Harry Coffey teamed with a powerhouse stable to win the Caulfield Cup and he’s doing the same with his quest to harness racing’s newest slot race, the $125,000 Running of the Bulls at Birchip on Sunday.
Coffey, who rode the Ciaron Maher-trained Duke De Sessa to win the 2024 Caulfield Cup, has used his Birchip slot to team with premier harness trainers Emma Stewart and Clayton Tonkin and their emerging pacer Meteor Moth.
“They had another horse in mind (High Above), but went amiss so we’ve landed on Meteor Moth as the back-up,” he said. “I’m told he’s a nice horse, but there might be a little query about him around the tight Birchip track.”
While Coffey is hopeful of a bold showing, taking a slot in the inaugural Running of the Bulls was as much about bringing his family together in the town originated from.
“There’s a lot of Coffeys,” he laughed. “Dad (Austy) is the youngest of 10 kids and they came from Birchip. It was Gareth Hall (racing media) who first mentioned taking a slot to me and when I asked Dad about it, I could see how excited he got.
“So we set about taking a slot and getting lots of the family as shareholders and then turning the day into something of a family reunion. I reckon there will be 40-50 of us trackside on Sunday.
“It clashes with an Echuca race day which has been very good to me over the years, but I can’t possibly skip Birchip now I’ve pulled so many of the family together for it.”
Coffey, who has ridden over 1000 winners including three at Group 1 level, said kept an interest in harness racing and his father (Austy) had actually trained a harness winner.
“Yes, he could tell you where. I think it was Horsham or Nyah,” he said. “My interest in the trots drops in and out a bit. I’m driven home from Melbourne to Swan Hill so often on Saturday nights. In footy season I’ll listen to that, but outside of that I’ll have RSN (radio) on, listening to the trots.
“I’ve taken more of an interest in the past six months with all the great racing and stars in the game at the moment.”
While thrilled Coffey took his tip and bought a slot in the Running of Bulls, Hall, host of SENTrack’s “Giddy Up” show, said he was focused on beating him with the little-known Wicked Confession on Sunday.
“Forget about Harry Coffey, Wicked Confession is the story of the race,” he said. “We’ve taken her with our Giddy Up slot and she’s got under everyone’s guard.
“Tayla French bought her for just $3000 a few weeks ago, she’s come out and won both runs for Tayla and (partner) Alex Ashwood by huge margins and reckon she’ll win this, too. Imagine buying a horse for $3000 and winning a $125,000 race a few weeks later.”
Wicked Confession won her first start for French and Ashwood by a staggering 66.8m at Mildura on February 18 and returned to the same track a week later to win by almost 30m.
“The race is a preferential draw and because she’s on the up, she gets barrier one. She’ll lead and take a heck of a lot of running down,” Hall said.
“Just to ice the cake, we’ve gone out and got the best in the business to drive her in James Herbertson, too.”
Herbertson will return to feature race driving a health scare just hours after winning last Friday night’s $100,000 Group 1 Newcastle Mile on remarkable warhorse Bulletproof Boy.
After Birchip on Sunday, Herbertson’s focus will switch to reuniting with Bulletproof Boy in the $1 million Group 1 Miracle Mile at Menangle six days later.
