 | RACING HISTORY |
YEAR: 2009
FEATURE RACE COMMENT
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As breeders, Keith and Bevan Grice virtually own the NZ Trotting Derby. The Ashburton-based brothers have bred the winners of four of the last nine Derbies: Dependable in 2001, Shirley Temple (2007), Doctor Mickey last year and now Ima Gold Digger, who took out Friday night's Paul and Pauline Renwick-sponsored Group 1 with another powerhouse display of square-gaiting.
The Grice's affinity with the prestigious event is all thanks to Janetta's Pride, and the continuous stream of winners she's left to Sundon. Three of the aforementioned quartet share the same set of parents, while the 'odd one out' Doctor Mickey is a son of their full-sister Jo Anne - which all signifies quite an amazing 'nick'.
Making the occasion even more memorable last Friday night was the fact that it was also Bevan's birthday. "Yes, somebody said that - I was trying to forget about it," quipped the sprightly 78-year-old. "But this is a great thrill, and the best birthday present I've had in years. To think that the mare's now left three Derby winners and the dam of another one - it's unheard of. We have been breeding for some sixty-four years, ever since we were at school, and something like this just blows you away. I couldn't believe Ima Gold Digger's time either; that's the sort of time the pacers do."
Ima Gold Digger won this year's 2600m mobile Derby in 3 17.4, slicing nearly two full seconds off the previous NZ Record held by Flame Up which had stood since the latter set it in the very same event a decade ago. It was Ima Gold Digger's third national mark this term, and will safely secure him the 3-Year-Old Trotter of the Year title come August.
What amazes the Grices even more about Janetta's Pride and her Sundon stock is that they bred two full-sisters to the same stallion, numerous times, and "never got anything". "That's the funny thing about breeding though," Bevan said. "We first sent Janetta's Pride to Pernod Eden, and then Chiola Hanover, but the foals came to nothing. Then she just clicked with Sundon. Vivian Leigh was another by Sundon out of her that had talent too. Lindsay Kerslake was one of the last to train her, and he reckoned none of his pacers could match her for speed. She just couldn't get near the barrier."
Following on fron Ima Gold Digger is Spin Doctor, a 2-year-old full-brother, and Rugged Cross, a yearling full-sister, but the stream of Sundon foals out of the Gee Whizz II matron comes to a halt after that. A couple of seasons ago Janetta's Pride was covered "two or three times" by her favourite stallion but didn't 'take', so she went to Monarchy instead - and last year she missed again to the son of Arndon, and is currently carrying a Thanksgiving foal. "Her Monarchy filly is a yearling, and steps around the paddock as good as anything you'll see," Grice enthused. "So we will be getting her broken in early, like we do with most of our horses."
As for Janetta's Pride, she is now 20 but showing no signs of needing to slow down. She juggles between her two owners' properties, depending on wherever the best paddock is at the time. No prizes for guessing whose court she'll be visiting again next breeding season. "I think she was sixteen when she foaled Ima Gold Digger," Grice said. "But I have maintained for years...if you're breeding from an older mare, they've got to be in a nice paddock on their own with good pasture. Otherwise they tend to compete with the younger mares for feed, and end up not nourishing the foetus."
Although it's their success with trotters that puts the Grices in the spotlight, they breed from just as many pacing mares as well; their hoppled heroes in recent times include the likes of Indian Giver, Wiltshire, Parasite, Pretty Dollybird and this season's Kindergarten Stakes winner El Nino. "We put thirteen mares to stud last year," Grice said, adding that they've bred more at times in the past. There's about a dozen other mares out in the paddock which are all in foal as well, but we're in partnership with Michael House on those ones. It's a hobby for us, and we breed to lease. Everybody's got to have a hobby, whatever walk of life they're from - because if you don't, you'll die of boredom."
Credit: John Robinson writing in HR Weekly 1Apr09
YEAR: 2009
FEATURE RACE COMMENT
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When it comes to Sleepy Tripp, not much has changed in three years. As a foal he was almost impossible to catch in the paddock, and these days his rivals on the racetrack have trouble getting near him too. That sheer tenacity was again on display at Addington last Friday night, when Sleepy Tripp kept all challengers at bay and won the $300,000 Christian Cullen NZ Derby.
