Patience pays off for Burnham at Pinjarra

Seven-year-old The Freelancer (Sportswriter) has had a fair bit of time between drinks, but on Monday at Pinjarra the Edward Burnham trained harness racing gelding broke through for his first win in just under two years.

After beginning from barrier one on the front-line handicap in the standing start 2116m trip, The Freelancer was able to dictate terms from start to finish, managing to hold off the $2.05 favourite in The Wildcard, with a neck margin separating the two on the line in 2:00:1.

The Freelancer, who was having his 76th start in a race, brought up his sixth career win and broke a whopping 45 start losing sequence in which he had only placed three times.

Purchased by Burnham in May 2023 for just a mere $500, Ed confirmed that he made the mistake of pressing on with the gelding when he first got him instead of following his instincts of spelling the horse, but after a substantial break after his last run in August, Burnham confirmed that the horse came back blossoming.

“I turned him out for a spell down in Cookernup at Thea Rice’s place and he blossomed,

“When I picked him up, I thought ‘this is how this horse should look,

“He hadn’t had a decent break in a very long time.”

Not without his challenges, Burnham mentioned that he had trouble with The Freelancer in the cart, being fractious and hard to handle, a spell and change of bit has done wonders for the seven-year-old.

“I put a Norton bit on him and that got him under control,

“How far he will go though, I don’t know.”

THE FREELANCER REPLAY

Going into Monday’s race, Burnham wasn’t confident of the win, but with the late scratching of the initial favourite of the race Ventura NZ, Burnham soon thought his horse was a top three chance in the smaller field, with the win a welcomed surprise for the local trainer.

Ed Burnham currently has just the two horses in work, with Call To Arms returning to trials tonight at Pinjarra after a shock setback.

“We took him to the vet for another reason and when we were there, they discovered he had a slight tendon issue at the top of the tendon.”

After completing the necessary rehabilitation which included complete box rest and eventually in hand walking the gelding, they’ve brought the seven-year-old up slowly this preparation.

Call To Arms had his last start back in late September 2023, and resumes in trial 3 tonight with Mitchell Miller in the cart.

“We won’t be pushing him in trials.”

The Freelancer has pulled up well after his run on Monday, with Ed hoping to head back to Pinjarra next Monday, March 18.

For complete race results, click here.

by Ashleigh Paikos, for RWWA