.jpg)
For Tyrone Abela and his father Joe, training horses is a lifelong passion.
But like most hobby trainers, appearances in Group 1 contests are few and far between.
So there’s plenty of excitement ahead of this Saturday night’s Lyn McPherson Memorial Breed For Speed Gold Series Final which they will tackle with beloved mare Madena Sky.
The seven-year-old will be the Abela team’s first elite level starter since Solar Active competed in the 2010 Inter Dominion Trotters Grand Final at Moonee Valley.
“She’s one of our favourite horses actually. We do love her,” Tyrone, who trains from Balliang, said.
“We haven’t had a Group 1 (runner) since the Inter Dominion Final with Solar Active in 2010. It seems like a very, very long time ago and he was our only one.
“He’s been our best horse by a long way, so everyone has failed to live up to his heights.
“But we’ve been lucky. I think we’ve trained nearly 110 or 120 (winners) between us now and it doesn’t sound like a lot for a lot of the big stables, but it’s a lot for us.”
Madena Sky is by Angus Hall out of the family’s mare Dreamscape Aurora and is a winner of eight races from 61 starts. She will be driven by Jason Lee in Saturday night’s $50,000 feature, where she takes on the likes of Vacation Hill (Andy Gath), Hopeful Beauty (Anton Golino) and Aldebaran Crescent (David Aiken).
WATCH TIM O’CONNOR’S INTERVIEW WITH TYRONE ABELA BELOW:
