Big win – but it’s a dry argument!

Popular Carisbrook harness racing trainer Tim Mortlock posted his biggest win ever with a victory in the $25,000 Central Victorian Pacing Championship at St Arnaud last Monday (Jan 23) – but he’s had to put celebrations on hold until this weekend.

His in-form bay gelding Double The Hunter (Camlach) called on all reserves to hold off a fast-finishing Cee Cee In America (Ryan Sanderson) to claim the championship which has been a feature on the country race calendar for many years.

“My mum Helen and I have an agreement. I gave her a share in Double The Hunter providing she drives home when we win!” Mortlock laughed.

“So I had one or two beers at the track and thought I’d buy a few more to enjoy on the way home. The Logan pub was the first port of call and it was closed. So I thought that’s okay we’ll stop off at Dunolly—and you wouldn’t believe that it was shut as well!”

In the end, Mortlock, who’s manager at the local IGA butcher shop as well as part-time track curator at his home track Maryborough, had to settle for a couple of beers when he got home.

“I had to be out of bed at 4am to get to work at IGA so I kept things pretty quiet in the end.  But I am having a bit of a celebration party with family and friends on Sunday.”

Despite the dry argument, spirits were high on the trip home from the St Arnaud meeting, with Tim’s mum Helen his biggest supporter during his 40 years in the sport.

“I think in the past four years, mum has missed one meeting and she was obliged to attend a family do. Mum has been in them for a hundred years,” Mortlock said.

“We’ve got the agreement about her ownership with Double The Hunter, but I’ve also given her shares in my others because she just loves the trots,” he said.

“She also looks after nearly all of the horses at times and when she had Double The Hunter at her place, she used to call him Buddy Franklin (Sydney Swans AFL superstar) – she reckoned he had the Buddy ‘strut’ because he knew he was a good one!

“I remember getting dragged off to the trots when I was very young. Mum always had horses around her because her father was the late Jack Hargreaves (of Adaptor fame), while my dad (Rob) started off as a 15yo working for J.P (Jack) Moore.”

The great Adaptor was trained by Hargreaves, a legend of Korong Vale, and sold to the USA for $250,000 after winning the 1969 Miracle Mile, so there was extra sentiment with the Central Victorian championship win, with Mortlock’s horse carrying the Hargreaves Adaptor colors.

“They were handed down to me and I’ve only used them a few times – that was the first time I’ve won with them which was special,” he said.

“I checked out the honor roll of the championship on Monday and there’s been some great horses over the years to win it. It would be nice to think that our horse could come back from a spell and turn out to be one of those good ones.”

Double The Hunter was bred by well-known Wedderburn vet, Greg Hargreaves, who was using the sire Camlach as a free-range stallion running with a herd of broodmares including Double Header, dam of Double The Hunter.

Mortlock said Double Header showed a heap of ability as a racehorse, winning several trials before a second placing at the races.

“She had leg issues and after a long spell, bowed a tendon so then I decided to get her in foal and later sold her.”

Double The Hunter has now been sent for a well-earned spell after a somewhat unorthodox leadup to the Championship series.  The horse had been in good form with a fifth in the VicBred Silver after being held up and then a luckless third after being badly away and put out of the draw at Charlton.

“He won next start at Maryborough from outside the front, but I needed to do another satisfactory start to get back in the draw. So I took him to Swan Hill to their trials before their race meeting because that was the only option I had,” Mortlock said.

“I drove him myself and absolutely walked them because he was flat as a tack. I had to trial him because we needed a nice barrier at St Arnaud in the final. In the end he had four runs in eight days so he was ready for a break!”

Handled by Bendigo reinsman Jack Laugher, who is in red-hot form, Double The Hunter was sent out a $1.75 favorite. It was the second time in three years that Laugher had tasted success in the event—the other time being with the Emma Stewart trained Krafty Bart at Boort in 2021.

The Trotting Championship was taken out by Double Helix (Majestic Son) for trainer Phillip Giles. His driver Jackie Barker had a day out with a winning treble.

by Terry Gange, for Harnesslink