Teenage harness racing driver Riley Pace admits he may need to rethink his list of favourite Victorian tracks.
“I’ve always enjoyed driving at Ballarat. But now Bendigo has got to be right up there near the top,” the 17-year-old laughed.
Pace broke through for his first race victory with a composed drive aboard Blazin By (Betting Line), trained by his father Darren, at Lords Raceway, Bendigo last Wednesday night (August 20). The win came in the APCO Service Stations Strathdale and Kangaroo Flat 3YO Maiden Pace.
Pace said the emotion of the occasion got the better of him when he gave a big salute as he crossed the line.
“That’s not really me. But I guess there had been quite a build-up to getting my first win and then I finally did it.
“I won’t ever forget it, that’s for sure,” he said.
The young reinsman made his race debut last season, but things are clicking into place in his second year.
“I was just a young kid making mistakes last year, although I did have four placings. But I’ve felt a lot more confident in my second season and recently finished second and third at Cranbourne,” Pace said.
Blazin By is raced by Riley’s grandfather Victor and father Darren, both long-time participants in the sport.
From his backrow draw at Bendigo, Pace quickly speared through to settle one-one before finding himself shuffled back when rivals made early moves.
At the bell he eased out, steadily worked forward, and on the home turn joined the leaders. Blazin By surged past Onyx (Chris Alford, third) and scored by seven metres from favourite Assigned (Anthony Butt, second).
“The horse is a bit green and has done a few things wrong at times. When I pulled the hood the other night, he wanted to run off a little,” Pace said.
“But he let down nicely up the home straight and certainly has some sort of ability.”
The Pace family operate from a 32-acre property at Gisborne, with eight horses in work.
“Dad is a sparky and finishes work at 2pm, then my brother Blake (21) and I get home a little later. I’m doing Year 12 at Salesian College at Sunbury and hope to get an apprenticeship as a trade mechanic in aviation,” Riley said.
“We share the drives around, but I’ve made it pretty clear that Blazin By is my favourite boy! We’ve got a couple of great owners and things are going well.”
