| FEATURE RACE COMMENT |
YEAR: 2003
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| Jack Cade (Mark Purdon) winning the NZFFA |
The Free-For-All always loomed as a two-horse war and a battle of tactics, and it delivered, apart from the small matter of Jagged Account splitting Jack Cade and Elsu after making his own luck at the start to trail.
Jack Cade has always been seen in his best light when allowed to bowl along, as opposed to the sprint home which developed in the Cup, and Purdon made sure he was going to be able to dictate terms by wresting the lead through the swift first quarter as Elsu worked around three-wide with the live cover of Sly Flyin to face a stiff breeze from the 1400m.
After a brief respite in the pace, David Butcher and Elsu turned up the heat, but Jack Cade came home in two quarters of 28.1 to complete the 2000m in a 1:56.6 mile rate to win comfortably in the end. This was well outside the record 1:54.9 speed that it took Yulestar to catch Young Rufus last year, but it was ample consolation after only getting wound up when it was all over in the Cup.
Elsu was two lengths away shading an equally game Sly Flyin; All Hart again performed with credit for fifth and Gracious Knight showed something like his best form by beating the rest in. These included a luckless Young Rufus, who was squeezed and galloped after 400m, and Annie's Boy, who was retired after finishing last.
Credit: Frank Marrion writing in NZHR Weekly
YEAR: 2003
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| Elsu wins the Derby from Light And Sound |
Welcome back, Falcon Seelster. And what better way to acknowledge his return than the success of Elsu in the $100,000 George Calvert Cleaning New Zealand Derby.
The winner of the Sales Series Pace for 3-year-olds last November was back on the same platform after he called the shots over the last lap to beat Light And Sound. At one stage, brief though it may have been, Light And Sound appeared as if he would rally and take the challenge further. And had the race been a month and another race or so later, this may well have been the case. But this is little more than speculation because Elsu was superior on the night, and David Butcher was tactician supreme. He controlled the pace and wasn't worried he had Light And Sound on his back. "The draw was a big thing, but the race pretty much fell together. Considering the racing he's done, Light And Sound has done a huge job," said Butcher. He put trainer Geoff Small in the same category. "Geoff has done a super job. When Elsu came back in after his break, he only trialled fair, but Geoff has got him back to this level,"he said.
Butcher himself was lucky to be his partner. He got "both barrels" from a youngster earlier in the week, and feared he had broken his left leg. He was relieved of such anxieties by his doctor, and has since laboured on in some discomfort and pain.
Small had his own concerns as he tightened Elsu up for the Derby. "He became muscle-sore after he came back in after racing at Auckland. I could see how it happened. He did the damage skidding up to the fences before I brought him back in, and he was sore over the back. Clare McGowan has done a wonderful job using the machines on him, and Dave McGowan has carried on with the massage since we've been down in Christchurch." he said.
It is possible Elsu will campaign next in Australia, with the preludes for the New South Wales Derby on May 9 in mind for him.
Many of the owners of Elsu were on-course to enjoy the occasion, none more so than Joyce Walters, Geoff's aunty, who originally bought him as a yearling for $32,000 and now owns half of him. The rest is owned by the Double Up Syndicate, of eight sharholders, the estate of Dave Hudson and Pat Small, Geoff's mother. "I was a bit hesitant for a start, knowing there'd be eight or nine other people involved who I didn't know. But it's been brilliant. We've all had so much fun,I'd do it again," she said
Credit: Mike Grainger writing in NZHR Weekly
YEAR: 2003
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| Pullover Brown & Anthony Butt |
The 2003 Wayne Francis Memorial NZ Oaks will be remembered for more reasons than the win by Pullover Brown. Foremost will be the dramatic failure of the hot favourite Champagne Princess. Next will be the astonishingly quick time Pullover Brown took to win the race; her 3:11.8 clipping more than a second off the New Zealand record of 3:13 held by Elect To Live.
Add to that the fact Geoff Small had four of the 14 starters in the race; Alta Serena was relegated from third for causing interference to Unrehearsed and Lady Toddy; Anthony Butt continued to bag May's biggies, and Mayor Heather set the race alight when driver Jo Herbert refused the chance of a trail behind Champagne Princess. This was where the race director gave up and left the players to run it themselves.
