4YO mare promises plenty more joy

Victorian Western District hobby trainer Stephen Lambert has landed another win with a filly he hopes will be the best of his harness racing career.

The Terang stock and station agent trains a handful of horses but four-year-old brown mare Ultimate Joy (American Ideal) is shaping up nicely, with her latest victory at Melton (Jan 10), the third of her brief career.

Ultimate Joy zoomed out of her six-gate to find the lead at Melton for reinswoman Kate Gath, who then had to niggle the mare for most of the trip, before the pair strode away nicely in the straight to score by three metres.

“She is a bit of a work in progress – she’s a good type, a nice pacer, but she just has to switch on in front a bit more!” Lambert laughed.

“She’s a nice, relaxed horse and she takes that to the races. I do think she is a better horse from behind and she does all her work at home from behind, but she has got gate speed, too,” he said.

“But she’s only had nine starts and it’s all experience and learning for her.”

Melton results and replays, click here

Lambert has been involved in the sport at various levels throughout his life.

“My family weren’t harness racing people at all, but I just followed the sport as a youngster and stayed involved,” he said.

“I worked with Terry Clarke for nine years at Terang, Then I was at Bruce Clarke’s for another nine years before I got my own trainer’s licence and now I train at Kerry Clarke’s place just across from the Terang track.

“I just enjoy it – it gets me away from my job and you get to meet all sorts of people.”

He said Ultimate Joy is raced in partnership with friends he had made through his work as a Stock and Station agent.

“Keith Bennett and his partner Chris Whitmore had a business in Melbourne and decided to make the move to a quieter life at Terang,” he said.

“I’d never met them until they bought their place, and we just hit it off. Now they’re part-owners in Ultimate Joy with myself and my partner Carolyn Morey.

“We’ve got a great crew around the stables.  Keith is our handyman, and fixes my sulkies and anything else I break, Carolyn helps out. Jacki Arundell gives us a hand too a couple of times a week and her dad Robert is our farrier.

“As well as a couple of the other local trainers around here, Alan Driscoll and Barry Beasley, it’s a really great little community.”

Ultimate Joy is from the handy race mare and 14-time winner Lombo Cloud Nine (Northern Luck), a half-sister to Gr 1 winner and 2yo Pacer of the Year Lombo Skyrider (Panorama).

“I used to breed some myself, but nowdays I just go to the yearling sales, because I think you’re a year or two down the road in the process, and you can watch the videos, look at the yearlings and see what you are getting,” Lambert said.

“I bought Ultimate Joy from the sales and she made around $22,000.  She is out of a good race mare and a good family, and she did look a really good type on the videos. I thought she would probably bring more than she did.

“I’m really happy with the way she’s shaping up. We’ll probably give her another two or three runs and then give her a spell and see how she progresses from there.”

Lambert’s previous best-performer was Leicitsafe (Safely Kept) who won 10 races.

by Terry Gange, for Harnesslink