Trotter one day – winning pacer the next!

Astute conditioner Mal Whiteford has had a harness racing journey full of wonderful memories—and he recently added another first to his collection.

Whiteford, based at the small rural northern Victorian town of Barmah, near Echuca, got the money with beautifully-bred former trotter Parisian Bandit (Love You (FRA), now racing as a pacer.

“I really had no option but to switch his gait. It’s certainly something that I wouldn’t normally do,” Whiteford laughed.

The passionate hobby trainer said the die was cast for Parisian Bandit’s career change in a trotters’ event at Bendigo.

“We were travelling sweet turning for home. Then he just switched into a pace—it was completely unexpected. He was going to be right in the finish that’s for sure,” he said.

So after a let-up, the five-year-old chestnut returned to the racetrack as a pacer and vindicated Whiteford’s decision with a handy second placing behind Im The Mightygramps (Western Terror) at Shepparton on May 7.

Parisian Bandit was held up late at his next start, followed by a fifth, before recording a narrow, but exciting victory at Shepparton (June 16).

“We were proud of him having a real crack  – he stuck his head right out in getting to the finish line. My wife Sue was quick off the mark to buy a photo of the win to put in the pool room!” Whiteford said.

“I’ve been told that there’s a few Love You-sired horses that have gone okay pacing so hopefully Parisian Bandit can keep improving and we have a bit of fun,” he said.

“The horse is really enjoying himself now. He’s got a relaxed temperament again—he’s a happy boy. It was a pretty tricky thing to do and change his gait. But we now have the win and we’ve salvaged something after buying him a good while ago.”

But although he’s elected for the change of gait with Parisian Bandit, Whiteford makes no secret that his heart lies with the square-gaiters.

“I definitely prefer them to pacers. They can be a real challenge and there’s a lot of trial and error with the shoeing—but I like the challenge as I do the farrier work myself,” he said.

“We’ve been lucky to have had a couple of good trotters over the years, including Mands Ralph which was pacing bred – his sire was Safely Kept.”

The Whiteford couple used the “Mands” moniker for a number of their horses, a prefix which incorporates both their Christian names, Mal and Sue.

Mands Ralph won 14 races with 15 placings from 76 starts for stakes of $104,000 back in the mid-2002 until early 2007.

“He was broken in as a pacer and one day we were working two horses together. A young kid working for me said Mands Ralph went like a trotter. So the next day we swapped horses so I could have a look and I agreed with him!” Whiteford said.

“After being placed at his first race start, it didn’t take him long to start winning. We got offered some big money, but the sale fell through after he was a bit lame on the near side front.

“He went onto win some great races including a few at Moonee Valley as well as Trotters Cups at Shepparton, Bendigo and Gunbower.

“I think winning the Chris Howe Trotters Cup in town was probably up there as our favorite victory. It was a skinny win and Grant Campbell drove him. I got on now and again and won a couple at Moonee Valley.”

Whiteford was born in Sydney, but moved to Queensland and lived on the Gold Coast where his dad Edgar McKenzie had slaughter yards and operated a butcher’s shop at Nerang.

“Dad trained gallopers for a while and was very successful. I remember one horse he had won 15 races, while another won 12 or 13,” he said.

“I got into harness racing and raced at Albion Park, along with two tracks that are now closed—the Gold Coast and Border Park at Tweed Heads. I had a terrific run at one stage with a couple of horses winning 12 out of 13 in Brisbane.

“I later shifted down to Victoria because the racing seemed better and also with the drought at the time up north, feed had become very expensive.

“We were also dairy farmers for 10 years as well as doing the horses.”

The Whiteford stable has also enjoyed success over the years with Play The Dice (10 wins), Kamwood Jack (nine), Mands Gearl and Earls Jewel (seven each), Brikante and Cameos Moment (six each) and Jack Hall (five).

“I’ve grown to admire horses and what they can do. I just love our sport,” Whiteford said.

“There’s not a more satisfying job that I could honestly think of.”

by Terry Gange, for Harnesslink