It was his first winner since the shock death of his wife Deanna in October, 2017.

Fittingly, his return to the winners' circle came with In Her Honour - named in honour of Deanna.

"It was a mixture of emotions,'' Sean admitted.

"I went to Wodonga with my trainer hat on. I have a lot of belief in this horse because she is progressive and I know the family gets better as they get older.

"It was great to see the horse run well and win. I was in process mode and the horse is ahead of where I probably scheduled it to be.

"It wasn't until I got home on Saturday night and I went out for tea with an aunty and uncle that are here from England that the enormity of it hit me then.

"It was nice to celebrate the win with family, but there was one special person missing."

Deanna's passing rocked Sean and his 10-year-old son Zac.

Their loving wife and mother meant the world to them.

"For a while after Deanna died I didn't want to go near a horse. I was gutted,'' Sean admitted.

"I'd lost my passion for the horses because I knew it was going to be different without her.

"We were basically a training partnership. Deanna was my registered stable foreman. She did the feeds, she did the accounts, we shared the ground work and she did all our yearling selections.

"I didn't know if I could face training without her."

Not long before Deanna's death, Sean had acquired a yearling from a long-time client.

The horse was stabled at a Huntly property and a visit to the farm months after Deanna's passing changed Sean's mindset.

"He was such a nice looking horse with a great attitude,'' Sean said.

"I said to the owner that I'd bring the horse into the stable for a couple of months just to see how I go.

"I didn't want him to syndicate the horse if I couldn't train him. I didn't want to let him down.

"As soon as I started working the horse I knew I still had the training bug. It was like a hand fitting into a glove. It felt right.

"Deanna would have wanted me to keep training. Horses were our passion."

Sean and Deanna's passion for horses is what brought the two of them together.

They met in Singapore in 1999 at a yearling sale and instantly hit it off.

They spent five years together in Singapore, had a stint in Ireland before making Bendigo home.

"We went through the highs and lows of the racing bubble like everyone else,'' Sean said.

"Early on we did a lot of pre-training for (leading trainer) Mick Price... he was our biggest client and through that hard work we were able to put a deposit down on our first house."

Not long later Deanna spotted a yearling at the Inglis Sales in Melbourne.

The yearling ticked all of Deanna and Sean's boxes - athletic, presence and a good walker.

"That was the year that Patinack Farm went ballistic at the sales,'' Sean said.

"Our horse was lot seven and we paid $17,000 for him. Patinack bought lot six for $200,000 and lot eight for something like $350,000.

"I wondered what was wrong with our horse, but it turned out just fine."

The horse was Verdasco.

He won six races for the Mott stable, including three events in the city and close to $200,000 in prizemoney.

"He was a very good horse for us," Sean said.

"We loved him. He was unlucky not to win a few more in town for us."

Deanna juggled her family and training commitments with nursing at Bendigo Health where she was a much-loved member of staff.

Oncology Unit and Day Surgery staff at Bendigo Health formed a syndicate to join the ownership of Copthorne - the horse from the Huntly paddock that rejuvenated Sean's passion for training.

Copthorne is yet to break his maiden status, but he's shown promise, including a last-start fifth at Donald.

"Deanna's friends from the hospital, her mum, her sister, her aunty, her sister-in-law and long-time friends are in Copthorne,'' Sean said.

"It's just fabulous to have everyone involved. They're wonderful people.

"I'm sure will have a celebration when the horse does win."

Sean said he'd be forever indebted to the racing industry and Bendigo community for their support.

"Everyone was so magnificent,'' he said.

"Family, friends, the Bendigo Trainers Association, Holy Rosary Primary School, Deanna's staff mates at the hospital...I was blown away by what they did for us.

"It really made me appreciate living in Bendigo. We have a wonderful sense of community here."

That sense of community has inspired Sean to add another string to his bow. He is studying a Diploma in Community Services at Bendigo TAFE.

"I'm really enjoying it. I want to be able to give something back myself,'' he said.

That doesn't mean he plans to give horse training away.

It's a tough industry, particularly for small stables, but once you've got the training bug it's hard to shake.

Besides, young Zac wouldn't have it any other way.

"Horses soak up a lot of my time, but Zac always tells me "don't give it away, don't give it away",'' Sean said.

"He understands what it's about and he was so thrilled when In Her Honour won on Saturday. It was nice to see him enjoy it."

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