Retired Romsey businessman Graeme Love has no regrets about switching from the pacing to the trotting gait about 15 years ago.
“I raced about 20 pacers and best one I ever owned was Dallas Sally. She won four in a row at Harold Park,” Love said.
Love’s first trotter was Shared Interest, a gelding he bought with Debbie Jack, the wife of respected Shepparton trainer Russell, at a yearling sale at Melton in 2013.
Shared Interest went on to win 10 races in Victoria including two at Melton and the St Arnaud Trotters Cup before being sold to North America where he increased his stake tally to $200,000.
Having been firmly ensconced with the trotter, Love, along with the Jack family and friend Brock Robertson, purchased the superbly bred Muscle Hill mare I Am Who I Am out of the paddock at Peter Chambers’ Glenferrie Farm at Goulburn (NSW).
A daughter of the NZ Derby and Hambletonian winner Shezoneoftheboyz, I Am Who I Am unfortunately damaged her hind suspensory in trackwork and never raced.
“She had a bit of ability,” Russell said.
I Am Who I Am is now making her mark in no uncertain manner in the broodmare barn, having left four winners from five foals of racing age.
Her first foal was the talented Andover Hall mare Jaxnme, the winner of five of her seven starts including the Vicbred Super Series Final and the Vicbred Platinum Home Grown Classic. She was subsequently named the Australian 2YO Trotting Filly of the Year in 2019.
Fast forward a few years and Jaxnme’s full brother Just As I Am is again putting the family in the spotlight.
The gelding scored his third and most important success when he prevailed in the last stride in the Melton GWM Trot on Team Teal night at Melton last Saturday in a new lifetime mark of 1:55.4.
“He should go through his grades. He’s only on a loose mark,” Russell Jack said.
The I Am Who I Am ownership group have a few siblings to Jaxnme and Just As I Am waiting in the wings.
“She’s got a two-year-old filly by On A Streak who’ll be racing in a couple of months, a yearling colt by Volstead that’s being broken in and a filly foal by Volstead,” Love said.
“She’s back in foal to Volstead.”
“I’m just over the moon with Saturday night’s performance. We’ve been lucky we’ve had some fun and won a few races,” Love told Campbell’s Comments.
- Aldebaran Park stud made a clean sweep of the Lyn McPherson Breed For Speed Finals with Rockinwithattitude (by Aldebaran Eagle) claiming the Gold, Aldebaran Susanne the Silver and Sky Lindy (by Skyvalley) the Bronze
- Celebrity Royal, a Sweet Lou gelding bred and part-owned by Maryborough enthusiast Peter Gleeson, took out Tasmania’s signature race the $150,000 Tasmanian Pacing Cup at Hobart
- The siblings The Dark Thunder and Majestic Ga Ga won on either side of the country on the weekend. The Dark Thunder, who was bred and is part-owned and trained by Mary-Jane Mifsud, took out the Boort Trotters Cup, while Majestic Ga Ga won at the Pinjarra Cup meeting
