Green with key chances at Gore today

By Jonny Turner 

Forbury Park made a profound impact on many harness racing careers, but few more so than Kirstin Green's.

Green will start key chances when the Forbury Park Trotting Club holds their annual race meeting south of the Otago-Southland border at Gore on Sunday.

Forbury Park was not only the scene for Green's first win in the sulky, more importantly it sparked her interest in harness racing.

"I had no ties to harness racing, it was just that we moved to Saint Clair and we would walk past it."

"I started hanging around and ended up getting a job with Alan Clyma."

Green admitted she didn't dare to dream that she would go on to be a trailblazer for women in southern harness racing, as well as a Group 1 winning trainer and driver.

"There weren't many drivers around Forbury Park at the time and I ended up moving to Southland."

"I actually went down there to do a course at SIT (polytechnic) and wasn't thinking about racing."

"But I applied for a part-time job with Doug McLachlan and everything went from there."

"Doug had quite a strong team at the time and he was very good to me, putting me on."

Green has a task on her hands at Gore, to beat one of Forbury Park's most winning trainers in Phil Williamson.

Williamson starts Becky's Girl in the Silk Road Trotting following her ultra-impressive win in the latest heat of the series.

Green starts a quality contender of her own in the second favourite, Mor Moonlight.

The trainer-driver knows her mare will need to be on her game to down the Williamson trained favourite.

"Becky's Girl was pretty impressive last week, with the sectionals she ran."

"We will definitely have to be on our best game to beat her."

"I am happy with my mare, there are always bugs and sniffles around at this time of year and she has managed to dodge them so far and her work this week has been very good."

The last time Mor Moonlight stepped out over 1700m from behind the mobile she was a powerful winner at Listed level of the Uncut Gems, late last year.

Becky's Girl is part of a powerful line up of trotters Phil Williamson starts on Sunday.

The trainer has Tarragindi and He Aint Fakin going clashing in the feature trot for colts and geldings.

Green will go head to head with Brad Williamson who drives Becky's Girl, but just one race prior they will link up with a key chance in Sweet Espresso.

Williamson will again take the reins behind the Green trained mare after her tidy second at Ascot Park last week.

"She's probably one of the best winning chances of my team."

"She is one that has been promising to win one for a while."

"The only concern is the 1 draw, she can be a bit tricky early so Brad will have to be wary of that."

Green starts Ginerva in Sunday's pacing heat of the Silk Road Series.

The mare is a prior heat winner but faces a challenging draw in barrier 8 at Gore.