It’s been a good run for Ballina trainer Stephen Lee both on and off the track.
The 61-year-old recently became a Grandfather for the first time, describing the moment as ‘better than winning a Melbourne Cup’.
On track, Lee celebrated another major milestone at Ballina on Tuesday. While it won’t compare to the joy of welcoming his Grandchild, the veteran trainer brought up his 800th career victory when preparing a winning double on his home track.
Entering the meeting with 799 wins next to his name, Lee soon made it 800 when four-kilogram-claiming apprentice Cobi Vitler won on Spiele ($6) in the 1590m Benchmark 58 Handicap.
Soon enough, Lee was on 801 winners, with 1.5-kilogram-claiming apprentice Jai Williams guiding Revontulet ($4.60) to an impressive victory in the 1300m Benchmark 58 Handicap.
Lee isn’t one to focus on statistics, but he was proud to bring up a milestone that has taken the best part of 37 years to achieve.
“We’re really happy; we’ve never had a huge team, and between 30 and 40 horses is the maximum we’ve had in work,” Lee said.
“I’m proud of the team, and it’s really good to do that, especially on your home track.
“It’s just across the road from the stables, and it was a good day for everyone involved.”
Lee has enjoyed a storied career, training his first winner in 1986, although he didn’t start training full-time until the late 1990s.
“I had a few winners early on after training my first winner in 1986 at White Park in Scone, but I gave it away for a little while because I was busy running a business and working,” Lee said.
“When my daughter was a baby, I took it up full time, and well, she is nearly 25 years old.”
His training highlight was winning the Group Three Chairman’s Handicap (2000m) with Anton En Avant in 2018, while over the years, he’s had Group Two, Group Three, and Listed placegetters.
He’s never far away from a winner at Ipswich, Doomben, and Eagle Farm, and he’s tasted his fair share of success in Sydney, preparing winners at Rosehill, Royal Randwick, and Canterbury.
There’s no slowing his team down either, with Lee coming off his best season to date, training a career-high 42 winners in 2022/23 while breaking the $1 million prize money barrier for the first time.
After finishing last season with a Lismore treble, Lee kept that good form rolling into 2023/24, training three winners at Casino on Saturday before his Ballina double on Tuesday.
While the new season is only 17 days old, Lee is leading the premiership, and he said the secret to his recent run of form was thinking ahead and planning accordingly.
“We had a few winners on Casino Cup Day and were able to back it up with a double at Ballina, which is great,” Lee said.
“You’ve got to keep your finger on the pulse, and I tend to worry about what’s coming up next and don’t dwell too much on what’s happened, and I’ve been like that all the time with my business, and it seems to work.”
Lee will venture to Queensland tomorrow and Saturday, racing at Ipswich and Doomben, respectively, before turning his attention to an extensive racing program at Grafton on Tuesday.
“We’ll take quite a big team to Grafton, and I like going there,” Lee said.
“It’s been another successful track for us, and we’ve had good luck there over the years.”
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