Trots Centre: Graeme hopes ‘Net breakthrough winner tonight

The clock is ticking and expectations are modest, but if Amunet can pull one out of the bag at Kilmore tonight it will mean the world to the Whittle family.

The 28-start maiden contests tonight’s Buds & Branches 3YO Maiden Trot for trainer Graeme Whittle and wife Carol, and their sons Mattew and Ashley, who are respectively Amunet’s driver and owner.

“That’s what it’s all about,” said Graeme of the family involvement.

And while he wasn’t too optimistic about the filly’s chances, form analyst Craig Rail classed the race a “very open” affair and gave Amunet “the nod” to break through on the strength of her competitive showings either side of qualifying for the Breeders Crown final.

“She’s just a plugger,” Graeme said. “She had a good sit last time three the fence and it was a stronger field. Hopefully she can get a good run at Kilmore.”

Certainly a victory would be quite the timely breakthrough.

Only a tick over a fortnight remains in the 2019-20, which is the first since 1986-87 that Graeme’s been unable to snag a winner. His last success came when Floating Mountain won on August 27 2019, the final week of the previous season.

“I am in a bit of strife,” he joked. “They’ve extended the season, maybe now they can extend the year.”

The trainer’s trots involvement has almost been a lifelong passion, having “been in it more than 50 years”.

“I’m 78 this month, I started when I was 23,” he said. “It’s a great lifestyle now that I’ve retired.”

Some of his greatest success came with Melpark Sunshine, a winner of 18 of her 89 starts and the dam of Amunet, who is by Majestic Son.

“We bought (Amunet) because we raced her dam and when (Melpark Sunshine) went 1.59 in the Matchmaker Mile only two or three others trotters had broken two minutes at the time,” he said.

“Nowadays every three-year-old trotter has got to run two minutes or two minutes one. (Amunet) is lovely to handle, perfect mannered, just lacks that bit of ability.”

But she is “good out of the gate” and “plugs away”, and the Whittles will have fingers crossed that will be enough for her to break through tonight at start 29.

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