Herlihy having a good "trot" in 2026

By Michael Guerin

Champion horseman Tony Herlihy’s well-oiled trotting production line might need to go up a cog if he is to keep producing winners at Alexandra Park tonight.

Herlihy is our most successful horseman of either code having driven 3746 winners in New Zealand and plenty more at Group 1 level in Australia.

As great as he is with pacers Herlihy has always had an affinity with driving trotters but that has been even more pronounced in his training career, during which Herlihy has always seemed to have at least one good trotter is work.

But at the moment those most frustrating of harness horses are providing him with a golden run, with nine of his 20 training wins this season having been with square-gaiters.

“I have always loved trotters and they tend to be easier to buy at the sales, more in my price range,” he smiles.

But sometimes ignored among the huge Herlihy career stats is a very rare talent, the ability to win with trotters on debut, a stage of their careers when many other trainers are just happy to get them around in one piece.

“I don’t know what I’d put that down to but the breed has changed and the trotters actually trot a more now than they used to,” he says modestly.

In recent months he has produced the likes of star three-year-old filly Our Col, Overwatch and Monarch Muscle to win as young trotters on debut while the likes of Shred N Burn, who also races tonight, has also made his way to the winner’s circle relatively early in his careers.

“I have a nice bunch of trotters around me at the moment and they probably make up about 12 of the 25 or 30 horses we have in work,” explains Herlihy.

Our Col might be the best of those as a national record holder and Group 1 prospect later in the season but Youneverknow (R5, No.11) who races at The Park tonight is an open class horse in the making.

He won well in his comeback race at Cambridge last start but Herlihy says his return to Alexandra Park tonight won’t be an easy one, starting off 10m with an in-form rival in Viscount Mackendon on the front line.

“Youneverknow is a horse we really like but he is in a big field this week and over 2200m a lot of that can come down to where you settle and how hard they go,” explains Herlihy.

“He can win but some of those on the front line, like Viscount Mackendon who seems to have improved, could take some catching.”

Herlihy also has Regal Girl in that race and he also doubles up in the minor trot in which he favours Monarch Muscle (R3, No.8) over Shred N Burn, who is having his first Alexandra Park race start.

“They are both nice trotters and Monarch Muscle could develop into a pretty good three-year-old but again, it isn’t easy off a 30m handicap over 2200m second time to the races.

“So we are taking some good chances to the races but they will still that bit of luck the way their fields stack up.”

Monarch Muscle is a half-brother to Herlihy’s former Northern Trotting Derby winner Inasinglemoment, who has had an eventful last two years.

She won the Derby, got injured, has since produced a colt foal by Volstead and is now back in work and six weeks away from racing, all by the half way point of her five-year-old season.

“I was happy to put her back in work as she is showing no signs of the injury and is a good mare.

“But we have also had some bad luck recently, losing Double Delight, who was a really good trotting mare, after she produced just one What The Hill foal.”

The trotters could produce one of the other better bets of the night at The Park tonight with Ilicit Love (R7, No.9) looking to have found the perfect race, albeit also facing a tricky draw.