Amidst the sadness of Denise Gath’s passing last week, it also stirred some wonderful memories.
When times didn’t seem as rushed and going to the trots on a Saturday night at Moonee Valley as a genuine social occasion.
That’s where I first met Denise and so many other behind-the-scenes and unsung heroes of harness racing in the late 1980s.
Racing is a family sport, harness racing even more so.
While Brian Gath was the face of the family, Denise ran it. Sounds familiar, right?
I can still hear that recognizable voice of Denise’s as I walked through the downstairs bar at The Valley near the parade ring.
Those were different times, before mobile phones. Or, at least before many trainers or drivers had mobile phones.
If you wanted to chat with someone for a story, you’d have to ring their landline. What’s a landline the kids of today will ask.
In the case of the Gath’s, Denise would answer. She was the gatekeeper.
We’d chat about what’s going on, when I started a family she would ask about the kids and then Denise would kindly and dutifully walk down the stables or call out to Brian to tell him I was on the phone.
It was the same scenario when you needed to chat with so many participants for a story.
You got to know their wives or partners as well.
And often, they’d be at The Valley most weeks, too.
When the Breeders Crown was at Bendigo, we’d see even more of Denise with their place just over the road from the track.
Anyone who’s been to Bendigo in winter knows it can get seriously cold.
One night while doing the Sky Racing coverage of the Crown semi-finals, it was brutally cold.
I wandered inside to grab something to eat, saw Denise and she said: “where are your gloves?”
About 15 minutes later, about to go back on TV, Denise walks up with a pair of gloves she got from somewhere.
“Here, I hope these fit. Your hands must be frozen,” she said.
Another year, I told Denise that myself and Mick Guerin were going to the Crown and staying in Bendigo that night.
“Come early and I’ll cook a roast and you can have lunch with us all here,” she said.
They even geared up some horses so Mick and I could have a spin around the track with Matty Gath before lunch.
Some memories just stay with you, and Denise had a way of doing that.
Kind, passionate, caring and always helpful.
Vale, Denise.
