Comeback win after four-year absence

FOUR years after his debut, Dreamcatcher has finally won a race.

In the squaregaiter’s defence, tonight’s victory in Bendigo came at his first start in four years!

Being readied for the 2016 Victoria Trotters’ Derby, Dreamcatcher began his career with a slightly disappointing fifth after breaking was a result of being pressured for the lead.

To connections’ dismay, the son of Love You injured his knee in the process, which ultimately led to his retirement.

Standing at stud for Yabby Dam Farms, Dreamcatcher failed to attract the patronage his Swedish breeding deserved, which resulted in trainer Anton Golino deciding to give the stallion another shot at racing.

“He is a very nice trotter,” Golino said. “He would have to be the classiest horse I have had.

“I was getting him ready for the Derby, but he hurt his knee and was retired to stud.

“But he wasn’t attracting any outside mares and was spending his time in a paddock.

“One day we decided to work him up to see how he goes.”

Driven by visiting reinsman Anthony Butt, Dreamcatcher led throughout from barrier two to score by eight-and-a-half metres from Hattie, with Nickys Son five metres away third.

Rating 2:01.7 over 2150 metres, the seven-year-old’s success was the first for the recently-formed training partnership between Golino and Jack MacKinnon.

“It was great to see him come back and win like that,” Golino said. “He is as sound as he has ever been and hopefully gets through this run that way.

“He’s seven and has a lot to learn, but the ability it there to go a long way.

“For now we’ll just find the right races and run him through the grades.”