No stopping Alford, who takes narrow lead

Australia’s most successful harness racing reinsman Chris Alford made the trip to Shepparton last night a successful one, edging ahead in his quest for his first Victorian state driver’s Premiership in three seasons.

With an almost unthinkable milestone and Australian record 8000 career wins logged in February, the 55-year-old is still at the top of his game, but young gun James Herbertson has captured the two most recent premierships.

Alford edged one win clear of Herbertson in this season’s tally with a typically polished drive in the first race at Shepparton last night (Apr 23) on Cheetah Lodge (For A Reason) for Melton South trainer Brandon Bonavia.

Cheetah Lodge had struck trouble in a heat of the Warragul Pacing Cup at Cranbourne at his only other start in Victoria since being purchased from Queensland, and Bonavia admitted to “being hoarse from cheering” after Alford got Cheetah Lodge to dig deep in the run home to score by six metres at Shepparton.

To view results and replays, click here.

“Michael Bellman drove the horse at Cranbourne, but when he wasn’t available, I grabbed Chris.  He is pretty much the best driver there is, and he did a great job tonight,” Bonavia said.

“Chris has driven winners for me in the past, mostly Diamond Grace.  Chris actually won his 6000^th race on that horse, back in 2017 and I’ve got that photo – it was pretty special,” he said.

Cheetah Lodge’s Shepparton win was 30-year-old Bonavia’s 14^th as a trainer, which he enjoys as an outlet from a busy life, working at a stock feed store and as a dad to six young sons.

“I came out from Malta when I was 11 and my grandfather and dad always had horses and I’ve just always loved them,” he said.

“I finished year 12, then started working for Jayne Davies, and spent some time at Macedon Lodge, and working for Brent Lilley and Adam Kelly as well, so I learnt from some good people.”

The Shepparton win was Bonavia’s fourth from just nine starters this season, with Royal Cadence (Bettors Delight) having already recorded three wins and a second.

“I use the best driver I can and for me that is usually Michael Bellman or Chris Alford. One thing I have learnt is that you do all the early mornings and all the hard work, and the best driver you can get gives your horse the best chance,” he said.

Alford, known as “The Puppet”, has been at the top of Victorian driving ranks for much of the past 20 years, with a run of 10 consecutive premierships between 2011 and 2021 broken only by Greg Sugars in season 2014-15.

In a career spanning almost 40 years, Alford boasts 14 Australian driving premierships and a staggering 136 Group One victories.  He holds the Australian record for most wins in a single season with an incredible 456 in season 2017-18.

The Victorian Driver’s Premiership standings are currently:

Chris Alford 57

Jack Laugher 56

James Herbertson 52

Greg Sugars 50

Ellen Tormey 47

Mark Pitt 42

Michael Bellman 33

Jason Lee 33

Nathan Jack 30

Jordan Leedham 28

by Terry Gange, for Harnesslink