Des McCormick was a jumps trainer that landed the horse of a lifetime

Carbon Copy was an Australian chestnut Thoroughbred who raced from a two-year-old to a five year old,  recording 14 wins from 1 mile to 2 miles with regular jockey Scobie Breasley winning 8 races. He was a member of a vintage crop of 1948/49 three year olds, thar included Comic Court, Foxzami, Vagabond and Bernbrook. Carbon Copy was bred by the Silk Bros at their Glen Devon stud Werribee, Victoria from the sire Helios (GB) via the mare Havers (AUS) by Windbag, Helios was a Leading sire in Australia and of the classic winner Beau Gem, the 1947 VRC Victoria Derby and ultimately as a great broodmare sire.

Carbon Copy showcased exceptional talent during his racing career between 1948 and 1951. Notably, in his three-year-old season where he achieved remarkable victories in prestigious races held in both Sydney and Melbourne. Competing against esteemed champions such as Comic Court and Delta, Carbon Copy demonstrated his prowess in numerous features. One of his most notable achievements was his triumph in the 1949 AJC Plate at Randwick Racecourse. In this race he displayed his dominance by defeating the renowned Melbourne Cup winner, Russia by a significant margin of 10 lengths. This classic victory solidified Carbon Copy's position as one of the most successful three-year-old racehorses in Australian turf history. He won the 1948 Cox Plate and the 1949 Sydney Cup, proving his versatility and strength at various staying distances.

Furthermore, Carbon Copy's exceptional performances attracted significant attention and admiration from the racing community. His owners received a remarkable offer of £95,000, which they would decline. This offer underscores the immense value and potential that Carbon Copy possessed as a racehorse. Carbon Copy's best son after retiring to stud where he was foaled at was the 1962 AJC Sydney Cup winner Grand Print, who also won the 1964 Australian Cup.

Carbon Copy's trainer Des McCormick, a former drover from Wangaratta, had achieved notable success by producing quality jumpers. Among his most notable steeplechasers were the esteemed Winterset and Van Perri, both of whom received their training at his stables situated in Mordialloc, Victoria. He begun training after a serious fall as a jumps jockey using the old Epsom course as his training ground. The first really high-class racehorse given to Des McCormick to train was the 1932 Moonee Valley Cup winner Yarramba and it came well after that horse’s sensational defeat in the 1932 Melbourne Cup to Peter Pan. Regrettably, a promising career in training came to an abrupt end when his brother, Roy McCormick, committed suicide using a small calibre rifle in January 1940, having obtained the firearm from a neighbour. Subsequently, Des inherited several horses from his brother, including Dark David, who went on to win the 1940 Australian Steeplechase. Des McCormick was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame in 2019.

RACE RECORD - 45: 14-10-6
EARNINGS - £A38,194

AJC Derby (1948)
W S Cox Plate (1948)
St George Stakes (1949)
VRC Kings Plate (1949)
Chipping Norton Stakes (1949,1950)
AJC St Leger (1949)
Sydney Cup (1949)
AJC Plate (1949)
Craven Plate (1949)
AJC Randwick Plate (1949)
VRC Carbine Stakes (1950)