Bred and raced by Pleasant Point's Terry and Adrienne Taylor, Sleepy Tripp was providing the couple with one of their most cherished moments in life when he took out the Group 1 event last night. So they must shudder at the thought that they could have easily sold him early on. "He was a little bugger," Terry recalled. "He would always keep at least an arm's length away from you, his mother was the same. Of the four horses we bred that year, I remember thinking he would be the first to go."
The Taylors had been dairy farmers in the Bay of Islands and Whangarei for 30 years, where they also had a Jersey Stud. Shifting south at the turn of the century in search of cooler weather, they originally settled in Oamaru before purchasing a 350 acre beef farm at Pleasant Point in 2001. They opted for a lifestyle change soon afterwards though, selling off the bulk of their new property but leaving themselves with enough land (50 acres) to run a few cattle, build a new home, and pursue one last passion which had been only a dream up until that point - breeding racehorses.
"Adrienne had been my 'right-hand man' on the farm all those years," Taylor said with a smile. "And you can get a bit sick of it (the lifestyle) after a while. We are both in our seventies, so we decided we may as well sell up and enjoy ourselves."
Terry and Adrienne have always enjoyed going to the races, and when living up north they tried to get along to Alexandra Park "whenever we had the time". Now that chance to breed some horses had finally arrived, they were going to need some broodmares, so Terry started attending Mixed Sales and picked up the odd mare here and there. Admittedly knowing very little about harness bloodlines, the Taylors stuck to the basics and what they remembered from three decades of dairy farming - plus the advice of a learned friend: that producing quality stock was "ten percent breeding and ninety percent feeding".
Some good luck never goes amiss either though, and in this regard you would almost think that the Taylors were blessed with the 'Midas' touch, because just about every one of the of the dozen or so horses they have bred since they began has either won or been sold overseas - and their good fortune started right from the word go.
One of the first mares they purchased was Sleepy Tripp's dam Fancy Fitch, outlaying $1200 to secure the daughter of Fitch II and Happy Widow from a mixed sale when she was in foal to Mystical Shark. "There's a bit of a long story about her," Terry said. "When she came home from the stud after giving birth, she had the wrong foal on her; there had been some sort of mix up in the paddock, and the foals must've swapped mothers. The horse turned out to be Franco Smoothie (Holmes Hanover-Smooth Performer), and he won a couple of races for us before we sold him to the States. The Mystical Shark foal out of Fancy Fitch never even made it to the trials, and actually ended up dying."
The Taylors then bred Fancy Fitch to Live Or Die and she produced Dead Or Alive, who won races at two, three and four here before they sold him to Australia in May last year. Waiting in the wings at the same stage was Fancy Fitch's then 2-year-old by Courage Under Fire, the Taylors choosing to stick with Nevele R because "they'd been good to us", and he was named after the famous American speedway driver Sleepy Tripp.
Broken-in by Maree Price, she had thought enough enough of Sleepy Tripp early on to suggest that the Taylors go straight to the top and ask Mark Purdon to train him, and after joining the roster at All Stars Stables he had caused a few headaches there as well. "He was a bit silly," Purdon said. "He'd shown a bit of speed at two, but he wasn't coping mentally with the work as we were stepping him up. He was too fierce, and just wanted to run all the time. He'd rear up at the start on occasions too - just hypo, really." Purdon and training partner Grant Payne had pretty much ironed out Sleepy Tripp's idiosyncrasies by the time he debuted at Addington towards the end of October last year, and after being sent out a red-hot $1.60 favourite he won with a leg in the air despite being three-wide and parked throughout.
So emphatic was the victory, even a reinsman the ilk of Mark Purdon was left reaching for superlatives. "He really impressed me that night," Purdon said. "It wasn't just a good maiden win. Tim (Butt) had lined up one with a bit of a reputation, but we'd sat outside him and beat him easily. I thought then that he'd be able to step up to the better 3-year-olds."
