FEATURE
Billy, the clerking pony whose calm temperament has made him a Flemington fixture.
BILLY : EVERYONE'S FAVOURITE PONY One of the most photographed personalities at Flemington who isn’t human is Billy, the distinct brown-and- white horse that Shane Patterson relies on. Last November, he led home Half Yours and jockey Jamie Melham after the Lexus Melbourne Cup – just the latest in a long line of Cup winners he’s walked alongside. His easygoing nature and good looks have made him something of a celebrity in his own right. Patterson didn’t set out to make him a clerk horse at all. “I first got Billy to be a harness horse,” he said. “Billy stood out to me – he was quieter and more sensible than some of the others.” After breaking him in, Shane used the placid Billy to lead yearlings around, tied to the side of the cart. Billy’s move into clerking was almost accidental. When Peter Patterson’s regular
horse was unwell one day, he borrowed Billy for a meeting at Geelong. The next day was a big one at Flemington, so Shane took him along after working him around the track. Former chief steward Terry Bailey pulled Shane aside and said, “That’s a nice horse.” From there, Billy started turning up at the Melbourne Show, Moonee Valley, and Flemington – and after leading in a couple of Group winners, he simply became a fixture. At 16 hands, Billy is close to thoroughbred size but built more like a gentle giant, with a temperament to match, a trait essential for the job. “If he didn’t have the right personality, he wouldn’t be there,” Patterson said. It sums up something the whole clerking fraternity would agree with. “You can be the best horseman in the world,” Patterson said, “but if you haven't got the right horse, you can’t be the best.”
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