Racing a family affair for veteran Vo Rogue jockey | Inside Racing

One of three musketeers, with owner Jeff Perry and trainer Vic Rail, Small was shown loyalty and repaid the faith by winning 22 of his 26 rides on Vo Rogue, whose popularity saw him gain Australian Racing Hall of Fame status in 2019.

Now, Small, 63, has provided much of the background for a book on Vo Rogue that is being written by his wife Lynlea.

Small, who had two flat rides at Warrnambool on Sunday, while his sons Braidon and Daniel rode over the jumps, said it was wonderful the deeds of Vo Rogue will be documented for future generations.

"Vo Rogue has played a big part in the history of Australian racing and my family," Small said.

"It's wonderful to have a book to capture his achievements. Lynlea has done an amazing job with the book. There are plenty of iconic photos in the book, which have never been seen before, and I'm sure they will create plenty of interest and talk back. I've read a lot of the transcripts and they are great. The impact that Vo Rogue has had on people is immense. He finished racing in 2012 but I still get people to this day asking me about Vo Rogue.

"He was a great front running horse who just ran other horses into the ground. Vo Rogue won six group ones and five other races, which carry group one status now he won. The contracts for the book have been signed with the publisher, so it's full steam ahead from here. We (family) are really excited that it's all coming together and can't wait until the book hits the streets in November."

Small still rides trackwork each morning and says retirement is still a few years away.

"I still love riding in races," he said.

"I want to keep on going until I'm 65, which is two years away. I want to retire when I'm 65, which will mean I've been riding for 50 years. Lynlea and I are delighted that Braidon and Daniel are keeping the racing tradition going in the family. They are both loving their time in Warrnambool, which is really wonderful."

The veteran jockey was unplaced with his two rides on Sunday, while Braidon won a restricted steeplechase on Yulong Place and Daniel was just beaten on Bow Thruster in a maiden hurdle.

In-form Warrnambool trainer Daniel Bowman made a successful hit-and-run visit to Mount Gambier on Sunday. Bowman saddled up four runners, which resulted in two winners. Moon Over Alice and Culily Ace won restricted races for the group one-winning trainer.

"The win by Culily Ace was extra special as the owners made the long trip from Traralgon to Mount Gambier to see the mare win," Bowman said. "They used to live at Terang but made the move to Traralgon. I informed them when they moved, they could give Culily Ace to a trainer down that way, but they decided to stay with us. They have been lovely loyal owners for many years."

Bowman said Moon Over Alice deserved the win in restricted company.

"She's not very big but she tries all the time in her races," Bowman said.

"We may take Moon Over Alice and Culily Ace back to Mount Gambier for their next races in a couple of weeks. The racing surface at the Mount is great since they have done major works to the track."

From their last six runners, the Bowman stable has produced three winners.

Trainer Declan Maher praised the riding talents of Jarrod Lorensini after he guided Winsome Voyage to a four length win over Real Thinker at Warrnambool on Sunday.

Winsome Voyage was having his first start for Maher in the restricted race over 1400 metres.

"I've got to give credit to Jarrod for his ride," Maher said. "Jarrod has done a lot of work on the horse. He's had feet problems during his career. Our farrier Craig Nixon has done a great job in getting his feet back into shape. I've also got to mention the rest of the staff back at home, including Taylah Richardson. They have done a top job getting Winsome Voyage back into the winners stall."

Maher, who is also the Ballarat foreman for his brother Ciaron and David Eustace, has five horses in work.

Veteran trainer Tony Rosolini was excited with the win of his first season jumper Dubawi King in a restricted hurdle at Warrnambool on Sunday. Dubawi King beat Count Zero by a length in the 3200-metre race.

"Dubawi King has pulled up a treat after the win," Rosolini said. "He's a first season jumper who just keeps on improving. He stays all day and will improve from this run. We may look at running him in the Lafferty Hurdle at Warrnambool next month before going onto the Grand National Hurdle but it's all about one run at a time. We don't want to bottom him out because he's still learning about the jumping caper. I think he'll be a lot better jumper next year."

Rosolini, who has been training for more than 35 years, said Dubawi King was now a cheap buy.

"Dubawi King is a bargain basement buy now," he said.

"We paid $14,000 for him in an online sale and now he's won more than $80,000 for us, which is a wonderful result."

Dubawi King has won five of his 26 starts.