Bega trainer Ray Wheatley dies aged 83
Wheatley trained 240 winners during close to five decades on the South Coast. His son Allen recalled the hands-on horseman whose best performer, Ima Carpenter, won seven races in succession.
Former South Coast trainer Ray ‘Nugget’ Wheatley, whose career at Bega spanned close to five decades, has died aged 83.
Wheatley recorded 240 wins and 354 placings while training at Bega, now Sapphire Coast.
Grey sprinter Ima Carpenter, his best-known horse, strung together seven consecutive victories, including the 1989 Group 3 Royal Sovereign Stakes at Randwick.
Jewel Attraction and Carp Street were among Wheatley’s other successful horses, while Gavan Duffy rode Mr Belmont to wins for the stable.
Wheatley also won the 2004 Autumn Country Cup at Randwick with Lodgent, while his final winner was Harriet’s Jewel at Sapphire Coast in December 2017.
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