Finnis stable making Queensland home

By Jordan Gerrans

After landing multiple Group-level victories in South Australia, the Finnis stable are eager to make their mark in the Sunshine State after recently making the move north.

Alyce (trainer) and Jayson Finnis (driver) have set up shop at Lowood in Queensland after previously training their team out of Mount Gambier in SA.

They have lobbed with a team of 10 standardbreds and had their first starter following the move at Redcliffe on Thursday afternoon.

The Finnis’ Louise Luck did not figure in the finish first-up around The Triangle at Redcliffe, but the training team are hopeful their maiden winner in Queensland is not far away.

The stable has three runners set for Albion Park’s Friday evening program while stable far Always Dancing was also set to contest an event at the venue on Saturday night before they made the call to scratch the gelding.

With Lowood only a relatively short drive to Marburg, Albion Park and Redcliffe, the 34-year-old Jayson believes the Queensland move will benefit the entire Finnis clan. 

“It is a bit of a lifestyle change for us, we were a bit isolated where we were at Mount Gambier,” Jayson said.

“We were five hours from Globe Derby and five hours from Melton, so there is a lot of travelling and with that comes the cost of travelling, as well.

“It took a lot of fun out of the game by sitting in the car for so long.

“Being where we are in Queensland, all the tracks are quite close here. We have a young family and they want to get involved with it when they are older.

“We can race together as a family here with all the tracks close to each other, everyone can help out and enjoy it.”

Alyce and Jayson have multiple Group and Listed-level achievements on their harness resume. 

They farewelled their native SA in perfect fashion in late December when the smart Always Dancing claimed the Listed Southern Cross Final at Globe Derby.

Always Dancing has an impressive 14 wins and five placings from 24 starts. 

"Winning a Southern Cross Final on our last night racing in South Australia as locals was amazing," Alyce said.

"We couldn't have asked for a better way to finish our time here.

"Jayson and I, then our children, were born and bred in Mount Gambier, so it's a big move but we're very excited. He went great.

"We were confident from the draw as being inside the favourite was the first thing we were hoping for, then the race panned out just as we wanted, so we're stoked.

"He's always had that ability in him, but has been lazy, but he is starting to mature. We've mixed his work up and it is paying dividends.

"It will be hard moving forward given the points he is on, but I still believe he can do well in Queensland."

The Finnis’ have long had a connection with the Elkins harness racing clan in Queensland, which helped inspire the move. 

The Finnis part-owned Tilly Jayne raced in Brisbane through the back end of 2025 for trainer and driver Matt Elkins.

“You can race nearly six days a week here so there is plenty of opportunities for us to race our horses,” Jayson said on the move. 

“My grandfather and I have sent horses up to the Elkins stable for years and they had been quite competitive so we thought Queensland would be a good option for us.

“Alyce has family up here, as well.”

They arrived with a team of 10 horses with another five set to join them in March.

The Finnis stable will have a mixture of horses in their team, including young stock with two and three-year-olds as well as trotters. 

Alyce and Jayson’s son Judd is keen on the horses and might be one to watch in local pony races throughout 2026 and beyond.