Accidental obsession – Vassallo’s trotting gamble paying off

Victorian harness racing trainer Joe Vassallo found his way into square gaiters almost by accident – but it’s been years since he raced anything else.

And on Saturday night at Melton, his promising trotter Lady Vici (Orlando Vici) delivered a performance that suggests she could be his best yet.

The lightly-raced five-year-old returned from more than a year on the sidelines with a stylish victory, taking her record to six wins from just seven starts.

“It was a long break, but she was having trouble scoring up behind the gate – she’d go into a gallop, or even pace. She’s actually a pretty good pacer for a trotter!” Vassallo, of Caroline Springs, laughed.

“I brought her up once after her spell, but she still wasn’t right, so I turned her out and started again. She’s going nicely now – and she’s just got a bit older and a bit more mature.”

Lady Vici was having her first start since April 2024, when she finished a run of five consecutive wins. Bred by Yabby Dam Farms and bought by Joe and his brother Sam at the Nutrien Sale, the mare has always shown promise, but Vassallo has learned not to rush a trotter.

“We’ve bought a handful over the years.  I normally only like to have a couple in work, and I’ve had a few mares we’ve bred from, and every now and then we buy one.”

Vassallo has been training since the 1980s, when helping his mate Ian Caruana at the stables turned into a lifelong passion.

“I started mucking out boxes, then doing joggers, then pacework and it just goes on from there. The bug gets in you, and that’s it!” he said.

Vassallo’s first horse was a pacer, Running Brave (Hilarious Way), which gave him his first training win at Wangaratta in 1989, and went on to win three races.

He trained pacers for many years, until a twist of fate introduced him to trotters. He bred a foal from his pacing mare Stunning Impact, using pacing sire Village Jasper– but the resulting foal Stunning Jasper turned out to be a trotter.

“I didn’t know much about trotters at the time, so I just trained him like a pacer,” he said.

“So because she had thrown a trotter, I sent her to Pegasus Spur a few years later.  Unfortunately, the mare and foal both died, and so for the return service to Pegasus Spur I leased a mare from Peter Hornsby, Ginger Gem, who was a half-sister to Zesta and Zooma, so a good family.”

The foal was I Am Pegasus, who won eight out of 11 starts for Vassallo, and two Gr1 races (Breed for Speed Gold and VicBred Super Series 3yo Trot).

“She was a lovely horse, but had a stable accident at end of her three year old season, and was never really the same again.  We were probably lucky that she was able to get back to the races, but she was never the same horse,” he said.

“So we were pretty lucky when you think about it, and we thought, this trotting game seems all right! The trotting game is getting hard too now, with the better breeding and better horses coming through.  But back then, if you had a good trotter you had a bit of a mortgage on things.

“They are fun, and they are great to watch when they are in full stride. They can be a bit frustrating at times, but normally if they’re not doing things right, there is something bothering them and if you can work that out you’re right.”

I Am Pegasus last raced in 2024, and Vassallo said the mare had been retired and is in foal to Tactical Approach.

“Lady Vici is a 75 class now, and in her race on Saturday night, she was by far the lowest prizemoney earner,” Vassallo said.

“The ratings system as it is now makes it harder for younger horses – they don’t have a chance to mature before they are racing against the really experienced and capable horses.

“I hope Lady Vici can keep on improving and I don’t think the 1720 metres is her go, I think she is better over the longer trip.

“She works on her own all the time, except when she goes to the trials, and it gets tougher of course, but I think there is definitely improvement on what she did (on Saturday night).

“A lot of people ask me if Lady Vici is as good as I Am Pegasus and I think potentially she can be better. I think she is a tougher horse but we will see how far she can go.”

From Terry Gange for Harnesslink