Zach Hatch's Christmas a family and racetrack treat

With his partner, Abby Schmiedel, and their children, Charlie and Ruby, by his side, the Tamworth trainer's only horse in work, Nicka Narcells, won the Cactus Wilson Memorial - a 1100m class-one handicap - at Quirindi's mega Boxing Day meeting.

Hatch, 26, bought the six-year-old mare for $1000 at an online auction as a present for Schmiedel. The Quirindi win was worth $6400.

"So she's well and truly paid for herself now," Hatch said of the horse, who has won two of her 26 starts and was having her second run for him (she finished second at Gunnedah in her first run for him, and has won $40,000 in prize money).

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The couple's December celebrations started early when Charlie turned four on December 3. Ruby turns three in March.

It was fatherhood that compelled Hatch - whose old man, Mark, is also a country trainer - to scale back his training ambitions and focus on his farrier business. After getting his trainer's licence at age 19, he said he once had up to 10 horses in work.

"And I sort of went full-on into it there for a little while," he said of his childhood dream. "But then, obviously, having kids and trying to do the farriering, which is my main job, it got a bit hard [to juggle everything]."

So Hatch "cut back on the racing", adding: "And now the kids are at the age where they go to daycare and things, and I'm slowly poking around with one or two [horses] nowadays as a bit of a hobby."

On Christmas Eve, Hatch and Schmiedel had a break from the kids and attended the Tamworth Jockey Club's meeting. It was a glorious Aussie outing for the duo: sangers, chips, beer and a punt.

Hatch does farrier work for leading Tamworth trainer Cody Morgan, who produced four winners at the meeting. Hatch had money on two of those winners: Bullawa Creek and Broken Hill.

"Great day - backed plenty of winners," Hatch told the Leader on Saturday evening.

Two days later, Hatch's great racecourse run got even better. Schmiedel, he said, was "delighted" to own her first horse outright and for it to be a winner.

Hatch said of Nicka Narcells:

He added: "Anything we get with her now is a bonus. One day she'll just flick the switch and wanna be a mum."

The Leader revealed this month that Hatch and Schmiedel had left Kootingal-Moonbi in order to join her elder brother, Josh, at North Tamworth. Hatch, a hooker, has not played since 2021 after rupturing an ACL.

He said lacing up the boots again was secondary to farriering and training. "But if I can get the body right, one more run [would be nice]," he added.

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