Track record glory – but happy to share!

The Ralph family, well-known in Victorian country harness racing circles for many years, is understandably over the moon with their talented square-gaiter Blackrange Glory (Tennotrump).

The five-year-old, one of two horses trained by Trevor Ralph at Inglewood, north of Bendigo, put his best foot forward to secure victory at his latest outing.

“He trotted nicely, and we’ve actually been happy with him in his recent runs. I changed a few things, and I reckon a rubber snaffle bit has helped him a lot,” Ralph said.

Blackrange Glory turned in a big effort to score at Horsham last Wednesday (Aug. 7) when driven by Peter Sanderson—and set a new track record in the process.

“We didn’t hold the record on our own for long, though! Our good friend Joanne Franklin won the very next race with her trotter My High Peak in the same mile rate of 2:00.9—so now we share it,” Ralph said.

“And in a bit of a coincidence, trainer-driver Michael Bellman, who won on My High Peak, previously held the record with his horse Majestic Pride.”

Ralph said that he purchased Blackrange Glory after the horse was passed in at a yearling sale.

“For five or six years, I’d go down with a mate Gavin Holt to attend the sales. One year, I didn’t go, and Gavin bought a couple but told me he also saw another really nice one,” he said.

“Gavin said it was a beautiful type and didn’t get sold. So I rang Neville Pangrazio, who had the horse, and after driving up, he looked okay, and we bought him. The dam Gloriadon was trained by Paul Campbell, and while she didn’t win a race, she ran a tick over two minutes.

“We sent him over to Joanne to break him in, and she kept working him and got him to the races. We were busy with the process of selling our business.”

Blackrange Glory ran fourth at Maryborough at his second start and then, after a long spell and back with Trevor, again finished fourth at the same track in June last year.

“We headed off on a holiday to Queensland, and Joanne got him back—and got his first win at Bendigo with Peter Sanderson driving. My wife Marie and son Luke are the owners.”

“He’s always been a hothead of a horse, and when he started to pull, I added more gear. After talking it over with Peter, we decided to go back to basics and take a lot of it off.

“We were thrilled he went so well to win at Horsham. Full credit goes to Peter, who has really had to put up with some horrendous times with him. He’s had to educate the horse right through, and he now seems to be putting it together.”

Ralph has been a passionate force over the years in the square gaiting brigade, alongside Dick Lee, Steve Warren, and others. He took over as secretary when the highly successful Redwood at Maryborough started.

He has also had long-term involvement with the Country Clubs, Square Trotters Association, and the Wedderburn Harness Racing Club, where he served as secretary for 12 years and president for a three-year term.

*Blackrange Glory will compete again at Bendigo tomorrow (Aug 14).  He is drawn barrier 9 in race 6 at 8pm.

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by Terry Gange, for Harnesslink