Still a winner, at 88 years young

Charlie Attard has prepared some brilliant horses over the years, but as he nears his 88th birthday, he’s hinting that recent Melton Entertainment Park harness racing winner Layden (Rocknroll Heaven) may just be the last that he trains.

“I’m very healthy, but I’m slowing down a bit. I always buy something at the yearling sales, but this year I didn’t even bother going to any of them,” Attard, of Sunshine, near Melbourne, said.

“Layden is only a four-year-old, so he’s got a few seasons left in him. I got a really good offer to sell the horse, but I don’t need the money and I’ll be honest and say that he gives me something to do.

“I’m just at home by myself. When I get up and have breakfast, then I know I’ve got a 15-minute drive, providing the traffic is good, out to stables owned by my son Mario at Rockbank.

“He’s a beautiful horse. He’s got good manners, he’s a very good traveller in the float and no problems with shoeing. He’s from a family that have all been the same – just nice to have around.”

Layden, driven by Hamilton reinswoman Jackie Barker, was an $8 chance in taking out the Lifestyle Communities Pace at Melton last Friday (Feb 16). It was his sixth win from 34 starts.

“I’m very happy using Jackie because they seem to run for her. She’s a nice young girl; always happy and pleasant and I think she’s had two third placings and now the win,” Attard said.

The octogenarian has always enjoyed horses – a passion that goes back to the early 1950s when his family had them in Malta.

“I came out in 1955 and started helping people at the stables. Then I bought a horse, got a licence and I have had one or two at a time ever since,” he said.

“When I was young, I worked in factories, then later drove trucks. I ended up with a pig farm at Sydenham for 25 years and a neighbor had a training track where I would work the horses. When we sold out, my son Mario got a property at Rockbank, and we put a track in there.”

Attard enjoyed race driving up until the age of 70 and proudly tells how he successfully competed at both the old Melbourne Showgrounds and Moonee Valley track.

Some of his former star-studded pacers included Im The Boss (19 wins), Steel Dawn (12 wins), Mister Allenby (10 wins) and Bells and Whistles (12 wins, eight of these in his first 10 starts).

“I was lucky enough to drive Steel Dawn to a few of his wins at Moonee Valley, while my cousin Julian also won on the horse,” Attard said.

“While I’ve had a lot of fun, I’m very lucky with my good health. I can still lift feed into the car and I reckon I could still shoe a horse if I had to!”

by Terry Gange, for Harnesslink