramornie Handicap, ran third in a Group race in Sydney.
Country cup wins rolled off the production line with such talented horses as Nirangi, Lettergram, Sir Eden, Drop A Note, Lucky To Be, Orange Kid, Pride of Manderley and Merchant Bank.
The Cup he treasured most though, the Grafton Cup, always eluded his grasp.
Seamer was just one of many high-profile racing identities to pay their respects to a man acknowledged as one of the best to have graced the turf.
"It was the start of my career," Seamer said of his linking with the Somerton trainer.
"He contributed a lot to my success. I had four and a half years with Keith and won the premiership up here four times.
"That was all because of Keith. I was riding all the best horses.
"I've always said good trainers bring the good jockeys."
After his Somerton sojourn, Seamer's higher profile allowed him to move to Ballina and then Brisbane before linking with Ethereal and winning the 2001 Melbourne-Caulfield Cup double.
He has now won 15 Group 1s.
"Keith was just so good to ride for," he said.
"We got on well, both of us never said much. He'd just say 'you know how to ride'."
Matt Alston began as a 14-year-old stableboy, became one of the youngest apprentices of his day through the efforts of Swan, and won an apprentices' premiership before weight forced him out of the saddle.
He has been working in the Somerton stables ever since.
"22 years," Alston said yesterday.
He wanted nothing else than to be a jockey and for a while that was a thrilling ride before his increasing weight forced him out of the saddle.
"Keith put me on where he could," he said.
"He was pretty supportive. He was hard when he had to be but he was a funny, caring kind bloke, soft as anything but when he yelled at you you knew you'd done something stupid.
"And he was unbelievable with horses. He'd come home from Grafton or somewhere else where he'd been away for a day or two and knew straight away if a horse hadn't done enough work or had too much feed.
"He just knew by looking at them.
"It was unbelieveable what he could do with horses. For such an immense man he had the softest hands."
Brisbane-based jockey Garry Baker also attended the funeral.
He started and finished his apprenticeship with Swan, winning a number of Cup races on the likes of Armidale Cup winner So Torrid and Narrabri Cup winner Gentle Knight.
"Keith gave you the opportunity," Baker said.
"It was up to you to be good enough to make it work."
