Gold for Gadsdens in more ways than one

Victorian harness racing hobby trainer Jeff Gadsden and his wife Jennie celebrated their golden wedding anniversary last Friday – and went within metres of landing a double at their Mildura home track to celebrate.

“It was our 50th wedding anniversary so it was a pretty exciting day,” Gadsden said.

The stable recorded a win with in-form gelding Im Stuck Man (Sunshine Beach) in the Tasco Petroleum Pace and then two races later finished runner-up with Mustang Max (Village Jolt) in the Ashwood Racing Pace.

Im Stuck Man has now won three of his past five starts and is living up to his early promise. The pacer has notched up four career wins—all this season.

“We bought him at the Adelaide yearling sales and as a two-year-old he ran some nice races. I always thought he was going to make it and just needed a bit of time,” Gadsden said.

“He’s one of those types that you aren’t sure just how hard to work at home. After running three or four second placings straight back in June, he went off the boil. Our son (Charlton trainer) Michael who does the most of our driving, thought it might have been time to give him a spell.

“I feed mainly lupins and decided to put him on oats. That certainly got him up on his toes, but he also started to get a little aggro so it was a bit of trial and error.

“Then we made some changes to his headgear and he’s back racing well.”

With Michael racing his own team at Melton on the same night as the Mildura meeting, Charlton-based concession driver Abby Sanderson got the opportunity on Im Stuck Man.

“It was great that Abby got the win because she’s run a few seconds for us – she reckons that she usually gets him spot-on for Michael who then jumps on and gets the money!” Gadsden joked.

Gadsden said Im Stuck Man had a beautiful nature.

“I broke him in myself, and he’s never tried to kick or anything like that. His mother had only a few foals, but a couple of them, Licinia (Changeover – 11 wins) and Scrawl (Sportswriter – 9 wins) went along okay.”

Gadsden, who grew up in the Murray River town of Robinvale, 100km east of Mildura, said he “lived” on horses from an early age.

“An uncle had them and I’d go to his place so I could learn to ride on the ponies. Later I was on the bigger horses working with sheep and cattle. That was up until I was old enough to get a car and drive,” he said.

Jeff and Jennie, who was a Walpeup girl, west of Ouyen, were married in the small township’s Anglican Church on October 6, 1973.

When the newlyweds later moved to a farm, they couldn’t help but notice standardbreds being trained in the area.

“We’d see (trainer-driver) Brian McGinty working his pacers around the roads, while near us and his brother Dick would go up and down Arumpo Road, out of Euston,” he said.

“When I got the chance to drive one, I just let him run along—and that was it!  The adrenaline kicked in. I leased one to start off with which didn’t do much good, but later another local horseman Alby Adcock gave me a horse named Beau Walk (Kim Adios).

“Alby had horses everywhere and he offered me a lease. Beau Walk had been injured as a two-year-old and was four when I got him, but he was a tough old horse who gave us a few wins.”

by Terry Gange, for Harnesslink