Gray’s red letter day

LIANDRA Gray celebrated her first winner as a trainer when four-yearold mare Pura Vida broke her maiden status at Devonport last Sunday.

Gray, who has worked as a trackwork rider on the North-West Coast for about 10 years, has a team of two and she went close to snaring a double when King’s Image flashed home to take third in a benchmark 72 handicap later in the day.

“It is great to finally get my first winner because I’ve come close a few times, but hopefully I won’t have to wait as long to get my second winner,” she said.

The 28-year-old has held an owner-trainer licence since last October, but training is something that has been on the agenda for many years.

“I love horses and being around them, which is why I do what I do for a living,” she said. “I had thought about training a long time ago but I just never got around to it.”

Gray lives on a property at Railton where she works her horses and only takes them to Spreyton for special track gallops and trials. She said King’s Image had a quirky nature that required special attention.

“King’s Image is too silly to bring to the track, so I either work him at home or at the beach,” she said.

Pura Vida (Dane Shadow-Queen’s Own) has figured in the finish a few times this season but on Sunday she was strong to the line and she attributes that to a change in the mare’s training regimen.

“I really poured the work into the mare over the past three weeks and that’s made a difference,” she said.

Gray works full-time for Hall of Fame trainer Barry Campbell as a specialist trackwork rider. MATTHEW Howlett will try to snare his third Youngbloods Challenge title when he contests the six-race series over the next three harness meetings in Tasmania.

The Youngbloods Challenge is restricted to Tasmanian drivers under 23 at the start of the racing season.

Howlett won the series in 2013 and again last season when he defeated Nicholas Brockman by a point in the final race of the series.

The Youngbloods winner is determined on a points basis.

The first two heats will be held in Devonport on Friday night and the next two heats in Hobart on Sunday with the final round of heats (two) scheduled in Launceston on Sunday week.