Cortez. Photo by Lance Fearne Photography
Jeir (NSW) trainer, Ian Osmond, has been proud of his grand-daughter Taylah, since the day she was born on August 4, 2004. However last Sunday (April 13) at Goulburn Paceway his delight in the 20-year-old junior driver rose to another level.
“People were still talking about her Goulburn Cup win hours after the race. It was a gem, and so was her drive behind Cortez in race six. Taylah only had two drives that day and handled them just as good as any open horseman or woman would. Horses seem to grow a leg for young female drivers.”
“Girls seem to be a lot softer and kinder than what us old fellas are. Taylah was taught by a very good horseman – my son, Scott, who has 520 winners ($2.6m) and trained 56 in his own name – all while working as a project manager for an electrical company named ‘Heyday’ in Canberra. He won a trip to America and drove a winner for Mark Purdon New Zealand. He is an electrician by trade, and was also taught by the very best when he was in his teens – Vic and Glen Frost,” Osmond said.
“Every winner I train is Scott’s win as well. We run a family operation at Scott’s property in Jeir (99km south-east of Goulburn and 34km north-west of Canberra) and I live in Canberra with my wife Ann. I travel to the farm every day, but sometimes Scott gives me Sunday’s off,” he joked.
Osmond insisted his 76 career wins ($503,599) since the 1988-89 season would have never come about had he not had family support.
Three generations of Osmonds at Jeir NSW
“My wife is my rock, and Scott’s wife Kylie does a huge amount at the stable feeding up and personally ensuring the welfare of every horse. In fact, we rarely sell our horses and you only have to look at the farm, because Kylie has given just about all of them the best possible retirement home. She hates letting them go.”
“Taylah was also very helpful when she was here, but three years ago she left for Exeter and now works for James Rattray. Then there’s her younger brother Mitch, who also does a heap of work at the barn. He races motocross bikes because he says he likes racing more powerful horsepower. You can see I’m very proud of everyone and what they do. I assure you if it was just me doing the trainer, we wouldn’t have the winners we have had,” the humble 77-year-old said.
But as Osmond got in his car to drive back to Jeir on Sunday, he was overjoyed with the driving prowess of his grand-daughter.
The gifted 20-year-old drove the James Rattray-trained Whereyabinboppin to a $49.30 upset win in the Goulburn Soldiers Club Frank & Edna Day Goulburn Cup. The 9-year-old A Rocknroll Dance gelding’s time of 2:38:8 (1:54:1 mile-rate) for the 2,240-metre mobile lowered For A Reason’s January 2014 race record by 0.2 of a second.
It was also only 0.1 of a second outside the Goulburn track record time of 2:38.7 (1:54) set by Bling It On in the TAB Odds & Evens Walla Walla Stakes on January 19, 2020.
Osmond described the Cup win as her best, and most memorable, since she first got in the bike on race-day in the 2019-2020 season 1,329 drives ago. It was also her 156th career win and she has now amassed $1.4m in stakes money.
“It’s a great feeling to win any race, but to win a race for ‘Pop’ and Dad is something special. My grandfather is very passionate about horses and I have learnt a lot through him and Dad. ‘Pop’ always pushed me to be the best I can. His favourite saying is… ‘A bad draw only means you have to drive better.’”
“Mum and ‘Nanny’ are also very special to me, and I will never forget the grounding the four of them gave me. I had one rule to follow though. I had to finish my Year 12 education at Yass High School before I was allowed to work in a stable fulltime. I’ve always loved horses because of my family upbringing, and I couldn’t wait to work with them. Thankfully I got a fulltime job with James (Rattray) after Year 12, and have been with him since,” Osmond said,
She said the 2025 Goulburn Cup would always be memorable, but her drive behind Cortez was also special, simply because ‘Pop’ trained him’.
In the Cup, Osmond followed the $1.07 favourite, Captain Ravishing three-wide down the back-straight, and then at the 300m she pulled the trigger and Whereyabinboppin simply outsprinted his 8 opponents running away to win by 8.7 metres.
Her grandfather was just as pleased with her winning drive two races earlier in the Benstud Standardbreds NSW Pace behind his 4-year-old Bling It On gelding, Cortez.
“Taylah worked to the lead from gate five at the start, and after working hard early, Scott Hewitt (Raging Sea) went up and had a look at her, but she said ‘no’. Then she rated the horse perfectly, and left them to it on the turn.”
