Top Warrnambool trainer Aaron Purcell has done plenty of travelling over the past couple of weeks but the results have been satisfying.
He won with Wintery in a $60,000 benchmark race at Pakenham last Friday and backed up on Sunday with winners at Mount Gambier (Van Roy) and Moe (Southern Crescent).
“We’ve had a busy time of it,” Purcell said. “It all started out with us having runners at Sandown last Wednesday before we went to Cranbourne on Thursday and then Pakenham on Friday. Then on Sunday we were represented at Moe and Mount Gambier.
“I was lucky to have been stabled at Rob Blacker’s Mornington stables with horses for a few days. I’m also lucky to have great staff.”
Purcell has high hopes for Wintery and Southern Crescent.
“I think there’s a lot of upside to both horses,” he said. 
“Wintery had trialled well before her win. She’s a nice type of filly. We’re not going to rush her as I think with a bit of time she can get black type next to her name.
“Southern Crescent still has a bit of developing in her. She’s a bit like Wintery ... needs bit of time.”
It works ...
The WorkCover Support Service for horse trainers has received the thumbs up from Warrnambool’s Tom Dabernig stable.
Racing Victoria and the Australian Trainers Association established the program with a clear mandate: stabilise premiums, improve injury management and give trainers greater control over the system which had been unpredictable.
Victorian trainers are seeing clear improvements in how Workcover claims are being managed and injuries handled since the targeted initiative driven by RV and the ATA — one that could be now revived as a national blueprint for industry-led reform.
Cassi Dabernig from Dabernig racing said the WSS network has been a game-changer for their business.
“We’ve been supported through some tough moments because of it,” she said.
 In 2023, a 130% increase in the WorkCover rate had trainers seeing their premiums jumped enormously, adding tens of thousands of dollars to operating costs. 
For an industry already juggling workforce shortages, seven-day staffing and rising overheads the impact was immediate and significant. Funded by a contribution from prizemoney by RV (part of the initial 1% participant welfare allocation from February 2024, which reduced to 0.5 in August 2025), the ATA oversees the delivery of WSS.
Two years in, the outcomes are compelling. More than 120 Victorian trainers have joined the program, with immediate financial savings reported across operations of all sizes.
The success of the Victorian model has not gone unnoticed, with other states now examining whether the framework can be adopted nationally. 
Two for Tom
Jockey Tom Madden took the riding honours at Mount Gambier on Sunday, claiming a double.
The Warrnambool-based hoop was successful on Shooter McGavin and Van Roy. That completed a big weekend for Madden as he had won the Great Western Cup on Saturday aboard Shane Jackson’s Flying Basil.