Thanks for the memory

MICK Burles, one of Tasmania’s most popular thoroughbred trainers, has retired.

Poor health has led to Burles, 69, opting not to renew his licence, and the last horse he had in work, Clean Acheeva, has been sent to Victoria.

Burles and his former star galloper The Cleaner became household names at the height of the gelding’s career in 2014-15, which led to a start in two W.S. Cox Plates.

“I trained horses because I love them and I was lucky enough to have a real good one in The Cleaner, who gave me something that most trainers only ever dream of having,” Burles said.

“For the past two years I’ve really struggled because of the emphysema that has [become] progressively worse and it’s now at the stage where I can’t walk more than 10m without gasping for breath.

“It’s my own bloody fault for smoking, but it is what it is and I’ll just have to deal with it as best I can. I can still drive my car and get around, which gives me some independence and mobility, but if ever that ends I’ll probably just curl up in a corner and die.”

Burles has plenty of great memories from a training career that spans 40 years.

“There’s no doubt The Cleaner was my best horse and I feel privileged to have been the one to share in his greatest wins,” Burles said.

“My only regret is that The Cleaner never won a Group 1 because he deserved to win one. He came so close when he was third [beaten a neck] in the 2015 Underwood Stakes at Caulfield just before running in his second Cox Plate.”

Towards the end of The Cleaner’s racing career the horse’s owners sent the gelding to an interstate trainer.

The split with the owners made headlines around the nation when the battling trainer’s stable star was wrenched from his care and sent to Peter Gelagotis’s stable in Victoria.

The Cleaner never regained his old form, but time heals all wounds — Burles and the horse’s owners buried the hatchet last year.

“At the time, losing the horse was a hard pill to swallow, but at the end of the day it happened and history can’t be changed,” he said. “We all have to find a way to move on, so we just made a decision to kiss and make up so we could all get on with our lives.”

Burles was hoping for a lung transplant last year that might give him a few extra years but for several reasons the operation was vetoed.

“I want to get to 70 because I always thought that would be a decent number of years to live, so I’ve just got to hang on for another 11 months and I’ll be doing my best to get there.”

Burles’ legacy is a book on his life, Mick and the Cleaner, penned by this writer, that was listed as a racing industry bestseller last year.

Burles retains a share in Clean Acheeva, now trained by Judy Mawer in Victoria, with major shareholders Bill Sutcliffe and Alan Charlton.