Warrnambool-based gallops trainer Symon Wilde hopes to have a satellite stable operating in Ballarat before the end of the month.
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Wilde said he was meeting with Ballarat Turf Club chief executive officer Lachlan McKenzie on Wednesday for a final inspection of stable facilities.
Wilde plans to have up to 10 horses, all in full work, in Ballarat.
He said as well as offering first class training facilities with an uphill straight synthetic track and purpose-built jumps schooling lane, Ballarat’s location was a key attraction.
Wilde said Ballarat was much more central than Warrnambool, offering much easier access to the metropolitan tracks and major racing centres east of Melbourne such as Cranbourne, Mornington and Pakenham.
He said this would open up opportunities, especially when horses reach city class and were regularly racing in metropolitan class.
Wilde first revealed his intention to expand his stable to Ballarat in May last year.
He told The Courier while there had been a few unforeseen delays, all was set for the new operation to open in the next week or so.
He said with the Ballarat stable he expected to have up 50 horses in work across his operation.
Wild is sitting sixth on the Victorian trainers’ premiership table with 34 wins at a healthy strike rate of 18.7 per cent, with the vast majority of wins being on Western Victorian tracks. He finished 13th in the premiership last season with 50 wins.
Meanwhile, Darren Weir is within one win of reaching 200 wins in Victoria with the season still two weeks away from reaching the halfway mark. He had 329 wins in the state last year.
IMPORTED New Zealand trotter Ventimiglia ($8.30) chalked up her second win for Grenville trainer Greg Moss at Melton on Monday night.
With Debra Wicks-Moss in the sulky, the six-year-old led to get the money by a half-head in a T1, 1720m.
Dunnstown trainer-driver David Murphy stretched the winning run of Variance ($3 favourite) to three in the 4yo’s first open age race at Melton on Monday.
It was first start of the son of Armbro Variable since August when he won the group 3 Breeders Crown Silver Trot in Ballarat. Variance has four wins 23 starts for $28,000.
These keep a good run going for Ballarat district-trained trotters, with Cardigan-based Anton Golino adding to his tally of wins with Glenferrie Burn ($1.60 favourite) at Melton on Friday.
