Contrasting fortunes for two southern veterans

By Jonny Turner

Doug McLachlan had a good excuse not to be on track for his old mate and warhorse Franco Huntington's latest win at Winton.

Just days earlier, a shoeing mishap led to the veteran trainer copping a nasty hip injury that required hip replacement surgery.

McLachlan watched on from home after being released from hospital and his 12-year-old pacing warrior gave him a lovely pick-me-up by scoring win 16 in his 252nd start in the Subway Winton Mobile Pace.

“He is known as a bit of an eftpos card because he is always thereabouts.”

“But now we might have to change his name to ACC.”

McLachlan found himself having emergency hip surgery after what he described as an unfortunate series of events when shoeing another member of his team in Jenny Gump.

“She is a lovely horse to shoe, I put her foot up on the pedestal and because it was wet I put it a bit further up.”

“I was just rasping off the nails, I had only got a couple of swipes in when she resented something and her foot slipped and I ended up on the concrete.”

McLachlan is known in harness racing circles for being as tough as they come and his recent incident reflects that.

The trainer wasn’t in any rush to head to hospital but his partner Sylvia Crighton made the call the next day.

“Sylvie said she would take me straight to hospital but I said I would be right by the morning.”

“I ended up getting in an ambulance the next morning and by lunchtime they were operating on me.”

Safely through his surgery, McLachlan won’t be on the harness racing scene for a little while.

But anyone who knows the trainer will know he won’t be away for long.

“I have been on crutches but [on Sunday] I was able to shuffle around a bit better.”

“You just have to keep exercising and keep putting pressure on it so that it gets stronger.”

McLachlan is thankful to Kirstin Green who immediately picked up Franco Huntington and Jenny Gump following their trainer’s injury.

Green took care of Franco Huntington at Winton on Thursday and she will be in charge of McLachlan’s pair until the trainer is back in action.