Big move pays off

When Jarrod Alchin made the big decision to relocate from his hometown of Temora down to Menangle, he hit the ground running and quickly earned a reputation of being one of the best harness racing mentors of young horses in this state.

Initially his team was small, but he quickly gathered a large following of people wanting him to educate their youngsters.

Following his growing success as a trainer, Jarrod was fortunate enough to catch the eye of prominent owner Scott Whitton who races his pacers under the name of Tumby Park Pty Ltd and well, as they say the rest is history.

Over the past few years, Whitton has been a regular at the Yearling Sales and has accumulated an imposing line-up of well bred stock which are now proving their value on the racetrack.

“This by far the best team of horses I have ever had. I am really excited heading into Saturday night’s Breeders Challenge Finals,” said Alchin.

“There has been a lot of hype around My Ultimate Byron since his first race win at Newcastle and he has just kept stepping up to the mark ever since.

“His win in the NSWBC heat was strong, then he went super in the Semi Final. I have no doubt he will be cherry ripe for Saturday’s final. He is a horse that can fire up early, so I think being drawn out wide will really help him settle.

“I feel Byron is the best horse in the race and all things being equal, he should be able to lead despite the wide draw and from there he will take some catching.

“Our other horse in the boys final, My Ultimate Ronnie was also impressive in his Semi Final win. He is real little professional and when it comes to racing style, he is totally different in every way to Byron.

“His draw is a bit of a concern but if he lobs into a good trail and they go hard, he will hit the line strongly.

“In the two-year-old Fillies final, Madrid has drawn perfectly. I have been nothing but happy with her from when she first came to me and now is her big chance to shine. All her runs for me have been really strong and I think if she can lead, they will do well to catch her.”

To view the fields for Menangle on Saturday night click here.

By Michael Dumesny for HRNSW