Jack Smolenski had worked Champagne Princess smoothly through the pack, and after 600 metres only Mayor Heather stood between a hard run in the open and a controlling one in front. As to be expected, Smolenski pressed on. But he was soon surprised, then alarmed, to find that Herbert was not thinking the way Smolenski thought she should have. When he got to the mile peg, after running hard for 400 metres, Smolenski took hold of Champagne Princess, giving the impression of dropping into the trail while there was still time to do so. But this was not an option Smolenski considered. "I didn't know much about the other horse, except it was trained somewhere in the North Island, and I didn't want to run the risk of getting in there," he said. Champagne Princess sat parked, where she pulled hard.
Butt was head of the chasing pack, and he settled Pullover Brown behind Mayor Heather until moving off the marker line at the 500 metres. Champagne Princess was disappearing quicker than a dropped stone on the corner, where Alta Serena was causing trouble to Unrehearsed and consequent interference to one or two others. Mayor Heather also left the stage pretty quickly in the straight, and that's where Pullover Brown pulled away to win by more than two lengths.
While it was all going Pullover Brown's way, the running of the race was not entirely favourable to her stablemate Classical. Going the speed they were meant late gaps and spaces for the back runners, and Classical and Coburg both came generously into the finish in this manner. Classical was four-deep on the markers, and cut a healthy chunk out of Pullover Brown's margin inside the final 200 metres.
Pullover Brown is raced by a syndicate of five headed by Chris McLeod, who had not been to Addington before, nor Chrischurch for that matter. With a group of friends, he leased Dinavinetto from Steve and Anne Phillips, and raced her for a win and six placings from 43 starts out of the Shane Hayes stable. She was then returned to the Phillips for breeding, who put her in foal to Armbro Operative. "I was actually quite taken with Dinavinetto, and then I spotted a weanling filly by Armbro Operative being offered at an all age sale up here," said Mcleod. "We bought her for $2,500. We didn't have a trainer for her, but I had my eye on Geoff Small because I knew he was so good with young horses. I just phoned him, but he didn't know me," he said.
Anne had originally bought Dinavinetto, by Fitch II from the Mercedes mare Precious Dina, at Ted Hooper's Dispersal Sale, and they still have her but perhaps not for long. "We have an Iraklis filly and one by D M Dilinger from the mare, so we have the breed. We have offered Dinavinetto, in foal to Armbro Operative, to the syndicate, so she's there if they want her," she said. Phillips was in Christchurch for the week, caring for her father Des Grice who has been in ill-health, and extended her stay when Pullover Brown made the field for the Oaks.
Along with Operation Dynamite and Armbro Innocence, Pullover Brown has carried the banner for Armbro Operative, which is good news for buyers who were able to buy his stock at deflated prices at the recent PGG yearling sales.
Small, who has made a meal of winning big races at Addington over the last 12 months - with Elsu and Classical - said that he believed that the Armbro Operatives had a preference to sitting on the pace. "Most of the Armbro Operatives I've seen seem to like it that way," he said.
Credit: Mike Grainger writing in NZHR Weekly
YEAR: 2003
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| Meredith Wilson presents the trophy to Bruce Greenhalgh |
Using his relentless, grinding power, Take A Moment became the first horse to win three successive Dominion Handicaps. He won the Southern Trust sponsored edition with ease from the vastly under-rated Last Link, and the hugely inexperienced Allegro Agitato who was racing in this grade for the first time.
In this win, his 17th in succession, he set an entires and geldings record for trotters over 3200m of 4:05.5, which was .2sec inside that held by Call Me Now. He also topped $1 million in stakes, joining his stablemate Lyell Creek in that league.
The great horse is raced by the Long Drive Syndicate, managed by Bruce Greenhalgh who said at the presentation: "We are so proud of him. He is a fantastic horse to watch. We love to hear a good horse clapped back to the enclosure. To crack a million is an absolute miracle, and so is Tim's feat to train five Dominion winners in a row and Anthony to drive them. To be honest, Tim could win the race again next year."
While Anthony had a night to remember, with three successive wins, Tim Butt's carnival did not spark until the final night and it needed Take A Moment to save it. The first casualty was the promising young trotter Genius, who missed the meeting with a deep-seated stone bruise and won't race again until the autumn. Lyell Creek's resumption was put on hold while he continued to adjust to southern hemispgere conditions, and Pocket Me was retired after almost pulling off the Junior Free-For-All on Cup Day. "He was fine until a week before the race, then got a bit sore when the pressure went on," said Tim. Then Thedonsson had a minor problem and failed to get a start last week after two unplaced runs over Cup Week.
He was in safe hands relying on Take A Moment to carry
the flag - a bit like England depending on Jonny Wilkinson to kick them out of a tight spot. It never got to that. Once Take A Moment began well and slid through the field to sit for a time in the middle of the pack, the signs were always ominous. Anthony got him cracking and into the lead after passing the 1600m, and he didn't see much of the others from then on. Tim says Take A Moment has never had a sick day, and even now is stronger than he was last season. "I always thought that would happen. With that French blood, it is a late developing breed," he said.
