John Tapp Racing

I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Phillip Stokes so we did the next best thing and chatted on the podcast. The trainer talks of his runners in two states last Saturday. No winners but a few super efforts. Phillip talks of the fruition of a long term plan to establish a Victorian stable, and the reason he settled on the new Pakenham complex. He describes the available facilities and the 16 acre property he purchased just 5 minutes down the road.  Phillip reflects on a happy childhood growing up on a cattle station near Marree at the top end of SA. His father Ron introduced him to thoroughbreds at an early age. He remembers his apprenticeship in Adelaide to John Hall who had been a stable foreman for Bart Cummings in the maestro’s early days. Phillip recalls his move to Alice Springs when his weight got out of hand. He remembers his new boss Viv Oldfield with great affection. This larger than life character is one of the Territory’s most famous businessmen to this day. The forty nine year old recalls his fi