James still enjoying that winning feeling

Enthusiastic Melbourne hobby trainer James Elliott reckons he got spoilt when he started out in the sport more than 30 years ago with a first-up winner at the old Moonee Valley harness racing track.

Elliott, who usually only has one in work, still bobs up in the winner’s circle along with a handful of placings from an average of about 20 starters each season.

“I got interested back in 1989 when one of my mates had a horse with the late Billy Hogan,” Elliott said.

“It just went from there and I eventually got a horse of my own, which I leased, named Lee Beau,” he said.

Elliott, who lives at Gladstone Park, near Tullamarine, said the horse won two trials, before landing the money at a Monday Moonee Valley meeting.

“He went on to win four or five, but he had tendon issues in both legs, and I was advised to give him hill work or jog him on hard surfaces,” he said.

“I’ve been at the Tulla Downs training complex since I started out, so the best I could do at the time was train the horse up the top of the track which was the firmest part.

“I ended up losing Lee Beau. He got bitten by a snake which was sad because he was such a tough racehorse.”

Elliott was recently back in town – this time Melton – to cheer home his latest acquisition, five-year-old gelding Beatboxer (Well Said), courtesy of a polished drive from popular Victorian freelancer Michael Bellman.

“I race Beatboxer with my wife Linda, and we didn’t pay all that much for him. I’ve had a few problems and he’s been a hard horse to get going. He was overweight and also his shoeing has been a bit tricky,” he said.

“I’ve also had to put a bag of straw in the back of the float because he’s a bit of a kicker and even at the track that night he went swisho a couple of times and just missed kicking me.

“I warned Mick to be careful and I don’t think the horse was all that nice in the warm-up before the race, but he got the winner’s cheque, and that’s what counts.  He always seems to hit a flat spot in his races, but then knuckles down and really gets going and thanks to Mick taking all the short cuts he got there.

“I was hoping he could earn a bit more stakemoney before we head off on a 12-day holiday to Vietnam, but he cut his leg in the paddock so he’s out for a spell.”

Over the years Elliott has shown a good eye for a bargain.

“We’ve paid just $500 for a few and a bit more for some others so we’ve had lots of fun.”

Back in 2010, Elliott produced Beau Dilinger (D M Dilinger) to win at Geelong at 40/1 and then dead heated to win next start at Yarra Glen ($20).

“I can’t remember exactly how much we won, but it was somewhere around $20,000 which was enough to put down a deposit on a house. Beau Dilinger was a great horse and ended up winning 11 races,” he said.

Other handy horses in the Elliott stable have been All Aussie Star (five wins, 22 placings), Tejays Candyman (five wins), Lee Beau and Illawong Jovial (four wins each).

Elliott said he and several other trainers were recently faced with a dilemma as the Tulla Downs complex has been sold and they need to be out by next month.

“A few have been lucky to find a new base, but I’m still looking,” he said.

“After all these years of driving out of home and heading up the road to Bulla, it’s going to be quite different. I work at the wharves so ideally, I don’t want to be travelling miles away. But hopefully someone can help me out.”

by Terry Gange, for Harnesslink