Soon, they will be on the road again. On December 1, Butt will fly to Australia with Take A Moment, new stablemate Mister D G, Strange Town and All Talk. Mister D G will race in the Cranbourne Cup on December 8. He will be a force to reckon with, even in the best company, going by his outstanding run to worry Young Rufus out of first in the main free-for-all last Friday night. After racing at Auckland over Christmas, Take A Moment will head to Europe for a race in Germany in mid-April, Naples on May 2, then the Elitlopp. All up, Take A Moment will be away for three and a half months. Butt thinks the ability to acclimatise is crucial, and with that in mind he is booked to leave for his Italian base in early March. "The good thing with Take A Moment is that he doesn't need the work that Lyell needed. He can miss a couple of days without it affecting him - a couple of runs and he's back to where he was," he said. "The syndicate got together over lunch on Saturday to go over it all. They're looking forward to what should be a trip of a lifetime," he said.
The smooth highway of success for Take A Moment and the retirement of Sundowner Bay made Butt recall a game of golf he played some years ago, when the talk turned to buying a horse for the Inter-Dominions. Lyell Creek was only C2 at the time, so we tried to buy Sundowner Bay but they weren't interested," he said. Much later, they bought a son of Armbro Invasion who packed a long drive and sunk huge putts.
Credit: Mike Grainger writing in NZHR Weekly
YEAR: 2003
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| The successful training and driving team |
On Tuesday, Robert Mitchell carried the cup he should have held in 1975. Just An Excuse brought the Canterbury Draught Centennial New Zealand Trotting Cup to him with the stamp of the new enforcer.
Had he been a truly confident man, rather than the restrained man that he is, Mitchell could well have began his trip to the presentation area after 600 metres of the race, because Just An Excuse had the lead from that far out, and a position of power.
He didn’t, of course, but the nail was in the coffin for many of them at that point – and Mitchell probably knew it. If he had anything to worry about, it was the start. But Just An Excuse made a flier and was on the journey quicker than most of them.
“He was the last to come up and stepped away third,” said winning driver, Todd Mitchell. “There was plenty of room outside Elsu, and Mark Purdon (driving Jack Cade) didn’t make it too hard for us to get past him,” he said.
Besides Jack Cade, Falcon Rise, Jagged Account and Elsu all slipped into good positions. Elsu moved again near the 1800m when Young Rufus rolled forward, and the next move came from Anthony Butt, near the 1300m, with Cool Hand Luke, and the last of any note came from Mister D G.
None of them were serious enough to force Todd to click the pacemaker up, and he must have had “this is for you, Dad”, well in his thoughts as he cruised past the 600m and then put the foot down. Cool Hand Luke did his best to level, and may have done so for a few strides.
Elsu then emerged, wider out, on a better run, and Jack Cade gradually closed along the marker line. But as gallant as they were, Just An Excuse always had them covered, and appeared to win with more authority than a long neck, which is how close Elsu got.
There was a moment of panic at the end when the siren went, which coincided by a visit to the stewards’ room by Purdon. It concerned some movement by Just An Excuse into the passing lane, but nothing came of it, and the occasion never lost stride.
There could also have been a slight panic at the start, when a streaker took off down Queen’s Drive, in front of the main stand. His timing was awful because starter Jack Mulcay had them almost in line. Racing Secretary Tony Lye was aware of some mischief, but not knowing what it was, suggested that Mulcay should hold them while it was sorted out. As it happened, it was over in a flash, and the field was sent away.
Purdon said Jack Cade had worked a bit to get the lead early, from Falcon Rise, and then he had the task of running past the pacemaker on a 26 final quarter. “Just An Excuse may have come in a little, but he came straight back out,” he said. Todd admitted that he was surprised to find the lead, certainly as soon as he did.
“I didn’t think we’d settle handy, and it was at the back of my mind to let something go,” he said. Just An Excuse, a first-season son of Nevele R stallion Live Or Die, is raced by Ollie and Irene Haines who bred him from their Smooth Fella mare, My Excuse.
Todd recalled that he did the Haines' a favour when the horse was a late 3-year-old. “Andrew Neal came up and said he was interested in buying him. I said he taps a knee a bit, and it didn’t go any further. It’s the best advice I’ve ever given.”
