As the stars of harness racing prepare for one of the biggest nights on the calendar, a special story emerged from one of the sport’s little players on Boxing Day.
Michael Azzopardi, a hobby horseman from Toolern Vale, produced a memorable moment at Ballarat’s annual post-Christmas meeting when he scored victory with young squaregaiter Abbracciami.
The horse’s dominant 28.3m win on debut in the Plover Security 3YO Maiden Trot was Azzopardi’s first as a trainer and driver.
The 57-year-old has dabbled in training over the years – with a handful of runners through 2005, 2009 and 2016 – but had never driven in a race until Sunday night.
“I was a bit nervous prior to the race, but once I was on the track I was fine,” he said.
Despite his novice status in training and driving, Azzopardi has owned and bred many horses over the years, including Abbracciami.
“I’ve been with horses a very long time, but I went to Malta and France in 2009 and 2015 and saw the trotters,” Azzopardi said.
“When I came back, I said I wanted to get into the trotters. I went to a sale in New Zealand and bought his mother (Another Starlet). She was in foal, I brought her back and I’ve still got her.
“I actually offered him (Abbracciami) at the yearling sale, but I passed him in because I thought he was worth more even though it was a substantial amount of money.
“He’s had a few problems along the way, and he’s just started to fire and go well for me in the last couple of months.”
Abbracciami’s mother Another Starlet has had significant success as a broodmare, with Enghien (15 wins, $377,441), Millburn Michael (19 wins, $136,316) and Gammel Dansk (16 wins, $86,905) among her most prolific progeny.
Jilliby Bandit claimed Sunday night’s feature race, the Sokyola Sprint, with a classy front-running display.
Trained by Margaret Lee and driven by her son Jason, the seven-year-old capitalised on the absence of New Zealand star Copy That to win his 19th career race.
Copy That is understood to have sustained a hairline fracture in a leg after a paddock mishap on Sunday and is likely to require a significant period on the sidelines.
Meanwhile, Alison Alford-trained Wobelee scored his first success since July 2020 when he sprinted past favourite McLovin to win the John Valves Trotters Free For All.