LIKE every sport, there are good times and bad times, and for Swan Hill trainers, things are no different.
Trainer Jane Duncan has just finished her 2015-16 season and unfortunately for her team, it wasn’t the best year.
The passionate trainer opened up to The Guardian about the loss of four-year-old gelding Silk King who broke down in the paddock.
“We have had some highlights and lowlights,” she said. “We bred him and won a race at the [Swan Hill] June Carnival, then we turned him out for a well earned rest and he slipped in the paddock.
“We had to put him down. It was heart breaking. My mum [Fiona Matheson] had bred him and we thought we had found a nice one, but that is the game, you need to tough it because there are seven or eight you need to get up, feed and work.”
Despite the tragedy, Duncan said her drive has not wavered and she continues to go in search of another winner, living in hope of an untried winner finding its feet in the 2016-17 season ahead .
The trainer is optimistic about the next season with six-year-old mare House of Stars who helped Duncan and her team finish on a good note, opting to run her in the upcoming non-TAB cups like Wycheproof.
The 2015-16 year was a quiet one for Duncan, down on her win rate from the year before, but she was still loving her job.
“It is just the game, you need to be able to survive all the tough years and make the most of the good times,” Duncan said.
“We are doing the hard yards and we will uncover something good. I have got some nice two-year-olds now and hopefully they step up in the spring.
“I love the local races here and I will always look after the owners who have supported me, this is a family business.
“I just need to find some young horses after retiring some good mares and older horses.”
