Comeback couple setting red hot pace!

When the harness racing bug bites…it never leaves, they say, and Victorian harness racing couple Deb and Ray Pace are a case in point!

Deb hadn’t trained a horse in more than a decade and Ray hadn’t driven for nearly as long – so, according to Deb, it was “like the Melbourne Cup” when their Sweet Lou gelding Ashante Prince was an impressive winner at Ballarat recently (Nov 7).

“We were absolutely ecstatic – it was one of Ray’s first drives back and it was a win.  We were just so excited,” Deb said.

The big-striding Ashante Prince looks a handy type, peeling out from the rear of the field at the 700 metre mark, and surging to the front at the top of the straight to score a comfortable four-metre victory.

Deb and Ray have enjoyed some good times in the sport, with horses including Lovethenightlife (Holmes Hanover), Arctic Breeze (Whats Next) and Ragged Old Flag (Washington VC) in the early 2000s.

But life got busy, and they got out of the sport in 2012, including selling their Melton horse training property.

“Our son was a good platform diver, and you want to give your kids every opportunity. He’d have to be at Ringwood at 6 am for training and you just can’t burn the candle at both ends,” she said.

“For us, our kids took priority in our values, but they do grow up and both our son and daughter have moved on in their own lives.

“So when Ray said let’s go and look at a horse, I was all in.  With horses it really doesn’t matter what age you are – and I’d always told Ray I’d get into them in a heartbeat if the time was right.”

The couple went to inspect Ashante Prince at the Shepparton property of Tony Peacock earlier in the year.

“Ray drove him and loved him, and we brought him home,” Deb said.

“It was the first time Ray had sat behind a horse in probably eight years, so he hasn’t lost his touch!  I think Ashante Prince will be a handy horse to have some fun with.”

Deb and Ray now have a 10-acre property at Diggers Rest, but Deb works the team at the nearby John Justice or Shane Hoban properties “just around the corner”.

“Obviously when you haven’t been hands on for 12 years a second pair of eyes and a second opinion are a big help,” she said.

“And Ashante Prince certainly hasn’t been the easiest horse. He pushed my buttons a bit, but he’s slowly coming around and John and Shane have both been great in suggesting things to try.”

The Paces’ renewed interest in the sport didn’t end with Ashante Prince.

“We’ve got a trotter Herbert, and we’ve bought another horse called Ashante Warrior (Always B Miki) and we’ve got a rising 2yo as well as a two-week-old Tall Dark Stranger filly out of an Art Major mare,” Deb said.

“If you’re going do it, you might as well go all in!” she laughed.

For complete race results, click here.

by Terry Gange, for Harnesslink