Todd has now driven in the New Zealand Cup five times for three wins – the others were Homin Hosed and Gracious Knight – and a second. The race took 4.05.7 which was predictably slow once the favourites had control. “Once that happened it was all over for us,” said Peter Ferguson, the driver of Falcon Rise.
“He needed the pace on from the start, and it didn’t go like that.” Was anyone unlucky? Not that we could see, but Sly Flyin did get home well from five-deep on the fence at the 600m, and Jagged Account also ran home smartly.
Credit: Mike Grainger writing in the HR Weekly
YEAR: 2003
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The leaders in the $150,000 NRM Sires' Stakes Final on Cup Day were literally firing on all 'for' cylinders.
Northern visitors VFor and Winforu both rocketed out from their wide draws in the 1950 metre mobile event, and in the end the role of pacemaker went to the latter. Winforu took the field along at a breathtaking rate, almost too quick for his own good really, and he was a sitting duck to those waiting in behind.
In steps Roman Gladiator. Driver Colin De Filippi had him beautifully placed just beyond midfield and waited for the right moment to pounce, which surfaced inside the the last 150 metres after De Filippi took a sly clance over his shoulder and straightened Roman Gladiator for the charge. The response was instantaneous, and after repelling the late charges of Likmesiah and Kotare Testament, Roman Gladiator put his name in the record books. The Christian Cullen gelding's time for the event was a staggering 2:20.4, representing a mile rate of 1:55.8. It bettered both Courage Under Fire's existing 3-year-old colts and geldings mark of 2:21.3, and the all-age record of 2:21 held jointly by Holmes D G and Happy Asset.
De Filippi paid Roman Gladiator the ultimate compliment after the race. "I don't compare any horse with Courage Under Fire, but this bloke is probably the next best thing," he said. De Filippi must have been relieved to actually complete a race with both sulky tyres in the same condition that they were when they first went out there...three times the duo have had punctured tyres during the running in recent weeks, and on one of the occasions both tyres were flat as a biscuit and off the rim. "Everything went right for us today," he said.
Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly 13Nov03
YEAR: 2003
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| Hamish Hunter |
"This is the pinnacle of my life," said Hamish Hunter as he un-geared Grenadier following their win in the $30,000 Firestone Direct Junior Free-For-All. Hunter had also tasted success in the opening event with Galleons Cheer, and he said that to win two races at Addington on Cup Day was unbelievable.
Grenadier had indifferent form leading into his latest victory, the sixth of his 30-start career, but it didn't worry his trainer/driver. "I actually thought he went pretty good at Forbury Park last start," Hunter said. "He was slow away off a twenty metre handicap, and then he pulled really hard so I had to let him run. We tried to get the lead but couldn't, and ended up sitting parked, so all things considered I thought his eighth was a good run because he wasn't that far away from the winner."
On Cup Day Grenadier sat in the trail as Pocket Me took on the role of pacemaker, and it was all the encouragement that the J C's Suprimo gelding needed to produce his best. "He has got a mind of his own, this horse," Hunter continued. "I have always thought he has got a fair amont of ability, and when he gets it right he is a very good horse. But he doesn't always do that."
Grenadier is raced by Southland enthusiast Graham Cooney in partnership with his Wellington-based brother Brendan and the latter's partner Aya Kovesy. Graham helps to run the Blue Skies Meatworks plant, and is on the board of both the Southland and Highlanders rugby clubs, and is a keen breeder and horse owner, something that Hunter says makes it even more enjoyable to train a winner for him.
"They bought his dam (Butler's Fury) through the 'Harness Racing Weekly' from a National Bloodstock dispersal sale," Hunter said. "She was in foal to Road Machine at the time, but the foal did not come to much because it was just a pony. Then came Grenadier, and I just qualified a 3-year-old Caprock daughter out of the mare the other day. Unfortunately Butler's Dash died foaling last year."
Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly 13Nov03
YEAR: 2003
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He might be aptly named insofar as his self-confessed "battling" connections are concerned, but Last Link did the best possible thing by breeder/owner/trainer Bob Porteous and driver Craig Newfield when he took out the $21,504 Christchurch Casino Trot. For both, it was considered their biggest win, surpassing the Sundon gelding's success on the final night of the Inter-Dominions on the course in April, for a similar stake when racing those who had not qualified for the Final won by Take A Moment.
Last Link is the only horse that Porteous has in work nowadays, having sent his sister Sunworthy to stud, and for Newfield, apart from Dark Shadow, a pacer he trains for Porteous which has won twice at Addington since May, he is pretty much the only horse that Newfield has been required to handle on raceday in recent years. "I have been in the game long enough and haven't been successful so it is time to look for other things," said the 43-year-old Newfield on Tuesday. "So, I am getting out, but whatever is around the corner, I don't know just yet," he added.
