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2008 FIRST SOVEREIGN TRUST NZ TROTTERS FREE-FOR-ALL

If Stig lost any mana having an off-day at Kaikoura, it was forgotten and forgiven as he won it back with a handsome win in the $100,000 First Sovereign Trust NZ Trotting Free-For-All at Addington on Friday. Idid It Myway came with his customary strong, late run for second, heading off Roydon Flash and Awesome Imace.

The effort suggested that Stig is near enough to a good thing in the $300,000 Heller Tasty Dominion Handicap. He was unforgiving when he resumed after a long break to win a stand over 3200m at Addington; he was brilliant winning next over a mile at Ashburton, and then the real Stig stood down from what he normally does at Kaikoura, a track that can be tricky for some.

Trainer Paul Nairn said he probably didn't like the track there being "shifty", but perhaps more telling was that he was "annoyed" the day before by his stablemate Day Of Reckoning who was in season. In any event, he was a box of birds getting back home, and if Nairn wasn't "overly confident" on Show Day, he has a right to be now.

Safely through this week's mission, Stig will have a small operation to remove a stitch that has caused a wee weeping bump above the offside hind foreleg after he broke a sesamoid a year ago. "For some reason the stitch hasn't dissolved," said Nairn, "we will get it out soon."

Stig, of course, still has some way to go to match and better the feats of Call Me Now, Above The Stars and some of the other top trotters Nairn has trained, but it shouldn't be long before he is there and gone past. "This horse is still getting there," said Nairn. "Call Me Now ran 4.05 and still holds the New Zealand record for 2000 metres." Beyond this meeting, Nairn is taking his time. "I'm happy to leave the page open after this. He will most likely spell, have a month or so off, and then get ready for the Rowe Cup."

Stig is raced by Tim and Andrea Butt, Ross Thomas, of Christchurch, and Jim Boyd, of Hamilton, whose musical talents in the birdcage did not reach the same high notes that Stig did on the track. Butt originally tried to syndicate Stig as a yearling with 12 shares at $5000 each, but when only two were taken up, they were left with 10.

Springbank Richard was eight lengths from Stig, and driver Nathan Williamson said he'd be driving him differently in the Dominion, hoping he will settle better. "We knew it would take him a few starts to find his feet in this grade. I would like to drive him cold, and see what he can do with one run at them."




Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 19Nov08

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2008 WOODLANDS NEW ZEALAND FREE-FOR-ALL

Look out Australia, he is on his way! Auckland Reactor flies out next Monday bound for Sydney and the Miracle Mile on November 28.

The Mach Three entire was simply sensational in the $300,000 Woodlands NZ Free-For-All at Addington on Show Day, and afterwards co-trainer/driver Mark Purdon confirmed that the next target with the unbeaten freak is a raid across the Tasman. Harold Park officials visited All Stars Stables this time last week to issue an invitation to Auckland Reactor's connections, and although he accepted, Purdon still wanted him to "perform" a couple of days later.

And that he did, dishing out a hiding to the Cup winner Changeover and six other hapless rivals as his unrelenting rampage continued. Purdon elected to stay out of the early rush for positions in the Free-For-All, tactics which he decided upon as late as the morning of the event. "My first intention was to go out, but I didn't realise that Monkey King and Baileys Dream had been scratched until I arrived on-course, and that changed the complexion of the race," he said. "After that my main focus was to keep him off the fence, and things pretty much panned out like I had envisaged they would."

With Changeover bowling along in front, Purdon wanted Auckland Reactor up outside him as the 800m peg loomed. The two stallions matched motors down the back, that next quarter zipping by in a lightning 26.6, and then turning for home Purdon asked Auckland Reactor to stretch out. Feeling the whip for the first time since the Sires' Stakes Final a year earlier, the great horse found energy reserves that others couldn't and actually pulled away near the finish, winning by nearly two lengths.

Auckland Reactor stopped the clock at an amazing 2:21.8 for the 2000m speed test, a 1:54 mile rate, and considering the overall time it was simply stunning that he had been able to produce a final quarter of 27.8 into the teeth of a strong Easterly wind. Auckland Reactor had already claimed the quickest last half on record at Addington three days earlier when he coasted to a 54.8 split in front; this time he was parked outside the Cup winner, but lowered it again by nearly a full half-second.

