Brett Conlon pair chasing a Sandown double
Cranbourne trainer Brett Conlon has been associated with many good horses during his career in racing.
Conlon worked for the Woodlands Stud team in Melbourne under John Hawkes and continued with Peter Snowden when the operation was taken over by Darley, which later became Godolphin.
After leaving Darley he had a stint working in Singapore before returning to Melbourne and taking out his own licence.
It’s been slow going as Conlon wrestles with building his training business while wanting to spend more time with wife Lyndal.
“Where I’ve struggled is my wife has got stage four breast cancer and it’s terminal,” Conlon said.
“What do I do? Do I really work hard building up a business or do I spend the time with her.
“What I’ve found is that Lyndal really enjoys the horses going to the races, even though she won’t go.
“And if I come home and something is hurt, or galloped badly, she puts it all back in perspective.
“She’s an awesome woman.”
With three horses in work as others recuperate from injury in the paddock, Conlon has two horses engaged at Sandown on Wednesday, Jacky Paper in the Polytrack Plate and Gala Moshea in the Ladbrokes Handicap.
Both are lightly raced four-year-olds because of injury.
Gala Moshea is returning from a spell but won a trial at Cranbourne on February 5.
Among those that finished behind her included Main Stage, Sully, Ambitious, Abbey Marie, Nozomi and Salsamor.
“The trial the other day was enormous,” Conlon said.
“She’s got an attitude and is hard to train work-wise but once I get the sting out of the track she’ll show her ability.
“If the track’s not too hard, she’ll be thereabouts.”
Jacky Paper has been plagued by injuries from having a piece of wood lodged behind the coronet band into his foot, to almost severing his tail.
He has run second at his only two starts, the latest at Pakenham on January 25, under Michael Walker who has the ride again on Wednesday.
“He’s got lots of ability but is raw and doesn’t know what he’s doing yet,” Conlon said.