Young driver ringing in a new chapter

Talented harness racing comeback kid, Corey Bell has kick-started his Tasmanian gig in the best possible way—with a winner at his first drive.

Bell, 31, who has landed more than 200 wins, scored on Brian Who (Courage Under Fire) for powerhouse trainer Ben Yole at Friday night’s Launceston meeting.

“Yes, it was pretty good to get the win on the board. We got a perfect trip, and the horse just did enough to score narrowly,” he said.

Bell made it a winning double five races later when he was successful on 18/1 chance The Dude (Bettors Delight). Travelling three back on the pegs, he waited calmly until the home corner and once in the clear, swept to the lead.

“I’d never driven at Launceston before. It felt similar to the Cranbourne track back in Victoria where I come from, but it doesn’t have a sprint lane,” he said.

“I had to wear the club colors (which promote the Women’s Cancer Foundation) which was okay, but I’m now in the process of getting some of my own made up. All the drivers over here seem to have their own.”

Bell said he thoroughly enjoyed his return to the sport as a driver.

“I honestly didn’t think I’d ever get back into it. While I was doing an apprenticeship in bricklaying over the past three years at Bendigo, I really didn’t miss the involvement with the horses,” he said.

“Ben had been onto me for a few years to move to Tassie and give it a shot. In the end I decided I’d make the move and really focus on my driving. I just want to be able to go well enough to earn a good living—hopefully it’s long-term, but I can always go back to bricklaying.”

Bell was just 17 years old when he first landed a job with respected Victorian trainer Greg Norman.

“It was good, but I didn’t get all that many opportunities. Then I went to work in the NSW Riverina for Shaun Snudden and had a lot of success there,” he said.

Bell’s most successful season was in 2014/15 with Snudden, landing 103 wins and 139 placings.  He then moved back to Victoria and later ended up in Sydney with InterDominion winning trainer Kevin Pizzuto.

“Shaun ended up giving it away and now works as a steward. Ben is very similar to the way Shaun operated his stable. Both are pretty laid back, but they’ve both got solid work ethics,” he said.

“I’ve been in Tasmania now for a little over a week and it’s been pretty full on. The first time at a meeting when I was involved with gearing up 40 horses before the first race was an eye-opener.

“But it’s all very organized and everyone knows what their jobs are. I’ll get used to it though obviously, because Ben consistently takes big numbers to each meeting.”

Bell has family members connected with the sport—his mother Lisa Hardy trains at Kyabram, while younger brother George is working for the Glenn and Julie Douglas stable at Strathfieldsaye, near Bendigo.

“I was a bit worried about the weather before I got over here. But I haven’t found it to be too bad yet,” he said.

by Terry Gange, for Harnesslink