Madi sets up holiday base at Bathurst

Talented Tamworth harness racing driver Madi Young is off on a working holiday.

Twenty-two-year-old Madi plans to campaign with a small team of horses for at least a month, training out of a base in Bathurst.

"It may turn out that I'm down there for a little longer-we'll just see how it works out and go from there," she said.

"The 1000-metre track is great and will suit most of our horses. And then there's also Parkes and Dubbo meetings which are just two hours away.

"Our team will be spearheaded by Royal Admiral. We haven't had him long, but he's been consistent, and I won with him two starts ago at Tamworth."

The annual "Central West Winter Exodus" of Bathurst local trainers and drivers to Queensland is in full swing, and no doubt Madi, who is still eligible for a three-point junior claim, is hoping she might also pick up some outside drives.

"I love Bathurst because I won there at my very first drive at the track but spending some time down there will also mean we get to spend less time on the road for a while," she said.

"It takes us at least five hours to drive from Tamworth to compete at the Bathurst meetings. It's a long way and certainly gets tiring, particularly on the return leg if you don't do any good!

"Bathurst has meetings programmed for Wednesday nights for quite a while so the regular racing is a big plus."

Madi won the 2018 NSW Rising Stars Championship and has already represented her State. She has also served in the role of ambassador for the NSW Owners Association. This season she has driven 11 winners and 46 placings.

She landed the 100th winner of her career last week when scoring narrowly at her home track with Helix (Bettors Delight-Belfry Lady (In The Pocket) for trainer Stacie Elliott.

"That was exciting, and I've had two more since so I hope it continues," she said.

Madi is a former champion mini trot driver and obtained her harness racing driver's licence soon after celebrating her 16th birthday.

"I grew up in the Shoalhaven area where the closest tracks were Goulburn and Menangle, probably two hours away. I ended up working in Menangle for a couple of years and learnt a lot," she said.

"Down there I had stints with about three trainers and they all had different ways-but they all worked."

Madi said her most memorable win was at Menangle when she landed bay gelding Islandspecialmajor for visiting Victorian trainer Brent Lilley.

"He was an outsider in a metro $14,000 event in April last year and I think he started at 30/1," she said.

 

Terry Gange

NewsAlert PR Mildura