SHE grew up in Leeton and fostered a love of harness racing through mini trots and being dragged to meetings by her parents.
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But Alanah Pitt said the realisation she is training a runner in the Leeton Pacers Cup on Friday night took time to hit home.
"I'd never really put much thought into it but when he (God Sake) got in the field I thought 'oh wow, that's exciting,'" she said.
The 23-year-old acquired her training license in April after moving back to Leeton from Queensland with partner Adam Richardson, who will drive God Sake in the $14,790, 2582m feature.
God Sake will start as one of the outsiders of the field from gate two, with Pitt rating Brooke McPherson runner Rusty Crackers (eight) the toughest to beat.
Rusty Crackers should be primed for a big run after racing at Menangle his past six starts, but Jindera trainer McPherson has been forced to scratch Harry Turbo after he scunned some skin off his knee on Wednesday.
God Sake finished second last start over 1758m at Leeton last start on December 11, and Pitt said the step up in distance will suit.
"He (God Sake) seems in top order at the moment, he's feeling good and working well, doing everything we want him to do," she said.
"We were really happy with his run, he hasn't been going bad and his time's are good. Now he's had a freshen up and hopefully ready to try and win the cup.
"He'll probably be an outsider because he is a very low-rated horses in that field. There are some nice horses in it.
"I think the standout is Rusty Crackers, he's been racing around Menangle so he'll be sharp and on point."
Pitt said a win on New Year's Eve would cap a promising start to her training career which has exceeded her initial expectations.
"It's actually probbaly gone better than I expected. We've got some owners behind us now which has been a big help.
"All up we have 14 or 15 (horses in work). We're happy to stick around that mark for now and see what happens in the future."
Although Pitt joked she and Richardson can sometimes have different opinions, but said the partnership has been working well.
"We argue a little bit but I'm happy for him to jump on and drive and I just sit and watch," she said.
"We butt heads and I say 'you should have done this', but we actually work really well together. If we have different opinions on things we deal with that as we go."
Pitt added she was "confident" in her chances when she drives the Ellen Bartley-trained Imperials Gem in the other feature on the card, the Ladies Invitational Pace.
"I like the horse and she's got a very nice draw," she said.
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