So did it feel like they were going that fast? "It never does with him," said Purdon, who is in awe of the pacer himself. "I reckon if that race had been run on Cup Day, he'd have probably gone a second and a half quicker." Purdon also gave a rarely seen flourish as he crossed the line...it was a signal of satisfaction for a mission accomplished, because he admits that there is always a bit of pressure to be felt with a horse that carries so much of the public's money.

So now Australia beckons, and Purdon will travel north by road with the champ this Saturday and accompany him on his journey across the Tasman. "It is a bit of a shame that the Miracle Mile's not being run at Menangle, because that's a track he would have really loved. But around Harold Park it is a races that is pretty much decided by the draw, so we will just keep our fingers crossed for a favourable marble," he said, adding that he would like to draw "one to four."

Purdon is no stranger to the Miracle Mile arena, having run an unlucky fourth with Young Rufus and seconds behind Il Vicolo(twice) and Jack Cade. Auckland Reactor's just that little bit more special than all them, though. "They never ran the sort of times that he seems to be able to, week after week," he said. "I mean, when he went 3:09 in the Derby - that was unheard of. It's like he is ahead of his time."

And he says there is a combination of factors that make Auckland Reactor the horse he is. "Number one is his will to win. Plus he has got a great temperament and gait, he just glides along. It's like driving a BMW. He is the perfect gentleman around home, too. Like any stallion, he'll let out a squeal every now and then, but the only time you really hear from him is feed-up time."

After the Miracle Mile, Auckland Reactor will tackle the Victoria Cup on December 20 and then Purdon says he would like to get him home again. "We will just evaluate thigs as we go after that, I don't think we have to start making any other plans at this stage. But it is exciting to be going over there with him. The Miracle Mile's on of the few races that has eluded us so far...that, and a Dominion," he smiled. Fans of Stig, rest easy. Auckland Reactor might be able to do a lot of things, but he can't trot.

-o0o-

Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 19Nov08

I wasn't around when bikes and buses brought huge crowds to see Harold Logan at Addington Raceway, though some think I was, nor when Johnny Globe was in demand. They were the halcyon days for racing when the competition for entertainment was not what it is today.

There have been good numbers watching other great horses since then, but times have changed; there are no turnstiles, no queues, it needs more than just a great horse to make the appeal great horses once did. Salvation is at hand - because now we have one. Auckland Reactor. 'Mac' to those who know him best.

Those who feared the winning bubble would burst whe Auckland Reactor took on the all-round game of Changeover in the Woodlands NZ Free-For-All at Addington on Show Day were devastatingly wrong. Auckland Reactor handled the older horses, in fact toyed with them, as he hoisted a new time for the distance. His time of 2:21.8 surpassed the old record held by Waipawa Lad by 0.2 sec.

Auckland Reactor gave notice to the heights he was heading when he demolished the Sires' Stakes Final at Addington at the Cup Meeting a year ago. It's been a steady sure-footed climb since, and topped superbly by what he did to Awesome Armbro and Changeover and five others on a hot, blustery Show Day afternoon. Fortunately there were a goodly number of others there to see it. The stands were near to full, there was a buzz of anticipation before the race, and the noise built to a deafening level near the 200 metres when Mark Purdon asked him questions he had never been asked before. The plugs were out and the whip was used, and Auckland Reactor put on full power to pull away.

There was a rush to the fence to see him back by those wanting to check the width of Purdon's smile. They knew the occasion was special, perhaps in the knowledge they had not seen one as good, and probably won't again. Auckland Reactor caps were thrown into the crowd - 200 of them - and you had to be lucky to get one, and most were not.

Watching it all was New Zealand manager John Curtin, a five percent owner of the horse who had not been to Addington since Golden Reign's win in the 1995 Inter-Dominion Grand Final. "I didn't think we had a show early on, but this is not a normal horse. I had goosebumps, and it wasn't because of the weather. Doing what he did at his first time against the best shows he is something special; it's scary - there's an 'X factor' about him. Maybe Mark didn't know how good he is - maybe he knew - we all know now."

