Wangaratta based Andrew Dale turned in a strong performance for the month with five winners and eight placings generated by a team of just 25 horses. Andrew’s practice of “border-hopping” resulted in four of those five wins being recorded on NSW tracks.
The trainer got on the board early in the month with Rockbarton Shout (Pierre Boudvillain) at Corowa. Twenty four hours later he struck again with Rushford (Cory Parish) at Echuca and on June 14th with Jingu Express (Nick Heywood) at Narrandera. Two days later Nick Heywood landed Copperfield a winner at Albury while win number five came up on June 28th at Gundagai with NZ bred Crusheen Lass (Pierre Boudvillain) at double figure odds.
It’s no surprise that Andrew feels very much at home on Riverina tracks having spent the first six years of his training involvement based at Albury. Like many country trainers he’s an avid proponent of the twice monthly Inglis Digital Sale. One of his June winners was the nine year old Rushford, a $1000 online purchase who’s won seven races and around $70,000 since joining the stable last October. Andrew’s Albury winner Copperfield cost only $11,000 on the Inglis Digital auction but has subsequently won more than $130,000.
Win number 4 for the month - Copperfield (Nick Heywood) grabs Blow In right on the line to win at Albury 16/06/2025 - courtesy Kylie Shaw Trackpix Racing Photography.
In just over ten years as a professional horse trainer Dale has accumulated a very healthy 300 wins, many of them with “hand-me-downs” from other stables. His career highlight came in 2017 when he won the important SDRA Country Championship Qualifier (1400m) at Albury with NZ bred Lautaro (Nick Souquet). Andrew says by the time the gelding got to the Randwick Final he was looking for a longer trip and finished out of a place. The Dale stable achieved its best ever tally last season with 54 wins and has already exceeded that figure in 2024/2025 with a few weeks to go. Two Wangaratta premierships and an SDRA title are already locked away on the Dale CV.
In an earlier life the sixty two year old followed his boyhood dream of becoming an AFL player. He admits to reaching a respectable level in country competition and was thrilled to get a couple of starts with the Melbourne side at the peak of his form. Post playing days Andrew made a good name for himself in the coaching field at Benalla, Myrtleford and for the New Norfolk Club in Tasmania. He later applied a number of football training principles to his new found career of horse training with obvious results.
With his first decade of training behind him Andrew is happy to be headquartered in the first class Wangaratta complex where he has the company of a host of successful trainers. His on track numbers are “pegged” at 25, but he’s able to spell and pre-train several more on his small farm on the outskirts of town. With sons Frazer and Lachlan by his side, Andrew has been able to establish a harmonious family business. He should keep an ear pitched for the arrival of the Wangaratta Stock Foods truck which will soon deliver twelve complimentary bags of Prydes EasiPerformance.
Andrew Dale has been training professionally for just 10 years but has accumulated a healthy 300 wins - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
(Banner image - Nine year old Rushford was one of Andrew's five winners for June - courtesy Kylie Shaw Trackpix Racing Photography.)
