Baby Abbey adds to Elkins’ winning run

By Jordan Gerrans

Life has been great to Queensland horseman Matt Elkins on and off the track over the last year.

The 29-year-old welcomed baby Abbey into the world around nine months ago with wife Narissa, who is also a trainer and driver in the Sunshine State.

On the track, Elkins has been in career-best touch in both facets of harness racing – training and driving.

“It's fantastic having the family here for most race meetings,” Elkins said.

“Abbey absolutely adores the horses. She's out with them every morning and has the ones she cuddles up with and sits on their backs.

“She's around them a lot and she absolutely loves them.”

He added another accolade on Wednesday evening when Splash Of Paynt set the new fastest mark of the 2026 Trot Rods series at Redcliffe.

Going into the ninth and tenth heats of this year’s series, the clubhouse leader was Warrawee Flyer from the Richard Hutchinson stable who scored in 64.88 seconds late last month.

The Elkins-trained and driven Splash Of Paynt will go into the finale night of the 2026 series as the horse to beat after scoring in 64.14 seconds on Wednesday evening.

“I love driving in this series and I think it is a great concept,” Elkins said.

“I was really happy with how he went on Wednesday night.

“He's probably been a horse that I thought would suit the series.

“I've probably been trying to settle him down. He was a pretty revvy horse and he wasn't going any good being settled. So, I thought we'd give him a shot and let him go fast.

“He's got plenty of high speed. So, it's probably tailor-made for him, this series, and he showed that on Wednesday night.”

Elkins started from three on the front line in the opening Trot Rods heat on Wednesday in wet conditions and immediately was fast away from the machine.

The four-year-old gelding sat outside of the leader for most of the 947 metre trip before taking over approaching the final turn to eventually score by a neck from Hes Sweet.

Elkins went on to win the second Trot Rods heat on Wednesday night with stablemate Lochinvar Camaro shortly after.

However, Lochinvar Camaro went a touch slower than Splash Of Paynt, scoring in 64.55 seconds.

“Lochinvar Camaro was probably more of an afterthought,” the trainer and driver said.

“Because I was going with the other fella, I wanted to take two. But, he thrived on it.

“I think if he was following better ones in his race, he probably would have went a faster time, as well.”

Splash Of Paynt has only been in the Sunshine State for the last five starts after previously racing in South Australia.

The Trot Rods romp on Wednesday was the son of Poster Boy’s first triumph since arriving at Elkins’ barn at Coominya.

It has been a memorable last year or so for the Elkins family at the races and on the home front.

Young Abbey is often a smiling face at the track alongside her parents while her father has been in sparkling form.

On the training front, Elkins is on pace to post his best season in the sport.

He tallied 48 winners, which is his best season yet to date, at a strike-rate of 15% in 2025. With more than six months to go in this year, he has already achieved 27 victories at 17%.

When it comes to his driving, Elkins has also been prolific aboard horses he prepares and in outside engagements.

He has 42 winners to his name so far in 2026 and is striking at 18%.

Elkins’ previous high mark for his driving strike-rate in a season is 13% in 2022.

The smiling horseman believes parenthood has been key in his impressive results on the track.

“I am definitely focusing on training more and the more winners you get, the more people want to send horses to you,” Elkins said.

“It's definitely the best team of horses we have ever had and the numbers are bigger than ever before.

“But, I think the biggest thing is probably being a father has probably relaxed me more.

“It's probably making me drive them better at the moment. Being a father is priority number one now.

“You go out on the track and it is your job now. I am relaxed and I am enjoying it more.”

Like her husband, Narissa has also been firing after taking a break from the sport with young Abbey.

The 31-year-old Narissa has posted 10 training victories this season at an impressive 29% strike-rate, which is the highest percentage she has ever recorded.

She has been just as consistent as a driver, striking at 16%, which is her best mark since the 2022 campaign.

With the first 10 heats of Trot Rods for 2026 completed, a draft for the finale night of Trot Rods will be held on Monday.

The draft will determine which horses the five drivers will be booked to partner across the last 10 heats.

The finale night on May 20 will receive feature coverage on Sky Racing showcasing on-screen telemetry, driver cam and interviews with drivers.