Tuesday night was always going to be a special one for the Abela family, but the performances of Gee Cee Calder and Madena Sky ensured it ended as a truly unforgettable evening at Geelong’s Beckley Park.
The two horses produced the quinella in the Evolution Lodge Trotters Handicap on a night when Balliang trainer Tyrone Abela was celebrating the life of his late father Joe.
The evening also saw the inaugural running of the Joe Abela Memorial 2YO Trotters Classic, which was created to honour a highly-respected individual who was part of the harness racing industry for more than 40 years.
For the majority of Joe Abela’s time in the sport, he was training with the help of son Tyrone. It wasn’t until more recently when they formed an official partnership, with Gee Cee Calder delivering their first shared win in September of 2021. The father-son duo would go on to enjoy seven victories before Joe’s passing in September the following year.
Tyrone remains incredibly passionate about the racing industry and was keen to celebrate his father’s legacy.
“I reached out to Joe Fiala at the Geelong Harness Racing Club last year and said I’d like to do an annual race in honour (of late father Joe) and that I’d like to make it more than a normal race. I contributed to the prizemoney to make it $10,000 with a rug and a trophy,” Tyrone said.
“We had about 15 people there. It’s very rare that the whole family goes to the races. They normally just look at the results. Geelong is our local track, so it was good to have everyone there for Dad’s night.
“Baby trotters are our favourites. We have always had mainly trotters. The two-year-old trotters were always (Dad’s) favourites, that’s why we went for the two-year-old trotters’ race.
“Our favourite two-year-old trotter was our original first good horse, Olympic Idol. She ran a few places as a two-year-old. This is a long time ago now, back in 1993, but that was really the one who started us with trotters and we went from there.”
Tyrone was hopeful of having a starter in the Joe Abela Memorial 2YO Trotters Classic.
“We did have a little two-year-old trotter (Distant Sun) who we were hoping would be in this race, but I was in Europe at the time, so I sent him to Chris and Alison Alford to get him up and going and give him the chance of getting there,” Tyrone said.
“He came to hand a bit quicker than we expected and ran a few races in-a-row. His body probably wasn’t quite ready to stand up for another month or two of racing.
“They did a fantastic job with him. We always put the horses first and we all decided he needed the paddock, so we put him out. As much as it would have been nice to have one in it, of course we put the horses first and out he went.”
While without a starter in the memorial feature, Gee Cee Calder and Madena Sky ensured the night was filled with joy.
Both horses were previously trained in the father-son partnership.
“I knew they both had reasonable chances as they both had been going well,” Tyrone said.
“It was really about manners and in those handicap races you’re really looking for a bit of luck. The mare (Madena Sky) did a really good job to get to the front off 20 metres… it was really good to see her in front.”
When asked how the race winner, Gee Cee Calder, entered the stable, Tyrone highlighted his rocky behavioural issues as a young horse.
“Gee Cee Calder, he is a very funny story,” he said.
“The only reason he sparked my interest was because he was in a race with us a few years ago. We were both in the same race and the horse was a bit naughty, then he wasn’t sighted again until he ended up for sale on Facebook.
“I remember thinking he was such a well-bred horse. I ended up buying him and he’s actually the sweetest, most beautiful horse to deal with now as he’s older.”
Madena Sky, who finished second to her stablemate Gee Cee Calder, is also not without her quirks.
“She’s unique as well,” Tyrone said.
“She only works on the treadmill, she doesn’t work on the track. The only time she sees a track is when she goes to the races or trials. If you try put her on the track to do fast work, she just won’t go.”
Tyrone’s acquirement of a treadmill highlights the quality of the team’s training facilities.
“We have put in a lot of infrastructure over the last year,” he said.
“We have a 1500-metre jog track with an 18-degree incline on the hill, we have a 1200-metre fast work track, a walker and a swimming pool.”
Tyrone also has grand plans for the future.
“The whole idea of Evolution Lodge is to develop it into a boutique pre-training centre… We want to offer a service where they can get the swimming, the hill work, the treadmill work to get them to a high level of fitness.”
