Chris Alford and his wife Alison were pictured with their daughter Katie during the campaign in 2011.
In the last few weeks there is no doubt that champion Victorian reinsman Chris Alford has travelled as many kilometres as anybody in the game.
Last week alone he drove at Ballarat and Maryborough Wednesday, Alexandra Park on Friday, Albion Park on Saturday and topped it off with a drive at Menangle on Miracle Mile day, Sunday.
This week he is in the headlines for a different reason, pulling on the Children’s Tumour Foundation (CTF) silks to raise awareness for Neurofibromatosis (NF).
NF is one of the most common genetic conditions in the world – more prevalent, in fact, than Cystic Fibrosis, Duchene Muscular Dystrophy and Huntington’s Disease combined.
Trots fans may remember Alford wearing the NF Australia silks in 2011 but with a change of name, he will proudly display the CTF logo throughout the month of May this year.
After raising over $50,000 in 2011 thanks to an extraordinarily generous trotting fraternity, the focus this year will be on lifting the profile of the illness rather than donating money.
“We’re not looking to raise any money this year; I’ll just be wearing the colours again to hopefully raise some awareness,” Alford said.
“It’s something that’s little known about in the public but it does affect a lot of people.”
And he knows that better than anyone with his daughter, Katie, suffering from the condition.
Katie was diagnosed with the most common form of the illness (NF1) in July 2010. It affects one in 3,000 people and causes tumours to grow along the nerves, anywhere inside or outside the body.
It is impossible to know how mildly or severely NF will affect any one person but common problems include deafness, blindness, bone deformities, brain and spine tumours, disfigurement and learning difficulties.
