BEYOND THE BARRIERS Horse Racing Tours: Morphettville in the Adelaide City Region.

There's a certain romance to horse racing especially when the dawn works it magic.

And the more you study the Sport of Kings the more you realise that some of the training methods employed aren't that different to those used in another great national obsession, Aussie Rules.

And when breeding, training and that indefinable something called 'class' come together the thoroughbreds of both sports come to the fore.

Mark Bickley has his own ideas about what makes a champion on the footy field but for a true appreciation of what makes a champion over the two miles needed to win an Adelaide Cup, he ventured down to Morphettville racecourse for some early morning track work. And just like footy, many do their best work under lights - at 6am.

As Kevin Harrison, of Beyond the Barriers explains, it's a question he gets asked often.

"Why do we start so early in the morning? I think it originated back when horses first started racing. They were owned by the Lords and the Kings. They had to have servants train them and the servants had other jobs to do."

Kevin Harrison conducts tours for committed bleary-eyed punters who want to venture into a secret world beyond the barriers.

But while the trainer and horse are fundamental parts of the horse racing equation, so much rests on the shoulders of the humble jockey. And that's where Kevin has the inside running having been one for fourteen years.

While football players may have their versa climbers and weight rooms, nothing quite matches the mechanical horse where Kevin can relive his seven straight wins in Melbourne back in the late seventies.

"Back in 1966 when I first started riding we learnt on chaff bags sitting on top of a bale of straw. You had someone helping you and they had the reins. We were taught to ride hands and heels sitting on a horse like that - pushing through."

As Mark Bickey began his football career as a rover, its not surprising he was the only member of the tour to qualify for Kevin's makeshift jockey class.

"Now we'll go just a little faster. Just balance on your knees. All your balance is there."

"Yep. I look like I'm racing alright."

"He has great style doesn't he?"

"And your moving with the horse. Let your body move with the horse. You're at one with the horse."

"You think I might get a ride?"

"Yeh, you've got a great style."

It's a decent workout and gives you a greater appreciation of the fitness of jockeys and when you talk to Kevin you also appreciate their courage.

"A jockey one day in a race at Bendigo fell directly in front of me. I couldn't miss him. My horse trod on his back and he never rode again."

It's an insight we take to the grandstand as riders push their mounts around the newly upgraded Morphettville Racetrack which includes some novel revenue raising features.

"There's a wetlands being built in the centre to catch the water coming down of the hills. And there going to pump that, once they clean it, they pump it down into a bore underneath the track. And then I think they have the ability to sell off something like about a hundred thousand megalitres a year. So, a bit more revenue for the club."

More than enough water to keep many thoroughbreds in lap work for years to come. And for some trainers, light swimming in a pool will keep a horse on the track throughout a gruelling season.

"We've run them on the Saturday. Basically swum them through that week and then run them on the next Saturday."

"There are enormous stresses and forces that come down on the horses feet aren't there?"

"Oh yes. When the horse is at full stretch coming round the turn with the weight on one leg - there's the equivalent of six ton of weight on that one leg."

To book one of Kevin Harrison's tours contact 8355 2954. The Adelaide Cup will be run on Monday May 20 2002 at Morphettville. If you have any further questions please email info@postcards-sa.com.au