Father-to-be hopes for early celebration

Image credit: News Corp

By Glenn Davis

Toowoomba trainer Dale Groves will become a father for a second time next month, and is hopeful of an early celebration when consistent mare Spirit’s Charm heads to Doomben on Wednesday.

Groves, 42, and his wife Kristy Banks have an eight-year-old son, Nash, and will become parents for a second time in May.

Spirit’s Charm, a daughter of Spirit Of Boom, was bought privately by the Groves for only $5,000 as an unraced three-year-old off fellow Toowoomba trainer Steve Tregea.

She has gone on to amass almost $130,000 in prizemoney with three wins and 11 placings in 21 starts.

Spirit’s Charm has drawn awkwardly in barrier 10 in her attempt to give Groves his first city winner since the four-year-old was successful at a metropolitan meeting at Ipswich in January.

The mare has been in good form of late finishing second in four of her five starts prior to her last start win in similar grade at the Sunshine Coast on April 1.

“Her last win was very gutsy but before that she had been a victim of circumstances after drawing badly,” Groves said.

“She's drawn wide again but I can’t wait until she draws well so she can take a sit.

“She’s had 10 runs this preparation already but she’s thriving so I'm giving her a top three hope again.”

Groves has a stable of seven horses in work on his property just outside Toowoomba and has only been training for about three years.

“My first job when I left school was for (the late) Darryl Gollan and I ended up riding trackwork for 15 years before I started training," he said.

“I also played footy with Tony Gollan for St Mary’s College in Toowoomba when we were younger,” he said.

Dale's wife was a popular jockey in South East Queensland before her riding career was cut short after a fall in 2011 left her paralysed from the waist down.

She has maintained her racing involvement helping Groves with stable duties and keeps an interest on race days as the owner of several winners.

Banks part-owns Spirit’s Charm, who will be ridden by Robbie Fradd, in the Class Three Handicap over 1660 metres.

Their son, Nash is carrying on the family tradition with his involvement with horses winning the Under 10s Queensland Barrel Race Championship last year at the age of seven.