Persistence wins out for Martin and Haveyoumetted

Matthew Martin broke a drought over 600 days when Haveyoumetted (Guaranteed) saluted for his maiden harness racing victory in the Downtowner 2YO and 3YO Pace at Warragul on Monday.

The three-year-old had to rein in the Kent Harpley-trained Always Be Brendan on his way to a comfortable 8m success for driver Michael Bellman.

That result ended a long wait for the Cranbourne trainer, whose last win came way back on March 2, 2022 with Haveyoumetdaisy.

Martin said Haveyoumetted had battled his fair share of obstacles in the lead-up to his maiden triumph.

“He got kicked by a horse called Rosanna Rebel and fractured his cannon bone,” Martin said.

“We finally got him back to the races, which was three starts ago. He had one run at Geelong and a few days later he was crook, so we took three weeks off, (gave him) a couple of courses of antibiotics and brought him back.”

Martin has always had faith in Haveyoumetted’s ability.

“He’s been working well and I think he should have won his first start if it wasn’t for bad luck in the run,” he said.

“He works with a lot of horses at Cranbourne that are better than him. He can always work past them and finish off strong.”

Although confident, Martin still watched his brown gelding with bated breath.

“Yesterday when I was watching the race, I’m thinking this could be bad here – he’s left exposed here a long way from home,” he said.

“He’s got the Gary Quinlan horse with Chris Alford on his back, which was the favourite.

“But he kicked nice and strong and pulled away.”

The future appears bright for Martin and Haveyoumetted, who will have his next start on Monday, October 31 at Cranbourne.

“I actually don’t know how good he is,” he said.

“The longer I have him, the stronger he keeps getting. He’s getting quicker, and he probably needs a little bit more strength and we will see how he goes.”

For complete race results, click here.

by Lachlan Mitchell, for Harness Racing Victoria