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Nearly everyone except Brent Wallace laughed when a yearling filly which stood just 14 and a half hands shimmied into the Scone saleyard.

$400 is all he would pay for the little bay, but Brent had big hopes for the first horse he'd train and own. He'd call her Parbury Princess, and what she lacked in height, she had in heart.

Parbury Princess would grow to become one of the fastest short course sprinters Newcastle had seen. She'd win 11 races, mainly at Broadmeadow, and break a few track records along the way.

All at the hands of a first time hobby trainer, who built his own stable at the backyard of his parents' home in the coastal town at Swansea. It'd later be named Parbury Lodge.

Brent would ride Candy, as he called her, through the nearby bush, at Blacksmith's Beach, and even alongside the runway at Belmont Airport.

The early morning float trips to Broadmeadow for trackwork increased as Swansea started to grow, and when the float left during the day, everyone in town would know it was time to get to the TAB.

Apprentice Allan Robinson and a young Robert Thompson were regulars in the saddle on raceday, along with Kevin Gover, P Costa, and B Parkinson. Photos of their triumphs aboard Parbury Princess still line the walls of the family home.

Brent worked a full-time time job, raised a family, and trained one horse at a time over 30 years. He was never short of a handy sprinter, some he bred, others he bought at the sales, but if the price was greater than $3000, think again.

In most recent times, he was proud of nursing November Victory back to good health after a horror injury threatened to keep her from the track. She'd win four races and finish second six times, twice to subsequent Group 2 winners in the Hurricane Quality on Cameron Handicap Day.

The horses Brent owned couldn't just run, they were family pets too, and they almost knew how to peg the clothes on the line by the time they left Parbury Lodge.

He'd always say 'a happy and healthy horse will always run faster than the others', and there were a lot who were forever chasing his hometown heroes.

Brent Wallace passed away in the arms of family after complications with cancer treatment. He was 71.

The family will hold a graveside service at 12pm in Belmont Cemetery on Thursday, 1st September 2022, followed by a drink for Brent at Parbury Lodge in Swansea.         - By Nat Wallace (son)