Childhood memories came flooding back to Leroy Malseed in Terang last night.
Breeder and part-owner of debutante winner Colossal Hope, Malseed found himself reminiscing about his grandfather, Kevin, for several reasons.
Firstly, it was Kevin who ignited Malseed’s passion for harness racing, secondly Kevin owned horses with trainer Jim Edwards, with his grandson, Shannon, preparing Colossal Hope, and thirdly, race winning photos.
“My grandfather had horses with Jim and now their grandsons are winning races together, so it is pretty emotional,” Malseed said. “Shannon and I bred him, which adds to the occasion.
“We’ve also got our mate Damian Bell in him as an owner, so it was a special moment.
“To top it all off, I’ll be getting my race photo…I can’t tell you the names of my grandfather’s horses, but I do remember the race photos on the wall!”
With Matthew Craven in the cart, Colossal Hope was caught wide from barrier five before being settled outside the leader, Jilliby Kymy Lou.
Reaching the front in the final straight, the gelding scored by a half-neck from the pacemaker, with Talkbabytalk seven-and-a-half metres away third.
“He does go well enough, but we didn’t know what to expect as he is very green,” Malseed said. “He runs around a bit and is still learning how to race.
“Shannon only trains one or two, so quite often they don’t work with another horse, so they learn at trials and races.
“He’s a four-year-old and has taken a while to come to hand because he was a big boof-headed type, then he got a leg injury last year which set him back.
“Now he’s got a win at his first start, it is all the sweeter knowing what it has taken to get him to the races.”
