Alistair Webb enjoying dream start in the racing industry

By Jordan Gerrans

After not being overly keen on the idea for three decades, Narelle Webb is now the biggest fan of her husband Alistair’s training pursuits.

The Wyandra-based Webbs have long been involved with polocrosse with Alistair always dreaming of owning a race horse.

The 59-year-old finally got that wish over the last year when he purchased gelding In'hinchable, who was previously raced by the Billy Healey barn on the Sunshine Coast.

The four-year-old son of Hinchinbrook is yet to miss a place in his four runs under the ownership of Alistair, which has included two victories, with the latest coming at Cunnamulla on Saturday afternoon.

While Alistair had his tongue firmly planted in his cheek, he did note he would have liked to be involved in the racing industry much earlier than 2023.

“I have a wife that did not let me have a licence for 30 years,” Alistair said with a laugh with his wife Narelle in earshot.

“I finally convinced her. It was a bit like that and it took a bit of a push to get it going.

“Now my wife is probably the most excited out of anyone about it all.

“I have always wanted to own a racehorse and I have finally convinced her, it has been a god send.”

Narelle is enjoying the ride with their new purchase, as well.

“He is a very good horseman and he is going really well,” Narelle said of her husband Alistair.

“This is a new stage in his life. It is very nice the way the horse is going.”

Alistair purchased the horse originally online and when he was waiting for his stable hand licence to get upgraded to a trainers licence, he handed the galloper to Monique Gavin in the meantime.

Gavin – who also trains out of Cunnamulla – prepared him to one victory from two starts before Alistair become officially licensed.

The bay gelding ran second at Morven in Alistair's first outing as a trainer before he grabbed his maiden victory at Cunnamulla in Class 3 company over 1000 metres on Saturday.

After being involved with polocrosse for much of his life, Alistair has had to adapt how he trains his horses now that he is looking after a thoroughbred race horse.

He would usually take a polocrosse horse for long distance rides to get them fit but has quickly learnt that he needs to do a mixture of speed and endurance work with In'hinchable.

Alistair went to the track on Saturday with confidence he could nab his first win as a trainer, remarking that apprentice rider Tessa Townsend just needed to navigate a wide gate.

“He is a gun horse, we have been a bit lucky,” Alistair said.

“There has been a lot of people in the racing industry that have been so helpful to me starting out – they really have been awesome.

“It has taken me some time to learn how to train a horse from being an endurance horse to a race horse.

“We have worked it out and it has been going well.”

Alistair Webb might just be the second most famous race horse trainer to come out of Wyandra, behind the great Peter Moody.

He lives at Wyandra and prepares In'hinchable on his own property and heads into the track at Cunnamulla if he wants to do any fast work.

Alistair and Moody grew up together in the bush town before the Group 1-winning trainer embarked on his stellar career in the racing industry.

“He is a good fella Moods,” Alistair said.

“My dad and his dad were pretty good mates and we had a lot to do with Moods when we were kids before they moved on.

“That was until we were teenagers, we would hang around a lot.”