The amazing story of Pablo's Pulse and his jockey

Incredibly, Jamie De Belin won on two roughies that went out at the highest ever odds in Australia

A gelding called Pablo’s Pulse parading (above) before the 1987 Chelmsford Stakes at Randwick with Jamie De Belin in the saddle. He started at $21.00 and finished second to the mighty Campaign King, beaten 2 lengths just two weeks before he caused one of Australian racing’s biggest ever boilovers, nearly 40 years ago. De Belin rode the horse when he led most of the way to win the time honoured Warwick Stakes at the gigantic odds of $501 - but how did this non descript horse turn up and cause such an upset in a feature race? The three-year-old had previously achieved an 8.8L thirteenth place finish at Rosehill, followed by an improved 3.1L sixth place finish out of nine competitors at Gosford in the lead-up to the 1400m Warwick Stakes. However, the significant increase in class up to Group Two level appeared to be an insurmountable challenge for this average gelding.

Ron Dufficy was to have ridden Pablo's Pulse but was indisposed, so lightweight jockey Jamie De Belin was substituted. Bookies on track at Warwick Farm for the running of the 1987 Warwick Stakes, (now Winx Stakes), had offered the juicy price on the Craig Oldfield-trained maiden Pablo's Pulse. With Ron Dufficy under the weather, jockey Jamie De Belin was the only one in the jockeys' room that could actually ride the weight and being the Warwick Stakes, he thought, that's fine, I'm happy to pick up a ride in the feature race for the day.

Pablo's Pulse was racing for the third time in a week and De Belin thought it best to keep it simple. At best he would pick up another riding fee to boost the coffers.

Before they started, Craig Oldfield asked Jamie what I thought, as the horse had raced only two days previously at Gosford, and I just said to him, "mate, we've got nothing on our back, it was a soft track, let's just make them chase us,'" De Belin recalled.

We had nothing to lose, we were the extreme outsider, so that was the plan from the start. I was surprised when we turned for home and I was still in front." When I pulled the stick on him, he still kept giving. "He just kept finding that little bit extra." Despite giving up the lead at the top of the straight, and again halfway down, Pablo's Pulse kept fighting back against the significantly more fancied Mr Lomondy, Targlish, Cool Deal and the raging 1-3 favourite Campaign King, already a three time Group one winner. The track conditions played a significant role, as Pablo grinded away to grab Targlish right on the line.

1000-1 was initially put up by rails bookie Peter Todd, with $50 to win $50,000 duly seeing the 3yo tightened to his eventual SP of $501. Todd related his misfortune after backing a kid down from a $100 bet to a $50 wager - easy money he thought. As turns out the damage could have been far worse if he had taken that bet. Later in his career, the son of Steel Pulse would many times be sent out a despised outsider (140-1 when last of 20 in the Group One Epsom; 140-1 when last of 10 at Wyong; 125-1 when last of 11 at Newcastle; 125-1 when tenth of 14 at Gosford), though he could never again match his Warwick Stakes heroics and find the line first. After a battling last of 8 at Taree in October of 1994, Pablo's Pulse was retired with the remarkable record of 41:1-4-3. Over the course of that career, the infamous gelding's average SP was bang-on 50-1.

In winning the Warwick Stakes Pablo’s Pulse became the equal record longest priced winner in Australian racing history. Five years earlier, a two year old filly called Anntelle established the record at Canterbury. She was trained by T.J.Smith and by an astonishing quirk of fate was also ridden by Jamie De Belin. Anntelle confirmed the form later by winning another seven races, all on city tracks. Poor old Pablo on the other hand never won another race. Following his second to Campaign King and winning the Warwick Stakes, the downward spiral began. He had another 36 starts for 5 placings, all on provincial and country tracks. His last run was at Taree, finishing a long last by 25 lengths.

Pulse was as plain as day and certainly not a robust type. He was by the successful stallion Steel Pulse from a mare by Sweet Spelvin. He was trained at Newcastle by G.C.Oldfield. And where is Jamie De Belin? He drifted out of the game and hasn’t been sighted, but he still holds a priceless piece of racing history. There have been two 500/1 winners in Australian racing history, and he was the jockey for both of them. Fate is a funny thing.