RELOCATING her stable from the Hawkesbury racecourse to Bathurst - it was a bold move for trainer Wanda Ings but one she hopes will lead her to success.
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With the racing in Sydney becoming quite hard, Ings made the move with her team of 15 horses in August last year to put more of a focus on pursing success on country tracks. She hasn't looked back since.
"It was the perfect time to move and it has paid off amazingly," she said.
"The environment out here is so much more chilled for the horses and I couldn't be happier with the set up and the horses. My daughter Chelsea is getting more rides out here also."
Having initially reduced her team from 20 when relocating from Hawkesbury, Ings is now slowly starting to expand again.
"We have quite a few out ready to come back in, but we're pretty selective about what horses we take," she said.
"The most I want would be 20, we like to be a little boutique stable as we pride ourselves on being able to keep a good eye on everything and noticing the smaller things that sometimes get overlooked when you're working with a larger team."
Ings shares the workload with daughter and stable jokey Chelsea Ings, stable foreman Melissa Eassie and her son Will Stanley - who is in the process of becoming an apprentice jokey.
It is clear racing is in the blood for the family.
"Chelsea is very hands on with the horses," Ings said.
"We do the horses between us in the morning and then if she has to travel a distance for her rides, I will go with her.
"When I was 10, I used to sneak off after school to a racing stable and help.
"Both of my daughters grew up with them [horses] and my oldest daughter Lindy is the stable foreman for Peter and Paul Snowden at Randwick."
Looking to add to her tally of wins, Ings has three runners engaged in Cowra's race meeting on Sunday - Catcha Crown, Supreme Boss and Rose Spectacular.
Catcha Crown, who won his first start back from a 12-month spell at odds of 100 to 1, will contest the Benchmark 58 Handicap (1,200 metres).
"He is actually owned by my foreman Melissa and it was a very exciting win," Ings said.
"He's always been a smart horse, but had a serious track accident before she got him. With a lot of TLC and a lot of hard work, she got him back to the track.
Rose Spectular is being aimed at the Maiden Plate (1,375m) and Supreme Boss the Maiden Handicap (1,200m). Chelsea Ings will ride both and the Bathurst trainer feels they are solid chances.
"Supreme Boss has just had a little break and she probably shouldn't be a maiden," the trainer continued.
"There's been a few starts where she's been unlucky but being fresh she will run well.
"I expect Rose Spectacular to run a good race as well, she's a lovely mare and is owned by a good friend of ours."
With a few promising three-year-olds coming through, Ings looks to have a handy team on her hands, ready to take on the Western Districts.
"We have two very promising three-year-old fillies in work and a few other nice ones ready to trial, so we'll see how they go," she said.
