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Full-on racing enthusiast Ron Stanley passes away
Dennis Ryan • October 15th, 2025 11:54 am
Ron Stanley (right) with his wife Kathy, brother Noel and his wife Suzie following Wahid’s win in the Wakefield Challenge Stakes at Trentham | Photo: Race Images
There will be a vacant seat in the owners’ section of the Ellerslie grandstand on Saturday when Ladies Man attempts a repeat victory in the Gr. 1 Livamol Classic.
Ron Stanley, part-owner of the dual Group One winner along with a host of other class racehorses, passed away on Saturday just weeks short of his 70th birthday, ending more than 50 years fully immersed in racing.
Life for Stanley had its challenges due to contracting polio as an infant, but supported by his wife Kathy, brother Noel and a closely bonded group of family and friends, nothing stood in his way. He became a farmer and racehorse owner while still in his teens, making a huge success of both endeavours as well as contributing immensely to racing administration in the Taranaki region.
“Ronnie loved racing, every aspect of it, and it became a big part of his life in so many ways,” Noel said when reflecting on his older brother’s legacy. “He bought his first filly when he was 17 and put her with Wally McEwan at Hawera.
“Our father was a rugby man and when Ronnie started to get in involved in racehorse ownership Dad warned ‘They’ll rip the shirt off your back!’ But it didn’t make any difference – he was in for keeps.”
The horses had to be affordable, and in that respect the enthusiasm was just as infectious as he and his brother established a solid farming foundation.
“Ronnie was 19 and I was 17 when we took over the farm from our father Noel and our uncle Ron, who the two of us were named after. That’s coming up 50 years ago when the farm comprised a dairy unit and a piggery with 40 sows.
“Ronnie was the business manager taking care of finances and planning for the future, and he was just brilliant at it. His motto was ‘do it once and do it properly’.
From those 40 sows the piggery grew to now have 500, we developed the rest of the farming operation alongside it and as far as he was concerned it was all about rebuilding, keeping ahead of the times.”
That busy farming life was well complemented by the Stanley brothers’ racing interests, which since the late 1980s have centered around New Plymouth trainer Allan Sharrock.
“To begin with when Ronnie got involved, he had horses with a variety of trainers – Wally McEwan, Charlie Gestro, Bob McSeveny, John Wheeler were some – before between us we settled on Allan,” Noel said.
“Later in the 1990s we had a horse called Carter who won his maiden and ran in the Derby, then we sold him for $100,000. That bankrolled us to go to the sales to buy a horse we really liked, but Ron said we’ll only spend half of it.
“We bought a lovely Gold Brose colt for $22,000, which meant we still had a fair bit left over, so we decided to look for another one, but Ronnie said we shouldn’t get carried way, and 20 minutes later we bought a Groom Dancer colt.
“That left us with $5,000 of the $50,000, and typical of Ronnie he said ‘That’s good, it will pay to break them in’.”
Those two Karaka purchases elevated the Stanley brothers to racing’s major league. The Gold Brose colt was Grout, who became champion two-year-old with four wins, including the two Group One Sires’ Produce races in the autumn, and was subsequently sold for big money to Hong Kong.
The Groom Dancer colt, named Woburn, won his first two starts at two but eventually excelled as a stayer. At three years old, he won his two lead-up races to the New Zealand Derby before finishing third in the Ellerslie classic.
He then won the Manawatu Classic and finished third in the South Australian Derby, eventually compiling a record of eight wins and numerous major placings.
“We had had a good taste of that level of racing and I remember we were discussing our plans with Allan (Sharrock) and Ronnie said I only want to win one race – the Derby.
In one of racing’s great stories, that lofty ambition was realised when the Stanleys’ chestnut gelding Wahid was victorious in the 2006 Mercedes Derby. He had already been a big winner at two and leading into the Derby he won the Levin Classic, Waikato Guineas and Championship Stakes, so his ultimate achievement was as much a relief as a thrill.
“I remember Ronnie sitting there in the grandstand, very happy, and he turned to me and said ‘You lead him in and I’ll make the speech’. It was just perfect winning the Derby with the best horse we’ve ever had by a country mile.”
Stanley’s involvement in racing was by no means restricted to ownership. His volunteer administrative roles began with the Opunake Racing Club, which he served as secretary/treasurer for nearly two decades and continued when the Taranaki coastal club relocated its raceday activities from Hawera to New Plymouth.
“Ron worked tirelessly for the Opunake club, he was such a big part of its success and achieved his target of getting the Opunake Cup to a stake of $100,000,” longtime Taranaki Racing general manager Carey Hobbs said.
“He was on the steering committee to bring New Plymouth and Opunake together, which he and others felt was the right thing to do. He was a very sharp administrator and every decision he made was for the betterment of racing.
“He also served many years as raceday judge – apart from when one of his horses was racing – and we’ll all miss him as one of those guys you would turn to when a big decision needed to be made.”
Allan Sharrock’s training career benefitted hugely from horses racing in the Stanley name. “The Stanley boys have been with me virtually since day one, owners that any trainer could wish for,” he said.
“Ron certainly knew his stuff, he had a very good eye for a horse, he understood pedigrees and we never bought a horse if it didn’t meet his approval. I think the success we’ve had together says a lot for our relationship and the big wins speak for themselves.”
The current headline act for Ron and Noel Stanley, along with their respective wives Kathy and Suzie, members of the O’Leary family and Sharrock, is Ladies Man. Already a dual Group One winner, the big Zed gelding will attempt a repeat of his 2023 Livamol Classic when he lines up in the weight-for-age feature at Ellerslie on Saturday.
“We’ve already talked about it and we’ve decided that we’re all going to be up at Ellerslie. It’s going to be emotional but something we have to do,” Noel Stanley said. “If Ladies Man can win another Livamol – that would be fantastic, the ultimate tribute to Ronnie.”
*Ron Stanley’s funeral service is scheduled for 11am Thursday (tomorrow) at St Paul’s Church, Opunake.
