Country Victorian hobby trainer Robert Young has spent much of his life involved in the sport of harness racing – but he’s adamant the thrill of winning never gets old!
The trainer-driver, of Balliang East, near Bacchus Marsh, scored his first win in 10 years with square-gaiter Scar (Danny Bouchea) at last week’s (Aug 14) Terang meeting. But the stylish performance showed more wins might not be far away for the pair.
“I was looking for another horse and Scar was advertised for sale. I was at Ballarat when he finished second and thought he’d be worth a go,” Young said.
“I’ve known (previous trainer) David Murphy for a long time and he was great. He told me everything I needed to know about the horse, including all the changes he’d done.
“There’s still a bit to do so we’ll keep experimenting. We aren’t expecting the world, but he’s shown he can be quite competitive. We’re pretty happy and we’ll take the good and the bad!”
Young said after trialling Scar at Bacchus Marsh before his first start with the horse, he found the gelding to be “pretty fierce” when he went up to the barrier at the first attempt.
“So I pulled him out and put him in another trial. The second time I held onto him so that he couldn’t run the gate and he won, so I thought that was the way to get him away safely.”
Young executed the same game-plan at the Terang meeting, allowing Scar to balance and settle from his outside-front barrier draw, then working three wide to the death-seat mid-race.
At the 800-metre mark Scar surged to the front and was too good in the run home, to score by 10 metres.
“I just let him do his own thing but towards the end I was too afraid to look around because he was going a bit rough. He kept going though, and the time wasn’t all that far outside the race record,” he said.
Young’s involvement in the sport of harness racing goes back to the heady days of Melbourne Showgrounds meetings.
“My dad George just loved the horses, so every Saturday night we’d be off to the Showgrounds. I was only very young, but I thoroughly enjoyed it,” Young said.
He later became friends with David Gleeson, the older brother of well-known trainer-driver “Ginger”.
“David went to work with George Gath, father of Brian and Neville, at Deer Park. Each Saturday morning I’d be around there cleaning harness and helping out,” Young said.
“You wouldn’t find a better bloke than George and I picked up a lot of interesting stuff and learnt a lot in those days. At the trots there’d be a fight between David and myself as to who would drive the horses in the marshalling yard prior to the races!
“Later on, I was attending trade school and doing welding, fitting and machinery, and I’d call in at Bob Birthisel’s place on the way to work at 5.30 or 6 in the morning to help out.
“When I was 17 or 18 years old, I got my first horse and from there, one led to another.”
Young would later join his dad at his general engineering workshop at Bacchus Marsh, but the love of horses was always there.
“When a few similar businesses started popping up, I took on trade teaching until 2006, while also enjoying a bit of success with the horses back in the day,” he said.
“I’m stabled at Ginger Gleeson’s place and live about five or 10 minutes away. We’ve had a good and long friendship, and we bounce ideas off each other.
“I wasn’t much good at sport when I was younger, but I love driving the horses at the races. There’s the adrenaline rush, and I enjoy a bit of a challenge, that’s the way I look at it.”
by Terry Gange, for Harnesslink