Veteran trainer Merv McKenzie may have saddled up his last runner at a Warrnambool May carnival.
The local hobby trainer has had a licence for more than 55 years but is thinking about handing it in at the end of the racing season on July 31.
McKenzie, who turned 85 on Friday May 1, has three horses in his stable including veteran sprinter A Good Yarn, who ran eighth in a benchmark 66 on the middle day of last week’s carnival.
“I’m weighing up my options,” McKenzie said. “I’ve still got a couple of horses at home but I’m not sure what I’ll do. 
“It’s all got a lot tougher. The bigger trainers are getting bigger and bigger while the smaller ones are facing tough times. 
“I’ll see how things pan out over the next few months before making a final decision. 
“I was happy with the effort (of A Good Yarn) but he’s 12 years old and nearing retirement. 
“He’s been a good old horse, winning over $300,000.”
McKenzie has been a familiar face, first as jumps jockey then as trainer, at Warrnambool May carnivals for nearly 70 years.
“I’ve still got fond memories of riding in jumps races at the carnival,” he said. 
“I suppose my biggest highlight as a jumps jockey was riding Bay Bridge to win the main hurdle on the last day back in 1965 for the late Kevin Lafferty. 
“I rode a lot of horses for Laffy, whether it was races or trackwork. He was a master trainer.”
A Good Yarn is likely to have his next start at Hamilton on Tuesday May 26. 
Jimmy was due
North Warrnambool Football Netball Club powerbroker Jimmy Bligh had cause to celebrate after Atomova won her maiden on the final day of last week’s carnival.
The Adam Chambers-trained Atomova is the first winner Bligh has been involved in at the carnival for 55 years. 
His last winner at the three-day festival was Luckaroo, trained by his great mate, the late Teddy O’Sullivan. 
“Adam’s doing a great job,” Bligh said. 
“He’s only got a small team and for him to have three winners over the carnival is a great result.”
While Luckaroo’s 1971 triumph was Bligh’s most recent win at the carnival, he is still lamenting one that got away 11 years later.
“I suppose the best horse that I was involved in with Teddy was Game Choice. 
“He was unlucky not to have won the 1982 Warrnambool Cup, when he just got beat by Little Tipsy. And I reckon he ran a couple of other placings in the Warrnambool Cup.”
Chambers’s other winners at last week’s carnival were The Kill Club and Astradeel.
That time of year
This Sunday’s Casterton Cup meeting marks 54 years since the infamous Muntham Handicap ring-in at the course.
It was May 12, 1972, when Rick Renzella rang in the crack sprinter Regal Vista for the bumble-footed Royal School in the feature cup day sprint.
The coup netted Renzella $33,570 and, later, two years’ jail.
Prizemoney for the 1200-metre sprint was $520, with $325 to the winner. 
Hamilton-trained Apex Star was the favourite following wins over 1000 metres at Hamilton and Warrnambool. The Jack Barling-trained galloper would have been an odds-on chance if not for a heavy flow of money for “Royal School”.
Punters who backed Royal School on the tote picked up $3.80 for a 50-cent investment but those lucky enough to snare the daily double — Gay Demand in the Casterton Cup into Royal School — got $111.90 for a 50-cent unit. 
An off-the-cuff remark from jockey Stephen Wood — that he was glad the race was over and that he would get $4000 for his troubles — led to one of Australia’s most sensational racing enquiries.
The Muntham is no longer run on the cup card but the program does include a benchmark 70 over the 1200 metres.
Black-booker
• Gripping: caught the eye with a nice effort to run second in a 1700-metre benchmark 70 on day three at Warrnambool. The six-year-old was having his first start for the Peter Lafferty stable and will be improved with that run under his belt, back into his winning range of 1890-2200 metres.