Yole on winning roll – everywhere!

Leading Tasmanian harness racing trainer Ben Yole is again poised to break a national seasonal record for winners as he enjoys a phenomenal run of success at home as well as on the mainland.

Yole, based at Sidmouth, northwest of Launceston, last season broke the Australian record with 223 winners, and with four months still to run has pushed his tally to 220 for 2022.

A bag of seven at Hobart last Friday night (August 5) was the first for a Tassie trainer, and a fruitful Victorian campaign so far yielding 32 winners.

“We are certainly having a good run, but it’s a team effort.  We’ve got a little over 100 horses in work, and 10 employees over here and (caretaker trainer) Robert Walters is doing an outstanding job over there,” he said.

While Yole is more than satisfied with the results from another campaign across the Tasman, he’s not surprised.

“We worked hard to come up with the right team. I was actually confident we were sending the right horses across for the right races,” he said.

“One of my brothers Tim was planning to go across to Victoria, but it’s been working well with Rob so we’ll leave it as it is. Besides Tim is needed back here with our big numbers!”

“Robert’s had the 32 Victorian victories, but he’s also popped up to Albury and won three there. It’s great stakemoney up there and Rob says it’s an okay road trip.

“Many of those we sent over are low-graders and we’ve been swapping a few as we go along. Some are for sale and they go along quite nice.”

Yole was rapt with the win of Hayden Bromac (Falcon Seelster) at Melton, who he races in partnership with the Solotrek Racing Syndicate.

“It was my first metropolitan winner in Melbourne and he’s been a lovely horse. Since January he’s won eight or nine races and over $60,000 in stakes,” Yole said.

“We’ve sent across Arden Roanoke (Art Major) who has won a fair few. He’s been in good form and he’s knocking on the door to get his M0 win as well.”

Yole’s memorable night of preparing seven of the eight winners at Hobart saw doubles to his brother Mark and youngsters Mitch Ford and Bronte Miller, with the latter celebrating her 18th birthday a few days beforehand. Stable newcomer, talented reinsman Corey Bell, also got into the winning feeling.

Trainer-driver Gavin Kelly spoiled a Yole clean-sweep with a boil over win with 20/1 shot Murry (Jeremes Jet) with a tough death-seat win in the McGinnis Mechanical Pace.

Yole became the fifth national trainer to prepare seven winners at a meeting—joining industry greats Emma Stewart (four times), Steve Turnbull, John McCarthy and Lance Justice. Stewart posted an unprecedented nine winners at the Launceston Easter Cup fixture back in April.

Remarkably, Yole, who presents trademark high numbers of up to 70 runners per meeting in Tasmania, not only heads his home-state trainer’s title, but has also moved into the top 10 in Victoria.

“I was actually over in Victoria and at the Maryborough meeting earlier this week. We took four up and it felt a bit strange! We had them geared up and were just waiting around for their races! If it was a day out it would have been okay, but for us a day at the races is big business and it’s just not us!” he said.

Yole said the Tasmania weather hadn’t been all that bad of late.

“Our track has dried out as we were actually raising dust this week! But it won’t last because the end of August is renowned for being wet,” he laughed.