Sport
21 April, 2023
Special moment for local trainers
THE final race meeting for season 2023 at the Terang race course will forever hold a special place in the hearts of local trainers Denis Daffy and granddaughter Harriet Place.
The veteran horseman was brought to tears last Sunday when his recent stable acquisition, Port Louis, took home the 1200m Westmeath Handicap on Cup Day.
The win was the first for Daffy in partnership with his granddaughter.
And what a special moment it was for them both. “I’m very, very proud,” Daffy said.
“He (Port Louis) is a horse we picked up thanks to Ciaron Maher and David Eustace and the only one we currently have in work.”
Reflecting on the win earlier this week, 22 year-old Place said she was “absolutely stoked” to have shared the moment with her beloved Pop.
“Over the years I’ve helped Pop train lots of winners so I honestly didn’t think it would mean quite so much – but it certainly did,” she said.
“This was our first win in partnership and I could not have been any more proud; it was really, really special.”
The bond between the two generations was clearly evident at the track, with a few tears shed.
“It’s been a pretty rough few months but this (win) almost makes it all worthwhile,” Place said.
“We’ve been at rock bottom lately; we lost our best horse in our stable, Overkill, a couple of weeks ago which was really sad and we’ve been finding it an absolute battle to get horses galloped.”
Terang and District Racing Club president Shane Scally congratulated the pair on the victory.
“It was one of the highlights of the meeting,” Scally said.
“Denis and Harriot securing their first winner trained in partnership was quite good to see.”
Daffy and Place are now looking at the possibility Port Louis could line up in the Wangoom during Warrnambool’s May Carnival.
“At this stage, if he does get a run it will be a step-up in class for him,” Place said.
“Those horses are higher rated but we’ll see what happens.
“He likes the wet track and day two and three at Warrnambool are usually pretty wet and boggy which would suit.
It’s a case of wait and see.”
