Veteran horseman Eric Hurley is hoping for a birthday present when he heads to Ballarat on Thursday night.
Depending on your outlook, the prospective gift is either an early surprise or a belated celebration.
Born at Broadview, South Australia, on October 8, 1927, Hurley will head to the provincial circuit with debutant pacer Dream A Minute.
Should Dream A Minute register a first-up victory it could easily be regarded as an early present for Hurley’s 89th birthday.
But given the circumstances surrounding Dream A Minute’s debut – and her breeding – the win could just as quickly be counted as a belated milestone moment.
Set to contest the opening race on the card, the daughter of Blissfull Hall will begin her career as a four-year-old due to several setbacks.
Then there is the fact Dream A Minute is the second foal from Follow Your Dream … 13 years after the mare’s only other progeny.
Dream A Minute’s family has been bred by the Hurleys for six decades and traces back to the their mighty pacer – Inter Dominion winner, Minuteman.
“Dad had every intention of breeding from the mare, but it got so dry, with no grass, that we couldn’t really breed for a few years,” Hurley’s son Jeff explained. “During that time we just bought yearlings and so on to keep the place going.
“Several years ago we thought we have the mares there and decided to breed from three of them again.
“We got three fillies, and as foals, Dream A Minute was the pick of them. When we started to get her going she got colic, then last year she got a virus, which took four months to get over.”
Nursed back to health, Dream A Minute finished third when trialling at Melton last week, with Hurley confident she can “give a good showing.”
“She does go all right, but will need the run and experience,” Hurley said. “We were hoping the first foal from the mare would do well, but he ran like a drunk tarantula and was no good.
“She is a lot better than him and should be able to win a few races along the way.”
Despite his age and ailments, Hurley is still actively involved in training, including driving track work and insisting everything is done ‘his way’ according to Jeff.
“He’s getting hard of hearing, but he’s still out there giving orders,” Jeff said. “He is so active and wants to do everything like he always has.
“It would be great to see Dream A Minute win a race or two for him.”
Article published originally on harnessnews.com.au
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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