Curtin said he was "in awe" of the operation at the Purdon and Payne stables. "I thought there would be horses everywhere, and people rushing about, but it's not like that. Everything is so relaxed. It's wonderful for New Zealand. If you were a horse, it is the only place you would want to be." Curtin is much-travelled and can speak with authority on worldwide aspects of harness racing. "There is not a barn in North America that would compare with what they have," he said.

The programme for Auckland Reactor is now settled, in the meantime, at least, and no-one's looking any further than that. "He will go to the Miracle Mile and then the Victoria Cup," said Curtin. "Mark will make a decision after that. The people who own him are wonderful and they are right behind whatever Mark does. It's my impression that he won't be going to America until the year after next, and Mark will go right through with him, wherever it is."

Curtin said Purdon was with him when they saw American star Somebeachsomewhere - also by Mach Three - get beaten for the first time. "They all get beaten, but to me, this was his greatest triumph," he said.

For Auckland Reactor, the next big crowds will be in Australia, and perhaps they will come to see him in the same numbers as what they have done here. They will miss something very special if they don't.




Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly 19Nov08

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2008 HELLER TASTY DOMINION

Once upon a time, Paul Nairn took a horse to the Coast and couldn't win a maiden with him. The trotter raced with aplomb on both days at Westport and then again at Reefton, but still it was three months before he cleared the ranks of beginners; hardly anything to get excited about. Today, he's square-gaiting's latest superstar - the new benchmark that all other top trotters have to aspire to.

Such has been the meteoric rise of a 6-year-old that is known simply as Stig. "I wasn't even sure he would make a horse to begin with," Nairn recalled. "And when I first got him I didn't think much at all about what sort of potential he had - I was just trying to see what he could do. He only qualified a couple of weeks before he went to the Coast, and he was always a bit awkward in his gait so you couldn't let him go or he would break. And because of that I started to worry I was teaching him not to try. But he was always a willing horse that would do what you wanted him to."

Stig continued his dominance with another emphatic victory at Addington last Friday night, his fourth from five outings this term, and as far as trotting events go it was as big as they come - the $300,000 Heller Tasty Dominion. Things didn't pan out for the Armbro Invasion gelding during the running though, and driver David Butt even admitted afterwards that he thought they were in trouble with a lap to run.

At that stage he and Stig were last on the outside and stuck in a three-wide train that was going nowhere, a situation that Butt counteracted by launching the gelding four-wide down the back straight. Horse and pilot were still fair coasting around the home bend though, despite the exertion, and they sailed down the home straight to win comfortably in the end by nearly a length in close to record time.

"This is a big thrill," Nairn said. "Because it is a special event, with a lot of history attached." The Leeston trainer has been to the top of the Dominion tree before, having also won the event back in 1995 with Call Me Now, but he stops short of drawing any similarities between the two great trotters. "It's hard to compare horses from different eras," he said. "But Call Me Now was a real good stayer, and so is this bloke."

Nairn wasn't entirely happy with the way Stig was trotting leading up to last week's Dominion, which gives the horse's performance even more notoriety. "He has never been a perfect-gaited trotter, but compared to what he was like as a 4-year-old he is a lot better this season. It's hard to have them dead right all the time."

-o0o-

The winner of 12 races and over $406,000 will now have a month out, and Nairn says Stig's next main target is the Rowe Cup in May. During his spell, Stig will have a nagging area near his off-hind fetlock attended to. Some stitches haven't dissolved like they should have following the operation Stig had to remove a piece of sesamoid bone, and Nairn says it's little more than a "pimple-like" superficial wound that weeps from time to time and hasn't affected his ability to perform whatsoever.

He does thank his lucky stars when thinking about the last time Stig had to have an enforced latoff though. "He fractured his sesamoid, and could have very easily been history," he said. "But sometimes things go right, and sometimes they don't. Take Inspire for example, she was working as good a Stig but then broke a pastern in training a couple of months ago. She is in foal to Sundon, but I would like to have another go with her. That's the plan anyway."

