HOBBY harness racing trainer Danny Malone doesn’t spent a lot of time in the winner’s circle but a four-year-old entire named Don’t Pull My Chain could change that anomaly in the coming weeks.
Don’t Pull My Chain (Ball And Chain-Autara Star) broke a long drought for Malone when he powered home to score a last-stride win in the McKillop Insurance Brokers Pace over 2200 metres at The TOTE Racing Centre in Launceston on Sunday night.
It was the horse’s first win in nine starts but it came as no surprise as he indicated a win wasn’t far away when fourth to Why Take Time at his previous outing at the same venue a week earlier.
Don’t Pull My Chain scored by a head from Our Boy mach with Hesa Toota a short half-head away third.
It was Malone’s first winner since Gokane saluted in March 2005.
Malone said the four-year-old showed potential early but had taken time to mature.
“He showed up as a two-year-old at his first start when laced at New Norfolk but then he got leg problems and kept getting injured and I had to give him a lot of time off to recover,” Malone said.
“He is only just starting to come good and if everything pans out right he could win a couple more this season,” he said.
Malone has been training horses for about 20 years but winners have been few and far between with Don’t Pull My Chain his fourth winner as an owner-breeder. He has trained three of them and driven two to victory.
“I’ve trained pretty much only the horses I’ve bred myself,” he said.
Malone was a top Aussie Rules footballer in his heyday but when he gave the game away he took to breeding and training standardbreds.
“I got involved in harness racing to give me something to do when I stopped playing football but that didn’t work out exactly as I planned because I’m still playing football,” he said.
Malone is involved in the Tasmanian Superules competition and has been for the past 18 years.
Superules is a popular game for footballers aged 35 years and over and is played in varying age groups. Malone is one of the state’s best players in the 55 years and over age group.
Malone will this week venture interstate for about two weeks to represent Tasmania in the National series that is played under the banner of AFL Masters
He has only two horses in work and both will he sent to the paddock for two weeks while Malone is away playing football.