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2011 MAURICE HOLMES VASE

Power Of Tara was simply a class above his rivals last Friday night in the season’s opening Cup build up race. Power Of Tara and Bondy shared favouritism and when Bondy found the lead early he looked to be holding all the cards. Power Of Tara worked up handy and found the lead going into the final lap and it still looked to be advantage Bondy.

When the whips cracked in the home straight though only Power Of Tara responded. Bondy didn’t quicken from the trail and was nosed out of second by Mr Chrome who did well from third on the markers.

Power Of Tara had cashed in on his trouble-free build-up and cemented a spot in the Cup via automatic qualification for the win. He will look to enhance his Cup claims further this Sunday in the PGG Wrightson Hannon Memorial.



Credit: HRNZ Website

2011 ANTHONY SHEARER/ PINK BATTS ORDEAL TROTTING CUP

The often underrated Musgrove was a tenacious winner of the Listed Ordeal Cup at Addington last Friday night. He won the race at the expense of his more-favoured stablemate Dr Hook, who was third and not as sharp as he was in winning in a slick 2.01.7 mile rate for 2600m a week earlier.

Musgrove has an excellent record - 15 wins and $140,000 from 69 starts - but he has been a devilishly hard horse to follow. His intermediate seasons were notorious for his patchy starting manner, but that's now pretty much the way it used to be. He ended his last campaign on a winning note, and started his present one off the same way, beating Burano on August 26. He was then beaten by Dr Hook a week before the Ordeal, although there wasn't a lot in it. In view of that, Musgrove shouldn't have been discarded in the betting the way he was - $15 was more than enough for a seasoned horse in such enthusiastic form.

Driven by ex-trainer David Butt, Musgrove worked up and took the lead off Dr Hook at the 1400m. A hard horse to head on most days, Musgrove called the shots from there and held off Clover Don, who was quick at the end and ran him to three-quarters of a length. "His manners have let him down in the past," said trainer Paul Nairn.

The chestnut is raced by "Bolty" Paterson, who bought out the previous owners in the horse a year ago. There was no rush to make excuses for Dr Hook, who was a little flat trying to find two lengths in the run in.

Nairn is seldom without a good reserve bench, and he has one: Idid It Myway is jogging and due back, he has a 2-year-old from Inspire he likes, and No Boundaries, a 3-year-old by Pegasus Spur from Time Of Reckoning, is a name to remember.

Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 21 Sep2011

Young harness racing star Terror To Love stepped onto the track at Addington Raceway tonight considered by many as a boy in a man's world. But for those who ever doubted the talented four year old was deserved of his place at the elite level just yet, they were given a true heads-up with a stunning performance to win tonight's Group 3 Glenferrie Farm Canterbury Classic.

Left three wide without cover for the last 600m, the son of Western Terror collared a parked Smiling Shard at the top of the straight before holding all at bay to book himself a place in November's Christchurch Casino New Zealand Trotting Cup. Trained at West Melton by the father and son partnership of Graham and Paul Court and driven by Jimmy Curtin, Terror To Love looks every-bit deserved of his place in the big league, co-trainer Paul Court glowing in his praise for his stable star.

"He's just getting better and better all the time, he's improved so much from last season and seems to back-up so well from his races. It's real exciting times for all the connections and just so satisfying for us all. When you have one of your horses perform like that at the highest level it's very rewarding, and in particular for all the staff who put the hard yards in everyday," Court enthused.

The win came as little surprise to those who knew the horse best, but as Paul Court explains, they're under no illusions as to the task ahead. "At that level you really need a little bit of luck, and he got none last week. I timed him to run his last 800 in 55.1 and 400 in 26.6, and he got no money. He's got the most speed of any horse I've sat behind, it's instant, and he's tough as well. Yes we're definitely going for the NZ Cup, it's just a matter of how we get there," Court says.

The win was just reward for long time stable client Terry McDonald who has invested so much in harness racing over the years. There would be no one that would deserve the win more than Terry in our most famous race on that second Tuesday in November.

There were few excuses for the beaten brigade, although Smiling Shard was a brave second, just a length in arrears of the winner after being parked from the mile. He continues to improve with every run. Highview Tommy was an improvers third while Power Of Tara stuck gamely for fourth after trying to lead over the final lap. The winner’s time was 3.12.7, home in 56.5 and 26.6. Terror To Love has now won 11 races from just 24 starts and over $214,000 in stake earnings.


Credit: Ged Mooar 17 Oct 2011

For any harness racing fans who had forgotten just how good Auckland Reactor was they were given a fresh reminder at the New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club's meeting held at Addington Raceway tonight (Friday).

