SHE hates the spotlight, does not take compliments well and if you ask her about the amazing gift she gives to retired racehorses, you’ll find her mumbling a “yep, I love it” and quickly changing the subject to something like: “It’s time to take the rugs off”.

But there’s no dodging the spotlight this month for Grace Chantler, as she heads off to the Gold Coast as a top-two finalist in Racing Australia’s prestigious 2022 Stud and Stable Staff Awards.

 Raised in the house her father built, west of Casterton, Grace’s earliest introduction to racing was not with horses, but camels – a passion shared with dad Pete – before her love of horses saw her take up a school-based traineeship with Allan Clark at Hamilton. 

Even then, fresh out of high school, Grace saw the need and the opportunity for a meaningful life beyond racing, for the industry’s thoroughbreds.

“Basically I was taking on any horse I could get,” Grace said.

“There were a few rehomers around then, but now there’s a lot and horses that 10 years ago would just be sent to the sales and probably not have such a great outcome, are now getting another chance at a new life.”

Buying property from her dad at Bahgallah, Grace’s dream job – her own business, ‘Second Chance Horses’ – was born eight years ago and since then, she has successfully worked with around 20 horses each year, to find them a new life, after racing.

Re-training and re-homing ex-racehorses is a well-supported venture under Racing Victoria, with increased attention to the needs of individual animals, rather than a speedy, production-line process.

“There’s always been a stigma, first of all with what happens to horses after racing and then with the retrainers, because there have been a lot of them that are just ‘dealers’ – get as many horses as you can through as quickly as you can,” Grace said.

“Now, it’s done a lot more ethically and there are a lot of good rehomers and trainers out there.

“It can be a long process – I’ve had horses here up to two years – and sometimes horses are snapped up as soon as I list them, or even before I list them.

“If it’s done right, done ethically, then there are very few horses that won’t find a new home … a new purpose.”

Grace’s ethics are the primary reason behind her nomination for this year’s awards.

The care and welfare award, for which she is in the top-two finalists, is presented to an “individual who has demonstrated a commitment to the care and welfare of thoroughbreds who are not actively racing, and/or created a greater awareness, passion and care for the thoroughbred horse in its second/alternate career (breeding, breaking, pre and post-racing career, re-homing, retraining, providing a comfortable retirement etc.)”.

Her passion for what she does and each animal in her care is evident by the number who never quite get to the point of leaving.

“I’m getting better at it … but it’s the crappy part of the job, letting them go, especially when I’ve had them for so long,” Grace said.

“I actually do keep some and I’m at the point now where I am at my limit for horses that I can keep.”

Her ‘personal’ stable now includes Pistol and Frosty, both ex-racehorses who have come full-circle – Frosty now a full-time clerk of the course on South Australian racetracks and Pistol his apprentice-in-waiting.

“There’s practically nothing a thoroughbred can’t do, they’re suitable for every discipline … they’ve even been used as therapy horses,” Grace said.

“They’re smart and (while) there’s some, very few that aren’t suitable for a new purpose or can’t find a private home, there are still plenty of options.”

Grace will head to Queensland for the national awards announcements at the Gold Coast Turf Club on Wednesday, 25 May.