Nairn is one of harness racing's greatest trainers, and his effort in producing Stig to win the Canterbury Park Trotting Cup first-up this season - the horse's first appearance for nearly a year - was a truly remarkable feat. yet he is almost 'embarrassed' by any moment in the spotlight, preferring instead to extol the virtues of either the horse or whoever's sitting behind them on racenight rather than take any credit himself.

With a horse of Stig's quality in the stable though, speeches on the victory dias are something that he might just have to get used to. "He has got all the right ingredients," Nairn said, answering the question about whether Stig could be one of the sport's all-time greats. "He's pretty relaxed and doesn't pull in his races, and he can make his own luck. Plus he can stay, and he has got enough speed. So he has got a bit going for him, for sure."

Strangely enough, Nairn has never trained a pacing winner. "The first horse I ever took to the races was a pacer, one that belonged to my grandfather called Spanish Lace. But I've got one at home at the moment that I reckon could win a couple. "She is four and named Carlo's Call, and is actually by Call Me Now - out of a mare that could pace and trot."


Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly 26Nov08

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The Weekly Celebrates

2008 CHRISTCHURCH CASINO NZ TROTTING CUP

It took a record to lower the colours of Baileys Dream in the $1.2 million Christchurch Casino New Zealand Cup.

On a hot, balmy Christchurch day, it took a champion to clip Flashing Red's barely broken-in old mark by 1.4 seconds, and end the race pulling away. Only Changeover could do it, and it came matched with great glee and tears and shouts of joy as the ATC Trot 2006 Syndicate tumbled into the Addington birdcage for their million dollar moments.

Trainer Geoff Small, not a big man, was buried in the human scrum for many minutes as folks from all parts of New Zealand swamped him with hugs and big paw pats. It was a dream for them all, no less for Small who had gone close before in the race, with Changeover last year and Elsu before that. But it didn't start out that way, not this particular start.

The race in fact started six minutes late. Ohoka Rebel was in a mood and wouldn't line up and delayed the start as he did at Oamaru. Held up after looking a chance to go away at one stage, Gotta Go Cullen also lost focus, swung round and buckled a wheel. He was sent to the outside to join Ohoka Rebel, and from there he made a poor start. He wasn't alone in that, Monkey King and Changeover doing the same to a lesser extent, which was familiar for one but strange for the other.

Those that got on with the job were Likmesiah, Report For Duty who soon led, Special Ops, Ohoka Rebel and Waipawa Lad. From midfield Tribute was first on the move, followed by Changeover, Baileys Dream, Gotta Go Cullen and Monkey King. Changeover went on and led at the 1400m, passed by Baileys Dream, which left Monkey King doing it hard.

Baileys Dream was in superb order, ready for the race of his life and running it deceptively fast, and he took Changeover to the passing lane and past it. Once David Butcher gave him a look at those syndicate faces in the distance calling him home, Changeover opened up. He gave Baileys Dream no respect as he glided by to a monster win by nearly two lengths. Baileys Dream did enough to win the race, but driver Todd Mitchell could see all the lycra in the world wasn't in the rescue package when Changeover was into the attack so smartly. Report For Duty was a solid third, after being given a perfect trip, and Special Ops stormed home from five places deep to fourth and $54,130.

Butcher said he was surprised at the speed of the race because he didn't think they were travelling quite as quick as that. "It was the track. They've just made a superb job of it," he said. He wasn't the only one with words of praise for the state of it, because there were others making the same point. But he had other matters on his mind before that. "Missing away for a few strides wasn't a huge worry. I didn't want to be in the early fireworks, but I suppose what was happening earlier got to him a bit in the end. The only thing when you hand up is that who you hand up to doesn't fall back on you later on," he said. With Bailey strumming the high high notes, Butcher had no fear of that. "We had a better run than what we had last year, and he was just cruising at the half."

Butcher, aged 44, said he gave Changeover "a couple" when he got down into the passing lane, not wanting to lose the advantage of it as he'd done in the Sires' Stakes Final two races earlier when Highview Tommy denied Tintin in America full access to it for 50 metres. "And I knew Baileys Dream had to get tired." A man with a comedy touch, Butcher was pleased about the special victory but unsentimental as well. "Horses make their own mark. They do their job; I do mine."

