Pinjarra horseman David Young is proving to be the maestro of trainers of square gaiters, and he ruled the roost at Gloucester Park on Friday night when Grumpee, a recent newcomer to his stable, scored a fighting victory in the $50,000 Nova Trotters Cup.
Grumpee, the $3.70 favourite driven expertly by Aiden de Campo, gave Young and de Campo their third victory in the space of four years in the group 2 Cup when he defeated My Lightning Queen ($4) by a neck, with $4.80 chance Majestic Ga Ga, a 50m co-backmarker, surging home from the rear to finish third.
The 39-year-old Young and de Campo had combined to win the Cup with Patched in 2023 and 2025. And Patched ($18) was far from disgraced on Friday night when he finished fifth after starting off the 50m mark.
For Young, Grumpee’s win is just a continuation of the association he has established with Victorian trainer Alison Alford and her husband, champion reinsman Chris Alford.
A few years ago, the Alfords suggested to Young that he should take over the preparation of Patched, and he certainly has no regrets that he listened to this advice, with Patched, now a sprightly nine-year-old, have raced 73 times for Young in WA for 24 wins, 26 placings and $288,566 in prizemoney.
“Alison rang me about six months ago and said that the way prizemoney was over there (in Victoria) they were looking to move a few horses on,” said Young. “So, I had a chat with (stable client) Brian Simeon and we agreed that it would be worth having a crack with Grumpee.”
Queried about his secret of success with trotters, Young revealed that he took a soft approach with their preparation, saying: “I’ve always under trained, and not over trained them. I think that generally suits these guys, keeping them on top of the ground and keeping them happy.
“For tonight’s race, I changed a few things (including adding blinkers and near-side Murphy blind). But he is losing two lengths on every corner, whereas at home he doesn’t miss a beat and goes straight.
“We were a bit lucky tonight, with Chris Voak’s horse (My Lightning Queen) bubbling at the start which probably cost him the race.”
Providing Grumpee recovers in good shape after Friday night’s run he will begin from the 40m back mark in a 2116m event at Pinjarra on Monday afternoon.
“And after that, I think that the best thing for him will be to have a spell,” said Young.
Grumpee has won at three of his seven WA starts for earnings of $39,777, after arriving in the State with a Victorian losing sequence of 16. His career record now stands at 47 starts for nine wins, nine placings and $120,306. He is by American sire Muscle Mass and is the fifth foal out of Victorian-bred Sundon mare Ostensibly, who raced 35 times for six wins, seven placings and $33,750.
Line The Starzzz ($34) set the pace on Friday night, with Grumpee enjoying a perfect trip in third place on the pegs with most of the field racing in Indian file. De Campo eased Grumpee off the inside with 950m to travel and the six-year-old then raced without cover, with My Lightning Queen following him.
My Lightning Queen took a narrow lead with 230m to travel before Grumpee fought back determinedly to regain the front in the home straight to win by a neck, rating 2.2.4 over the 2503m journey.
