There’s a famous quote from Bart Cummings about patience in racing – it doesn’t need repeating to Bairnsdale trainer Brenda McPhan.
The experienced horsewoman is about to embark on a second stint as a trainer, her first one spanning a couple of decades before being brought to a halt due to a fall in 2016.
It’s a tough caper, racing, but McPhan has got back on the horse time and time again.
That fall saw her kicked by a horse, leading to a bleed on the brain that eventually saw her give training away.
And then – not long after taking the reins up again last year – another fall, and a broken hip for good measure.
The second fall saw her come off the horse that’s the focus of her return – rising 8YO mare, the unraced Love Is Eastside.
Not many mares debut when just days away from their eighth birthday – most have already retired from the track and settled down to ‘Mum life’.
But like McPhan, this mare has shown she’s got what it takes to overcome adversity and will get her first crack at racing when she lines up over 1400m in race five at Pakenham on Monday.
Love Is Eastside is eyeing off a debut run at Pakenham on Monday (Image: Supplied)
Love Is Eastside’s breeder was her initial trainer, Jackson Pallot, but after a lack of interest in an online sale, Pallot turned to McPhan.
“It hadn’t quite closed (the bidding) and he rang me up and said, ‘Do you want her?'” McPhan told Punters.
“I ummed and ahhed, and said I know the mare, she’s got a beautiful temperament, had ability and just needed a bit of time.
“I said, ‘What do you want for her?’
“He said, ‘Two bottles of Grey Goose vodka!'”
We’re not sure if they were 700ml or the 1L variety, but one thing’s for sure, if it leads to wins and some ‘spirited’ days out at the races, it’ll be a good deal done.
The best part for McPhan is she’s taking the whole crew along for the ride with her – in the ownership are sons Joel, Cassidy and Randall, the horse’s strapper Kayci, and Campbell Holland – the assistant curator at Bairnsdale who helped the trainer out when she needed it most.
“I’m pretty grateful to Campbell, the fall wasn’t too bad [in 2016], but the horse kicked me in the head – causing the bleed,” she said.
“He was right on hand, so I’m grateful for him to coming out of it so well.”
If all the bumps and bruises weren’t enough to stop McPhan, then a late scratching with this mare at Sale in January was a mere blip on the radar.
“I was confident she’d be able to get amongst them … she got kicked behind the barriers and got scratched,” she said, almost in disbelief.
Then came the fall and the broken hip for the trainer to further delay Love Is Eastside’s day in the sun.
Well, when we say sun, we mean wintry confines of Pakenham racecourse smack back in the middle of winter (a top of 12 degrees, and anywhere between 15-35mm of rainfall is on the forecast) – but there’ll be warm vibes among her camp knowing what it has taken just to reach the start line.
“It’s been a test of my dedication to do this again,” McPhan understated.
Throw in delays on licence renewals, paperwork mix-ups, getting a new property properly fenced after downsizing … it’s amazing what it takes sometimes just to get one horse to the start of a race.
Love Is Eastside is born and bred in Bairnsdale, and counts a local Cup hero as a close neighbour in the yard – McPhan’s old stable star El Pretender.
“He’s still in my paddock … he’s rising 22. He was my handiest one, I think we won seven races with him – the Bairnsdale Cup, Latrobe Valley Cup … ran third in a Cranbourne Cup,” she fondly recalled.
El Pretender knocked off Pacino – a subsequent Group-level horse later that year – to win his hometown Cup in 2009.
Not only do El Pretender and Love Is Eastside share some real estate, but they’ll share the same silks too, about 15 years apart.
And the last line on the mare: “I think we’ll just be excited to get a start (on Monday).”
You’ve gotta be in it to win it, but sometimes just being in it is the win itself.