Sarah Mcilrick will be the first to tell you she isn’t a big-time trainer.
In fact, she is an Office Manager at a mechanic’s shop, and based in Alectown, the owner-trainer works her sole horse out of the Parkes racecourse.
Still, she absolutely loves picnic racing, so it was a thrill for her and her family when she trained Asteria Star to victory in the 1100m Maiden Plate at Trangie’s Macquarie picnics on Saturday.
“We nominated her for Warren a couple of weeks ago but got balloted out, and I saw Trangie in the diary and decided we’d go that way,” Mcilrick said.
“I love going to the picnics; the atmosphere is so much better than any TAB meeting, and there is a great crowd, and it’s just a really good day, and we were so happy to win with her.”
Making the win all the more memorable was that her four-year-old was a hand-me-down of sorts, finding a forever home with Mcilrick.
“My uncle-in-law (Trevor Mcilrick) sacked her and gave me the call and asked her if I wanted her,” Mcilrick explained.
“My TAB horse is on a forced spell, so I was looking around at the auctions for one, and Steph Mcilrick knew I was looking for a horse, and Trevor offered her to me.
“I picked her up about a month ago, and she is the loveliest, sweetest mare, and she’s easy to do everything with, and Trevor had her from day dot; he’s done a great job with her.”
As fate would have it, Saturday’s win almost didn’t happen, with Mcilrick left searching for a jockey the morning of the race before Michael Gray took the ride and booted home his first winner in over 12 months.
“Mick wasn’t actually booked for the ride,” Mcilrick laughed.
“I had Todd Bailey, but he wasn’t well, and the stewards rang me as I was loading her up and said, ‘Your jockey’s not coming’, so I asked if there were any available, as I know how hard it can be to get a jockey at the picnics.
“They said there were two, and I knew Mick from when I was racing As Easy As, so I got him, and it worked out great.”
In a moment to savour for the 36-year-old, Asteria Star’s victory was Mcilrick’s first in over six years.
She had enjoyed a lot of success with a $500 purchase, As Easy As, a five-time winner for the stable that notched victories at Trangie, Condobolin, Ardlethan, Grenfell, and Tomingley during the 2016/17 season.
“She was a brilliant story,” Mcilrick said.
“It was such a thrill to win with her, and we tried to breed with her, but she will not carry to foal.
“We tried twice with Bon Hoffa, so she’s out with Mum and Dad, and we’ll never part with her.”
Mcilrick was starting horses until 2020 but took a few years away from racing, with the pandemic making it hard for her to race anything.
“COVID sort of pushed me out,” Mcilrick said.
“Back when I started, I only had a picnic horse, and they all got cancelled, and that was the end of me for a while.
“At the end of the day, I’m only an owner-trainer, and only do it because I love riding trackwork and enjoy the scene, but now the picnics are back, it’s great to have a horse running.”
With Alectown halfway between Parkes and Peak Hill, Mcilrick, who once worked in Hunter Valley studs and used to ride trackwork ay Scone, now uses Parkes as her base, but she explained that there were no plans to train more than one horse.
“I’m really lucky because Sharon Jeffries lets me use one of her boxes, and I’ve always trained my horses out of Parkes racecourse,” Mcilrick said.
“Working full-time, I train them before and after work, and it means I’ve only got time for one, especially with kids, work, and all that, and while I’d love to have more, you can’t beat one-on-one training.”
In terms of what’s next for the trainer and Asteria Star, she wasn’t 100% sure as the NSW picnic season comes to a close.
“I’m not really sure at the moment; I’ve had a bit of a look and can’t find something suitable anytime soon,” Mcilrick said.
“I’d love to go to Cobar, but that’s a bit far, and she’s not the greatest traveller, so we’ll look around for the right race.”
For all results from Trangie, readers can click here.
