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Sulky Shorts with Gus Underwood

By Gus Underwood

Oct 20, 2022

Rising waters: The Godden property at Nanneella where horses had to be evacuated.

District trots studs and training establishments have been hit hard in the flooding that has devastated most of northern Victoria over the past week.

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Nanneella trainer Col Godden had to mount a midnight rescue mission to get his horses to safety last Saturday morning.

In what Col said was the biggest flood event in his time at his property, water swiftly rose to the girth of six horses in his training barn at about 2am.

This necessitated an evacuation of the horses to the Northern Rivers Equine in Kyabram at 4am.

Col said if it hadn’t been for his son James and his workers and some neighbours he would have been in serious trouble.

Inundated: The Godden property at Nanneella.

Col said his entire property had inundated by overflow from a creek that runs off the Campaspe River.

Fortunately, floodwaters that lapped at the doorway of his home receded just before they entered the premises.

With the floodwaters now subsided, the horses are back in their stable and being worked again on Col’s training track, which was not greatly affected by the floodwater.

But with another big rain event on the horizon, Col knows he may not be out of trouble quite yet.

Water everywhere: The Godden property at Nanneella.

At Echuca, trainers at the harness racing track were forced to relocate horses with the flood drama there from the adjoining Campaspe River. But the track and infrastructure were not affected.

Breeding giant Alabar Farms at Koyuga had not been affected by the floods yesterday.

Last weekend more than 80 horses had to be relocated to the new training complex at the Shepparton Harness Racing Club.

Studs and training bases of Paul and Rosie Weidenbach, Greg Fleming and Aldebaran Park in the Murchison East area and Steve O’Donoghue’s property at Kialla were inundated and their horses relocated to the Shepparton training complex barns of Bec Bartley, David Moran, Dave Farrar, Connor Crook and Jason Ross.

Luckily there were enough stalls to cope with the influx.

Bunbartha trainer John Newberry said his property was surrounded by floodwater released from Loch Garry but he had been getting his racing team and broodmares to higher ground from flooded areas on his property. However, training had ceased because he could not reach his training track.

John said recovery from the flooding would be slow because the floodwaters had nowhere to flow.

Kaarimba trainer Daryl Hill had to relocate his small team but with the help of some Nathalia footballers and officials and neighbours, managed to prevent floodwaters entering his home.

A rollercoaster of a week

It’s certainly been a rollercoaster week for some Goulburn Valley trainers and reinsmen.

The flood-hit Greg Fleming, David Moran and Weidenbach stables were still able to produce winners at the Maryborough and Kilmore meetings on Wednesday.

Moran won at Maryborough on the Fleming-trained favourite Letsgobro who led from pillar to post.

The three-year-old son of Fourstazzz Shark had to dig deep over the concluding stages to record his second win in just three race starts.

At the Kilmore meeting Moran drove the Fleming-prepared Red Hot Assassin to his third win in just 11 race starts and also trains Beach Memories, who showed her class with a runaway win.

Moran, frustrated with Beach Memories who had not scored up in her last two starts, entrusted the drive to record-breaking reinsman Chris Alford, who was able to make a safe getaway with the filly and after a dash from last to first with a lap to go was never in danger of being run down.

It was win number eight for the talented Beach Memories from 25 starts with seven seconds and two thirds.

Warhorse pacer Good Lookin Rooster didn’t find 13 an unlucky number because that’s what he took his winning record to for trainer Rosie Weidenbach and her reinswoman daughter Olivia Weidenbach with his victory.

Olivia gave Good Lookin Rooster the run of the race and the eight-year-old Christian Cullen gelding dug deep in the concluding stages to score a tough win.

Feature success proves elusive

There was no major success for northern Victorian horsemen in the feature events last weekend.

At the Melton meeting last Saturday night Wayne Potter’s smart juvenile trotter The Locomotive had his winning streak broken when he finished fourth in the Group Two time-honoured Tatlow Stakes for two-year-old trotters.