The brilliant son of Mach Three stepped perfectly in the Avon City Ford Cup (2600m stand) for co-trainer Mark Purdon who settled the entire handy on the outer for the most part of the race, before coming with a well-timed finishing burst to grab the Cran Dalgety trained pair of Smiling Shard and Bettor's Strike short of the line.

It was a superb fresh-up performance by Auckland Reactor and the win guaranteed him a start November's Christchurch Casino New Zealand Trotting Cup. For the connections the results was undeniably satisfying, but for trainers Mark Purdon and Grant Payne, it was the horse's stand-start manners that were given the biggest seel of approval.

"He stepped perfectly to be honest, we could have run into trouble shortly after the start but he managed to dodge a few, to his credit the horse handled it beautifully," said Mark Purdon.

With a three wide train developing a lap from home, Purdon was forced to sit, wait and hope for a run over the concluding stages. His wish was grant 300 out, the brilliant pacer unleashing a whirlwind finish to snatch victory from a game Smiling Shard. "I didn't want to give him a hard run first-up and wanted him to be running on at the finish apposed to getting tired, so it was a logical choice to sit and wait," says Purdon.

Auckland Reactor appeared settled and relaxed throughout, a far cry from his previous start, where six months earlier he pulled himself into the ground during the running of the Trillian Trust Auckland Cup, eventually dropping out to finish second last.

"He travelled good tonight and never really got right on the steel until the last 500, when I pulled him out he felt terrific and just kept on coming," Purdon said.

It was certainly refreshing to see the Auckland Reactor race with such kindness and tractability, allowing Purdon the freedom of choice when comes to how he chooses to drive the talented pacer. And while he ticked all the right boxes in tonight's feature, and seems destined for a date with the New Zealand Cup, the same can't be said for Franco Emirate who completely muffed the start, driver Jim Curtin getting too far back to even consider a pursuit.

The big son of Christian Cullen will be causing the connections some unhealthy headaches as the attempt to rectify the horse's inability to step cleanly. West Melton trainer Cran Dalgety will come away well satisfied with Smiling Shard, who still looked a little pretty, and Bettor's Strike. Both horses performed with distinction.

Perhaps the run of the race could be bestowed upon champion pacer Monkey King, who after being slow away, made up tremendous ground in the straight and looks right on song for a NZ Cup three-peat. Four year old Terror To Love was given no chance after driver Anthony Butt dropped his guard at the 900 and was humped four wide, the son of Western Terror was then sent via the cape turning for home and finished a meritorious seventh.

The winning time for Auckland Reactor was 3.15.9, home in 55.8 and 28.4. It was the seven year old's 27th win from just 38 starts.

Bring on the Christchurch Casino New Zealand Trotting Cup on November 8 at Addington Raceway.


Credit: Ged Mooar 3 Oct 2011

2011 RICOH FREE-FOR-ALL

Paul Davies, the bloodstock agent who buys horses for Otago owner, Russell Nieper, remembers the day Jim Curtin trialled Franco Enirate at Addington. "He came back laughing," Davies remembers. "He said he had just driven the fastest quarter he had ever trialled a horse there and he had trialled a lot of horses. He thought he was a bargain even though the price was substantial," Davies said.

The Nieper, Davies, Curtin triumverate have been a force in harness racing for several years since the retired Otago supermarket owner first contacted the agent. "It was a ring out of the blue. Russell said he had raced a lot of horses and a lot of slow ones and was looking for a new direction."

Highview Badlands, a substantial yearling purchase, was among the first, a winner of the West Coast bonus and nine in all which Davies had recommended to Nieper. Quick Reflection and Radar Installed are among several Nieper successes buying tried horses. "Russell was happy to go that way instead of breeding and it is my job to sort them out. Franco Emirate became available after he had won one race. The price was substantial but it has proven worthwhile. Russell is a great owner and client. He lets Jimmy make the racing decisions and he backs my judgement in buying horses, some of them for very good money. You can hardly do better than working with somebody like that."

Nieper started out racing horses with colourful southern personalities such as Noel Crighton and Murray Hamilton and said he had his share of success with both. "Young Pointer was placed in a Rowe Cup and now I have got into gallopers with Murray as he moved into them and I have a share in Kid Columbus which won the Grand National Hurdles at Riccarton this year. I have had a good association with those blokes." Only a week before Franco Emirate's triumph at Addington the Nieper/ Curtin team was posting a double at a modest Manawatu meeting with Hokonui Ben.

