THE newly formed Amy and Ash Yargi training partnership recorded their first victory, and winning double at their home track of Mornington on Easter Sunday, 21 April.
The husband and wife operation combined at the start of April and after a string of unlucky runs, it was their seventh runner that they saddled up, Danger In Devon, who broke through for their first memorable victory as a team.
Channing, a five-year-old gelding by Magic Albert, was quick to back up the victory in the following race and landed the partnership with their first winning double on the same day.
It was even more memorable for the team with their two-and-a-half week old daughter, Gerogia May, attending the races for the first time.
“She came as our good luck charm,” co-trainer, and mother of two, Amy Yargi said.
“It was her first time going. The horses had been racing well but hadn’t been having much luck, so we bought Nana’s (May) lucky ring and Georgia May to the races and clearly it worked really well.”
Having “pulled out all the stops”, Amy said the team was “over the moon to get the double” at their home track.
The winners, Danger In Devon, was strapped by Matthew Rupe, while Jordyn Wetherly led her first winner as a strapper with Channing saluting in race seven – it was her second time strapping a runner at the races.
For the formation of the training partnership, Amy said it was just the right time for her husband Ash Yargi to part ways with Mornington-based Freedman Racing after 15 years with the team and commence their operation together.
“I’ve just given birth to our second child and it was becoming a little bit too hard for me to be doing it all by myself with two young kids and Ash working full time, so the timing was right with Sam Freedman stepping up and becoming a more significant role in his father, Anthony’s, business so the timing was perfect all round,” she said.
“Ash has been doing a great job recently, I’ve just given him a bit of free rein the last few weeks. I’ve been pre-occupied with Georgia, but we still discuss everything every day, and he’s been doing a super job and working really hard.”
Amy said their unique partnership has also been of benefit to their stable.
“I think what makes us unique is that we don’t agree on everything and we’re both trying to get the best out of the horses, and I come up with ideas that Ash doesn’t and vice-versa,” she said. “I think between the two of us we’re covering all bases and the horses are running well so it seems to be working what we’re doing so far.”
With their baby girl Georgia now in their lives, Amy has taken less of a “hands on role” with the horses at the stable but in regard to their operation, she will still be overseeing everything including nominations, updates, photos and other information required for owners.
Amy said it’s nice to get up early in the morning for a different reason nowadays.
“I’m used to being up at the early hours of the mornings and getting up and handling horses so having a cuddle with the baby is quite a nice change,” she said.
First published in the Mornington News – 30 April 2019
