Mattie tickled pink as superstar returns

Superstar trotting mare Pink Galahs steps out for the first time tonight (Friday) after going so close to a clean sweep in her Queensland campaign in July.

The four-year-old, trained at Ecklin, near Terang by Mattie Craven, is one of the top fancies in the $25,000 Group Three Saddleword Shepparton Trotters Cup.

“She had a little break after we got back from the trip up north. I haven’t trialled her, but she’s done very well at home,” Craven said.

“We can get a pretty good guide without trialling her because we’ve got a few here like Mister Moonlite that she can go up against and have a solid hit out,” he said.

“If she had drawn the front row at Shepparton I would have certainly been pushing forward, but we’re coming off the back row, so we’ll see how things pan out.”

Craven said he opted for this event as a lead-up to keep Pink Galahs “ticking along”, with some bigger targets ahead next month.

The astute trainer-driver is focused on the $50,000 Aldebaran Park Bill Collins G1 Trotters Sprint at Melton in three weeks-a feature in which the pair upstaged some more fancied rivals last October, starting at 10/1.

“I’ve also nominated her for the NSW Inter Dominion in November/December. Hopefully we can get up there, but if not there’s a lot of options after Christmas,” Craven said.

Pink Galahs (Skyvalley-Sweetasay (Tennotrump) won both the first and second rounds of the D.J (Darrell) Alexander Trot Championship at Albion Park on July 3 and 10. The mighty mare then produced an awesome performance to take the $52,000 final seven days later in an outstanding 2.00-7 for the standing start 2647m marathon journey. She became the first trotter to go through undefeated.

She then had her colours lowered when third in the $51,000 Maer Group Qld Trot Cup to grand old warrior Tough Monarch, driven by Anthony Butt for trainer Rickie Alchin.

Pink Galahs has 16 wins and seven placings from 31 starts for over $273,000.

The excitement machine is owned by Bryan Healy, his daughter Laura and son-in-law Caleb Lewis.

Laura bred Pink Galahs and her dad, after being impressed by the horse winning on debut, asked if he could buy a share.

It was the Healy family that produced the incredible Maori breeding line which changed the Australia’s square gaiting ranks. Sweetasay, the dam of Pink Galahs, has lines that go back to Maori Miss, dam of Maori’s Idol.

Healy and his father Ric, who were from Marnoo, near Rupanyup in Victoria’s Wimmera had the ride of their life in the 1970s and up to 1981, when they raced Maori’s Idol, the greatest trotter ever seen in Australasia.

Maori’s Idol was by a leading sire of trotters Ike Frost (by Adios). Known as the “Marnoo Marvel”, Maoris Idol was a magnificent looking stallion with explosive speed and won 40 races (eight were against pacers) out of 46-with a record winning sequence of 24 victories.

After his racing career, Maori’s Idol stood at stud and had 183 individual winners of nearly $4M in stakes. They included Digger’s Idol, Dashing Chief, Alabama’s Idol, Kwik Kiwi, Mighty Maori, Kimbo, Laurie’s Legacy and Rainbow’s Idol.

Maori’s Idol died in 2006 and is buried near the Bendigo Harness Racing track gates.

To view the full program for Shepparton’s meeting on Friday, click here.

By Terry Gange for Harnesslink