Darren Gauci
Encyclopedia
Darren Gauci is an Australia
n jockey
. Born in Melbourne
on 26 December 1965, he won the Senior Victoria
n Jockeys Premiership in 1983-84, 1985-86, and 1990-91. He has come close to winning Australian racing's greatest prize on three occasions, with seconds in the Melbourne Cup
on Chagemar (1984), Super Impose (1989), and On A Jeune (2005). Darren is of Maltese
origin.
Gauci has been successful in a vast number of Group 1 races. For several years, Gauci also rode with great success in Hong Kong. Gauci won five races on trainer Lee Freedman
's champion Super Impose
, including an Epsom Handicap
(1990), and rode Lonhro to victory in the Caulfield Guineas (2001) and the St George Stakes (2004) in his two rides on the "black flash". In an extensive association with trainer John Hawkes, he also won the Thousand Guineas on Shame (1995), a Doncaster Handicap
on Over (2000) and a Stradbroke Handicap on Crawl (2001), but the partnership was terminated in 2005.
At the 2005 and 2006 Spring Carnivals, in Melbourne, Gauci has won feature races on El Segundo, and was narrowly beaten in the Cox Plate
. Despite his experience and skill, Gauci has been largely overlooked by owners and trainers in the last year or so.
In 2000, a portrait of Gauci was hung in the Archibald Prize
competition. Darren is married to his childhood sweetheart Karen Dunkerton whom he met when he made a guest appearance on the television show "Young Talent Time" in 1983. Karen was a popular member of the Young Talent Team at that time and the 'starlet and the jockey' story created a large local media interest. They married in 1989 and have four children.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n jockey
Jockey
A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...
. Born in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
on 26 December 1965, he won the Senior Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
n Jockeys Premiership in 1983-84, 1985-86, and 1990-91. He has come close to winning Australian racing's greatest prize on three occasions, with seconds in the Melbourne Cup
Melbourne Cup
The Melbourne Cup is Australia's major Thoroughbred horse race. Marketed as "the race that stops a nation", it is a 3,200 metre race for three-year-olds and over. It is the richest "two-mile" handicap in the world, and one of the richest turf races...
on Chagemar (1984), Super Impose (1989), and On A Jeune (2005). Darren is of Maltese
Maltese people
The Maltese are an ethnic group indigenous to the Southern European nation of Malta, and identified with the Maltese language. Malta is an island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea...
origin.
Gauci has been successful in a vast number of Group 1 races. For several years, Gauci also rode with great success in Hong Kong. Gauci won five races on trainer Lee Freedman
Lee Freedman
David Lee Freedman is a prominent Australian racehorse trainer. In partnership with brothers Anthony, Michael, and Richard, he has been a prolific winner of Australia's major races in past 20 years, with four Golden Slippers, four Caulfield Cups, two Cox Plates, and five Melbourne Cups,...
's champion Super Impose
Super Impose
Super Impose was a New Zealand bred Thoroughbred racehorse who was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame. In a career spanning 74 starts, Super Impose won eight Group One races and a then Australasian record $5.6 million in prize money...
, including an Epsom Handicap
Epsom Handicap
The Epsom Handicap is a Group 1 Australian Thoroughbred horse race held over 1,600 metres at Randwick Racecourse. It is one of the major races of the Sydney Spring Carnival. Many great milers have won the race, including Chatham, Gunsynd, and Super Impose, who was also a dual winner of the...
(1990), and rode Lonhro to victory in the Caulfield Guineas (2001) and the St George Stakes (2004) in his two rides on the "black flash". In an extensive association with trainer John Hawkes, he also won the Thousand Guineas on Shame (1995), a Doncaster Handicap
Doncaster Handicap
The Doncaster Mile is a Group One Thoroughbred horse race held at Royal Randwick Racecourse, Sydney. Although the race has traditionally been held on Easter Monday, the race is now run on the third Saturday in April. The race is contested over 1,600 metres . The prizemoney in 2010 was A$1,510,000...
on Over (2000) and a Stradbroke Handicap on Crawl (2001), but the partnership was terminated in 2005.
At the 2005 and 2006 Spring Carnivals, in Melbourne, Gauci has won feature races on El Segundo, and was narrowly beaten in the Cox Plate
Cox Plate
The W.S. Cox Plate is an Australian Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne every October by the Moonee Valley Racing Club to honour W.S. Cox, the club's founder. For three-year-olds and over, the race is considered to be the Weight for Age championship of Australasia...
. Despite his experience and skill, Gauci has been largely overlooked by owners and trainers in the last year or so.
In 2000, a portrait of Gauci was hung in the Archibald Prize
Archibald Prize
The Archibald Prize is regarded as the most important portraiture prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after a bequest from J. F. Archibald, the editor of The Bulletin who died in 1919...
competition. Darren is married to his childhood sweetheart Karen Dunkerton whom he met when he made a guest appearance on the television show "Young Talent Time" in 1983. Karen was a popular member of the Young Talent Team at that time and the 'starlet and the jockey' story created a large local media interest. They married in 1989 and have four children.