Tearaway thoroughbred Vo Rogue had steel in his legs and iron in his soul

The entire Vo Rogue story was unique. The eccentric, battling trainer who brought the best out of the plainly bred gelding. The Queensland jockey who had an indefinable affinity with his “once in a lifetime horse”. The intensely loyal owners who shunned approaches from other jockeys and trainers. He was sired by American-bred Ivor Prince whose racing career ended from injury after just two starts. Ivor Prince was a son of the British champion Sir Ivor who won the 1968, 2000 Guineas and Epsom Derby. His dam was Vow, by American damsire, Dignitas, a multiple stakes winner in the United States and a son of the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee, Round Table.

Vo Rogue was a successful front-running racehorse who thrilled Australian racegoers by setting up massive leads in his races, defying the opposition with his freewheeling, tearaway tactics. He would sometimes establish leads of 20-25 lengths and would look vulnerable when the challenges came. More often than not he would get a second wind and stave them off. His unique racing technique was emulated in later years by Might And Power and Sunline. The bay gelding was trained by Vic Rail, and ridden by Cyril Small for 22 of his 26 wins. He was also ridden on at least two occasions by John Scorse who rose to prominence as the jockey of Placid Ark. Small was one of the most recognisable hoops in Australia during Vo Rogue’s stunning career.

Vo Rogue was successful in Brisbane, Sydney, and Perth, but was at his best in Melbourne, particularly in the autumn, with the hard and fast tracks very much to his liking. Nobody can tell you why Vo Rogue wasn’t as good in Sydney. It obviously wasn’t the clockwise way of going, because he was effective on tracks like Eagle Farm and Doomben. He was a totally different horse in Melbourne, where he won sixteen races including two Australian Cups. Vo Rogue was controversially scratched from the Cox Plate in 1988 because Rail considered he was hopeless in any kind of rain-affected going. He dominated the weight-for-age races at the autumn carnivals of 1988, 1989, and 1990, defeating such outstanding horses as Campaign King and the Cox Plate winners Bonecrusher, Super Impose, Our Poetic Prince, and Better Loosen Up. He was successful in the William Reid Stakes (1200m), the Australian Cup Cup (2000m) twice, and won various races in between, including the C F Orr Stakes (1400m), the Blamey Stakes (1600m), and the St George Stakes (1800m). The George Main Stakes victory was his only win in Sydney in eight attempts.

In total, Vo Rogue won 26 races from 83 starts, including six Group One races, and a further five which now carry Group One status. His name has also entered Australian racing folklore, regularly summoned by racecallers and fans alike who speak of horses setting up "Vo Rogue-style" leads. Vo Rogue spent his latter years on the Gold Coast property of his jockey Cyril Small and was lovingly cared for by the Small family. Vo Rogue died on 7 May 2012, at the age of 28.

RACE RECORD - 83: 26-14-9

EARNINGS - A$3,118,100

Alister Clark Stakes (1987)

Creswick Stakes (1987)

Turnbull Stakes (1987, 1988)

MRC Futurity Stakes (1988)

Blamey Stakes (1988, 1989)

C F Orr Stakes (1988, 1989, 1990)

Winfield Stakes (1988)

St George Stakes (1988, 1989)

William Reid Stakes (1988)

Australian Cup (1989, 1990)

George Main Stakes (1989)

Queensland Racing Hall of Fame (2004)

Vo Rogue Plate at Gold Coast Racecourse

Australian Racing Hall of Fame (2019)