Zarem to zero in on Bendigo Cup

Fresh from her biggest-ever win, devoted Bendigo harness racing trainer Carla Innes-Goodridge now has her sights set on a home track feature.

“We are probably aiming way too high with the Bendigo Trotters Cup – but it’s just down the road from where we live so why not?” Carla said.

“I could walk him down to the track from our property, it’s that close – we’re virtually next door,” she said.

Six-year-old gelding Zarem (Wishing Stone-Broadacrossthebeam (Keystone Salute) scored a narrow victory last week in the $20,000 G3 Arch Electrical Group Trotters Cup at Echuca.

“It was the best night ever at Echuca. Winning the Cup up there was special, and both my husband Dean and I went crazy. We did get quite excited,” Carla said.

“Dean has a habit of running up the straight when the horses are heading to the finish line. I did ask him later how he managed it because there was a big crowd. He said that he just dodged them!

“I scream very loudly. But who cares? I’ve been doing it for that many years now. Probably nearly 50 years when I think about it.

“I do wear my heart on my sleeve. I burst into tears when our son Todd gets a goal at football. I admit that Zarem is like another child to us.like a best friend. That was his tenth win and the ride he’s given us is incredible.”

But Carla said it was only by chance that the square-gaiter found its way to the family stable.

“The horse was on his way to Queensland when he was dropped off at our place. The owners then decided he might be worth a try at winning his VicBred bonus so I agreed to give it a go,” Carla said.

“So he’s been with us ever since. He has just been a joy to train, although he does have some quirks, but we know all about those now.”

Carla followed her late father, the legendary Kevin “Boofa” Innes into the sport, and has been around horses all her life. She and her older brother Grant, who trains at Inglewood, share their dad’s love of harness racing.

“He gave us a lot of advice, but I think for me his best was that ‘you can teach a horse to stay, but you can’t give them speed’,” Carla said.

“Zarem has always had a good turn of foot to put himself into races. We know if he gets tucked away, he’s always going to storm home.”

Zarem looked impressive in the Echuca Cup, handled by his regular driver Ellen Tormey, and his next assignment in the $30,000 Group Two Aldebaran Park Bendigo trotters’ feature is on Friday April 8.

“We have had an awesome association with Ellen over the years. She’s been driving our horses for 11 or 12 years now and rarely makes a blue,” Carla said.

“But I must admit I was a bit concerned when she pulled out at Echuca with 400m to go. I thought it was far too early because the horse goes well when he gets sucked along. Ellen told me later that she went early because he was travelling so well-and he just kept running to the line.”

Carla suffered a broken ankle in a training mishap a while ago. Now recovered she is keeping numbers down to just two.

“It’s allowed me to be able to spend some time swimming Zarem which I think has certainly made him tougher,” she said.

“I also took a break at one stage because I started to get nervous about working and handling the horses when I was at home on my own. It’s a bit of mucking around, but I make two float trips to the Bendigo track, one horse at a time and that’s solved the problem – I’m not anxious at all.”

By Terry Gange for Harnesslink