Such a display of raw ability hadn't gone unnoticed by the talent scouts out there either, and within days Purdon was on the phone to the Taylors with the news of a six-figure proposition. "Mark rang and said he'd received a big offer," Terry said. "But we didn't need the money, and I remember thinking that if someone else thought he was that good - we may as well keep him." Neither his trainers or his connections could've predicted a NZ Derby victory within six months though, but Purdon is now adamant that Sleepy Tripp's going all the way to the top. "He's gone to another level again. He's just got that 'all-rounder' quality, and definitely looks like a Cup horse in the making."
Sleepy Tripp's now won eight of his 12 appearances and nearly $390,000. After the icing on the cake last Friday night, the Taylors have yet to come back to earth. "It's a huge thrill for us," Terry said. "Some people try for years to breed a horse like this; we definitelty didn't think it would happen so soon."
Credit: John Robinson writing in HR Weekly 8 Apr09
YEAR: 2009
FEATURE RACE COMMENT
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Despite the myriad of training successes they have enjoyed, something still manages to keep Mark Purdon and his training cohort Grant Payne guessing. Her name's Pocaro. The Sundon filly enjoyed being back against her own gender again in last Friday night's NZ Trotting Oaks at Addington, and after getting around from her unruly draw to lead the 1950 metre Group 3 event, she clung gamely to the task to hold out a spirited bid from Jumanji Franco. Both horses broke late in the piece, and Purdon was left scratching his head about the winner's performance.
"On her training this week I thought she would've won for fun," he said afterwards. But it was a better showing from her, because at least she (almost) got around in one piece." As a 2-year-old Pocaro had one speed - full bore. She's calmed down a bit in that regard this season, but has still got a tendency to voer-race early, which is why her trainers placed her on the unruly in a bid to curb that enthusiasm.
As Pocaro has shown throughout her career though, when she's good she's very good, but the trouble in more recent times has been her breaking during the running. All Stars Stables has left no stone unturned trying to get to the bottom of the problem, with Purdon saying that she has undergone extensive examinations on numerous occasions with her vet Bill Bishop, also having her joints injected and even having a chiropractor look over her. But he still believes that the Sundon filly may be sore somewhere. "Sher would be a great candidate for that treatment where they pump a blue dye through a horse's system and it shows up all the hot spots. I think it's something I'll have to talk about with the owners."
Pocaro is raced by Trevor Casey, Jim and Tim Wheelan, Stephen Ward and Shane Hausler, and so far she has won the quintet over $85,000 - the result of seven victories from 13 outings, two of the Group 3s. "She is a very strong trotter, with a lot of speed," Purdon enthused. "We will go up north with her now, for three races. She thrives on trips away, and has won up there before so she could well be safer the Auckland way around."
Credit: John Robinson writing in HR Weekly 8Apr09
YEAR: 2009
FEATURE RACE COMMENT
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One Over Kenny won the 29th race of her career when she took out the $100,000 Garry Thompson/ Fred Shaw Solicitors NZ Trotting Championship at Addington last Friday night. The great mare led for the last half of the 2600m mobile event, and after reeling off a 57.9 half she won it ever so easily by nearly a length in 3.16.7. Amazingly, it was her fifth Group 1 victory on New Zealand soil.
"It just shows you how good Stig is," trainer/driver Tony Herilhy said afterwards, referring to how dominant the latter had been over his mare in their last two clashes this year. "You never like to see good horses injured, but we were just pleased to be there (Addington) ourselves and we'll take it."
It was also satisying for Herlihy because it proved the One Over Kenny was back to her best again after a 'failed' Inter-Dominion campaign across the Tasman, which he put down to her being sick and not being "half the horse" she normally is. "She definitely seems to have come up a lot stronger this time as well," he said.
Herlihy used to believe that One Over Kenny trotted better the Auckland way round, but she has had a Murphy Blind added to her armoury since the Flying Stakes victory at Cambridge on January 2 and now he is not so sure there is any difference at all.
The 7-year-old Sundon mare will be shooting for victory number 30 when she steps out again in Auckland a week before the Rowe Cup, and then it is onto the big one itself as she attempts to emulate her win of two years ago.
