THERE’S quite the renaissance taking place at the Uhavta stables of Swan Hill trainer Helen Burns.
She is recovering from a double knee replacement, which she says is turning her into a new woman.
At the same time, her veteran galloper Sanctimonious is also running with a born-again fervour.
The nine-year-old gelding now has seven wins from his 70 career starts – and three of those have come in the past four months.
He won again – this time at Hamilton – on Tuesday, taking out the $27,000 bet265 Handicap over 1600m and taking his earnings beyond $240,000.
But none of that, Burns reckons, comes close to the story behind the horse’s Newcastle-based owners – Kate and Steve Stojanovski – and their cross-country trek by car, train, bus and hire car just to see their horse run.
“They were going to make a bit of a trip of it,” Burns laughed.
“Starting from their home in Newcastle they were going to come down for the Kerang races and then stay on for Hamilton.
“But they had barely crossed into Victoria when their car broke down and they discovered the new part needed would have to come from Melbourne.
“They had accommodation booked there anyway, so they hopped on the train and headed south while the new part was sourced.”
Things just kept unravelling from there.
The first part sent for the car was the wrong one and another had to be ordered.
So the Stojanovskis decided they would train and bus to Hamilton to catch the race – which Helen thought was always a plan fraught with disaster.
“The race was set to be run about 4.30pm and the bus back to Melbourne was leaving at 4.55pm – I just couldn’t see it working,” she said.
“So when I got a call about 11am I expected Steve to say he wouldn’t make it. But what happened was they had taken the train from Melbourne to Ballarat and were then supposed to swap to the bus, but when they got off the train, Steve took off his jumper and one of his ear pods – a Christmas present – fell out and while they searched for it the bus left without them and they were stranded in Ballarat,” she said.
“They were so frustrated, so I suggested a cut-price hire car and $70 later they were in Hamilton and finally got to see their horse win – amazing.”
And it was a thriller to boot as Sanctimonious, ridden by Neil Farley, ran a bold race from the front but the post just wasn’t coming quickly enough as Salsbury Hill and Crafty Boss started eating up the lead with every stride.
But Farley used all his experience to urge the old timer on and the official winning margin was 10cm – but Burns admitted the photo looked a lot closer than that.
“When they did hit the line I was sure we had won, but when I saw the official photo and how close it really was I knew we had been pretty lucky,” Burns said.
“But he is running so well lately, with almost half his wins in these four months – and he’s set to go again at Camperdown or Benalla on Saturday.
“He’s pulling up beautifully, when we got home from Hamilton he wanted his carrot as soon as he stepped off the float and then cleaned out his food bin in a flash and wanted another carrot first thing the next morning.”
Farley agreed the horse “is absolutely in flying order and Helen and her team are doing a great job with him”.
“They have placed him well and as he has got a bit older has found some real form,” the jockey added.
“It’s just great to see small trainers like Helen doing so well, and long may it continue.
“And it was great to get it done in front of the owners – it’s the first time I have met them.”
Burns, who now only occasionally needs a single stick to help walk on rougher surfaces, said she was still not allowed back in the yards as she is “not quite quick enough” on her feet yet.
“I have been given so much help by so many people to keep the stables going,” she said.
“I might lay down the program, but everyone else is doing all the work and I am so grateful. Now I am back on light duties I hope it’s not too much longer before I’m back on the job.”
Regardless of her progress, she will certainly be trackside at the weekend to see the next chapter in the rise and rise of Sanctimonious.