Jim Curtin is always a man to take one step at a time. To drive another horse to win the New Zealand Cup when he could have been driving his own - and possibly could have won all going well - is a rare feat but the product of some astute thinking. "It wasn't just the starts. The standing starts showed me he was a little immature for those big races at this stage. We will see how he goes in the free-for-all on Friday before I get down to details about what happens next. The Miracle Mile might be a possibility but ideally I would like to go over later for races like the Victoria Cup."

Franco Emirate never gave his $1.50 backers any cause for concern while Mark Purdon and Grant Payne's All Stars stable produced the next three home, headed by Ohoka Dallas in the hands of Colin De Filippi.

On a more important note, Jim's wife Sandy noted that when Franco Emirate wins a race with a rug as a trophy it is invariably red. "I'm glad. I like red and he looks good in it. If he goes to Australia he will certainly be wearing a red rug."



Credit: David McCarthy writing in HRWeekly 10 Nov 2011

Anthony and mother Jenny Butt

2011 HELLERS DOMINION TROT

Vulcan continues to rise above the expectations of trainer Tim Butt. Only five, Vulcan should have the best years ahead of him, and that may still be the case.

His record, however, is already hugely impressive - 11 wins from 35 starts, and four of those are Group 1s. After Harness Jewels wins at three and four, the third came when he squeaked home in the NZ Trotting Free-For-All on Cup Day and the fourth came with a bonny finish to overhaul Dr Hook in the $200,000 Hellers Dominion Trot three days later.

This really is a massive achievement, and one that Butt has not seen coming - at least not this soon. He has often played down where Vulcan should be, suggesting he's a year away from really being competitive amongst the older horses. As can be seen, Vulcan is ahead of the plan. While his Cup Day was close, he made no bones about winning the Dominion, giving Anthony Butt his 9th success in the race and brother Tim his 8th as a trainer.

Anthony has also won with Lyell Creek (3), Take A Moment (3), Simon Katz and Mountbatten, like Vulcan, by Earl. Tim gave Vulcan a chance of winning, as long as it turned into a hard grind. "I was hoping the Cup Day run gave him the seasoning he needed," said Tim. "It helped when I Can Doosit, Sovereignty and Raydon lost ground, and Stylish Monarch wasn't there. But he's always been above average, and he has the attitude and he's tough. He isn't like Mountbatten, who had more raw speed, and isn't the champion the others were."



Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 16Nov2011

2011 WOODLANDS NEW ZEALAND FREE-FOR-ALL

Lance Justice can look back on November as being bad but not awful. While the Inter-Dominion Pacing Grand Final is a loss in waiting, the Victorian trainer still left New Zealand and the Cup carnival with enough to be cheery about. Smoken Up followed his game New Zealand Cup second with a better effort to beat Franco Emirate in the Woodlands New Zealand Free-For-All, ending the gloomy possibility that he could have been placed but beaten in every Addington start.

Before the relief and happiness that brought, Justice had sent home the promising 3-year-old Mark Dennis and Discrimination, a lucky find in Southland. Discrimination could be the mirror image that Justice thought might happen but never would. He is an unraced 4-year-old gelding by Tinted Cloud and the tenth foal from the Vance Hanover mare, Disbar. The half-brother to big winner Disprove (11 wins) was bred by Michael House, and sold to Justice clients by Tony Barron, who qualified the horse in April.

"He reminds me of 'Trigger' in every way - his looks, his manner, the way he hangs; everything about him is so similar," said Justice. "He's going to win heaps of races. And he's four. You know you can't do anything with Tinted Clouds until they're that age."

After his free-for-all win over New Zealand's best except Terror To Love, Smoken Up is obviously still a long way off letting his star fade. "Now that he's nine, I thought it would only be a matter of time when he started on the downhill slide. I'm not sure he's ready for that yet," he said. "He was a totally different horse today than he was for the Cup. He had 18 hours in transit on his way here and he just stood there when I painted his feet on Cup morning. On Friday he was all over me, pushing and playing. And in the prelim I knew he wanted to be there - he never lets a horse go past him in the warm-up, and that's what he was like. He was just so much sharper."

Justice knows that great success and pleasure from it is not an everlasting condition. "I had a call from the owner of Sokyola a fortnight or so back wanting to know why I didn't take on the New Zealand Cup with the horse. Well, as we know, Sokyola was a Sydney horse and won two Miracle Miles. That was his race. And with Smoken Up, he's learn't to travel. It was not put to me all that lightly."

Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 16Nov2011

Dr Hook (inner) holds out Springbank Richard (1)

2011 GLENFERRIE FARM INTER-DOMINION TROTTERS (Heat 1)

Dr Hook was the winner, leading throughout for Jimmy Curtin, Springbank Richard was the best of seconds, and Beat The Monarch was a chirpy third at long odds after trailing.

Raydon, I Can Doosit and the Swedish mare Annicka all ran well enough to expect at least more of the same this week, but not everyone was happy. Chris Lang was back at the drawing board after Sundon's Gift ran well below his best, even taking a tough trip into account. "No matter how you look at it, that was a bad run," he said. Sundon's Gift was parked, and started losing ground before the turn. Lang said the horse should have stayed on better than he did, in spite of the run he had.

Further up, there were good reports, especially from Mark Purdon and Anthony Butt. "I'm very happy with him," said Purdon, of I Can Doosit, who added that Auckland Reactor had resumed work with the intention of racing again soon. "He did a bit of work early, and had the run he needed."

Butt was just as upbeat with Annicka, and expects her to be a formidable threat this week, when trainer Jorgen Westholm will take over. "She got held up on the corner behind Sundon's Gift and wanted to hang a bit when we came out. She found the line well, and she went to the end of the back straight before I could pull her up."

Phil Williamson was a man on more of a mission with Springbank Richard, whose form had been patchy at best and a worry at worst. The race would give him a bead on just wherehis form sat - and it did. From three-deep, Springbank Richard flashed into second, which carried the message Williamson was after. "It was just the run we wanted. He's a very nice horse when he's on his game. If he's as good late on as he was tonight, he's got a real chance in the Final," he said.

Paul Nairn had Dr Hook in grand shape and still expects him to get better. "He has only raced once since the Cup Meeting, and he's always happier racing right-handed," he said. Asked whether three races in a fortnight might be a hurdle for the 5-year-old, Nairn said: "I'm sure he's done it before ... on the Coast, three races in five days. I know he will be a stronger horse in a year or two, but he's fit and there's no point in being here if your not. As far as being good enough, he'll answer that question."

Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 30Mar11

2011 KAHDON 4YO TROTTERS CHAMPIONSHIP

For practical reasons, Gay McClymont chose to watch her race at Addington on Saturday from the rooftop of the new stabling area. It was certainly an occasion for the Gore trainer, being the first time a horse in her colours had started at Christchurch Headquarters, but on the tote her trotter Larix wasn't given much of a show and McClymont wasn't about to argue. "I knew we weren't going to be needed in the birdcage after the race, so I thought we may as well watch from a spot closer to where she'd be coming back in," McClymont said.

From her head-on vantage point McClymont could see Larix had put herself in the finish, but it wasn't until a few moments later when course commentator Mark McNamara confirmed it that the reality sank in. "That was a huge thrill," she said. "You take a win wherever you can get it but to win one at Addington is certainly a buzz."

McClymont and her husband Nick didn't have much time to celebrate their victory in the $25,000 Group 3 Kahdon Four-Year-Old Trotters Championship, because as soon as they were finished in the swabbing box they loaded Larix onto the float and began the journey home. "It doesn't take long to come back to earth when you've got a farm," she said. "We've got hay on the ground, and we've managed to get some of it in but there's still half a paddock to do. It's rained a lot down there lately, and every time the hay starts to dry out enough it'll pour again; it's very frustrating."

The McClymonts live in Gore and own a 200 acre sheep farm at Whiterig about three kilometres away. At peak there's up to 900 ewes and 200 hoggets to manage, but as Nick is a full-time tanker driver for Fonterra, Gay does most of the work herself. "I've always said that the farm has to come first and the horses second, because the farm is what pays the bills," she said. "Things have had to change a little bit this season though." That's because Larix has really put McClymont on the map during 2010/11, winning four of her 10 outings. She's been a 'hit or miss' type of trotter ever since her career began last March though, evidenced by her record of six victories from 16 starts in total but not a single placing amongst them.

McClymont and her mum Rae Given bred Larix themselves. The 4-year-old Safely Kept mare is out of Tamarix, who they also bred, and McClymont trained her in the last four of her five victories. "Brendon McLellan helped me with Tamarix early on," she recalled. "And she actually started out as a great pacer - running a quarter in twenty-six at the Gore workouts one day; we thought we had an Oaks filly. But she never tried an inch once she got to the races, so in frustration I stopped in the middle of training one day and threw the hopples away. She had a few issues and took a bit to get organised, and at one stage when we were busy with lambing I gave her to Brendon."

