IT WAS far from a feature race win, but the victory of Busters Grin in the opening race at Lord's Raceway on Wednesday evoked plenty of pleasure for Marong trainer Trevor Patching.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
After an absence of nearly four years from the winners circle, Busters Grin registered his second career win in the NR 48 to 51 pace for four-year-olds and older.
Superbly driven by the region's leading reinsman Alex Ashwood, Busters Grin held off a late dive by Joey's Hangover (Tayla French) to win by half a neck.
It was the seven-year-old gelding's first win since breaking his maiden at Maryborough in May 2016.
The win was a reward for the hard work and dedication of Patching, who has stayed the course with the son of Grinfromeartoear and Our Millie Mac through some tough times for the horse.
Busters Grin missed nearly two years of racing in 2017-18 after injuring a tendon
"He basically spent two years in the paddock just recuperating and now we're on the way back," Patching said.
"It's taken a while for him to get there.
"We treated (the injury) before we put him out about four years ago and just let him rest and let Mother Nature heal it.
"He was always going to be one of those handy little horses you could win a few races with before injury intervened."
Busters Grin eventually made his return to racing in January 2019.
Despite going winless in 16 starts since the comeback before Tuesday, the gelding had come close to breaking the hoodoo on several occasions with five seconds and four thirds.
For Patching, who first secured his trainer's licence as a 16-year-old at Mittyack and previously trained professionally in Queensland for a decade, the win was definitely one to be savoured.
"We were over the moon I tell you - we've had an exasperating run of placings with our horses," he said.
"We've had 11 seconds and seven thirds since when won a race. It would be better if it was five wins and six seconds.
"I did have a couple of quiet beers when we got the horse back to the stable."
The now 63-year-old trainer praised his son Nick and daughter Kristen for their role in helping prepare his small team of horses.
There was some added joy for the family, with Patching's other runner in the race Pippa One Two holding on for third.
The mare's story resembles that of his winning stable-mate in that she was making her own return to the track after a lengthy layoff.
"She was in the paddock for three years with a crook tendon and we never got around to get her back in for a race," Patching said of Pippa One Two, whose previous last start was at Maryborough in June 2016.
"A gap opened up for us so we gave her the chance.
"She never had a trial or anything - she was actually working with Buster and was going really well, so we thought we might as well put her in a race.
"Neither placing was a surprise really, we were pretty keen about his (Busters Grin's) chances and we thought she'd run really well too. It's all worked out good."
Patching has nominated both horses for next Thursday's meeting at Bendigo.
READ MORE:
Have you signed up to the Bendigo Advertiser's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in central Victoria.
