Gavin is crazy about her Russian galloper

By Jordan Gerrans

Horse trainers are known to throw their gallopers ‘in the deep end’ every now and again by setting them a tough task for their upcoming assignment.

Cunnamulla horsewoman Monique Gavin might have taken the saying to the next level on Saturday afternoon on her home track.

Gavin – who has only been training for a few seasons – threw her promising horse Crazy Russian in the deepest end she could find and the gelding showed his trainer that he can swim with the big boys of bush racing in the area.

Crazy Russian had just one victory in 15 attempts to his name prior to Saturday and without any other suitable 1400 metre events on the program, Gavin decided to start him in the Open Plate against the seasoned gallopers.

An Open Plate race in regional racing is usually stacked with veteran warhorses who have been racing for many years.

Outside of Crazy Russian, the Open Plate field on Saturday at Cunnamulla consisted of five gallopers who had won a combined 27 races.

In a stunning upset, the five-year-old shocked them all to grab the second victory of his career, scoring by a length with apprentice Zoe Hunt in the saddle.

“What an achievement for a Class 1 horse to win so convincingly in the end,” bush racing caller Rob Luck said.

Gavin’s Russian Revolution gelding had run in the money in two of his three prior starts to Saturday in Class 1 and Benchmark 55 grade.

The optimistic young trainer – who rides all her own track work – had her fingers crossed Crazy Russian would be able to finish in the top three against the top field of veteran gallopers on Saturday.

“In all honesty, I was hoping for a place finish in the race because I know he has ability,” she said.

“He is a very good horse and all the senior riders that have ridden him for me have told me to ‘watch this space’ because he is one of the better horses they have ridden in the area.

“So, I thought why not give him a crack. I knew there was handy horses in the race and I was thinking about hopefully placing.

“For him to win the race – it absolutely surprised me – and it just shows maybe what those senior jockeys were saying might be right.”

As Luck notes, it is a remarkable achievement for a horse with just one win under their belt to win an Open Plate.

To put it into context, the other Open winners from the weekend of non-TAB racing included Ocean Emperor at Bowen (eight wins), Gentle Prince at Gympie (eight wins), Ready For Magic at Richmond (eight wins) and Burdekin at Longreach (six wins).

The four other Opens on Saturday were either run under Plate or Handicap conditions.

With racing on her home track not coming around every week, Gavin knew she just had to start Crazy Russian.

“Class races are hard to find out here so we were probably going to look for some Benchmark races or even rating races,” she said.

“I thought I couldn’t not start him at Cunnamulla.”

The shock result was the first leg of a winning double for Gavin as Za Hidden Dragon won the following event.

The 28-year-old notes that Crazy Russian is a lazy track worker but she was smiling that he is able to show his ability when it matters most.

“I chucked him in that race because I know he cannot handle 1200 metres, he needs every bit of 1400 metres,” the emerging trainer said.

“When you are racing in your own backyard as we were doing on Saturday it would be disappointing if I was to race my own horse in the wrong race for him.

“It is good to see he puts in 110 per cent on race day because he does not do it in the morning in his work.

“It was a good test for him on Saturday and it shows us what kind of ability he does have. I think he can get out to a mile eventually.”

Now as he is a Class 2 horse, Gavin says she will find a suitable race in the coming weeks in either New South Wales or the Sunshine State for the galloper.

With five horses in her stable, Gavin has started the new season with a bang.

She has taken 10 starters to the races since the 2024-25 campaign has commenced and has collected three winners and five minor placings so far.

Gavin has recently built new stables in her backyard which she believes is key to her team's success.

“The start of the year was hard because we were placing but not getting winners,” she said.

“But, since the new season has started, all the horses are hitting the mark.

“We have changed a few things in the stables and moved locations so maybe that has something to do with it.

“The horses seem a lot happier right now and they are really doing their best and that’s all that I can ask for really. I let them out during the day together to just be horses.”

Meanwhile, apprentice hoop Darren Evans rode his first winner since 2017 at Cunnamulla and District Diggers' Race Club on Saturday.

Evans returned to the saddle this year after almost seven years away from race riding.