Success for 86 year old trainer

Two-year-old pacer Layden (Rocknroll Heaven) has vindicated his 86-year-old Victorian trainer Charlie Attard’s decision to go “one more time” to the harness racing yearling sales in 2021.

Layden, out of the Lifesign mare Ruby Slippers, broke through for his maiden win at Geelong (Dec 26), giving the octogenarian his first win in four years in Sail to the Mornington Peninsula 2YO Pace.

For complete Geelong race results, click here.

“He finished strong and it’s a good thing when a young horse finishes strong,” Attard, of Sunshine, near Melbourne, said.

“I was very happy with him. The couple of runs before he had run second and third and I thought he was ready to win.  But he came from last and he flew home and that was the best part,” he said.

Attard, who took a break from his annual purchasing at the yearling sales for a few years, bounced back at the encouragement of family.

“I wasn’t going to buy this horse, I’d said ‘that’s it, no more buying from the sales’, but my grandson Ian said ‘Nonno, you’re alright you should have one again.  And so I did, and I’m glad I did,” he said.

“I get up in the morning and make breakfast and then I know where I am going and what I need to do with working the horse.

“At my age, it keeps you fit.  And what else am I going to do?  Go to the plaza and sit on a bench and watch people go past?  That’s not for me!

“My dad, uncles and cousins all had horses and my cousin Bill is 82 and he still trains horses too.”

Attard has never bred horses, but his love of the animal has been lifelong.

“I came out from Malta with my family in 1955 and we had horses back at home,” he said.

“I started mucking around at the races and help people at the stables and I ended up buying a horse – then when I thought it was good enough to go to the trials I tried for the licence, and I’ve had one or two ever since.

“We had a pig farm at Sydenham, and I had a neighbor who had a track and I would work my horses there.  Then when we sold the farm my son Mario bought a property at Rockbank and we built a track there.”

Attard has had some handy horses over the years, including Steel Dawn (12 wins); Bells and Whistles (eight wins from his first 10 starts and 12 in his career); and Im The Boss (19 wins).

Layden is out of the handy mare Ruby Slippers (Life Sign) who is out of the brilliant Bruce Morgan-trained race mare Mother Courage (Stoneridge Scooter) (30 wins) and was a $17,000 purchase at the APG 2021 Melbourne sale.

“This horse Layden is great for me because he is only two, and still a colt, but he is a very quiet fellow.  A lovely horse to have around.  Even if something happens on the track, I can jump off the sulky and fix it and get back in again,” he said.

“The yearling sales are coming up.  I’ll definitely go.  But I’m not sure if I will buy one this time.  Ian is telling me I need another one to keep me busy, but we’ll see.  You never say never!”

by Terry Gange, for Harnesslink