February 2000
I imagine that every racehorse owner dreams of owning a Melbourne Cup winner, or a Cox Plate, a Golden Slipper, or to stand in the winners circle after winning the Caulfield Cup.
In trotting, or pacing, the ultimate prize would be an Interdominion victory, a Miracle Mile, a Hunter Cup or even the consolation final of the Interdominian would be a terrific thrill for the owner of that particular horse.
To be good enough and qualify in any of the above races or any other group race for that matter, the neddy would have to be of well above average ability and thus give it’s original purchaser a tremendous amount of pleasure.
Which leads me back to exactly a year before, in February 1999:
Marg and I were driving home on a Sunday morning on our way from Heathcote, where her mum lives. We visit her about 4 or 5 times a year, whenever the opportunity presents itself.
On our way home we take what we call the “scenic route” which goes through Tooborac, to Seymour, from Seymour to Yea through the magnificent Goulburn Valley (a landscape artist’s delight), from Yea to Yarra Glen along the Melba Highway and then home.
It’s a slightly longer journey that the traditional Hume Highway route, bit it’s a much prettier drive, especially on a sunny Sunday morning which it was on that particular day.
Sometimes we stop at Yea for a cold drink or a cup of coffee to break the journey and to change drivers. On that particular morning we needed a toliet break so we drove to the Yea Showgrounds which is situated at the north end of the town.
While I was waiting for Marg I noticed a trotting driver exercising his pacer on a gravel track around the perimeter of the complex. I had my camera handy (what’s new) and I thought the pair might make a nice photograph with the old historic grandstand in the background.
As I was lining them up in my frame, the driver spotted me and called out that he would stop after the next lap, which he did. Marg had emerged from the loo by then and we introduced ourselves to him and he allowed me to take a photo of himself and the horses and also with Marg in the picture.
We thanked him and then he told us he owned the local hotel-motel and that the name of the horse was ‘Ole Black Magic’ which he had just purchased from New Zealand.
“It’s got a lot of ability,” he informed us proudly, “and we expect some big things from it over the next twelve months or so, so keep a look out for it.”
“Sure,” I thought, “Every goddam racehorse ower in the universe reckons he owns a potential world beater. It’ll probably be lucky to win a maiden race at Menangetang.” We thanked him again and went on our way.
To cut a long story short, that very same ‘Ole Black Magic’ won heaps of races, at one time about five in a row, and to top it off he finished a close second in the Interdominion Consolidation final in February 2000 at Moonee Valley, leaving in it’s wake some of the country’s best pacers.
So a chance meeting in February 1999 at the back of the old Yea Showgrounds grandstand turned into quite a significant event in our lives.
As the old saying goes: ‘Never a Dull Moment!’