A COURAGEOUS win for the young Matthew Gath-trained trotter Tiger For Life at Tabcorp Melton last week has proven memorable in more ways than one.
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Not only was it the three-year-old's maiden win at start number three, it also helped the wider Bendigo harness racing fraternity notch up an impressive milestone.
The three-year-old became the 50th winner for the month of May on a Victorian racetrack to be trained in the Bendigo region.
Subsequent wins to Junortoun trainers Trevor Monk and Chris Svanosio at Maryborough and Heathcote's Terry French at Shepparton last Thursday, and Sutton Grange's Graeme Dalton at Ballarat on Friday night, brought the total from a marvellous May to 54 winners.
An extensive list of winners included a neat dozen from Strathfieldsaye trainer Glenn Douglas, seven from Chris Svanosio, five to veteran Graeme Dalton, and a trifecta apiece from Gary Donaldson and Elmore's Keith Cotchin.
Twenty one trainers in total contributed to the haul, from all parts of the region - from Greg Leight at Kyneton, through to John Kennedy at Pyramid Hill, Trevor Ralph at Inglewood, and across to Gary Scoble at Campbell's Creek.
Those winners reaped in nearly $210,000 in prize money.
The region's drivers were in equally amazing form, collecting 41 winners, headed by nine to Svanosio, eight to Alex Ashwood, seven from Douglas and a half dozen to Ellen Tormey.
Thirteen different drivers scored wins.
Douglas, who has increased his hold on third spot on the Victorian trainers premiership with 81 winners - 16 ahead of the nearest rivals below him Brent Lilley and David Aiken - believed harness in Bendigo was as strong as any point in his nine years of training in the area.
"Early on it was this strong, but it did die away a little bit with old trainers passing on, or getting out," the multiple state training premiership winner said.
"It's back probably better than it ever was.
"There's a lot of young kids starting to come through and it's starting to show they are getting the experience needed and the horses behind them to show their worth."
'That (competition) has been good for us, we're always trying to keep up with the young ones and it is making us strive for a lot more."
Douglas has started June in arguably hotter form with a double at Melton on Saturday night with Bernie Winkle, who has won his last three races and four from his last five starts, and $39 chance Kotare Mahdi, who has won two on end.
He added a treble at Ouyen on Sunday with Artistic Saint, Dublin Street and Ozzie Bogan.
"The team is going well at the moment ... I've always said it's not hard to get a winner, it's hard to keep getting winners," he said.
"At the moment it's probably a bit of a purple patch for me, so I am quite happy with how things are going."
I've always said it's not hard to get a winner, it's hard to keep getting winners.
- Glenn Douglas
Delighted to add his name to the winner's list, Trevor Monk did so with the four-year-old pacer Magnified at Maryborough last Thursday.
The gelding's second win of the season was a case of perfect timing, with Monk departing on a six-week holiday on the weekend.
"He will have a spell and be back in August," Monk said. following Magnified's victory.
"I've been disappointed with a few of his runs. He put a really good run in up at Swan Hill (on March 7) when he just got beaten and a few good runs after that it, but he has let us down a few times.
"Things were different (on Thursday), he was more on his toes and the competition wasn't too hot, so he managed to get a win.
"Fifty-plus winners in a month for Bendigo is an amazing effort. We've had eight winners ourselves this season, so we are pretty happy with our effort. We are having a lot of fun."
Speaking after Skyeski's May 22 win at Swan Hill, trainer Gary Donaldson was quick to acknowledge the strength of the Bendigo training ranks.
"We had a bit of a lull for a few years, but it's back to where it was back in the glory days in the 90s," he said.
"We have great training facilities here and have had a few new trainers move in like Todd Matthews and Chris Svanosio, who has a great team of horses going well, and Ellen Tormey.
"We have had a lot of young trainers come to Bendigo in the last few years too and build up good teams of horses.
"It's great to see and certainly keeps us older guys on our toes. We have to keep up with the young kids, they have a lot more energy than us guys who have been around a long time."
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