Shock Globe Derby success a story to warm the heart

The amazing generosity of complete strangers was front of mind for South Australian hobby harness racing trainer Phil Westbury when his lightly-raced four-year-old gelding scored at Globe Derby early this week.

Giftedfromtheheart, who broke his maiden on Monday at odds of $71, is the product of some thoughtful Victorian horsepeople, who banded together to help the 69-year-old in his time of need.

Westbury was a brutal victim of the 2015 Pinery fires, losing horses and pets as his property was wiped out by the blaze.

To help get Westbury’s breeding and training operation back on its feet, well-known Victorian trainer-driver Steve Cleave arranged to send All By Chance – a mare he previously trained that was owned by Tony Polidano – to Alabar Stud Farm, where general manager Brett Coffey and director Alan Galloway had agreed to provide a free service to top stallion Shadow Play.

The mare stayed at Alabar until Westbury had rebuilt and was in a position to take horses, and then travelled to his property in foal before giving birth to the horse that is now known as Giftedfromtheheart.

“At the time, we’d just lost everything. We’d lost five horses – three of them were last-start winners at Globe Derby – and we’d gone back to Mallala to get cleaned up and get some clothes to wear. We were driving the next day back to the property to have a look, so that’s 24 hours after the fire,” Westbury said.

“On the way there, I got a phone call. And the phone call was about what these people were going to do.

“It was so emotional because it was so close. It wasn’t weeks after, it was hours after.”

Giftedfromtheheart had run just one placing before Monday’s success, but Westbury is expecting the horse to go on and score many more wins down the track.

“He’s special to the whole family. We watched him grow up and it would have been nice for him to win as a two-year-old and a three-year-old, but he just wasn’t there for that,” Westbury said.

“And I’ve always kept Steve in the loop, every six months or something like that.”

Giftedfromtheheart’s triumph was the first leg of an extraordinary running double for Westbury, with stablemate Giant Jackson winning the following race at odds of $81.

And if you were wondering… yes, he backed them both.

WATCH GIFTEDFROMTHEHEART’S WIN BELOW: