Janice McKenna of Woolsthorpe-based Halo Racing is celebrating another Group 1 victory after Light Infantry Man defended his Australian Cup title at Flemington last Saturday.
Halo Racing, founded by McKenna with her late husband Colin, is part of the ownership of Light Infantry Man, who races in the navy and pale yellow colours of Ozzie Kheir and is trained by Ciaron Maher, a celebrated export of Winslow, 17km north of Warrnambool.
“It’s an amazing training performance by Ciaron and his team,” McKenna said. 
“The sad thing is Colin wasn’t there to see it. 
“The horse has won three Group 1 races since Colin passed away in October 2024. 
“Colin always had a big opinion of Light Infantry Man. He always said the horse only needed time to get used to racing conditions in Australia before he’d show his best.”
For his part, Maher praised the ride of jockey Harry Coffey, saying Light Infantry Man is a unique type of horse.
“He can be a difficult horse to ride,” he said. “Ethan Brown is his usual jockey but he is out suspended. Ethan gave Harry some advice on how to ride him and undoubtedly that helped.”
From his 34 starts Light Infantry Man has won seven races and collected more then $5.6 million.
’Bool boom, war a worry
Ticket sales are up 30 per cent year-on-year for the coming Warrnambool May racing carnival.
In tough economic times, WRC CEO Luke Cann says he’s pleasantly surprised with the response that the club has received for this year’s three day May carnival.
“I fully understand there are lots of people and groups struggling but I must admit I’ve been gobsmacked that our sales are tracking 30 per cent up on last year on a date-to-date basis,” Cann said. 
“There’s still a lot to play out but it’s heartening we’re heading in the right direction at this stage. 
“Our corporate numbers are very healthy. We’ve already sold a lot of our corporate packages for the Thursday (May 7, Grand Annual Steeplechase day). We don’t have many left for the final day.”
Cann believes this year’s four-week break between Easter and the start of the carnival on Tuesday May 5 is having a positive effect on the numbers.
“Normally our carnival falls closer to Easter but this year there’s a good break,” he said. “I think that might be one of the reasons for the increased interest. 
“And this year we don’t have to compete with the Wagga carnival, which is on the week before. Normally we’re in the same week. We’ve had numerous people who go to Wagga telling us they’ll be making the trip down to Warrnambool.”
Cann is keeping a close eye on the fuel situation in the lead-up to May, with price increases and potential shortages likely to impact trainers as well as patrons.
“It’s all up in the air what’s going to happen with fuel and the war. One thing’s for sure — it’s out of our hands. 
“We can only hope things are sorted out in the near future. Undoubtedly we’ll be seeking advice and support from Racing Victoria.”