Chasing his fifth straight win, the Muscle Mass colt missed a top three finish for the first time in his seven-race career when he finished fourth to the David Miles-trained Rockinwithattitude who completed a hat-trick of wins with his success in the $30,000 event.

But The Locomotive, who had not raced for more than five weeks, put up a big run to go down by just over seven metres and is on target for the upcoming Redwood Classic.

In the $60,000 Victoria Trotters Oaks, Avenel reinsman Josh Aiken finished third on the Anton Golino-trained Revelstoke who put in a big run to finish within five metres from the winner, the Aldebaran Lodge stud-bred Aldebaran Keepa.

Given what Aldebaran Lodge had been through that day, relocating horses after floods had inundated the stud, it was a very timely and popular win for all concerned.

At the Maryborough Cup meeting on Sunday, top reinsman Mark Pitt had to be content with second place in the cup on the Emma Stewart-trained Beyond Delight, who was a short-priced favourite.

Beyond Delight’s stablemate Act Now won the $35,000 event with a dashing front running display in sizzling 1.55.8 mile rate time for the marathon 2690m trip.

The $30,000 Maryborough Trotters Cup was also won in impressive fashion by Parisian Artiste, who sat parked for the marathon and was still too good for his rivals.

Aldebaran Lodge Pty Ltd also bred and own the Ruth Shinn-trained Aldebaran Dino who outclassed his rivals with a brilliant 1.56.7 mile rate over the 1720m trip at Monday’s Melton meeting.

The Andover Hall four-year-old has now won four races and finished second twice from only seven career starts so looks a trotter going places.

Byrneside Bullet ready to fire

Promising pacer Chirripo tackles the time-honoured Tatlow Stakes for fillies at tonight’s Melton meeting with winning form after saluting at the Maryborough Cup meeting last Sunday.

Trained and driven by Byrneside horsewoman Laura Crossland, the two-year-old filly by Always Be Miki was able to get the back of the poleliner and pacemaker Mollys Line from an inside second row draw and then nudged out that filly at the judge’s post.

Chirripo pulled out a 55.8 last half in a 1.56.5 mile rate for the 1690m trip, which was a PB in her two wins and five minor placings from seven career starts.

Chirripo tackles the $50,000 Group Two Tatlow Stakes fillies final tonight from a poleline draw, and although she comes against the powerful Emma Stewart stable that has three runners in the race, she looks an each-way chance.

Chirripo is the only foal out of the McArdle broodmare Chiquita Bromac, who was a five-time winner and placed 23 times, with 15 seconds, for Elmore horseman Keith Cotchin.

Vale Ken Gash

Harness racing lost a stalwart, and the human race a great human being, with the passing earlier this week of successful Shepparton businessman Ken Gash.

Ken, 76, had been battling cancer for about a year.

Ken was the creator and owner of Neatline Homes, which has sponsored the Shepparton Gold Cup for many years, and he loved his harness horses.

He raced horses with trainers Ken Day and Steve Boyington and apart from his work and harness racing interests he was a philanthropist who gave generous support to the homeless in the Shepparton area.

Funeral arrangements were still being made yesterday.

Mare is Going Places

She was certainly going places at Tuesday night’s Swan Hill meeting.

The ‘places’ in this scenario were the finishing post and pacer Shes Going Places attacked it with plenty of gusto.

Trained at Kyabram by Rod Woods Snr and raced by his family, the five-year-old Grinfromeartoear mare driven by Damian Wilson charged home from last at the entrance of the home straight to zoom past her rivals for a runaway maiden win at her 21st try.

Given she had finished second at her previous two starts Shes Going Places certainly had put the writing on the wall that she was ready to break her duck. So those who stuck with her were handsomely rewarded as she paid $19 for the win.

Undera not Avenel

The headlines on a story last week on sire Auckland Reactor stated the stallion was standing at Avenel.

While the story was correct, the $1.70million earner and son of the great Mach Three’s new home is in fact at the Glen Alvie stud at Undera, which is operated by former reinswoman and accomplished horsewoman Crystal Peacock.