Everysecondcounts aiming to clean sweep the Jim McNeil Trotting Championship series

By Jordan Gerrans

It is the unlikely swap that looks likely to deliver a feature trotting title for trainer Richard Hutchinson.

The 68-year-old Richard was preparing pacer Borderline throughout the back end of 2021 and through 2022 with mixed fortunes.

Just down the road from Richard was young trainer Jonah Hutchinson – who is no relation to Richard despite working in the same industry and has the same last name – working away with trotter Everysecondcounts with limited success.

As they were both not getting the best out of their standardbreds, Jonah and Richard came to the surprise decision to swap the horses, instead of selling them individually.

It is a deal that has worked wonders for both parties.

Jonah and Borderline won two of their first three starts as a combination.

While Richard and Everysecondcounts have taken a little longer to work each other out, they are now firing on all cylinders.

The bay mare is unbeaten through the two heats of the Jim McNeil Trotting Championship and looms as a major chance to claim Saturday evening’s Final from Albion Park.

“I had a mare that Jonah liked so we just made a swap to tell the truth,” the veteran trainer said.

“He took Borderline and looked like he had a good deal at the start because he won two straight.

“I took a while to work this other mare out and now we are both happy.

“Jonah was a happy man with it all and I am a happy man, as well.”

Despite not being related, Richard remarks that people will often confuse that he and up-and-coming trainer and driver Jonah are from the same family.

The Tamborine-based Richard has been a serious player in big trotting events in the Sunshine State of late after claiming the Group 3 Trotting Feature with Kingdom Come in November of last year.

With Lachie Manzelmann in the bike, Everysecondcounts has been impressive in the heats, winning the opener by a neck before claiming the second by just over a metre last Friday.

The six-year-old trotter also spent time in the stable of Taleah McMullen before going through the Hutchinsons transition.

Richard has tinkered slightly with a few things with Everysecondcounts, which he believes has got the square gaiter racing in her best form since she relocated to Queensland from Victoria in the early stages of last year.

“Before Taleah bought her, I was interested in buying her but I just did not pick the phone up to make an offer,” he said.

“I have had a few problems with her gait that I had to fix as she galloped a couple of times the few starts before the heats.

“I changed the shoes a bit, mucked around with a few things.

“It was not anything big, just a few niggling things.”

Everysecondcounts has been the best performed trotter through the heats – winning on both occasions – while the Grant Dixon-trained Banff has won a heat and finished second in another.

“She is a lovely mare that is going very well, I am very happy,” Richard said of Everysecondcounts.

“She is not going any better than before she galloped but she is just a nice mare, I think.

“She is not outstanding, she is just a real nice mare when she gets the right run."

The daughter of Trixton has drawn three for the Final on Saturday night, which will be run over 2647 metres for $27,186.

Reinsman Manzelmann – who has dabbled in thoroughbred training in recent months – has retained the assignment for Saturday’s decider.

Everysecondcounts led in the most recent heat after sitting behind the leader a fortnight ago and Richard is hopeful of getting a similar trip on Saturday evening.

“She did not seem to get away quickly for her other trainers but we have got her going away very good,” he said.

“Trotters, they are in the lap of the gods if they get away well.

“Hopefully she can step good again and step quickly.

“She might even land in front or on the back of the leader.”

Manzelmann was in the seat when Kingdom Come won the black-type race last year and Richardson’s association with the family extends well before Lachie was born.

In the 1980s, Richard would often send horses north to Lachie’s father John in Mackay, when he was training standardbreds before he transitioned over to the gallopers.

“He is a very underrated driver, especially with trotters,” Richard said of Lachie.

“He is patient and has a good set of hands.

“You need to be patient with these trotters and he has much more patience than me, lots of times I am thinking he needs to go earlier in races than he does but he knows what he is doing.”

The Hutchinson stable will also have Kingdom Come in the Listed Our Overanova Trotters Marathon over 3157 metres on Saturday night.

The race is named after champion Queensland trotter Our Overanova, who was prepared by Dixon before his retirement in late 2021.

“He might be a bit underdone, he has not had a lot of work but he is going good,” Richard said of Kingdom Come.

“They will know that he is there on Saturday night.”