Tamarix ironically won her first race while boarding at McLellan's, and the same thing happened with Larix too. McClymont broke her wrist badly in a shearing accident and was in plaster for a year, so her good friends Geoff and Judy Knight took Larix into their care and she qualified and won her first two races from the couple's stable. "I don't think Geoff was too happy about giving her back in the end," she smiled. "She was lovely to break in and is lovely to work with, but she's got her funny wee ways too. She just got into her head that she couldn't get round corners. When she's good she's very very good, but when she's bad she's horrid. And once she gallops she's usually history. I mean, she's had sixteen starts but you couldn't say she's had sixteen races. I do very little on the track with her now. Our farm's a very rolling property, so for work she goes up hill and down dale. One day she might see a rabbit, and the next it'll be a duck. I just take her around the sheep and stop at all the gates as we go through them, and she's not near as silly as she used to be."

Another component in the equation is Larix's driver Nathan Williamson. "He's fantastic with her," she says. "I wouldn't have a horse if it wasn't for Nathan, because he's looked after her beautifully and taught her all the way through. She knows him really well, and seems to relax for him. He's had big wraps on her right from the dayhe drove her in qualifying, too."

So did Larix's trainer get any of the $50 dividend on Saturday? "I actually don't bet. I've always maintained that if I put money on a horse it'd be the quickest way to stop it. You might wonder 'what if' when they pay what she did, but you don't regret it when you see them gallop away."

McClymont's career tally is now sitting one short of double figures. Larix has won four for her since October last year; Tamarix recorded the same amount of victories between early 2001 and March 2002, and for her first training win you have to go back to March 1995 when Saperfluous scored at a hometown meeting in Gore. All of her wins have been trotters, but that's just coincidental. She did actually win a pacing race with Luigi in 1999, but "they took it off me for him moving one cart width out down the straight, and I'm still sour about it to this day".

McClymont bought the farm at Whiterig off her parents, and her mother still lives there. Of course it's famous for sending forth a great pacer in years gone by as well, because McClymont's late father Lionel Given co-bred, co-owned and trained none other than Sapling. "we soon got used to travelling up and down the country with a horse like him," McClymont remembered fondly. "It was Dad's partner (in Sapling) George Cruickshank that actually got me started in the eighties when he gave me a share in the broodmare Spruce, who was a half-sister to Sapling."

One of the best horses McClymont ever bred was Spruce's Double Century gelding Try A Fluke, who was sold to Australia after a couple of starts and ended up winning a Hunter Cup. With the 'highs' has come the 'lows' too though, because both Larix's half-sisters were lost within two weeks of each other to colic and twisted bowels in 2007. "The next one out of Tamarix is a 2-year-old Sundon, who was born on my son Graham and his wife Vicky's wedding day so I gave them a half-share in him as a present. He's the first colt I've bred since Dad died in 2004, so I've named him Given. She foaled a Sundon colt on Christmas night, and has gone to Monarchy."

In addition to being a farmer, and affectionately calling herself "a hick from the sticks" who trains a horse of two, McClymont is on the committee of her local club and was even President for a three-year term at the turn of the century when Gore celebrated it's centenary.

Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly 9Feb2011

2011 UNITED FISHERIES LTD SUMMER CUP

De Lovely had her first test against the open class pacers on Saturday at Addington and passed with flying colours.

Trailing all the way on a moderate tempo, De Lovely always looked like she would have the last say up the passing lane in the $25,000 United Fisheries Ltd Summer Cup - and so it proved, the Falcon Seelster mare zipping past the pacemaker Monkey King and Highview Tommy to win with something in hand.

"Monkey King was probably still a run short," conceded driver David Butcher. "I mean, you look in the book and Monkey King's won $3.4 million - at $580,000-odd, we're way behind. The only speed in the race came when Hghview Tommy loomed up at th 100m mark and had a look, that was it."

Butcher justified his driving tactics at De Lovely's previous start when she couldn't beat the mares, saying "I thought I could sit last and still pick them up. You've got to remember that it was her first start for five weeks. But they're not machines. Horses are so hard to manage sometimes, and the team at Wigram Lodge have obviously done a good job with her in the interim. She's beautiful to sit behind, because she's got such a lovely gait."

Trainer Ian Small and De Lovely's connections are pretty much adopting a 'take it as it comes' approach to the remainder of the season, because there's plenty of races like the Harness Jewels at Ashburton and Taylor Mile/Messenger in Auckland at her disposal without even thinking about the trans-Tasman battle at Addington which starts next month. "Inter-Dominions? We'll see," Butcher said. "We thought she'd have about eight races this season, and she's already had six."

Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly 9Feb2011