Group one greatness for Warragul
The next generation of trots participants can now learn from one of the best after Group 1 winner Charlie Machsheen joined Gippsland Harness Training Centre.
Manager Jenni Lewis was thrilled to accept the Vicbred Super Series winner, who amassed $324,730 in stakes across a 117-race career that included 19 wins.
The 10-year-old Mach Three gelding had his last start for owners Ted and Merryn Demmler and Tineke Lochhead at Menangle on March 27, after which they decided to draw the curtain on his distinguished career.
“His owners felt he had done enough and thought he could be of great service to us,” Lewis said.
“They decided that they wanted him to have some purpose, and not just become a paddock ornament.
“His owners sponsor an award here, so they already had an association.
“I heard from Ted and Merryn on Wednesday, picked him up on Friday morning and brought him back.
“He’s just perfect. He went out on the track for the first time today and is a real gentleman.”
Lewis said having a Group-level competitor permanently stationed at the centre’s Warragul facility would be invaluable for its students.
“This is a chance for the students to feel what a really good horse is like,” she said.
“He won quite a few races at the top level and he raced at that top level throughout his career.
It’s not often the students get to experience a Group 1 winner, they give you a different feel.
“It’s hard to explain it, they have a presence the average horse doesn’t have.
“You can’t get the smile off your face. It’s just great being around him, he’s just such a professional.”
Lewis said time spent with Charlie Machsheen would expose students to what a Group-level horse felt like, potentially helping them when purchasing their own racehorses down the track and also exposing them to a range of high-level experiences.
So, while his racing career is over, he will still see plenty of the racecourse.
“We will use him for all facets of training, from driving to gearing him up and handling him,” she said.
“Students will do jogwork, fastwork, standing starts – he’s an all-rounder and there’s nothing he can’t teach them.
“He is quite a tall horse, about 17 hands, and so it is a chance for the students to gear up a bigger horse.
“They can also enjoy watching videos of him winning big races and then experience driving him.”