Family pitches in to help trainer Amanda Park

By Glenn Davis

It’s a small hands-on family team which Oakey hobby trainer Amanda Park would be lost without.

The 42-year-old Park has been training since early 2021 after taking over from her father Ben Park when he retired from the training ranks.

However, Park was floored by a blood disorder just over 12 months ago.

“I used to ride a lot of my own trackwork but I’m not riding as much these days,” Park said.

“I’ve had a blood disorder since October last year.

“Dad has been carrying a lot of the load while I’ve been sick along with my son Oscar who is 17 and my brother Phillip.

“I’ve also got a 13-year-old daughter, Sophie, but she’s into dirt bikes.”

Since being diagnosed with her blood disorder, Park struggles with her energy and bruises easily and has lost 22kgs in weight.

“I normally have around 14 in work but we’re down to around 10 now,” she said.

Park will head to Dalby on Thursday with a small team and is hopeful of a timely pick-up tonic.

Former Victorian Sutherland spearheads her assault in the Benchmark 65 Handicap over 1000 metres along with Island Magic in the Benchmark 55 Handicap.

Sutherland started her career with Tom Dabernig before Park bought her for a paltry $1,500.

The daughter of Russian Revolution has been great for the stable after winning seven times in 21 starts and is coming off a last start fourth in an 800 metre Benchmark race at Kilcoy on November 19.

Park prefers buying tried horses for middle distance racing, but Sutherland has broken the mould.

“We bought her as a short course horse as she was winning a few barrier trials down south,” Park said.

“We generally buy for middle distances here but finding longer races is getting hard.

“Most of our stable are milers or longer.”

Park is confident Sutherland can bounce back after her recent Kilcoy defeat and also expects Island Magic to be competitive.

Island Magic was another cheap $800 buy from Deagon trainer Darren Bell and is looking for her first win for the stable.

The seven-year-old daughter of Hinchinbrook beat one home in a field of eight in a 1350 metre Benchmark race at Ipswich last month.