The Sanderson family could have been forgiven for never wanting to return to the Charlton Harness Racing Club following young Ryan’s terrible race fall there back in October of last year.

The 17-year-old driver had to be flown to The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne following the incident, which sidelined him from the races for about a month.

But in a twist of fate, that accident actually proved the catalyst for Shane Sanderson and Family Racing to move its base from Menangle in New South Wales to the thriving Charlton Training Centre.

Charlton president Joe Thompson had been in regular contact with the family in the period after Ryan’s fall, and soon talks shifted to a move down south.

“He was in close contact with us the whole time and we were back in Victoria for some reason, so I went out to see him to just thank him for everything he’d done,” Shane said.

“He showed us around and it went from there basically.”

It’s hard for things to have started much better in Charlton, with the team producing three winners from seven runners out of the new base, including a double at Swan Hill on Tuesday night with Sea Hawke and Leigha Miller.

Shane Sanderson began training in the mid-1990s in Queensland before moving to New South Wales about five years ago. He has prepared 564 winners, highlighted by the 2010 Group 1 Australian Pacing Gold 3YO Colts and Geldings Final victory by Maywyn Jasper.

Sanderson said one of the key reasons behind the move to Charlton was the opportunities it presented for his and wife Naomi’s children in the sulky, with 15-year-old daughter Abbey to soon join her brother Ryan – a winner of 28 races - on the track.

“…an opportunity came up to go to Charlton and I thought it was pretty central for a lot of tracks. I just thought we’d give it a go (as) a good opportunity for everyone basically,” he said.

“We have enjoyed a bit of success on the track, but apart from that, the committee and everybody in Charlton is very helpful, very obliging and pleasant and can’t do enough for you.”

The arrival of Shane Sanderson and Family Racing is another boost to a flourishing training centre that has recently been boosted by the arrival of Greg Norman, as well as Michael Gadsden and Denbeigh Wade.

“We probably started out about 15 (horses) and numbers are sort of going up a bit at the moment pretty quickly, so we’d be happy to get up to about 25,” Sanderson said.

The Sanderson stable will send a team of five to the Greggs Electrical Ouyen Pacing Cup meeting on Sunday, including three that will line up in the $14,500 feature.

* pictures courtesy of Kieran Iles, Bendigo Advertiser