Credit: John Robinson writing in HR Weekly 8Apr09
YEAR: 2009
FEATURE RACE COMMENT
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Two of the Phil Williamson stable's rising stars were on display at Addington last Friday night, one with half as many legs as the other. First there is Leighton Hest, a Dream Vacation 4-year-old who ran third first-up this season and has now won his last six in a row. And the other up-and-comer is the young chap who sits behind him, 18-year-old Matthew Williamson.
The duo combined to record their biggest wins to date when Leigthon Hest took out the $30,000 First Sovereign Trust 4YO Trotters Championship last week, running along in front to score more easily than the half-length margin suggested.
"He's pretty good," said Matthew, who was beaming after his first Group victory. "He's a great stayer, but he's got speed as well. I wanted to keep him running and take a bit of the sprint out of the rest of them. He's just lazy, and pulled up halfway down the straight when there wasn't any other horses round him."
Williamson didn't have much else on his mind other than rugby when he attended Waitaki Boys in Oamaru, but there was little doubt in his mind what he wanted to do once he left school. His parents already had one son (Nathan) choose harness racing as his career, did they really want another? "Mum probably didn't, but Dad needed helpers. And I love it. I wanted to try and get to fifteen wins as quick as I could this season, so I could drive in the big races - like this one."
Nathan has already established himself as a talented reinsman, and when he joined the Kirk Larsen stable at the start of the season there was a space for Matthew in their parent's barn. Plenty of friendly rivalry goes on between the two brothers too. "He's usually the first to tell me if I have a shocker," Matthew said with a smile. "And he's a wee bit too big to give a bit of ribbing back too - I just normally give him a touch-up on the way past."
Understandably, parents Phil and Bev are very proud of the start that their second son has made. "I'm delighted with him, winning a Group race in his first season of driving," Phil said. "Nathan did the same. But, it's not through any tuition from me. All we want is that they do what they want to - kids have got to have their own passion for things. We never forced them to come down to the stables, they did that on their own accord; both Nathan and Matthew started getting interested on a day-to-day basis by the time they'd reached high school."
There are two more Williamson protégés waiting in the wings...daughter Jasmyn, who is 16 and keen but more likely to stick to riding ponies rather than driving harness horses, and youngest son Bradley, a 14-year-old who's "looking very capable" and a "natural talent" like his brothers before him.
As for Leighton Hest, the chief of the Williamson stable says he's been a bit of a surprise to them all. "He's stepped up, for sure. At home he's not a horse that shows you what he does at the races, put it that way. But going from being a maiden to winning a Group 3 in one campaign is a pretty good effort. It's hard to put a big rap on a horse when they win against the lower grades, but after this there's no doubt he's going to the top. He's got the all-round game...an enormous desire to win, and when he knocked off tonight like he did - that's the sign of a really good horse. He's definitely exciting us."
It is amazing to think that yet another top-line trotter is emerging from the Williamson stable, especially when the list is already a long one. Humbly, Phil puts it down to basics. "It's a kindness thing. And a love of horses - a passion for them. When you love them, and treat them kindly, if they're any good they're going to reward you."
The rewards could keep coming thick and fast from Leighton Hest, with his next main target being the Jewels. "We'll give him a freshen up now, and possibly one or two races before the big one at Ashburton in May. We've got to be a wee bit careful though, because it's been a long season for him. He'll be okay from behind the mobile, even though he hasn't had one yet, and the mile should suit too."
Credit: John Robinson writing in HR Weekly 1Apr09
YEAR: 2009
FEATURE RACE COMMENT
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Since then and until now, it has been a long time between good horses for Tony and Gay Abell. The space has been occupied by one or two handy horses prefixed with 'Kotare' but none as classy as the first one.
Nearly 40 years ago, the Abells struck it rich with Kotare Legend, a horse they bred. The son of Fallacy won 14 of his 56 races while trained by Leicester Tatterson, but none of them in three light racing campaigns after he turned five and ended at seven with Gary Hillier. He had a bumper season at three, winning nine races but not a Derby, and finishing ninth on the all-time money list that season behind Arapaho, Robalan, Young Quinn, Easton Light, Koarakau, Noodlum, Bachelor Tom and Speedy Guest. It was hard to find one half as good after that, although the ill-fated Kotare Testament went close to doing so.
