John Cremin has set himself a New Year’s resolution. The former Albion Park harness racing metropolitan winning premiership reinsman is heading south and he’s taking his new prized recruit with him.
Cremin will head off tomorrow (Sunday) bound for Victoria with his stable star, talented trotter Melpark Royal Son.
The recent winner of the Gr.2 $40,000 Darrell Alexander Memorial Trotting Championship winner at Albion Park, the Majestic Son – Melpark Maid gelding will be set for a number of trotting features during the Melbourne summer carnival.
“It’s a good opportunity for a working holiday; he’s paid his way for a trip so Tanya (wife) and I are heading off to compete in a few nice races while catching up with a lot of our friends we have down there which will be great fun.” Cremin said.
Melpark Royal Son capped his southern campaign with a resounding romp at Albion Park yesterday (Friday) in a time of 2:00.4 for the 2138m mobile start event.
Since being purchased from Glenn Conroy earlier this year, Melpark Royal Son has found a new lease of life in the sunshine state while Cremin’s astute farrier skills have also played a part in his success.
In 13 starts for Cremin, Melpark Royal Son has won five times while being placed on a further 7 occasions.
His only unplaced effort came on October 29 at Albion Park when fourth behind Blue Don, beaten 3.7 metres.
“My only other trotter was Dicky Dewar and I enjoyed working with him so I was keen to get another one in time, this guy came up and I‘ve got to thank Glenn for everything because he’s helped me a heck of a lot since he’s arrived at my stables.
“The Conroy family is well known for their success with the trotters and Glenn has been excellent with his advice. I’m looking at the Horsham Trotters Cup on January 8 as his first target, it’s a 2700m stand start which will suit him nicely.
“His biggest asset is his speed, he can really turn it on and sprint and I believe he’s still working it all out because he’s still very lightly raced for a trotter. I think this trip away will be a good learning curve for both of us.”
The last time Cremin ventured south with a horse was back in 1995 when he headed to Harold Park with Brendans Mate.
But given his busy schedule as a farrier, he’s rarely had time to work horses, let alone travel with them.
Cremin is the chief farrier for Queensland’s largest stable, Grant Dixon while supporting a number of other stables on the south side of Brisbane.
Chris Barsby