Trots Centre: Son hopes to shine once more for retiring dad

Simon Jardine will be out tonight to win one more for Murray, his dad and the Ouyen trainer who is set to hang up the hopples after a 40-year career.

Simon will steer Carload in the Park Douglas Printing Pace and Miradero (pictured) in the Tasco Petroleum 3YO Pace for trainer Murray Jardine, hopeful of building on the latter’s 191 wins from 1125 starts, which stretch back to the 1983-84 season.

“I’m completely proud of what he’s achieved,” Simon said. “He’s been a brilliant trainer, he’s never had a big stable, but of the horses he’s trained not many haven’t finished in the top three.

“There wouldn’t be many trainers with a better strike rate and he always looks after the horses.”

By our records, 506 of Murray’s starters have finished in the placings, an almost 45 per cent strike rate, while almost 16 per cent have won.

And Simon is optimistic they can add to that total tonight.

He said Carload “won’t be too far away”, while he’s even more bullish about Miradero, who he co-owns with Melissa Rocchicicioli. They snapped up the filly in April after she'd had eight starts with Amanda Turnbull that produced two placings.

“She led most of her starts with Amanda, which is what you need at Mildura,” Simon said.

“She had a long prep before we got her, then we just wanted to train her our way and it was another six weeks before she started.”

A win on debut, with the accompanying Vicbred bonus, meant it was an immediately savvy buy and the Auckland Reactor filly then followed up with a further three placings and a fourth.

“She ran some good placings,” Simon said. “And at the time the three-year-olds were probably at their strongest in Mildura that they have been all year.

“We gave her four starts and then another spell, and she's really bulked up since the spell.”

Which brings her to tonight’s Tasco Petroleum 3YO Pace, which streams on Trots Vision at 9pm.

“I think with any sort of luck she nearly should be winning. She trialled good, she’s gone 1:59 without being bustled.

“She’s inside the second row, so she will need luck, but often at Mildura a gap will open up.”

And then, all going well, Murray can’t start thinking about the open road.

“He was pretty much finished, but when covid hit he couldn’t travel. I purchased Miradero for him to train and he bought Carload, who he may continue to train until he on-sells him,” Simon said.

“But they’ve got a new caravan turning up in two weeks time, so that’s the plan.”

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