Rosario singing Crunch Time praises

World renowned operatic tenor Rosario La Spina had every reason to be hitting the high notes in Brisbane earlier this week! La Spina, along with his father Alf and family, are passionate harness racing owners and they would have been applauding the performance of their talented pacer Crunch Time (Somebeachsomewhere-The Arch Nemesis (Jeremes Jet) at Albion Park on Tuesday.

The youngster, prepared by astute Menangle horseman Rickie Alchin, set a new track record for three-year-olds at Albion Park, stopping the clock at 1.51-1 for the 1660 metre trip with Nathan Dawson in the sulky.

His time shaved a second off the previous record held jointly by Jiggle And Jive (January 24 this year) and Burnaholeinmypocket (July 4, 2015).

To watch the replay of Crunch Time click here.

The victory added to a highly rewarding northern campaign for Alchin, who has recorded 26 winners since making Redcliffe his base about five weeks ago.

"This is the third year we've done the trip and this time we've rotated 12 horses through. It's been great because we've won with every horse with the exception of Puma Road, who has one more chance before we head back home," Alchin said.

"I think we've got five more runners and then it's a case of pack up our suitcases on Sunday and that's it until next time," he said.

Alchin said Crunch Time had the potential to develop into one of his best and would now be aimed at the Breeders Challenge in three weeks at Penrith.

Crunch Time set a new 3yo track record at Albion Park this week 

"He's a very nice horse and now a very fast one-he deserved that win because his previous start was great when he finished runner-up," he said.

"We've had Crunch Time all along and he's contested every Group One series from the Gold Crown, APG heats and finals, the Gold Chalice and both NSW and Qld Derbies.

"I drove him at his first few starts during this trip, but then decided to stick with Nathan (Dawson) who developed a good affinity with him. Let's just say the horse can be quirky, but Nathan knows all of his tricks!"

Annual pilgrimages to the Sunshine State are now a fixture on the winter calendar of Alchin and his partner Nikki Pagan, thanks to their partnership with Crunch Time's owner Rosario La Spina and family.

Brisbane born and raised, Rosario was a bricklayer in his family's business until a work accident when he was 23 gave him time to take singing lessons. The rest is history.

Rosario was recommended to attend the conservatorium to study voice and gain stage experience and his career snowballed rapidly from the year 2000, leading him to roles with leading opera houses and orchestras all over the world. La Spina's wife is mezzo-soprano Milijana Nikolic, while his singer/songwriter sister is Anna-Maria La Spina.

Although opera and harness racing might seem poles apart, Alchin said the La Spina family had an absolute love for the sport.

"They have stables in Redcliffe near the track and we've got a holiday unit about five minutes away, so it all works out nicely," Alchin said.

"They are fantastic owners – so loyal and passionate. All of them thoroughly enjoy the sport and it's great to see."

Alchin said the northern trip this year was more about work than holiday.

"But it's been great because Nikki got up here for a while and I did get to do a little bit of fishing," he said.

"Our stable workers in Tom Downey and Ricky Hunt were supposed to come up, but the coronavirus situation prevented that. We couldn't have done it without them, though, because they kept the team of around 20 horses ticking over at home.

"Nikki's loved it because she's continuing to show me up as a driver! She's been licensed for three years and doesn't do all that much race driving back home, but she's been on fire up here with nine wins and a second from 13 goes.

"I think she saves herself for the winter trip in Queensland because she seems to drive with so much more confidence up here. But her overall strike-rate would be awesome-way better than mine!"

Terry Gange

NewsAlert PR Mildura