By Glenn Davis
Dalby trainer Philip Minter is a one-man band operation and he wouldn’t have it any other way.
Minter, 65, started training in his late 20s after weight problems ended a brief career in the saddle.
The Dalby journeyman started his training career at Cessnock in NSW before moving to Coffs Harbour.
He then headed to north Queensland to care for his late mother Beryl before the family moved back to Dalby two years ago to be closer to his wife’s Beth’s family.
Minter trained for 30 years in NSW and enjoyed good success winning two Listed races with Silent Impact in the 2001 Christmas Cup at Rosehill and the Services’ Memorial Cup at Randwick with Famous Dane in 2005.
He now prepares a team of 12 at Dalby and still rides all his own trackwork despite having to undergo a knee reconstruction a few years ago.
“I trained in North Queensland for quite a while as my wife Beth is a schoolteacher and taught at Airlie Beach,” Minter said.
“I was looking after my mother up north until she passed away so we decided to move to Dalby as Beth has family here.
“I still ride all my own trackwork, do the shoeing – the lot.
“I’d get bored if I didn’t do it that way as I’m bit of a workaholic.”