The Mercenary Photo by Northam Harness Racing Club
Making the decision one day he wanted to learn about pacers and the harness racing industry, Bevan Stokes answered a wanted advert looking for staff at a local stable, and freely admitting he didn’t know the front end from the back of a horse, Sam Torre took a chance on him, an opportunity Stokes couldn’t be more grateful for.
Bevan Stokes made his debut as a trainer during the 2012/2013 season, and the following year he got his first win with Drews Angel, an opinionated mare.
“She was not very well mannered.
“Sam (Torre) was showing me how to train her.
“I was out at Sam Torres for four or five years.” Stokes said
Stokes really has emersed himself fully into the game, with the guidance and teachings of Sam Torre, he has learnt to trackwork and handle horses.
“He would tell me if I mucked it up,
“He took me on when I knew nothing.”
A fulltime machinery operator, it was love at first drive for Stokes, who was getting up early to work for Torre, starting at 4am to learn the tricks of the trade, and over the past decade he’s trained a handful of his own horses, but has also been involved in the ownership side, experiencing some of the highest of highs the industry has to offer.
A former part-owner of impressive Westbred mare August Moon, she showed Stokes some of the most exciting thrills there are to experience in the trots, and because of her success, he was able to reinvest, purchasing a yearling at this year’s APG sales, lot 524, a filly by Follow The Stars out of She Likes Gold.
A lover of the industry, his goals are relatively humble, with Stokes just hoping to win on a Friday night, in a smaller feature, but every win is exciting for the 54-year-old who keeps his small team of two ticking along.
On Saturday night, the somewhat problematic The Mercenary got the win in race six at Northam for driver Cody Wallrodt.
The pair settled behind the leader over the 2190m trip, and after making full use of the sprint lane, went on to win by a comfortable 4.7m margin, bringing up his sixth career win, as well as his fifth for the Stokes stable.
Given the opportunity to lease him from Shane Quadrio, Stokes has worked hard to improve the five-year-olds manners on the track, and although reports from drivers have been mixed, he continues to work his magic on the gelding.
“He’s got speed, but he needs to settle,
“I’ve had drivers come off and say he’s the worst horse I’ve been on, he pulls so hard,
“But it takes some time with horses like this.”
The Mercenary will likely race again this week, with Stokes weighing up his options for either Gloucester Park this Friday, or Bunbury on Saturday.
