Tamworth harness trainer Tony Missen is on the slow road to recovery after receiving damage to his pelvis in a race fall just before Christmas.
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There is no more drives – at the moment - from the sprightly reinsman but nothing is holding Missen back from training and his team is set to dominate the Bearing Accessories Local Pace at Tamworth Paceway on Sunday.
“You wouldn’t believe it - I only have three in work and they all ended up in the same race,” Missen said.
He has progressed from a wheelchair as a means of getting around and part of his recovery process to now being on crutches – and hopefully they will be by the wayside soon.
“I’m feeling well and good within myself,” Missen, who relies on his brother Peter and stable foreman Stan Allen to work the horses, said.
“I am back to the doctor in early March and we will see what he has got to say,” he said.
“I’m still on crutches and can put some weight on the leg but the physio and doctor are both happy so that is the main thing.”
Missen has The Last Gindi, Yap Yap Yomax and Fivestar Wally in the ten horse field, which is set for horses that are trained in the 067 telephone prefix, and flying the flag for the $7,140 in prizemoney on offer.
Despite having three runners in the race, Missen has had no problems in finding reinsmen to fill the void.
The Last Gindi has drawn the one barrier and will be driven by Dean Germon.
“She (The Last Gindi) had a few hard runs over the Golden Guitar carnival and she has drawn the good barrier,” he said.
Down to Barrier three and Yap Yap Yomax will have inform reinsman Richard Williams in the spider.
“He is always there about’s,” Missen said of Yap Yap Yomax.
“And Richard is having the luck lately.”
Fivestar Wally will then have Brendan James in the spider and commence from the six barrier.
“He ran fourth the other day but he will need a lot of luck from that draw,” Missen said.
He will have all three of his horses commencing off the front line but feels the danger will come from three handy runners off the back line.
“Tact Maria, Mitrhys Magic and Somebeach N Clovelly – they are all well graded,” he said.
Tact Maria, from the Barry Schipp stables, is coming in off a last start win at Tamworth where the mare clocked a personal best mile rate of 1.57.2.
“In saying that it is a tricky race – it’s not a cake walk but you have to be in it to win it,” Missen added.
The nine race program will commence at 5.53pm.
