Trots Centre: Kima ready to take the High road

Leading trainer Emma Stewart had the harness racing world debating this week after she declared her stable’s star Ride High the best horse in the country when fully fit.

And while she hadn’t heard Stewart’s on-air comments, it didn’t take much prodding for driver Kima Frenning to agree.

Frenning will jump in the sulky for perhaps the most exciting drive of her career tonight when she partners Ride High in the Vale Rod Osborne Pace at Tabcorp Park Melton, which streams at 8pm on Trots Vision.

“I would agree with that, yes,” Frenning said of Stewart’s comments on SEN Track. “I haven’t ever driven him in a race yet, but the feel he gave me at the trials, it was pretty special.

“I didn’t even turn my whip on him and he just took off himself. He’s very special.”

Most recently on June 9, the son of Art Major bowled around Ballarat for a trial and rated 1:56.7 while reeling off a 54.2sec last half on his way to a 20m victory.

Frenning, who recently returned from a bad racetrack fall that sidelined her for about two months, has joined forces with the powerful Stewart/Clayton Tonkin stable in Cardigan, where she is now employed. As part of that move, Frenning is getting opportunities on some of the team’s top guns, including Ride High.

“I’ve been very blessed to drive a lot of nice horses, but he tops the list,” Frenning said.

“I’m very excited, but I’m also very nervous. When you get the chance to drive a horse like that you just don’t want to make any mistakes and you don’t want to let the people down that trusted you with him. So that’s a bit scary, but I’m very excited too.”

Ride High, who is trained by Tonkin, has won 10 of his 11 career starts, but hasn’t been seen at the races since his victory at Melton in December last year. Stewart said the horse was scoped and an issue was picked up, hence the significant lay-off.

“It’s just a little problem in the throat that’s easily fixed but it stops them,” she said.

“He looked like a world beater on the turn and in the last 50m he’d be wanting to pull up and that’s sort of not him.

“That problem has been fixed. And to be honest, he’s come back bigger and better. I was real confident when Poster Boy came back, but I’m even more confident with this one.”

Ride High’s return is the highlight on tonight’s eight-event card, which kicks off with the opening event from 4.59pm.

TALKING TROTS ON SENTRACK:

Hosts Jason Bonnington and Blake Redden have another big line-up for today’s Talking Trots on SENTrack, which runs weekdays from 11am-1pm on 1377AM in Melbourne, 657AM in Perth and 1575AM in Wollongong.

Then from 5.30-9.30pm it’s time to tune back in to SENTrack for Jason and Blake as they take us through the Melton program. 

Click here to listen live and for links to download the SEN app.