7 April 2015
Fellas R Trouble qualified for the Gr. 2 Carousel at Tabcorp Park Menangle on Sunday April 26 with a barnstorming victory in a heat at Fairfield on Monday evening. Trained by Peter Rixon, owned by Peter’s wife Cindy and driven by their daughter Ellen, the victory was a real family affair.
“It was a cracker of a drive, Ellen was very patient and the horse really hit the line strongly once he got into the clear,” Peter Rixon said.
“I watched the race from home because I had spent the weekend at the mini trotting championships at Gunning so Cindy headed out to Fairfield with Ellen and while they weren’t expecting the horse to win they thought he would run a nice race because his run in the Carousel heat at Penrith on Thursday wasn’t too bad.”
Ellen will not be able to drive Fellas R Trouble in the $50,000 final because she doesn’t have a metropolitan licence.
“I will be on the lookout for a new driver because Ellen won’t be able to drive him, I have been using Todd (McCarthy) at Menangle recently but I guess it will all depend on what other horses qualify for the race.”
“Todd might have to drive something else, Amanda Turnbull is another option too but our bloke isn’t going to be one of the favourites in the race, so I will just wait and see who doesn’t have a drive and then make the decision.”
Rixon bought Fellas R Trouble from New Zealand and he has already exceeded the family’s expectations.
“I was looking for a nice sensible horse for Ellen to drive, I was told this horse would be the ideal one and we didn’t pay a lot of money for him so it has worked out nicely.”
“I don’t do a lot of race driving anymore, I might get on the occasional one but I’m happy to let Ellen do most of it.”
Only two years ago Rixon qualified Prince Kai for the Carousel. The son of Stature finished fourth behind Monifieth.
“Prince Kai has done a very good job for the stable since he ran in the Carousel, I’ve actually nominated him for Saturday night but have decided to put a junior driver on him so he can get back into the M1 over 2300 metres which suits him.”
“We are working ten horses at the moment but everyone helps out and everything that needs to be done gets done, it isn’t too bad actually.”
Harness Racing NSW (HRNSW) is the controlling body for harness racing in New South Wales with responsibility for commercial and regulatory management of the industry including 31 racing clubs across the State. HRNSW is headed by an industry-appointed Board of Directors and is independent of Government.
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To arrange an interview or for further information please contact:
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Name:
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Greg Hayes
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Position:
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Media Co-ordinator
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(02) 9722 6600
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Email:
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ghayes@hrnsw.com.au
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