Twist of fate makes first win a special one

There have been plenty of twists in the tale of four-year-old trotter Twist Tee (Down Under Muscles) – but giving his owner-breeder Sally McPherson her first win as a harness racing trainer was undoubtedly one of the best.

“It’s been a long time coming!  To get that first win ticked off for both him and me, it was pretty special,” McPherson said after Twist Tee took out the Pacing for Pink Maiden Trot at Shepparton (Mar 18).

“When you breed a horse, it takes quite a long time before you know if they’re any good and he was the first horse I ever bred. It felt like a Triple Crown to me!”

It wasn’t just more than four years of waiting.  Twist Tee endured a tough start to life, when his dam, Gotta Win To Eat (Bacardi Lindy) rejected him at birth.

Fortunately, Sally, who works at Northern Rivers Equine and Llowalong Farms, was in the right place at the right time.

“I foaled him down at Llowalong and he was a big foal when he was born, but he was his mum’s first and she just didn’t want anything to do with him,” Sally said.

“There was another mare there at the time, though, Picobello (NZ), who had a bad foaling and lost her foal on the same day.  She is a beautiful mare, pacing bred, and she was just a lovely mum to Twist Tee – they were a nice match,” she said.

“He had a lot of handling as a youngster because he had a few things going on, but he was a friendly foal and that’s flowed on to his adult life.”

Twist Tee was driven to victory by Sally’s partner Steven Lindberg, who introduced her to harness racing when they met.

“We’re at the family property at Echuca, called Kanyapella Park, which Steven’s dad Peter set up 30 years ago.  They did a great job, and we have everything we need here, with a fastwork track and a jog track,” she said.

“I came from a dairy and beef cattle background at Bunbartha.  We had ponies that we would ride on the property and down the roads, but I was really introduced to the standardbreds when I met Stephen.

“He was driving a lot back then.  The horses were a big part of his life and I couldn’t believe how wonderful they were – I just fell in love with them.”

Steven operates Echuca Steel Sheds, and set aside driving in 2018. But when Sally became involved in breeding trotters, he got his licence back in 2024 – the same season in which Sally took out her trainer’s licence.

“I wanted to take out my licence when Peter was struggling a little bit.  He’s a bit fitter now and training a horse again, but Steven decided at the same time to get his driver’s licence back, which was great, because he has a really good knack with the horses,” she said.

“I must admit I do like my trotters, but Steven likes the pacers as well. We’ve got a three-year-old who’s just qualified and shouldn’t be too far off hitting the track, a two-year-old, a yearling in the paddock and a mare in foal and with a foal at foot!

“Everyone has their heart horse though, and Twist Tee is mine because of his start to life.  All those years, and now to get the win with him – I did have a tear in the eye!”

Hoofnote: Twist Tee’s surrogate mum Picobello is the dam of two foals herself – Interest Free (Art Major) (15 wins) and Ozzie Punta (Betting Line) (11 wins).

by Terry Gange for Harnesslink