Milestone moment breaks the drought for Attard

Kyneton horseman Joe Attard has tasted his share of Group 1 and feature harness racing success over the years – but there was no disguising the thrill of his first driving win in more than three years at Maryborough last Wednesday (May 7).

Attard partnered square-gaiter Buslin Brody (Red Samurai) to victory for his good mate Tony Xiriha in the Redpath Tyre and Battery Trot – saluting at generous odds of $26.

“I didn’t have to do too much – just sit behind the leader and keep him trotting!” Attard laughed.

“It was a pretty good feeling, but in fairness, I haven’t had that many drives in between! My last winner was actually on the same horse (back in October 2021). That was Buslin Brody’s first win for Tony, and he was long odds that day, too.”

The trotter is normally driven by Xiriha’s son Ben, who runs a local firewood business, but the midweek success handed 64-year-old Attard a significant personal milestone – his 150th career driving win.

“Ben’s flat out with the wood over winter, so it’s good I’ll be able to get to drive Buslin Brody for the next few months. Tony’s got him going nicely again,” Attard said.

“I only drive the trotters and not all that often. They’re going so quick these days – by the time I think about making a move in a pacer’s race, the young ones have already done it!” he joked.

Harness racing has always been in Attard’s blood. He was introduced to the sport by his father Vincent, who emigrated from Malta in 1955 and brought his love of horses with him.

“They settled in St Albans then moved to Kyneton.  Dad had a pig and chook farm and would poke around with one or two horses. My brothers and I all got interested – Julian still trains a few and John used to drive,” he said.

“I worked at the Kyneton meatworks and my wife Wendy and I had a good trotter called Southern Land. When he started going well, we moved to Sebastian and decided to have a go at the horses full time, which we did for three or four years.”

With the pacing space of the era dominated by the Vinnie and Bob Knight team, the Attards made a conscious decision to specialise in trotters.

“Then when our kids came along – we had triplets, two boys and a girl – we just felt that the income wasn’t reliable enough. It’s always been a tough game; it was tough then and it’s tougher now. I went back to working at the Kyneton meatworks and Wendy kept training the team.”

Southern Land won 19 of his 117 starts, including the Tatlow, Bathurst Gold Coronet, and the Victorian and South Australian Trotters Derbies. The couple also campaigned top juveniles like Ghia, who won the 1991 Redwood Classic.

Among their best-known older horses were Hope Reins Supreme, an Inter Dominion finalist in 1994; Sammy Do Good, who ran second in the Group 1 Grand Prix; and El Paco, who won 25 races including the Kilmore and Wangaratta Trotters Cups and the Hammerhead.

Wendy tragically passed away seven years ago from a brain aneurysm, and these days Attard juggles horses and grandparenting with his full-time job as trackwork supervisor at the Kyneton Racing Club.

“I’m on my own place with 20 acres, a few stables and my own track, which is only five minutes from work. I start at 3.30 in the morning at the club, but I’m done by 9.30 – the rest of the day is mine,” he said.

“We used to breed a few, but now I just go to the yearling sales and pick one up now and then. I usually name them after my grandkids. I’ve just qualified a two-year-old trotter called Cooper Kai, named after my oldest and youngest grandsons.”

While the passion still burns, Attard admits the Victorian winter takes the edge off his enthusiasm.

“Sometimes I get the urge to put a few more in work – but the winters are pretty cold here in Kyneton,” he laughed.

“In spring and summer, you wouldn’t want to live anywhere else, but in winter, the fewer horses you’ve got, the better!”

From Terry Gange for Harnesslink