COVER STORY: Harnessing a Passion

Essendon assistant coaches Mark Harvey and Kevin Morris have an undeniable passion for footy.

Both revelled in the glory of VFL/AFL premierships during their playing careers and are now fulfilling key roles on the other side of the fence.

While it's hard to deny either their love of Australia's great game, you'll be interested to know that the duo share a common passion for harness racing.

Not only are they both owners, but Morris is a keen breeding enthusiast, raising and nurturing his own racing stock on a farm at Comadai, near Melton.

In fact harness racing ownership spreads a little further at Bomberland. Mark Mercuri owned the talented Touch Of Trouble in the late 90's, while Chris Heffernan ranks amongst the members of the appropriately named Twenty Six Red N Black Group which owns the two year old colt Gomez.

Morris and Harvey's affinity with harness racing began in different ways, but what is common is the enjoyment that both derive from the ownership game.

While they tell you it's hard to compare anything with the emotions of that one day in September, the excitement that goes with winning that first race has had them coming back for more ever since.

Morris' is a funny tale. Back in the early 1970's he was standing at a Richmond garage with money in his pocket ready to invest in a couple of greyhounds. It was a simple plan - meet the people and buy the dogs.

However, even the best plans can go astray, and that was certainly the case with Morris'. While waiting at the garage, the expected car arrived, but no greyhounds in sight, in fact the car was towing a horse float.

Inside the vehicle was sports journalist Brian Hanson, and in the float a pacer called Smokey Raider, on their way to the Warragul harness racing meeting that night.

Morris, who was playing for Richmond at the time, knew Hanson and the pair started a conversation. Minutes later, after refueling, Hanson pulled out of the garage with the horse in tow and Morris along for the trip to Warragul.

The money for the greyhounds was handed over, and Morris became a horse owner.

Smokey Raider tried his best to make Morris a first-up winner, but was caught three-wide on the tight, circular Warragul track, and was beaten, albeit only a head.

"It was a terrific run," Morris recalls. "There was no doubt he should have won, but that performance still won me over to be involved in harness racing".

Thirty years down the track and Morris is still as passionate about harness racing as ever.

He has bred and / or raced upwards of 30 horses over the years, some with success and some without, all along though enjoying the thrills, anticipation and development that goes with getting a horse to the races.

In fact, Morris is enjoying considerable success at present with star five year old trotter Djerriwarrh (pictured below), a horse he bred and nurtured from day one.

Prepared by leading trainer Peter Manning and driven by Australia's premier driver Kerryn Gath, Djerriwarrh has contested the past two Inter Dominion Trotting Finals (harness racing's equivalent of the AFL Grand Final) and despite finishing unplaced he's regarded as one of this nation's best.

The tough-as-nails trotter has faced the starter on 72 occasions for 26 wins, 23 placings and over $190,000 in stakes, giving Morris plenty of highlights along the way.

Harvey became involved in harness racing in the early 90's through former Essendon team mate Craig O'Brien who was enjoying success at the highest level with brilliant juvenile Next Bonus.

Next Bonus raced 25 times for O'Brien, winning 12 races and placing in eight others for a tick under $100,000 in stakes, before being sold to North America.

Harvey, and another Bomber legend Darren Bewick, saw the enjoyment that O'Brien was getting from his investment and decided they needed to be part of the action.

"Through Craig we met his trainer, Andrew Peace, and he purchased a pacer from New Zealand for us, a horse called Sioux City", explains Harvey.

"He won a couple of races at Moonee Valley and I tell you that was big thrill.

"It's difficult to compare it to a premiership or a best and fairest win, but it's such an adrenalin rush when you when win a race as an owner, be it in town at Moonee Valley, or somewhere in the bush.

Harvey has shared in the ownership of half a dozen pacers over the past decade with trainers such as Peace, Noel Alexander, John 'Bulldog' Nicholson and his current trainer Bill Walker.

"First and foremost, it's all about enjoying the experience with mates and friends. Obviously it's good to get a return on your investment, but you're primary aim must be for the enjoyment.

"The advantage of harness racing over gallops is it's a lot less expensive to get involved, but you still get the same buzz.

"For me, it was a great outlet from footy and I loved getting along to a meeting at Cranbourne or Moonee Valley, even if I didn't have a horse running.

Like anyone that's experienced the ownership game, Harvey says it's a unique rollercoaster of emotions, but would recommended it to anyone.

"There's always an anticipation building up to a race, you're thinking is the horse any good, how will it go. That can then build up to a few nerves on raceday and then there's a sense of overwhelming joy if the horse wins or even runs up to expectations and disappointment if it fails to deliver."

"As I said it's a great adrenalin rush, one that I would recommend to anyone."

The training and preparation of harness racing horses is something Harvey has always found intriguing.

"I'm interested in the way trainers overcome injuries, plan training regimes and even blood test their horses. There's a lot that can be related across to what I do coaching humans and I find that intriguing.

Harvey currently has one pacer on the books, an honest three year old filly named Dallas Pearl, who is about a month away from resuming from a spell. She faced the starter five times in her first campaign, winning at Cranbourne on 20 August at hear second appearance.

Importantly for Harvey and followers of the Bombers she paid a handsome $9.60 win dividend on Super TAB, but for those that missed out fear not, he thinks there's a couple more wins ahead with luck on her side.

Both Harvey and Morris are looking forward to Essendon's venture into harness racing ownership with Windyhillbomber and Bomber Dazzler and the opportunity (fingers crossed) it will give so many new faces to experience the thrills they have shared in over the past three decades.