Episode 169: Tappy chats with Ashlee Grives

Image courtesy National Trotguide - Ashlee was in a bouyant mood when this one was snapped at Menangle.

Image courtesy National Trotguide - Ashlee was in a bouyant mood when this one was snapped at Menangle.

HRNSW presents a chat with respected trainer/driver Ashlee Grives who’s currently going through a very sad time.

Ashlee explains the debilitating colic attack which struck her wonderful race mare Ameretto and two subsequent surgical procedures.

Ash reflects on the day she paid $3500 for a filly destined to win $565,000, and a coveted Gr 1 The Queen Of The Pacific.

The talented trainer explains her decision to move Ameretto to a Melbourne stable at the height of the mare’s powers.

Ash reveals she has a foal out of Amaretto thanks to the wonders of embryo transfer.

She reminisces about her earliest days in the sulky and a job with the famous Randwick Equine Vet Centre.

Ashlee has never forgotten the day she became the first NSW female driver to reach 100 winners in a season.

She talks about her husband’s transition to the care and management of harness horses. Ryan was a builder/bricklayer by trade but had to learn about horses in a hurry.

Ash analyses her current role as a horse trainer and the responsibilities of motherhood.

(Banner image courtesy National Trotguide - Ashlee and her wonder mare Ameretto, in one of many wins at Menangle.)

Image courtesy Stuart McCormick - Ashlee, husband Ryan, and Kerryn Manning after Ameretto’s win in the Queen Of The Pacific.

Image courtesy Stuart McCormick - Ashlee, husband Ryan, and Kerryn Manning after Ameretto’s win in the Queen Of The Pacific.

Image courtesy National Trotguide - Look at the time on the semaphore. Ameretto went 1.51.6 in winning this one at Menangle.

Image courtesy National Trotguide - Look at the time on the semaphore. Ameretto went 1.51.6 in winning this one at Menangle.