‘‘BEING the son of Frank Cleary, a lot of people say to me I live in my father’s shadow,’’ Queanbeyan trainer Joe Cleary tells me as the last of the horses he’s working for the morning heads back to his box.
‘‘At the end of the day, I find it a very proud shadow to live in,’’ he adds.
Chatting with the younger Cleary, it’s difficult to imagine the affable, outgoing trainer living in the shadow of any man.
After all, this is a bloke with three Queanbeyan Trainer’s Premierships under his belt.
A bloke who left school at 15, started training at 21 and a man who over the past 13 years has cemented his position as one of the region’s leading horsemen in his own right.
It’s just when your dad happens to be the most successful trainer to have ever set up shop in Queanbeyan, being known as ‘Frank Cleary’s son’ comes with the territory.
For the full story pick up a copy of Friday's The Queanbeyan Age.
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