Dean Braun and Chris Alford celebrated on Sunday at Kilmore with win number 5000 for the reinsman.
Chris Alford last week became just the second reinsman in the southern hemisphere to achieve 5000 career winners.
It’s an almost unthinkable number really, to continue to rack up success season after season is something any sportsperson would be envious of.
And the milestone winner came, on a massive day of trotting with Alford claiming two of the three standout races on the program to thrust him towards greatness.
“I thought they looked okay chances on paper, Catch Your Breath was probably a bit of an outsider but once he got the ball rolling and then Chancellor Cullen took out the Cup I was pretty confident,” Alford said.
“I didn’t have a lot of time to think about it during the day; it didn’t really sink in until the end of the day.
“I knew halfway coming up the straight that Macho Comacho was going to win and get me to the 5000 and it was just a great feeling.”
Having that feeling of elation turning for home is something that can never be properly described and you couldn’t blame Alford for giving a salute.
But he didn’t, even though he was 10 metres clear and never in any danger. He explained that was more due to having given up the outlandish celebrations.
“I’m a bit past all that sort of thing; I thought that I might look like a bit of a mug-lair, I learnt my lesson with Golden Reign,” Alford said.
The ball keeps rolling this week and the master driver has declared his drive in the Central Goldfields Shire Maryborough Gold Cup, Im Corzin Terror, to be well and truly up to the rigours of topline pacing.
Not only could he have been competitive in last Sunday’s Group 2 Kilmore Cup won by stablemate Chancellor Cullen, he could well go on to better races this season.
“He’s a very, very good horse. I don’t think he would have been out of place in a race like the Kilmore Cup last week,” Alford said.
“First-up at the distance is always a test because most of the trials are only 2200 metres but he did feel really good at Melton last week.
“He’s always a bit scratchy, that’s always the way he is. He will probably never have the perfect gait but it doesn’t stop him running that’s for sure.”
Im Corzin Terror was heavily backed with TAB fixed odds yesterday, firming from an opening quote of $4 into $3.60 and eventually to his current price of $2.90 as the clear-cut market leader.
