Trainer Mick McMahon has a message for everyone who attends horse sales.
Dreams can come true.
A horse he purchased for $310 at the Echuca horse sales has gone on to win three races in Victoria, including the Ron Pocock Memorial Handicap at Bendigo last Thursday night.
Current Assessment (by Modern Art out of Pleasure Machine) came into the ring while McMahon was at the sale “trying to pick up a bit of gear”.
“A big athletic type came into one of the rings there … and after a bit of research on the brand we realised he had a bit of breeding behind him,” the horseman said.
“We happened to snaffle him up for a bargain.”
>> Watch the video replay of Current Assessment winning at Bendigo
The outlay on the horse was $310. He has now won a tick over $13,000 in his first 12 months of racing.
“When I picked the horse up I rang the previous owner, Laurie Paton from Bathurst, and he had the same question: how did he get down there (to a horse sale)?” said McMahon.
“I said I don’t know but he’s at my place. I asked him if I could get the papers for him and he said yeah no worries, and lo and behold down he came.
“After Googling the name Laurie Paton I noticed he had an Inter Dominion winner Smooth Satin.”
Stephen Lindberg, who drove Current Assessment to the victory last Thursday night, was working the pacer for McMahon one day when he asked: “Does this horse have a name?”
“I said no, I just call him Lumpy because he was sort of lumps and bumps when we got him,” McMahon said.
“He said to me I think you should find that horse a name because he’s ready to trial.”
“It’s certainly a dream come true. If you had have asked me what was going to happen 13 months ago I wouldn’t have said it’d pan out like this.”
>Listen to the full interview with McMahon on Harness Review’s Podcast
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
Driving The Future Of Harness Racing
