Brad Abbott picked exactly the right moment to visit his fellow trainer Leon Jurd at the Menangle training complex in December of 2016.

Howard James was twelve years old when he first met Brian Hancock. Young Howard spent most weekends and school holidays with brothers, Brian and Richard Hancock, who were rapidly establishing their commercial training operation.

Joe Conolly isn’t the first policeman to have trained harness horses. The question was raised by trot fans after the Conolly trained ten year old All About Art, won the opening race at Penrith last week.

Had Lisa Miles not had an inherent love of the standardbred horse, she may have pursued a career with the RAAF. For the last seven years of her time at Melton’s Mowbray College, young Lisa Lewis was a member of the Air Training Corps.

Tiger Tara didn’t deserve to lose last week’s New Zealand Cup. The Aussie trained eight year old did enough work for three horses, before going under by a lousy head to The Fixer in the second fastest New Zealand Cup in history.

The last few months of 2008 passed very slowly for a certain Shepparton schoolgirl, who couldn’t wait to follow her dream.

Harry Martin seems to have been around Sydney harness racing tracks forever, and was well ensconced when I trained and drove my very first horse, a two year old filly called Red Mittens. Harry had a filly called Miss Viscount at the same time, and I clearly recall going around with him in early trials, and in a race or two.

Joe and Mary Rando’s decision to formalise a training partnership two years ago, came as no surprise to family and friends.

Courtney Slater was stunned when she received that phone call from HRV Stewards last December, conveying the blood-chilling news that one of her horses had returned a positive swab.