600 win milestone for Suvaljko

Last week The Trots WA spoke with Emily Suvaljko who was nearing 600 driving wins and not even a week later she’s done it, claiming her 600th harness racing success on board the Tracy Reay trained The Batmobile (A Rocknroll Dance) on Saturday night at Narrogin.

Reay and Suvaljko have had a long stand association, and the win was a welcomed one, with the duo on a roll in recent weeks with two wins now within the week.

“They’re so appreciative when you win for them, which gives you that really good feeling.” Suvaljko said

Win 600 on the board didn’t last long, with Suvaljko bringing up win 601 on the same night on board the Colin Reeves trained Gold Horsehoe in race six on the card.

Starting in pony trots like many drivers before her, Suvaljko recently discovered a book from her pony trot days in which she had written that she had planned to become a hairdresser and a part-time driver, but her hair aspirations faded and full-time driving was the pathway for her, and since the age of 16, that’s what she’s done.

Suvaljko, who has worked for JP Pacing in recent years has made the decision to move of from the top performing stable, in hopes of relocating to somewhere more central like Pinjarra or Byford, with the late-night travel and long days in the car the motivation for the move.

Emily Suvaljko won the 2022 Fremantle Cup on board the Justin Prentice trained Mighty Ronaldo, with Suvaljko thankful for the time she’s had at the stable, and the opportunities and things she’s learned throughout her time there.

“I’ve adapted my driving a bit, because Justin is a very good driver, I have tried to learn a bit off him that way, and I’ve got to drive some really talented horses in the process as well,

“I’ve got to sit behind Never Ending at the track, I get to drive just some quality horses, I’m driving Rolling Fire at the moment and he’s a quality horse and I got to drive El Chema and Mighty Ronaldo.”

Whilst the Group 1 win is definitely up there in the highlights of her career, it was a win at Collie that was just as special for Emily Suvaljko, winning the Joe and Margaret Suvaljko Memorial Race named in honour of her grandparents, a race that the Suvaljko family has been fortunate to win numerous times now.

Just last month, Suvaljko won the Remembering Josh Dunn Pace at Gloucester Park, no doubt an emotional win for the young reinswoman, with the name in memory of her cousin who sadly passed in 2022.

Australia will always be home for Suvaljko, but she did make mention that travelling is in her plans for next year

“It’s definitely something I’d love to do, I’d like to travel away from trots and that’s obviously the kind of thing that Kyles doing over there at the moment and then go see how they (American stables) do things over there, I think it’s something I’ll look at next year.”

Emily heads to Northam tomorrow night for a full book of drives, with Suvaljko telling the Trots WA that she believes Eye Better is her best chance in race 5, drawn barrier 10. The stable mate, American Monarch has drawn the one, with Shannon Suvaljko on board.

For complete race entries, click here.

by Ashleigh Paikos, for RWWA