Unhoppled memories relived once again

Prominent Sydney harness racing team Robert and KerryAnn Morris aren’t afraid to try the unorthodox to get a horse to click – but it’s a rare success story to “throw away the hopples” on a two-year-old.

The husband-and-wife team took a chance back in 2013 when they switched gelding Avonnova to be a free-legged pacer and he immediately gained a new lease of life.

Now their lightly-raced youngster Im Bills Last (Sweet Lou-Collecting (Bettors Delight) hasn’t put a foot wrong without hopples with wins at Goulburn and more recently Bathurst on Wednesday night.

“There’s also been a few others that we’ve done it with over the years. Some of them are just more comfortable and Im Bills Last has certainly turned his attitude around,” KerryAnn said.

“He was a bit of a handful, and always trying to get out of doing things, such as going out onto the track and so we were being quite patient with him,” she said.

“He did his first prep with hopples, but this time in Rob just decided one day when he was training him to leave them off and gallop him—so of course all he did was pace!

“We weren’t too fazed, so he did a few trials and has raced free-legged this prep for two wins and a couple of Menangle placings.

“He was the last one bred by Bill Green, a big owner, who died a few years ago. His son John has now taken over all the horses.”

KerryAnn said she still fondly remembers when the couple had Avonnova in their stable and decided to try him as a free-legged pacer.

“He was getting stale and at the time his races were very strong with the likes of Beautide running around in them. Before we took the hopples off, we thought he was ready to be retired,” she said.

“He certainly stepped up. I think we won eight races with him and he would have been unhoppled in six of these,” KerryAnn said.

“I drove him to win at Goulburn where he got claimed. He then went north to Queensland and did a super job,” she said.

Under the care of Ian Gurney, bay gelding Avonnova (Art Major-Mini Slick (Maple Lanes Strike) won a mighty 35 races, most of these being at Brisbane’s Albion Park.

“I claimed him so I could have a horse that could race at Albion Park every Saturday night. But I got lucky and ended up with a horse of a lifetime—I probably enjoyed the best time of my life, thanks to that horse,” Gurney said when the horse retired.

Avonnova finished with 55 wins and 57 placings from 178 starts for stakemoney just $33,000 short of the magical $1 million mark.

The Turners plan to compete at Bathurst on a regular basis now that the regions have been reopened.

“It’s a three-hour road trip each way. We do have to go over the Blue Mountains, but the roads have been improved and it’s now not too bad,” KerryAnn said.

After winning the $6630 Happy Birthday Greg Murray Pace with Im Bills Last, they made it back-to-back wins when Fear Cruisin (Christian Cullen-Fear Flying (Bettors Delight) was successful in the Love You Pop from Hudson and Austin Pace.

“We also had Pembrooks Passion in at the meeting. He did okay to finish sixth after doing a bit too much work in a race run in record time,” she said.

The couple, with a son Archie, who turns five next Wednesday, are expecting another child early next year.

“I’m due in April—and it can’t come fast enough,” KerryAnn laughed.

Terry Gange

NewsAlert PR Mildura