Ex-Knight heading home to tackle new challenge head on with 100-1 shot

3 months ago 36

By Craig Kerry

November 13, 2025 — 6.11pm

Former Knights NRL forward Darren Treacy was bitten by the racing bug long before his rugby league career took off in Newcastle in the mid-1990s.

It just took some persuading 20 years after his retirement, following 208 top-grade games at the Knights, Dragons, Eels and English club Salford, and a crack at owning a Hunter pub, to take out his trainers’ licence and go all in on racing.

Now the Taree-based 54-year-old is heading back to his hometown for a shot at black-type level with one-start winner Ghayoor on Saturday in the group 3 Spring Stakes (1600m).

Ghayoor’s commanding win at home on August 15 over 1262m is one of just six Treacy has had since starting out “with a couple of slow, older horses” two years ago at Newcastle. He moved to Taree this year and has expanded to 12 in work, with seven in the paddock.

“It just took a bit of persuading,” Treacy said.

“I’ve been into horses since I was 18. I’ve bred and raced my own, and I had a bit of luck doing that. Everyone told me, ‘why don’t you just get your own licence, you know what you’re doing and just take it on’, so that’s what I’m doing.

Darren Treacy playing for the Dragons in 2001.

“I treat them just like when I was playing. I know how to get fit, and I use how I got fit with the horses.

“It’s a lot more work than people think. It’s seven days a week, but it’s very rewarding watching them come out and win, or run a good race. I get a lot more excitement watching when the owners are there and their horses win.

“I’ll do this to the day I can’t do anything else. It’s great.”

Ghayoor was a $101 (TAB) chance for the $250,000 race for three-year-olds, which features the likes of Yulong-owned group 3 Up And Coming Stakes winner Grand Prairie ($2.80) and Godolphin’s Green Spaces ($4.80).

Treacy, though, had no fears about his filly, which defied odds of $41 on debut, taking on talent from the global racing powerhouses. Regular ride Kacie Adams is also chasing a first stakes race victory.

“It would be nice if I could pull it off at home,” he said of having his first black-type runner.

“I grew up at Barnsley, West Wallsend, and Mum, Dad and my kids still live in the area.

“It will be a big outsider with an unknown trainer, but I know it’s ready. That’s all that counts and you’ve got to be in it to win it.

“I expect her to run a really good race. She’ll do a mile on her ear. Everything indicates she’s a miler-plus, and all the Ghaiyyaths that are racing lately, they are winning up to 2500.

“I was laughing watching it [win on debut]. I had all the owners there watching the odds go out, and I just told them, ‘back it, don’t worry, they won’t beat her’. They are all excited, and they’ve backed me.”