Trainer Peter Nestor has confirmed he will be leaving Dubbo, but says it’s too soon to reveal his next challenge.
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Nestor has been training in Dubbo for 40 years – “basically all my life” – but could stick around as late as April, depending on how a few horses go in this year’s Country Championships.
After the Championships are done and dusted Nestor will depart.
“It’s just a matter of trying to keep it kicking over for your horses and your owners,” he said.
“I’ve got some horses that can’t be transferred from my stable to another to be eligible so I’ve got a couple I’m hoping will come up and if they do I’ll stick around for sure.”
He said it would be hard to say goodbye.
“It's sad to be letting them go because this game is all consuming. My friends are my owners, some of the owners I’ve got I’ve trained for for 25, 30 years, so it will be sad,” Nestor said.
“I love Dubbo. You don’t do this because you’re going to become a millionaire, you do it because you enjoy dealing with the horses.”
Nestor has had a long association with racing at Dubbo, where he first trained under his mother (trainer Judith Nestor)’s name at the age of 19.
He became a trainer in his own right as soon as he was eligible to obtain a licence at 21 and trained horses at Rosehill Race Course from 1990 until 1993, before returning to Dubbo where he helped shape the careers of some of the region’s top talents.
Nestor mentored Kathy O’Hara, who last year became just the sixth female jockey to ride in the Melbourne Cup.
She was the only female jockey in the 2017 edition of the race that stops a nation, aboard Single Gaze after she guided the mare to second in the Caulfield Cup.
Under Nestor, she was the first female jockey to win The Apprentice Jockey’s Premiership in NSW.
Nestor also mentored his nephew Kody Nestor, who also won The Apprentice Jockey’s Premiership in the Central West and Western District Racing Associations.
“I’ve been very, very lucky,” Nestor said.
“I’ve never had a really good horse but I’ve had a couple of handy horses. Some really nice horses and I will still be involved in the game in one form or other, but it’s just a new direction. A change is as good as a holiday, as they say.
“It’s going to be a challenge, something new, something different, hopefully a little bit easier. I’m not getting any younger!
“Just a new challenge. It’s been talked about for a few years with a good mate of mine and I just thought I’d give it a crack.”
