End to winter blues in sight

Victorian trainer Dianne Giles is having one of her most successful harness racing seasons – but she’s looking forward to getting back more of the enjoyment factor from the sport, come the end of this winter.

And it’s not just that Giles, her husband Lance Justice and their daughter Leilani are based in an infamously chilly area of the State at Ballan. They’re also at the tail end of managing an extended relocation from their former base at Melton, 40 kilometres away.

“It’s a beautiful property, it’s 110 acres and lovely, but winters are tough here, and we have horses on our new property but we’re still training our race team at Melton.  So the days are long, and we’ve been doing that coming up five years.  We are done!” Giles said.

“We’ve got everything organised that after winter when things dry out and we can get the earthmovers in, we’re getting the track put in at Ballan. That’ll finally mean we will have everything in one place” she said.

“I work nights at Australia Post and Leilani is doing uni study – and it’s wearing us all down a bit travelling backwards and forwards.  It will be lovely just to have everything we need in the one place.”

Not that the challenging operating environment is impacting on Giles’ results. She chalked up her 100^th training win earlier in the season, and her 2023 tally reads 11 wins, 23 placings from 101 starters.

Her most recent win with Best Back Bruce (Lis Mara) at Melton on Friday night (July 14) is exactly the sort of success that brings her most pleasure.

“I’ve always loved everything about the horses but the thing I enjoy most are the wins with the ones we breed ourselves – you pick out the stallion, you get the foal, you see it through breaking in and finally making it to the races and, hopefully, winning. That’s what I really love,” she said.

“We had Best Back Bruce’s half-sister Bettor Back Betty and she was a lovely mare (five wins from 19 starts), but I just couldn’t keep her sound.

“By the time we were ready to breed again with the dam Tactical Dream Maker, Bettor’s Delight’s price had gone up so much I looked around for other options – I came up with Lis Mara, and people said I was mad, but that’s the way we went.

“I did have my doubts when I got the photos after Best Back Bruce was born though! He had a huge head and a face only a mother could love!  And even now, when we arrive at the trots everyone knows it’s Bruce – he’s 18 hands, and still got that massive head. But he’s turned out okay. He’s consistent and I think, at last, he’s matured a bit this prep.”

Dianne, Leilani and Lance work a total of around 15 horses between them, and while that’s far cry from the big teams they’ve worked in the past, horses are, and will always be, their priority.

When Globe Derby was one of the powerhouses of Australian harness racing in the 1980s and 1990s Lance and younger brother John were up there with the best.

“My mum and dad had horses in SA with Josie (Lance’s mother and women’s harness racing pioneer) back in the day, then with Lance as well. I grew up at the trots, and I was working full time when I first started going out with Lance.  I eventually ended up at the stables, and when we relocated to Victoria just before the birth of Leilani 22 years ago, it became full time for me at the stables,” she said.

“Leilani was pretty much born with hooves instead of hands.  She had a pony since she could walk and was always an outside kid – if she wasn’t playing horses she was playing with horses,” Dianne said.

“We bought the property at Ballan really to help Leilani and her future because she is always going to have horses.  She was very involved in equestrian and eventing when she was younger, but now it’s harness racing that’s become her focus.

“Nana Josie was always pushing her granddaughters to drive, and she’d be thrilled that Lani’s got both her driver’s and trainer’s licence.

“The win by Best Back Bruce was really a credit the Lani – he has been her project.  Whenever everyone is at their last straw with Bruce and his little quirks, she is the one who has stood up for him and protected him.  She loves him and hopefully he’ll keep repaying her faith!”

For complete race results, click here.

by Terry Gange, for Harnesslink