3 minute read
For small time trainer Shilleagh MeyerVale the last six weeks have brought with it a run of unequalled winners headed by the apply named Momma Smash.
Shilleagh Meyervale and her jockey-husband Bradley Vale have won three races with Momma Smash who will again step up in grade at Albury on Thursday in the Albury Demolitions Class 3 (1175m).
The pair will also combine with Lucky To His Mates and Bart's Acoming meaning the bulk of the stable horses will be racing.
"I have seven horses in work and there are only three trainers in town where we have our horses not far from the Berrigan racetrack," she said.
"Brad rides them all and we have been a team for many years now and it works well having your husband as the jockey as well because he provides valuable information on how they are going.
"Sometimes we can butt heads, but we have been working together since 1998.
"It was a bit nerve wrecking at first when you watch your husband have a fall, but it is working well and of late the horses have been going well."
The duo had another win with Who Told Ya at Corowa in late September providing them with three winners last month.
MerryVale is hopeful Momma Smash can gain more race experience and be worthy of a start in a Sydney Highway or a start in Melbourne.
Firstly, Momma Smash has to enhance her race sense and gain more experience, according to her trainer.
"We have done work with her at home to make sure she takes a run in a race because she has been a bit hesitant on occasions," she said.
"She has the ability so it's a matter of just more racing and experience."
Momma Smash, who derives her name from a nickname of world tennis star Serena Williams, has only raced six times despite being a five-year-old.
Her owner Mick Smith from Tocumwal also bred the mare from his own mare, She Commands.
Momma Smash is the best horse to come through for the stable since, but there are others to follow while Smith also races Bart's Acoming.
Bart's Acoming will wear blinkers for the first time in the Schulz Family Maiden (1400m) and his trainer expects a forward showing from the 12-start maiden.
However, the hopes of the stable will rest with Momma Smash who will contest the final event on the eight-race program.
Momma Smash has drawn gate four and often leads or is right on the speed where she will again need to be against some in-form gallopers like Oh No Mikki.
The race day version of Momma Smash is in stark contrast to the galloper which resides back home.
MerryVale said Momma Smash showed ability from the start, but was so laid back at home she had to be encouraged to do her best.
"She is different on the track, but just around the farm she is so casual and you have to drag her about most of the time," she said.
"She has two gears – one is very slow and the other is fast when she gallops.
"From the start, she was a big mare and I wasn't sure if she would get around with that much weight. But she showed us what she had when she was fit."
Converting half of her starts into wins isn't easy and while some have been in lower graded TAB races, Momma Smash has shown enough to suggest she will handle the step up in grade.
MeyerVale, a mother of two children, enjoys the country lifestyle with her family and having a few recent wins has made the effort all the more worthwhile.
"It is a definite plus having Brad rides the horses in races and trackwork," she said.
"The children love the horses and my daughter wants to be a jockey one day."
Their son Jebidiah, 15, is a race day strapper while daughter, Lillianna, 12, does work behind the scenes, according to their mother.
Meanwhile, a racing tradition will continue when Narrandera trainer Shane Bloomfield saddles up his first starter at Albury in Dreadnought.
Bloomfield's father Peter is a former jockey and trainer, while his brother Andrew was a leading jockey in the district for many years.
His grandfather – the late John "Digger" Carroll was also a trainer, while uncle Wayne Carroll is a trainer and will have starters at Albury including Tutus And Twirls in the same race.