“Taylah drove two very different styles in two races on Sunday and reaffirmed to me just how good she is. She led them up with Cortez, and then in the Cup she came from behind with a perfectly timed run – and she’s still only 20. I couldn’t be more proud of her,” Osmond said.
Cortez has now won four of his nine starts and $26,626 in purses. His winning mile-rate on Sunday was 1:53.9 – 1.5 seconds slower than his best winning time of 1:52.4 which he recorded at Riverina Paceway last December.
“That was his first win in four starts this season. Cortez is owned by my good friends, Tony and Renae Hayes. They have had horses with me before, but this fella is the best we’ve had together. He’s a serious racehorse, who can win more. Of the eight I’ve got in work he’d be second best behind Six Again (1:52.8 – 16 wins and $119,544).
“Since I started, I think Perfectly Painted (15 wins and $74,584) is the most tightly assessed pacer I’ve trained. He was a 2002 Peace Of Art gelding,” Osmond said.
“We have always had a ‘wrap’ on Cortez. I’ve really liked him since he joined the family stable late last year. He’s still only four and got plenty of racing ahead of him,” added his grand-daughter.
Cortez & Taylah Osmond post race – Goulburn 2025 Benstud Standardbreds NSW Pace (Photograph – Lance Fearne Photography)
Cortez had three trainers before Osmond got him in October last year. Since then, he has four wins and a second from eight starts with him.
All four of those wins have been driven by Osmond (Taylah). She has now reined 156 career winners, placed 294 times, and netted $1.4m in stakes since she got her driver’s licence in 2019-2020. Her best season came in 2023 when she saluted the judge 54 times and banked $508,770 in purses.
“I would like to get past 50 and $500,000 again this year. I’ve started pretty well with 22 wins ($189,695) so far. I just want to keep improving and hopefully more winners will occur,” Osmond said.
She racked up her 50th win behind the Ian Osmond-trained Taylah’s Ace at Riverina Paceway on March 31, 2023. She then notched up the century behind the Roger Strong-trained Ambiguous at the same venue on March 15 last year.
Then on March 20 (2025) Osmond nailed her 150th career win behind the Lachlan Prothero-trained Notsokool at Penrith. In April 2023, Osmond also won the $20,000 Wagga Pacers Cup with 20-1 outsider, the Rattray-trained. Izaha.
But perhaps none of those winners would have ever eventuated had Osmond Senior not registered his yellow, dark green diamond sash and sleeved silks 37 years ago.
“I grew up in Narrandera in The Riverina and was always into the horses in my teens. I rode at gymkhanas and at Shows, but then got out of it to play rugby (league) and get married. I was a butcher for 30 years, and bought a butcher business for 15 years in Canberra, and later I then I bought a cement truck, which I drove for 15 years.”
“It wasn’t until about 40 years ago that I decided to get into the harness game. Then I watched my son drive a few winners, and got my licence in 1988. it’s basically been a family business since.”
“We have always bred and raced our own and seldom sell any. I think our horses are better today because there are quicker stallions and mares than what we used to race. At Scott and Kylie’s place we have four undercover boxes, six to seven outside yards, our own walker and an 850m track which Scott and I resurrected from previous owners. It hadn’t been used for years, and it is similar in size to Canberra.”
Mitchell, Ian, Taylah, Kylie & Scott Osmond – Annual Awards Canberra Harness Racing Club 2024
“We do all our breeding and the raising of horses at Jeir, and love to race at nearby at tracks like Canberra and Goulburn. I love both racing clubs. Both do a very good job. Mark Croatto is such a wonderful person to work with. We love racing at that big roomy track at Goulburn. I’ve raced there for years,” Osmond said.
Osmond said he had three horses ready to go to the trials, one of which is owned by his grand-daughter.
“He’s a 2-year-old Captain Midnight gelding named Captain Colby. We quite like him. I’ve also got a 2-year-old For A reason gelding owned by Kylie, as well as a-year-old Tintin In America filly,” Osmond said.
The late Doody and Naida Osmond of Narrandera, had 10 children, of which Osmond was child number eight. He had seven brothers and two sisters – three of which have now passed on.
“My older brother Jeff and I were the only ones to ever get involved in horses. He had gallopers, while I had standardbreds,” Osmond said.
Footnote: Taylah Osmond’s run of success continued Easter Saturday evening when, for the second time, she won the 2025 Yirribee Stud Wagga Pacers Cup with the James Rattray trained Boom. Coming from worse than midfield, Boom charged to the line to win by 1.2 metres in a 1:55.4 mile rate for the 2270 metre distance.
