Wahlstrom feels the ‘adrenaline rush’ after first training winner

“It was an adrenaline rush.”

Is how Brett Wahlstrom described registering his first win as a harness racing trainer when Kardesler took out the Lather Up Standing at Woodlands Stud Pace at Cranbourne on Sunday night.

The 59-year-old had to compose himself after the gelding piloted by Michael Bellman found the line.

“It was good, it was just my third start as a trainer,” Wahlstrom said.

The Croydon based horseman has had a long journey in harness racing which started in South Australia.

“I first got into it (harness racing) in Kapunda in South Australia, when my parents bought a pub and we use to run the bar at the trotting track,” he said.

“We use to have Graeme Lang and Vin Knight come and stay at our pub in the 80’s. We had some amazing horses come over and that Is how I got into harness racing.”

Wahlstrom, who also owns ,Kardesler had to give up training duties to look after his son.

“My son started having panic attacks and I had to be home full-time and I rang Leilani (Justice) and said can you look after him,” he said.

“She took him and raced him seven times and she said ‘he went a bit sore’, so I took him back and have just been treating him and here we are.”

Wahlstrom has found the very simple key ingredients to success.

“You just have to keep the horse happy, I think,” he said.

by Lachlan Mitchell, for Harness Racing Victoria