Kerry Edwards shares a moment with her stable star Rox The Castle
Balnarring Beach may be far flung from the amphitheatre of The Valley, but it is what trainer Kerry Edwards is crediting for the success of Rox The Castle, most recently in last Friday night’s OTIS Foundation Handicap.
Edwards, 61, has not served a traditional ‘apprenticeship’ into training thoroughbreds. The trainer of a stable of three horses spent her career in the police force, with highlights including patrolling at the big meetings in metropolitan Melbourne, which now the hobby trainer is a part of thanks to her stable star.
“It’s a bit scary taking on the big boys, there is nowhere to hide and no easy races, but his competitive nature keeps getting him through,” expressed Edwards.
Raised on a dairy farm, Edwards first horse was an unbroken two-year-old, a difficult task in itself, but her father insisted ‘not buying anyone else’s problem’ for his inexperienced daughter. Pony Club was the logical progression and eventually pre-trainers, before the bug to train thoroughbreds set in.
How she trains them is vastly different to the ‘big boys’ she references. Every morning is spent on the Balnarring beach galloping and wading through the waters, with Edwards putting her small team through their paces.
“The day I can’t ride my horses is probably the day I’ll stop training.
“If I can’t ride my horses and pick up on all the little things, I don’t think it’s worth it… I need a little operation at the moment, but I’m holding that off until Rox The Castle needs a spell,” laughed Edwards.
For a self-professed hobby trainer, success at The Valley has not been unfamiliar. Her star performer of the early 2000’s, Paternal, won 11 races, seven of which came around the tight-turning circuit.
“The Valley obviously has been my favourite track and now Rox The Castle has won two races there and hopefully many more,” Edwards says unsurprisingly.
Having returned from a throat operation this campaign, the son of Irish stallion Castledale is racing better than ever, with three wins this campaign. Edwards trained Rox The Castle’s dam Run Roxy Run to win at Sandown in 2009 and, after a seventh placing at Ellerslie in New Zealand, was given her progeny to train.
“Your heart sinks when you have to operate on a horse, especially one of his ability, but thankfully it appears to have worked.
“He arrived from New Zealand charging and very keen, but now he’s super relaxed until the two hours at the track on raceday… he still gets very agitated, he knows he’s there to do a job,” explained Edwards.
Rox The Castle is part-owned and bred by Tim Di Mattina, who has raced several horses with Edwards over the years. While deteriorating health means this will be his last, the horse is proving ‘the best tonic’ he could possibly ask for. As for Edwards, winning at The Valley with Rox The Castle and wading in the shallows of Balnarring while on his back continues to give her plenty of joy.