They say behind every great man is a great woman and that’s certainly the case with Chris Alford and his wife Alison. 

As the champion reinsman closes in on a record 8000 career wins – he’s at 7988 as of January 15, 2024 - Alison has reflected on the highs and lows of the journey she has ridden for close to 20 years. 

The 55-year-old drove his first winner back on October 2, 1984, at Wangaratta with a gelding called Spring Vance. Back then, Prince had the number one hit and Arnold Swarzenegger uttered “I’ll be back” for the first time. 

Close to 40 years later, Alison puts her husband’s longevity in harness racing down to just one thing. 

“It comes down to he loves it,” Alison said. “It’s just passion, almost like a drug.” 

“It’s not a job, it’s a life is how we approach it. You’ve just got to ride your highs and your lows. But at the end of the day, he just keeps bouncing back because he loves it.” 

The role Alison has had to play throughout Chris’s life has been a juggling act between being his support system and his work partner. 

“I’ve just never met anyone like him,” she said. 

“When we had Katie (daughter), I gave up my job to work alongside him to support him in every way I could. That is when I took over more of the training side of things for the mental load and planning. 

“It was getting too much for him because he was driving at his prime. 10 or nine meetings a week or whatever he was doing back then. I gave him the chop-out there.” 

Chris’s love for the horses has kept him at the top of the game for so long. Alison recalls a story of when she was in labour and the reinsman had other ideas. 

“When I was in labour with Katie he was supposed to be driving at Stawell for Michelle Manning,” Alison laughed. 

“He turned around and came home to take me to hospital, but did mention several times ‘I could have made that drive and been back in time for her to be born’.” 

The late nights and early morning sacrifices have never been a problem for Chris after all these years. 

“I don’t know how he lives on such little sleep he has,” she said. “Last night we went to Bendigo and we had a really good night with our stable, which was long overdue. 

“He came home, put the two horses away, put four bags of salt in the pool and then had dinner. I have no idea what time he got to bed. 

“No normal person does that at midnight. I don’t know, he’s a bit of a freak of nature.” 

Alison is uncertain what other major milestones her husband might reach before he calls time on his career. 

“I wonder how long he will go on for. I think 9000, I don’t know. He wants to go out when he is still at the top of his game. 9000 will pull him up,” she said. 

Alison is concerned that when the time does come for Chris to give up driving it won’t be a happy sight. 

“It will be a nightmare,” she laughed. 

“Covid was a great test. He went from doing 10 meetings a week to doing three a fortnight. He just gets bored, he’s just a little kid. You can’t go from working 16–17-hour days to nothing. 

“He will train horses until the day he dies. He isn’t one to sell up and move to the beach.” 

Chris has won more than 130 Group 1s and most of the country’s big feature races, but there’s plenty more that drives his love for the sport. 

“He’s very humble and he just loves winning that race for the trainer,” she said. 

“I just think he just chases that next win… if a junior asks him for advice or someone asks him for advice, he just wants the best for everybody.” 

As the historic feat draws closer, Alison is hoping that the reinsman’s 8000th win comes full circle. 

“It would be good to do it at Wangaratta where his first win was,” she said.