3 minute read

Hawkesbury-based Matt Vella is an accomplished horse breaker and pre-trainer and no slouch either when it comes to training horses

Considering Vella only ever has a few horses in work at a time, such is the busy nature of his breaking-in and pre-training business, it has been an excellent season for the Hawkesbury horseman.

It has been his best season with five winners – three of them in recent weeks.

Vella scored with I’m A Legend at Goulburn on April 28 and with the same horse at Wyong on May 16 leading up to a maiden win by Silly Sally at Cessnock on Tuesday.

“I’m having a pretty good run at present,” Vella said after Silly Sally had outrun her rivals over 1150m.

“I’ve got four horses in work, and either breaking-in and pre-training up to 60.

“Whilst I’m delighted to get a win out of Silly Sally, she is going to be hard to place from now on.

“Early on I thought she was going to measure up to city standard but now I’m not even sure she will make provincial standard.

“She is owned by a good mate of mine Garth Derrig and I’ll either try to find another suitable race or put her on the market.

”I decided to put blinkers on Silly Sally because I felt they could help her focus better.”

Vella broke in the highly promising young sprinter Classique Legend, an Everest contender after three wins from his first four starts.

He pre-trains for Randwick trainer Les Bridge and also has just completed the breaking-in of Winx’s half-sister Covent Garden, by Exceed And Excel.

She is heading to Chris Waller at Rosehill.