But Abell had many more strings to his bow and harness racing, to its benefit, found them out. He waited longer than most to become a member of the NZ Metropolitan Trotting Club. "There was a waiting list when I wanted to join, and I gave John Osborne a cheque - which he discovered in a trouser pocket eighteen months later." After serving as a steward and then as a committeeman, he went on to become President of the Club and these were good years. He was Chairman of the Inter-Dominion Harness Racing Council - now defunct - and he was Chairman of the NZ Sires' Stakes Board - all posts that took a man of merit to handle. These were front-line jobs, and Abell said it was nothing for him to be in and out of town three times a week.
He still holds his AI ticket, and it's probably true to say that no-one has had it longer. "Back then, I stood Bay Foyle, Brad Hanover, Estes Minbar and Dominion Hanover, and when AI came in that was pretty much the end of it for back-yard breeders. It was time to give up. It was work for the vets, but I asked Cliff Irvine why it couldn't be done by others, and Cliff said there was no reason at all why not. So I went on the first AI course, and being an 'A' followed by a 'b' my name was the first on the list, and I was the first to get a certificate. I still do it now, for my mares and a few who are nearby."
One of them is Extra B G, the dam of Kotare Mach, a 2-year-old colt by Mach Three. In winning the $100,000 Bromac Lodge NZ Welcome Stakes at Addington last Saturday with crushing ease against moderate opposition, Kotare Mach has signalled that the Abells have one with the talent that could match what Kotare Legend did. It would also be a just reward for the countless hours and effort that Abell has given to harness racing as a distinguished administrator. As sponsor Bob McArdle said: "One can't measure the influence Tony has had on the industry, and I know we will be seeing a lot more of this horse in these circumstances."
The Abells bred Kotare Mach, but it was the late Peter Andrews, who followed Tony as the Chairman of the Met, who started the ball rolling. He bought Tanisa Vance as a yearling at Auckland although the official owners when she first went to stud were Graham Heenan, Keith Miles and Graeme Hawkins. "I can recall how tiny Tanisa Vance was, and she was tried and was no good, so they bred her to Pathfinder," said Abell. "I remember the foal was a thin, terrible looking thing, and they asked me to look after her. The mare was in foal to Butler B G, so I also reared and weaned the filly she had, and it was broken in and tried but didn't race."
In the meantime, Abell had leased Tanisa Vance and bred two from her - the smart Kotare Jaeger by Andrel who won eight, and Kotare Jay, and Jane Moody used her later to breed Ross The Boss. Having taken over the Butler B G filly, named Extra B G in return for looking after her, Abell sent her to Camtastic, Falcon Seelster and Presidential Ball for filly foals, Armbro Operative - to whom she left a capable horse in Kotare Jago - and a filly by Village Jasper before he settled on Mach Three. "Extra B G was from a strong family and she was a good size herself. She hadn't had many colts, just one in fact, and I really like Mach Three from the start. I actually had a booking, but when they put the fee up from $6000 to $8000 I didn't take it up. Then, we were up at Auckland for the final night of the Inter-Dominions, and Mach Three was advertised at a special rate of $6000 just for that night. I booked in Extra B G then."
The mare left a brown colt and if Abell didn't know he had something a little extra then, the figuring came soon enough. "He was a little bull, always strong and capable. I liked him right from the start and I told this to my neighbour, Dennis Bennett. And he looked bigger than he's turned out to be. I thought he might be half a hand taller than what he is." Abell broke him and did all the early work with him. "As is my habit, with anything I think a bit of I send to Mark Smolenski for evaluation. He usually has them for a month. He got very excited about him, and of course that didn't surprise me."
