Rickie busy getting the winners

To suggest that Sydney trainer Rickie Alchin has been a busy man is quite an understatement.

The accomplished horseman has been campaigning horses in the three eastern states and grappling with the challenges of the ongoing and varying Covid-19 restrictions all the way through since the outbreak originated early last year.

“We have had a busy time over the past year and particularly in the past month, It is a great credit to all of my team at Menangle for being able to keep things rolling, especially when I am away,” said Alchin.

On Saturday night at Tabcorp Park Menangle Alchin’s stable star Tough Monarch proved yet again that he was one of the best square-gaiters in Australasia when he was able to post his 27^th career win to edge closer to accumulating a half million-dollar milestone, which appears imminent.

The gelding again broke the 2300m Menangle track record for trotters and did it with ease, clearing out to win by 11 metres over the David Aitken-trained Big Jack Hammer and Darren Hancock’s pair Drop The Hammer and Monaro Mia.

“We were really happy with our bloke on Saturday night, he is probably the best he has ever been both in condition and his frame of mind and for him to break the track record again was unreal,” said a satisfied Rickie Alchin.

“I am currently in Queensland and spoke to Robbie (Morris, driver) after the race and he was wrapped in the way Tough Monarch travelled in the run and then put his opposition away in the run home.

“He is now heading up to me here in Queensland for a tilt at the Trotters Cup, which is on in two weeks’ time, and all going well, he should be one of the favoured runners going into that race.”

By Michael Dumesny for HRNSW