Heathcote reinswoman Tayla French is managing an increasingly busy schedule as she comes under notice from a growing number of harness racing trainers across the State – and she's loving the challenge.
French has gone from picking up less than a handful of drives a week last season (a good proportion of which were for her dad Terry) to an average of one a day in 2019-20.
She admits the regional racing model had a good deal to do with trainers "giving her a try", but with the borders freeing up French is retaining most of her drives, and picking up more each week as she shows she is prepared to pack and up head across the State.
"Dad and I did our first Mildura trip a couple of weeks back and I was pretty excited that we got a double and a couple of placings for the trip," French said.
And the pair went tantalising close to an even more memorable night, with the other stable runners finishing second and third.
"The tight track was quite different, but after I got back with the first winner, I thought, 'yep, I like this track!'," she laughed
"I like to study the form pretty closely because it's a big part of driving in a race. I think it helps a lot, certainly at tracks like Mildura."
It's hard to see how French managed to squeeze a Mildura trip into her schedule. She works three days a week at a local doctor's surgery and a couple of days a week for Romsey trainer Chris Svanosio, as well as helping her dad work their team of seven.
On Melbourne Cup Day French notched up a double in the morning meeting at Charlton, before heading north for engagements at Mildura – a 900 km day, but French wasn't fazed.
Pinnacle Hope winning at Charlton—giving Tayla a driving double
"It's up before the sun and finishing up in the moonlight a lot of the time, but I love it," she said.
"Dad's actually been in Darwin for the past couple of weeks which meant it's been even busier than usual, but I did get a winner, so that gives me bragging rights for a while!"
It's possibly no coincidence that the French team has enjoyed some of their most successful seasons since Tayla took out her driver's licence two years ago, when she was 21.
"I tried to get my licence when I was 16 but failed a medical and got a bit downhearted about that and gave it up for a few years. But once I was mature enough, and I started to grow and form a connection with the horses, dad suggested that I should drive them," she said.
"We mess around with a lot of cheapies, but dad's a real believer in getting to know the horses and understand them, and I've kind of taken that on board," she said.
"For me, forming a connection with the horse is a big part of it."
It seems to be a formula that's working. Terry French is enjoying his best season in the sport, with 21 winners for the extended season, and it's also been a break-out season for Tayla, with 52 wins for the extended season (46 for the 1919-20 season).
"I've learnt a lot from Dad. I'm one to tell him he is wrong about something, then I'll sit down and have a think about it later and think, yeah, he's probably right," she said.
"Dad spends almost his entire day with the horses. He doesn't have to but does because he's a believer in putting the time into them. Every one gets half an hour equissage every day, and because we get a lot of older horses that have a bit of maturity about them, I think they enjoy the one-on-one.
"He loves a challenge and I think because I know the horses too, it's really coming together for us. One we won with recently, Tangaroa (Badlands Hanover-Priddy Good (Armbro Operative) was a 46-start maiden. Everyone told dad he was mad to take it on, but he told me he'd get a win out of it – and we did!"
While the COVID-19 regional racing model presented new opportunities for French, her patience and persistence are ensuring she's making the most of it.
"I started getting a few winners, not on superstars, and if you drive patiently trainers start to recognise you and give you a shot," she said.
"COVID gave me a chance to get some new drives, but also to get to know a lot of trainers and form a connection with the horses I'm driving. Fortunately, a lot of them have left me on, even when they don't need my five-point claim, which is great."
French said her career highlight so far was on Form Analyst (Bettors Delight-Shezacullen (Christian Cullen), an ex-Emma Stewart horse her dad took on in November last year.
"We won his first metro race at Bendigo in August, and that was an absolute highlight and he's been a lovely horse for us," she said.
French said there was no doubt she would be in the sport for the long haul.
"I've just bought a property at Heathcote, not too far from dad's, where I am hoping to set it up. That's a little way down the track, but that's my goal. In the meantime, I'm just poking around and learning as I go."
Terry Gange
NewsAlert PR Mildura