Simon’s career is on track

By Peter Sweeney
SIMON Hodgson had one aim at school – to get out of it.
However, less than a day into his first job, he probably wished he was back in Year 11 at Cranbourne High School.
Hodgson, then 16, was dragged under a trailer just hours after starting a turf management apprenticeship with the Cranbourne Turf Club.
He spent a month in hospital having skin grafts on his right ankle – and it was two months before he returned to work.
Now, just on 20 years later, it would take a trailer to get Hodgson out of the Cranbourne racecourse.
“I love it here,” he said. “I didn’t really like horses when I started, I just wanted to get out of school so much, but my dad wouldn’t let me leave until I got a job.”
These days, he is the track and facilities manager at the Cranbourne Training and Racing Centre.
Under his control are 17 full-time staff, 113 trainers and 800 horses.
“It’s the biggest (racing) set-up in the Southern Hemisphere,” he said.
“Between 4am and 9am it’s busier here than Bourke Street. Not long after, it’s like a ghost town.
“This place has grown like Cranbourne has. There were two sets of traffic lights here when I was a kid, now I think there’s 12.
“I used to listen to the tips I got from trainers years ago, then I learnt not to get burnt.”
And his track tip for Sunday’s biggest meeting of the year?
“It (track) will be fantastic, it’s nearly the best I’ve seen it in my time here,” Hodgson said.
“The rain we had last week was ideal. We’ll decide on Thursday and Friday if we need any more water on the track.”