"He was just a happy, easy-going horse. And my question to Mark was 'will we qualify him?" He did that well enough; Dexter Dunn driving him for Smolenski in a qualifer he won by 11 lengths on November 1 at Ashburton. There was talk of big money for him after that. "We had three approaches before he raced, and the answer to each of them was no. We really breed horses to sell and shouldn't fall in love with them, but with this one we did. Mark suggested even then, before he raced, that Mark Purdon should have him, but we were happy to leave him where he was for his first start. He got a rough run in that, and a punctured tyre, so we left him there for the Sapling Stakes and Mark took him after that."
From three starts for Purdon and Payne, Kotare Mach has won three, setting a New Zealand record over 1700m at Invercargill, a win in a Sires' Stakes Heat and then his wholesale destruction of the Welcome Stakes field. From the sidelines, and being a horseman himself, Abell had mixed feelings of losing his young star. "He looked forward to his work every day, and I do miss him. But I suspected he could be a bit special, and I knew I had to give him up. My only hope is that I get him home to look after at some time, but then I might not."
Always enthusiastic, Abell is not slowing down at 74, and is handling six yearlings. Extra B G has a filly foal at foot by Live Or Die and her next mating will be back to Mach Three in 2010. They will all carry the 'Kotare' moniker, but it will be 'Mach' who should continue the legend.
Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HR Weekly 16Apr09
YEAR: 2009
FEATURE RACE COMMENT
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Monkey King ended his campaign on a high note by winning the Stallion Station Easter Cup from All Tiger.
The 3200m took Monkey King 3.58.2 and with a length and three-quarter margin it suggested that he could have gone quicker had it been required.
He won the race last year in 4.01.8. He 25 wins and 16 minor placings have yielded $1,151,013.
Photo caption: Royal smiles...Sara Famularo,'Benny' Hill and Ricky May enjoyed it when Monkey King reigned at Addington again on Saturday night, winning his second consequtive Easter Cup in a brilliant 3.58.2.
Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HR Weekly 16Apr09
YEAR: 2009
FEATURE RACE COMMENT
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At home, Alan and Fiona Clark have a boxed set of Harness Jewels colours with Castletonian's name on them. They are a memento of the trotters deeds last season, when Castletonian was the leading 2-year-old stake-earner by the time he raced for a Harness Ruby at Cambridge, and they are just a special as the Sires' Stakes trophy he won to put him on top of the list.
Later this year the couple have to clear some more space, as a set belonging to stablemate The Fiery Ginga will be following suit; the latter put things beyond doubt in this respect with another faultless display to win last Friday's Group 3 NZ Trotting Stakes at Addington. It was the seventh victory in a row for The Fiery Ginga, and it was achieved with a 'take no prisoners' attitude when Alan let him run hard out of the gate. "I thought Kowhai Ford was our main danger in the race, and I wanted to put some pressure on him early," Clark said of his rival, who had gotten to the lead first after drawing closer in. "The Fiery Ginga can really pour it on around the bends, whereas at this stage a lot of other 2-year-olds can't."
Confident in his own trotter being foolproof, Clark had wrested the lead with The Fiery Ginga soon afterwards, at which stage Kowhai Ford rolled into a gallop that went close to costing him third in the Stipes' room later on. In fact, stewards were kept pretty busy scribbling down names early on, as eight of The Fiery Ginga's 12 rivals in the event either broke in the score-up, at the release or in the first 400 metres.
Clear and cruising throughout, none of them were ever going to get near the $2.50 favourite. "That might put some of the 'knockers' back in their place," Clark said, referring to a couple of outside opinions that "the wheels had to fall off sometime" because The Fiery Ginga had been 'up' since August and qualified a month later. "People don't think that 2-year-olds can race right through the season, but they can - you have just got to get their shoeing and conditioning right. And I know this fella took nine starts before he won one, but all of his earlier races were about sorting him out, and him learning to be a racehorse."
It's hard to condemn a horse that, since clearing maidens, has now won seven in a row. And if anything The Fiery Ginga looks to be getting better rather than going backwards, which is what Clark expected all along. "I always knew he would," the Mosgiel horseman said. "I remember thinking a wee while ago that if there was a better 2-year-old out there, he'd have to be phenomenal. The Fiery Ginga's got tremendous stamina, and he will keed stepping up time and time again. He is a very light horse at the moment, but once he strengthens up as a 3-year-old he'll be able to carry his speed even further. He's a super horse to train; he's like a lamb to work with, and he'll always come back for more."
