Hopes for a homecoming to remember

Tonight’s (Mar. 1) Mildura harness racing meeting will be something of a homecoming for Victorian trainer Ros Rolfe.

The gregarious Rolfe and her husband Michael spent 17 years in the far northwest Victorian city and have this week made the move back, with Ros wasting no time in getting back to the races.

“Michael was offered the position of General Manager at Australian Tartaric, and he’s actually been up there since the start of the year,” Rolfe said.

“It’s taken me a bit longer to get everything organised, but we’ve moved the final bits and pieces and the horses this week and I’m glad it’s over – you forget what a big job it is!” she laughed.

Rolfe has two runners engaged in the big 12-race Mildura (Mar 1) program tonight and is hoping for a successful followup to her farewell from Echuca.

She trained Beach Time (Somebeachsomewhere) to a win at last Thursday’s (Feb 23) meeting, which also featured the Good Luck Ros Rolfe pace in honor of the popular trainer.

“The race had two false starts, too, so they had to give me plenty of coverage!” she laughed.

“I grew up in Echuca, and that’s home, but Mildura really feels like home too, because we spent so long there and raised our family there, so it’s good to be back.  Our youngest, Lewis was born in Mildura and he’s making the move back with us.”

Rolfe’s last-start winner Beach Time looks to be well-placed in race 2 at Mildura, and she will also line up with the capable but frustrating Dallas Miki in Race 12.

“I’d love to be able to get a win with Beach Time but we will see how we go,” Rolfe said.

“It will be good to catch up with a lot of people we haven’t seen for a long time – it’ll be a funny feeling but we’re looking forward to it.”

Rolfe said she was currently renting stables until she could find a suitable property.

“I’m only working these two now, because I like to have a life as well, these days,” she said.

“Lewis will be playing footy again and we like to go and watch him, so just having a couple in work lets you do the things you want to do (Lewis’s dad Michael played football for Richmond and Footscray in the early 1980s).

“But I am hoping I can give my old favorite Frank (Franks Very Much) another go as well.  He’s a bit of a sentimental one with us because he’s out of the broodmare Cisstar, who was raced and trained by my dad (the late Frank Farrell) back in the late 1990s and early 2000s.”

The nine-year-old has had 96 career starts and is just short of $100 K in career earnings from 12 wins and 35 placings.

The Mildura fixture has a massive 121 horses engaged in the 12 races, with the early start time to race 1 of 4.28 pm.

by Terry Gange, for Harnesslink