Slim-line Hattie weighs in

When jovial Daylesford harness racing horseman Glenn Conroy and his daughter Lyndal had to decide on a name for their new mare, it was a very simple task.

"Lyndal is heavy handed when it comes to feeding animals-it doesn't matter if it's a dog, cat or horse, she is a great feeder," Conroy laughed.

"So our trotter Hattie was named after the actress Hattie Jacques. She played the matron in the old 'Carry On' films and she was a big, buxom woman – or perhaps we should say a full-figured girl!

"That was our Hattie too. It took me at least four months to get her trimmed down to go to the races!"

But Hattie (Skyvalley-Im Sonialeelee (Malabar Maple) showed at Geelong on Tuesday night that she's now in tip-top racing condition with a nice victory in the Yabby Dam Racing Maiden Trot.

"I thought we had her thinned down and looking good. But I laughed at Geelong when the clerk of the course chipped me and said I wouldn't do any good because she was too fat!"

Conroy said despite the unflattering assessment, he thought the mare was a good chance because her recent form had been consistent.

"She was placed twice at Bendigo and before that and there were a few hard luck stories. She's only had seven starts and even in her race debut she should have been a lot closer. I got held up and only got clear when it was too late," he said.

Conroy said he did have luck on his side at Geelong after being buried three back on the fence for most of the trip.

To watch the video replay click on this link.

"I got off heading into the home corner. Lucks a fortune because the horse on my outside broke and I was able to get clear and come down the outside and win," he said.

"After I lost my wife Tracey in 2004 to breast cancer, I'd go to the races and then come home by myself. Now Lyndal has to hear my excuses or, in the case of Geelong, listen to what I believed was the drive of the night!

"Tracey was a very good driver-much better than me. The first time she drove at Moonee Valley she was successful. I was in the same race at the rear in the dust somewhere. I didn't know that she'd won virtually until we were coming off the track and she told me."

Conroy said he would be "lost" without Lyndal's involvement.

"We go to the sales together and enjoy our time at the race meetings," he said.

"Lyndal does all the work at home. Apart from the feeds, she does the waters and puts in a lot of hours of her time. We do our three horses at 6.30am and then Lyndal is off into town where she runs her own hairdressing business.

"Hattie is raced by the both of us along with my partner Josie and we didn't pay a lot of money for her so we're enjoying the ride. She's by Skyvalley and reasonably bred, and is paid up for the Sires and Breeders Crown."

Conroy said Lyndal was keen to take up driving, but he'd convinced her to stick with the training side.

"Lyndal can drive okay, but harness racing is a tough career. You won't get rich unless you are very lucky and it's so time consuming. After Lyndal and I finish ours, I'm off to help my sister Anne-Maree with another 14 horses.

"So each day I'm at my old stables, Ann-Maree's place, then I head home to Gordon where I live, so I've always got plenty of choices for having a cuppa with all my daily stops!"

The name Conroy is iconic in trotting in Australia through the outstanding deeds of long serving and highly regarded horseman Bob Conroy, who died three years ago doing what he loved-training horses.

Conroy, a gentleman of the industry, was the leading trotting trainer in Victoria for 14 years.

"Dad was very good with horses that others couldn't get going. 'Just give it to the Conroys' they used to say-but we're happy with our little niche in harness racing."

Terry Gange

NewsAlert PR Mildura