Weston flying the flag for trotters in Victoria’s far north-west

Former Queensland-based harness racing trainer Francis Weston has settled happily into life in Victoria’s far north-west – but there’s one thing that would make it even better.

The passionate square-gaiter devotee would love to see trotters racing regularly at Mildura.

“We love it; the people, the weather and the Mildura club is great,” Weston said.

“I’ve been told trotting races were held here previously and a couple of us were doing a few trotters a while ago –  probably the only downside of our Mildura move was not realising it was so far from other clubs that regularly program trot races,” he said.

Because of that, Weston has become accustomed to travelling with his small team – often venturing interstate to Adelaide’s Globe Derby Park in search of suitable races.

And the long trips recently paid off when his five-year-old gelding Atego Robbo (Fling It USA) delivered a win at the Cargill Cares Running of the Bulls meeting at Birchip earlier this month.

“The trip took about three hours and there was water all over the roads in a number of places from the recent heavy rains,” Weston said.

“My partner Marian was keen to stop and go back home. But I got out a few times and walked through it to check on the levels. The deepest was probably one-and-a-half feet and we were probably lucky to get there.

“We did have a very clean float when we finally made it!  But the track was in terrific condition and the club and everyone involved should be congratulated on the concept.”

The Weston stable had two runners in the opening event – the $6000 Mallee Landscapes Maiden Trot – with Lady Of Tiavon (Ryan Backhouse) and Atego Robbo (Jackie Barker).

Lady Of Tiavon lost all chance when she broke in the score-up, while Atego Robbo, an $8.50 chance, settled three back on the fence behind the well-fancied pair Far As Possible ($2.30 favourite) and Arivaderchi ($5.50).

Barker made her move halfway down the back straight the final time and quickly had the leader in her sights. The pair turned for home locked together, but Atego Robbo proved the stronger, pulling clear to score by 2.5 metres.

“He is a nice horse to handle and is just lovely to have around the stables. I think he should be able to go on and win three or four more races,” Weston said.

The Weston team consists of eight trotters and one pacer – no surprise given the trainer’s lifelong obsession with square-gaiters.

Weston first became involved in harness racing in his native New Zealand.

“I won quite a few races over there, but worked with some great trainers in Peter Wolfenden and Jim Smith. They were so good in passing on a lot of advice and you could ask them anything. Jim had all the classy ‘Mountain’ named horses,” Weston said.

He later relocated to Queensland in 2006 and watched the trotting scene develop dramatically.

“I moved to Queensland in 2006 and they’d have one trot race each month – then when I left there was at least three a week.

“I’ve found over the years that if you get a fast pacer, and you want to change them over, some take to trotting like a duck to water. They aren’t all that hard to train.”

Weston enjoyed considerable success in the Sunshine State and was the leading trotting trainer for two seasons.

In 2009/10 he had a standout campaign with 597 starters for 45 wins and 100 placings. Overall records show he has trained 107 winners and 297 placings for more than $500,000 in prizemoney since moving from New Zealand.  Weston took a break from the sport for several years before making a ‘leap of faith’ property purchase to move to Mildura about two years ago.

“We have a great place at South Merbein and we didn’t visit it before we bought it!  But it’s turned out really well .  Our neighbor is Jason McGinty who has been in the sport over the years and he’s so helpful and very handy to know.”

Away from racing, Weston has spent years in business.

“You have to work to earn enough to do the horses and then you find yourself trying to do your work around them. It can be really hard.  I operated pawn shops, similar to Cash Converters, and over the years owned five shops, which was very time consuming. I also sell antiques and jewellery as a side-line.”

Weston has also dealt with some health challenges and credits the support of Marian as a key role in keeping the stable running smoothly.

“Marian is highly motivated and she loves the horses. Her father raced gallopers and one ran third in the Slipper. Without her I wouldn’t be training and racing them,” he said.

“I’ve had some health issues, and I’d urge men in the sport to have their prostate tests when they’re due.  I’m going along okay at the moment.  Maybe a bit slow when it comes to the farrier work – it’s just one shoe at a time!”

From Terry Gange for Harnesslink