Next on the plate for the son of CR Commando is this Saturday's Sires' Stakes Trotters Championship, the race that Castletonian won last year, and Clark believs The Fiery Ginga "could be slightly better" for it than he was last Friday night. Following that, he might even line his three 2-year-olds up at Phar Lap Raceway 24 hours later - "on the way home" - something he knows is likely to also raise a few eyebrows.
"He'll handle it easy," Clark said. "Horses train harder than they race. Like the other night...he only sprinted for four hundred metres at the start, and again for four hundred metres at the finish. I do a lot of interval training at home. It pushes the horses to very high speeds, but it doesn't tax their bodies or cause them to get fatigued. A lot of people can't believe it, but I've already got three yearlings at home that can all run miles in 2.10 or 2.12; they'll all qualify in August. I like a challenge, and like to do things that other people perhaps haven't done."
Safely through Saturday and Sunday, The Fiery Ginga will set course for Ashburton and the Jewels, where with his gate-speed and faultless ringcraft he'll be a torrent to try and head off. "Not that I'll be going out there to set records, he is there to win - not go a time. But I think he's a 1:57 horse," Clark said.
Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly 6May09
YEAR: 2009
FEATURE RACE COMMENT
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A year ago, the connections of Lauraella had a nervous couple of weeks leading into the Harness Jewels at Cambridge. Because there were two massive hurdles to overcome, and one of them was out of their hands altogether...firstly, could the filly earn enough money to make the cut-off for the 2YO Diamond field - and furthermore, even if she did, could Mother Nature play her part and install enough power and balance into the lanky filly's frame in time to make her competitive. after all, Lauraella hadn't even won a race at this stage.
In the end the two mountains became molehills; Lauraella's third in the Sires' Stakes Fillies Championship on May 2 lifted her to eighth in the Jewels rankings, and then she went out there and romped away with the 2YO Diamond in NZ record time. Twelve months on, and it's a vastly different picture in many respects: Lauraella has hardly been beaten as a 3YO, and her earnings that count ($323,224) are nearly double that of her nearest rival Joyfuljoy, placing her at the top of the tree.
After her domination continued in the $150,000 Nevele R Fillies Series Final at Addington last Saturday, this year's Diamond looks hers to lose. "She's a brilliant retirement present," says Sandy Yarndley, adding the he and wife Jan are getting a big kick out of "following her everywhere". The couple began scaling down their mammouth involvement in the industry a couple of years ago when selling off most of their farm at Ohaupo to Ken Breckon. Sandy says they have still got shares in quite a few mares, but these days life is all about enjoyment. "I used to fit 'play' around work commitments, now it's the other way around," he smiled.
"I'm playing a lot more tennis, and we also bought a house at Thornton Bay on the road to the Coromandel; you catch snapper off the beach there."
Lauraella is raced by the Yarndleys together with Max and Judith Hunter, under the banner of the Hardwood Breeding Syndicate - named for the fact that the filly's dam Black Maire is named after "a type of hard wood." "We've known Max and Judy for about twenty-three years," Yarndley continued. "They'd raced the odd galloper before, and had been involved in quite a few syndicates with us too. So a few seasons back we offered them the chance to join us in this venture, and now we're all having a hell of a lot of fun."
Black Maire was a Falcon Seelster filly out of the Vance Hanover-Black Watch mare Corbie that won the Yarndleys four races and nearly $40,000. Having captured half of her 18 appearances and nearly $540,000 to date, second foal Lauraella has far exceeded all expectations. "And to think we were one bid away from letting her go at the Sales," Yarndley recalled. "I said to Pynes that if she reaches $80,000 - sell her; she'd gotten to seventy-five, and the next bid would've been eighty. Barrie Rattray from Tasmania was the underbidder, and I even went up to him afterwards and asked if he wanted to take her for the price we were after. But she was a real gangly thing by the time the Sales came around that year, and in the ring she didn't look half as good as she had three or four weeks earlier. Even last year, she was over sixteen hands when we turned her out as a 2YO after the Jewels - so she's always been a big girl."
