Lyn Hutchins with Deniliquin Racing Club president Russell Douglas during a pre-event working bee at the racecourse on Sunday.
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Anzac Day will look a little different for Lyn Hutchins this year.
Normally she would preparing at least one horse to run in the Deniliquin Anzac Day Races, as well as volunteering as an active member of the Deniliquin Racing Club.
But volunteering will be her only role this Sunday, after Lyn relinquished her trainer’s licence in late 2020.
She was the last registered trainer in Deniliquin.
The decision to hand back the licence was a reluctant one for Lyn, who said a combination of COVID-19 impacts and long-time track rider Erin King’s resignation led to her decision.
‘‘Erin has been a track rider at Jet Set Stables (initially for Lyn’s husband and horse trainer Mel Hutchins and then Lyn ) for 22 years, but she decided it was time for her to move on,’’ Lyn said.
‘‘The problem was that there are no other track riders left in Deniliquin, which makes it very hard to train here.
‘‘Racing these days is also very hard — the rules have changed a fair bit and meeting the requirements can be hard for country trainers with small scale operations.
‘‘It was also very tough during COVID-19.’’
Lyn has been around thoroughbred horses since she was about 15, initially borrowing horses to ride before she could buy her own.
At the age of 18 she purchased her own racehorse, Macspur.
There were more in the years that followed, and after marrying Deniliquin trainer Mel Hutchins Lyn got a bit more of an insight to the training side.
In those days Mel was the trainer and Lyn was his ‘‘all rounder’’, helping in whatever capacity she could.
‘‘Mel started as a trainer about 50 years ago, working for other people in Deniliquin, and after we moved to Hay we both actually went in to quarter horse racing.
‘‘It would take us all over the country.
‘‘Back in Deni we bought our property (on Scott Rogers Lane where they founded Jet Set Stables) and got in to the thoroughbreds ourselves — that was more than 40 years ago.
‘‘Mel was the trainer and I did whatever was required, really.
‘‘It kept us busy seven says a week — a highlight of those years was when we finally took a trip to Tassie over five or six days,’’ Lyn said with a laugh.
Sir Boom was without a doubt the Hutchins’ most successful horse, winning many city races, including at Group level.
And they were proud that his first ever win was at the Deniliquin Racecourse.
‘‘He won 14 races in town,’’ Lyn recalled.
‘‘Then there was little Kuta Nights — who was not big but gave the track riders their money’s worth.
‘‘Gejastjo and Sunlit Plains were also good horses, and No Spice was a favourite — Mel and I trained and owned him.
‘‘And of course Electric Puha will be here (at Jet Set Stables) for life.’’
At its peak with Mel training, Jet Set Stables had 12 horses in its boxes.
Lyn’s first race as a trainer was in 2015 with Tarnie Shot, at Tocumwal.
‘‘I took out my trainer’s licence just before Mel passed away (in January 2016 from after a long battle with Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia).
‘‘I’d had a few requests (to train horses) and then I started to think it was something I could do after Mel had passed. ‘‘I only ever wanted to have once horse as a time, just to keep involved and have something to do.’’
After Tarnie Shot came Senor Juez and then End Of Day, which is considered to be her best performing horse.
End Of Day delivered Lyn’s only win in her short training career, at Balranald in February 2019.
‘‘He was a really nice horse,’’ Lyn said.
‘‘I sold him to a friend, Con Kelly at Swan Hill, and I’m glad to see he worked out some of his issues.
‘‘He broke the track record at Kerang at Easter (this year), and then followed that up with a second at Mildura.’’
Lyn’s commitment to racing — both as an assistant and a trainer in her own right — saw her inducted as a life member of the Deniliquin Racing Club in 2017.
And Lyn says she’s not ready to walk away from the group yet.
‘‘I will stay involved with the Deniliquin Racing Club as long as I can,’’ she said.
‘‘I’ve had one regular job with the club for the last 20 years, which is helping with cleaning and helping out on race days.’’
In its hey day, Deniliquin was once home to up to 10 trainers at one time, which our resident racing expert Jim Zealley recalls was in the 1980s.
Lyn said she had the pleasure of working and associating with many of them through Jet Set Stables, including Ron Coomber, Roy Glenn, Josie Butler, Doug Duryea, Tom Loy and Bluey Russell.