Syndicate puts the score on the board

In the early 1990s, Danny Del-Re was a cult hero and noted sharp-shooter in the AFL with Footscray—now he’s kicking goals in harness racing.

Del-Re is one of a group of 17 part-owners in the exciting two-year-old colt Mister Hunter (Huntsville-Moremi Miss (Blissfull Hall), a brilliant winner of the APG Vic Gold Bullion $150,000 colts and geldings final at Melton last Saturday night.

It was a big, big buzz I can tell you. He came around the final bend like a greyhound and then raced away to win.  It was super!” Del-Re said.

Del-Re played 62 games with Footscray from 1990 to 1994, a highly skilled forward who was hard to beat one on one.

Although a strong mark, Del-Re was best known for his accuracy in front of goals.  He bagged 75 in his standout season in 1992, a year in which he set a club record that still stands for the most goals in a final – eight in a qualifier against Geelong.

“That (group one) win was a bit of the same sort of feeling as winning a big footy game – but without the pressure!” Del-Re laughed.

“When I was playing footy, I’d be hyping myself up for days because you wanted to play the best you could and there was always a bit of anxiety.

“That’s what I love about racing, there’s no pressure on me, it’s just enjoyable. All of our relatives were there on Saturday night, there was about 30 of us giving each other high fives and hugs. We were pretty rowdy!”

The purchase of Mister Hunter and several other horses trained by Vince Dicocco at Diggers Rest marked a return to the sport for a number of Mister Hunter syndicate’s owners.

“It was my cousin Mark’s son Matt who got the ball rolling and put together the syndicates for a few horses,” Danny said.

“I think he was hearing all these stories of ‘the good old days with horses’ back when Mark and some mates raced horses like Supremo, who won 10, and Garrys Delight (eight wins) and a few others.  Matt more or less said let’s stop talking about it and let’s do it again.”

The family is involved in the Del-Re National Food Group, a successful food distribution business which delivers to hotels, restaurants, sporting clubs, pizza parlors and cafes and which has been sponsoring the Del-Re National Hunter Cup at Melton for ten years.

“Vince Dicocco has worked for me for 25 years and we’d train the horses six or seven months of the year when we could fit them in around our work,” Mark Del-Re said.

“We went out of the horses when Vince started having a family and I then sold the farm we had near Melton,” he said.

“Matt was the lynchpin to getting us involved again, but Vince and I both agreed that if we went back into it, we were going to buy one that we both really liked.  We both agreed on Mister Hunter, and I think it was during his second preparation and we were teaching him to stride along a bit that we realized he might be something exceptional.

“We hired a mini bus to go to Ballarat and watch him race at his first start.  It was a late race, so we made up most of the crowd, but he led from the start and won nicely.  But definitely the win on Saturday night at Melton was the most exciting. We’re all so passionate and are having a ball.

“We’re not charging him forward, at the moment. He loves it when the speed is on, but we’re trying to get him to relax and settle.”

Mark Del-Re said Mister Hunter, which has now won three of his five starts, had been sent to the paddock for a well-earnt break.

Another ex-AFL player, Collingwood’s Nick Maxwell is among 17 people with a share in another of the Dicocco syndicate horses, Letherrocknroll (A Rocknroll Dance-Willowbrook (In The Pocket) which has won three races.

Vince also trains lightly-raced Francesco (Safari-Major Babe (Art Major), a winner of one race from 10 starts.

“It was a real cheap horse, but is the perfect track worker with Mister Hunter,” Mark said.

“We’re both out there every day at Tony Romeo’s property where we’re stabled, and we work two together because we’ve found it’s better for the horses, and us!”

by Terry Gange, for Harnesslink