Buoyed by the fact that Lauraella ended her first season by winning the Jewels at Cambridge, the Yarndleys and the Hunters also took a lot of heart from trainer Geoff Small's opinion. "Geoff always said that she'd need time," he said, knowing that what Lauraella achieved this season is still 'pinch yourself' stuff. A couple of months ago he even said to me how much she reminded him of Mainland Banner. For all his differences, I can't speak highly enough of Geoff and what he and the staff have done for this filly. And David (Butcher) is such a cool driver too."
With a lifetime involvement in harness racing, the Yarndleys are no strangers to success and have raced plenty of good fillies in the past. But it's Lauraella who is taking them to another level, and the juggernaut doesn't look like stopping anytime soon. "We've had horses like Hot Shoe Shuffle and Coburg, but they always seemed to run into one that was better. This year, I think we've got the one that's better."
Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly 13May09
YEAR: 2009
FEATURE RACE COMMENT
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Doug Gale had his eye on one particular horse when he stood ringside at Karaka last year. At that stage the colt's name was Star Vista, but more important to Gale was the youngster's mum and dad - not to mention the end result that he believed such a cross would produce.
"I wanted a McArdle colt out of a Soky's Stom mare," Gale said. "I've got my ideas about breeding, and the theory is a bit too long to explain in a wee story like this, but I just thought that as far as McArdle was concerned - this was the most likely way to get a very nice horse." Gale hadn't been to see Star Vista at preparer Frank Cooney's place prior to the Sale, but after liking the colt in the Parade he also ticked a lot of Gale's boxes afterwards when he took a closer look. "He fitted all the criteria...he had looks, type, attitude; it wasn't a hard decision. We budgeted for $25,000, and he cost a little bit more at $31,000 but I don't think Graham's regretting it now."
Graham is Graham Beirne, a long time client of Gale's who, as is usually the case, later changed the name of his purchase that he now races in partnership with Gale's wife Wendy. Now known as Five Star Anvil, the 2-year-old tore away with the richest plumb of the season when taking out last Saturday's $300,000 PGG Wrightson Yearling Sales Series Final at Addington.
It was the colt's third win from nine outings thus far, and with over $215,000 already banked Five Star Anvil is looking an auspicious purchase - especially when his Helensville trainer considers anything he does this season to be a bonus. "Body-wise, he's just not a natural 2-year-old," Gale claims. "He hasn't matured or developed as quick as I thought he would. To look at him, not much has changed since he was a yearling."
"He wasn't the best gaited horse early on either, and still isn't. But he's relaxed, has got a considerable amount of speed, and can stay. In fact, if you'd have asked me a month ago what his forte was I would've said it was more his staying ability than speed - but I think he's actually started to develop a bit of the latter. Plus he's only just learning to race, now. You still have to ask him to run, but in time he will figure out what it's all about."
Five Star Anvil went through a patch soon after Christmas when his health wasn't at its best, and Gale believes he is still not 'tip-top' yet. "He got some sort of virus and his blood wasn't right at all - probably only about eighty percent," he said. "I've been testing him since January, and just before he won the Sires' Stakes Heat at Addington was the first sign of any improvement. He's been able to handle it though, and we've been careful with him. But he's still not perfect, and he probably won't be until these last two events are out of the way and he gets the chance to have a decent spell. He's okay though; I just keep an eye on his blood and make sure it doesn't deteriorate in any way."
Two more targets remain for Five Star Anvil this season...the Sires' Stakes Final at Addington this Friday night, and the Jewels at Ashburton a fortnight later. "Because of his gait he tends to get a bit rocky on the bends at Alexandra Park, so Addington suits him a bit better and Ashburton should too. Kotare Mach is obviously going to be the hardest to beat - I haven't seen him even look like being pressured yet. With no bad luck my guy can compete with anything else, so I just hope that he can step up one more little notch. He won't mind how quick they go though."
Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly 13 May09
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