Passing of veteran horseman

HARNESS racing and indeed the world is poorer following the death of respected horseman and all-round gentleman Ian Caruana at the age of 74 last week.

Migrating from Malta to Australia with his parents in 1964, Caruana quickly adopted his older brother Anthony’s interest in standardbreds.

Anthony arrived in Australia before his family and had already begun spending time at local stables.

“In those days I went to Tony’s farm and mucked around with a couple of his horses, jogging them when he let me,” Caruana noted in a memoir. “One day he sat me behind a horse and I fast worked it, which really got horses into my blood.”

Upon purchasing a property in Rockbank during the late 1970s, Caruana began training his own team, with Atlantic’s First his maiden winner a few years later.

Rarely without a handy performer in his stable, Caruana’s last winner – and 177th in total – was Rocky Valley in Geelong on May 16, 2025 before ill-health prevented him from training.

Transferred to Marie Caldow soon after, Rocky Valley provided Caruana with his last win as an owner when triumphant in Bendigo on June 24.

With 11 wins and 11 placings from 35 starts for Caruana during the 1980s, Good Time Dancer remained the veteran’s favourite.

“You couldn’t take a road trip or even discuss horses without him bringing up Good Time Dancer,” Caruana’s nephew, Blake, stated. “It always stayed his best horse.”

Caruana is survived by his children Anthony and Joanne and four grandchildren.