Newfield, who bought the 38-acre Templeton property of his father Felix when that top horseman moved to the Gold Coast about 10 years ago, is presently sub-dividing a 10-acre block of that land, running about 30 head of cattle and working for nearby breeder Mike Stratford. "When there isn't Mike's horses to be done, such as weaning the foals, I am working as a labourer for Mike in his property development. We are also doing a bit of hay contacting in the summer."
Newfield is actually a little lucky to have been involved in Last Link's two biggest wins at all. While he began from the start by handling Last Link in his 2-year-old days, a hand injury saw him replaced for a time last year by Jim Curtin, who won twice with him at Addington. When Curtin became committed to Golden Blend however, Newfield won with Last Link when they were reunited again for the first time, beating Sonofthedon at Addington in October last season, and they have been associated ever since.
Porteous says he could have also sold Last Link a few times over as well. "We have turned down $85,000 for him, knowing that at our age we will never get another one half as good as him," said Porteous. "I was talking about it one day to Mike De Filippi, and he said you could spent that much looking for another one. I have had my share of 'clunkers' over the years, and at my age we are starting to feel the pace a bit. So he is all that is keeping us going these days. Some have turned him back because he knocks his knees, but he can just keep on knocking his knees as far as we are concerned," he added.
Credit: Frank Marrion writing in HRWeekly 13Nov03
YEAR: 2003
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Roman Gladiator took the early high ground amongst the 3-year-olds with a lion-hearted win over Winforu in the International Cargo Express Rising Stars 3-year-old Championship at Addington.
After sitting parked in a cold breeze over the last lap, he left 10 others liking their wounds. He could have been forgiven for wilting on his run near the end, but there was no sign of it. Lennon was third without giving the impression of doing any better.
As good as his name suggests, Roman Gladiator is quartered for the time being with Julie and Colin De Filippi, his early target being a heat this Thursday of the Sires' Stakes Series. Colin puts him where he should be. "He was as good as anything last year," he said. "He didn't get much time off between campaigns, but he looks as if he has developed a wee bit. He is the first and only Christian Cullen I have had on the place," he said. Maurice McKendry, the driver of Winforu, suggested that twice into the wind might have taken the edge off him, but he still made a good fist of it.
More might have been expected of Lennon, the favourite, who had cover three-wide behind Stylish Lavros down the back. His driver Blair Orange, who won the following race with Harnetts Creek, was inclined to agree. "You could say it was a nice, tidy run, but also a wee bit disappointing. I thought he might be better coming off their backs, but maybe he is better doing it hard like he did last season," he said.
Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 8Oct03
YEAR: 2003
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Tim Butt warned us about it in pre-season interviews. And Take A Moment proved it when he stepped out at Addington last Thursday night. The champ has come back looking even better than he was last season.
Put that into perspective, and it's a scary thought. This is the horse that won 15 of 16 starts during 2002/03, capturing every major trotting event there was on his way to a bounty of over $500,000 in stakemoney - not to mention a well deserved Harness Horse of the Year title.
Can he actually be better than that? "Well, he has definitely strengthened up a lot," said Butt as he welcomed his stable star back at the stalls after winning the Ordeal Cup. "He has come back as good as you would hope. You never know after a long seasson like he had , but we never over-taxed him. That was a good hitout for him. It was a small field, so the conditions were in his favour."
Take A Moment did indeed look a picture when he resumed last week, and the now 8-year-old performed like a horse half his age. Sent around to joint the pacemaking Major Decision starting the last mile, Take A Moment sat comfortably off his wheel and waited patiently for pilot Anthony Butt to ask him to get serious. Butt did this around the final turn, and the response was instantaneous as Take A Moment careered away for the easiest of wins. As if the spectacle wasn't awe-inspiring enough, Take A Moment's time of 3:16.5 for the mobile 2600 metre event on a chilly night - under absolutely no duress - was.
Cool under the pressure of another job well done, Anthony paid the Armbro Invasion gelding the ultimate compliment. "Most good horses have their little faults, even Lyell did. But driving Take A Moment is like driving a car - you can stop and start him whenever you want to. He is just about the perfect racehorse."
Even some of Take A Moment's rival drivers were reaching for the white flag after the event. "You can't beat him," said one. And to be honest, how could you? If Take A Moment is stronger and better and even more keen to be out there kicking out top trotter's backsides, bad luck is the only thing that stands in the way of him having another unbelievable season.
Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly 17Sep03
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