AT AN age when most pacers are enjoying retirement, evergreen gelding Barney Fella is thriving on racing.
A ripe 13-year-old, Barney Fella registered his third win of the season when triumphant at Globe Derby Tuesday night, taking his overall record to 28 wins and 47 placings from 225 starts.
Having his second stint in the care of astute horseman Shane Loone, the veteran has also run three placings from his nine outings for the term.
"The old bloke just loves the competition of racing," Loone said. "He works out of a paddock and doesn't do much between starts, so he's loving life.
"One of the main aspects of his longevity is he is sound as a bell and is really only fully extended at the races.
"He cut his leg earlier in the year, which meant he had several weeks off, and he wasn't happy about it!"
With Michael Smith holding the reins, Barney Fella overcame a second row draw to score by three-and-a-half metres from Childers Road, with Image Of Starzzz four-and-a-half metres away third.
Rating 1:58.4 over 1800 metres, the son of Pacific Fella provided the first half of a double for Loone, who prepared Magic Craft later in the card.
Also driven by Smith, Magic Craft broke a long drought from the winners' circle when she accounted for I Runformum and Celestial Zodiac, which is a stablemate of the winner.
"I've only had her for a dozen starts, but she hadn't won since October 2022," Loone said. "She was bought for the purpose of breeding and will go to stud at the end of the season, but I reckon she can pick up another win or two before then."
Rating 2:01.5 over 1800 metres, the nine-year-old was the final leg of a quartet for Smith, who was also victorious behind So Vogue and Santa Casa Lane.
