It’s not often you get talking about kinesiology, somatic therapy even, at the track, especially after a Group 1 race.
And this is at Flemington too, its newish race, the All-Star Mile now worth $2.5 in stakes and it’s where, well talk about “wellness”, Chelsey Power, a well inked mother of two from Woodend, is joyfully playing “owner for the day” with equally covered husband - from head to toe - Ben, and Godolphin’s Tom Kitten. (I should mention Tom does have a 79 over 0 on his off shoulder and a Godolphin tattoo on his near.)
But you can take Winx odds, that Chelsey will find somewhere to remind her that Tom Kitten is more than just the seventh All Star hero! “100 percent, I’ve got a few spare spots” she says in the Flemington winner’s room after the race.)
Why not? Tom’s win, just as Chelsey confident had predicted, was worth $100,000, part of Racing Victoria’s “Owner’s Ambassador” promotion aligned to the All-Star Mile.
And all she had to do was, in 25 words (or less), say why she wanted the gig in a The Fox 101.9 competition. So, listening to Fifi and Fev on Fox Brekkie, she would have missed the 3AW Rumour File Friday speculation that the Tom Kitten's Godolphin team were closing to falling over to Yulong's Mr Shang's billions.
And so if the real owner of Tom couldn't be there, Godolphin's Sheik Mohammad, Ambassador Power was a suitably able fill-in, thanks to her brief words.
Chelsey came up with: – “Like Mr Brightside I never back down, I cheer louder than fangirl and I’m ready for another will to win.”
Just 20 words needed, hard to believe for the girl who spoke a million of them at Newmarket handicap speed on Saturday.
“I wanted to do something clever that would stand out from the 100,000 other entries, so that’s what I came up with,” Power said.
And absolutely nailed it, just as Tom nailed Mr B.
“He (Tom Kitten) would have been my pick anyway, sure Mr Brightside is everybody’s favorite, but Tom was always going to be a good chance, I knew the form, and if you watched his races, he was going to be right in it.” she said.
You can sense that Chelsey is no racing novice. She’s not – she even mentioned transitioning her professional life – “I work a lot on the body and the mind and the psychology of the will to win and Tom had that today. I really understood the science behind it, and I went in prepared today. He won just the way I thought he would.”
With Ben they are regular racegoers, got table 201 in The Terrace even, though they shared the ambassador’s spirit with others in a Flemington Skybox Saturday thanks to RV.
“We get here a fair bit, we’ve always liked the races said Ben.
“I’ve had a few donkeys, never had a winner, a few thirds and fourths and then they get hurt, but she’s promised me a horse if she won.”
And it will be a promise kept.
“I love the races, it’s a great day out, when I married my husband, he’s a very serious race enthusiast, he’s had his horses, but never a winner, so I’ve always said if he won, I’d be being getting him one,” Power said.
She didn’t have to start looking afar. “I’ve got horse offers flooding in, so I’ll be striking while the iron is hot, it still feels so surreal” she said today (Sunday).
There will hopefully be something left over for a kitchen renovation and a trip to Japan with the kids, “a dream come true.”
Dealing in dreams of the mind though is a lifelong career real world for the aptly surnamed Power, whose “Mana Temple”, with a massive Instagram following, is more than just a yoga and wellness centre near Kyneton.
“Chelsey is a Somatic Therapist, Kinesiologist, Holistic Practitioner, Facilitator, Writer, Mentor and the founder of Mana Temple Studios,” says her website.
“Her mission is to create a safe and inclusive space where the community can explore healing with an open mind, recognizing that healing is not one-size-fits-all. She believes in honoring the body’s complex design of energetic, spiritual, and physical layers, weaving these elements together under one roof.”
“I have dedicated my life to helping people process and heal situations in their past that cause them to feel stuck, broken and overwhelmed. I work from a relatable, non-fluffy language approach creating sessions that are rich & engaging whilst trauma-informed and compassionate. “
To break it down for mere punters - Kinesiology means 'the study of movement'. Somatics is a field within bodywork and movement studies which emphasizes internal physical perception and experience.
Chelsey says her personal experiences “shape her ability to hold space with deep understanding, compassion and empathy.”
Could there be some synergy from the thrill of winning dollars to the experience of a fabulous day at the races that shapes some new teaching and thinking?
Better get to the Mana Temple to find out. And see what horse(s) Chelsey and Ben will be racing. Could be more tattoos if they start winning too.
For every winner there is a “loser” – well it wasn’t all bad for the ambassador of Mr Brightside, the popular harness racing caller Rob Auber.
While Chelsey got $100,000 for Tom Kitten, it was $40,000, hardly a shabby day for Rob, who was first congratulate the Power’s and soak up the Flemington experience before heading home to Melton, where his love affair with the trots and broadcasting continues.
There was a $200,000 prize pool for the RV ambassadors with last (Flying Trapeze) giving logistics manager Danny Chow $1000, some solace for missing his beloved Hawks win their debut game of the season in Sydney.
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