Monkey King, the second favourite, ran last but if a last can be good, this one was. He finished 12.7 lengths from the winner and his time of 3:58.7 was better than the 3:59.1 he ran last year when nosed out by Flashing Red.

-o0o-

The easy part for Rob Carr is to fill his ATC syndicates. The hard part will be to get anywhere near the galloping and still growing success of the 7th one formed, the ATC 2006 Syndicate. It's once bright and now dazzling light is Changeover, winner of the $1.2 million Christchurch Casino NZ Cup at Addington, and worth a gross $650,000 to them. Added to the $1,237,154 already won by the entire, it has become more than pocketmoney for the 74 owners of the 50 syndicate shares.

Carr says it's the ultimate dream. "I need someone to pinch me because I just can't believe it," he said. Carr had plenty to thank when he received the Cup, notably Steve Stockman who he said had the initiative to get the syndicates going. "In the last eleven years, we have won 118 races and our estimated return is $3 million, and I'm sure we can build on it," he said.

Carr was surronded by scenes of jubilation, high-fives and power hugs as the many syndicators welcomed back their heroes after a journey that was quick, decisive and powerful. He explained again the folksy story behind the buying and selling of Changeover. Along with Don Kirkbride, Carr had bred the horse by In The Pocket from Chaangerr and offered the horse for sale at Karaka. He was also buying for the syndicate, at least Small was, and he told Small - presumably to appear neutral - he would do better to buy something other than the one he was selling. "But of course Geoff didn't listen to me. He said he couldn't buy a better horse for the money, which was $28,000."

Small has turned the horse into a goldmine, and it is far from done. He admits, for one thing, that the campaign is going a lot better than it was this time last year. "We were on the back foot before Ashburton; it's not something I told David about at the time. It was a hiccup, and it had an effect on his preparation, but there have been no hold-ups at all this time. It would have been my fault if he hadn't performed well today," he said.

Small didn't give it much thought when he missed away. He just stepped on the wrong foot. I was happy he was back in the field. It's a marathon race. He is a wonderful horse, and horses like that deserve what they do, and what is said about them." While Small said it was a race he wanted to win since seeing Robalan in 1974, he added that it had lost a bit of focus for him. I've sort of let it go a little bit; it's not everything," he said.

It is no surprise Small knows what it takes to win a NZ Cup, having been in the same yard as the grand master Ben Grice, who won successive Cups in the 1940s with Haughty. Small was a long way from being under the Grice eye then, but he was when he worked for Ben's son Des at Prebbleton before he moved to Patumahoe 25 years ago at the age of 21, and is eager to say they taught him a great amount of what he knows now.

And while Small waits for Changeover to point them in the next direction, Carr is on a downhill slope filling the next ATC syndicate - the 11th. "We had difficulty one year selling shares, but what Changeover's done has certainly helped. We have got names for the next one already," he said. With Changeover certain to pass $2m (presently $1,887,154) within the next start or two, Carr will probably have his next one signed and settled soon. The best of them so far have all been trained by Small - Changeover, Awesome Armbro and Tintin In America.



Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 13Nov08

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2008 NRM NZ SIRES' STAKES 3YO FINAL

Scrap metal dealer Terry McDonald once took a punt on Tuherbs, and he opened the wallet again earlier this year to buy Stunin Cullen. One of those horses won him nine races including an Easter Cup and over $200,000 before injury shortened his life; the other sailed right past that figure with a sensational victory in the NRM Sires' Stakes Final at Addington on Cup Day.

"I've bought a couple of good ones over the years - and a couple of bad ones," said a humble McDonald, who has never been afraid to take a chance on a horse with the right credentials. "We had to put Tuherbs down after he tore ligaments off a hock, and this horse was basically a replacement."

McDonald raced Tuherbs in partnership with his good friend Eddie Griffin, and it is the same story with Stunin Cullen too, although the latter wasn't able to be there on Tuesday to accept the trophy. "Eddie's got bad legs and can't travel much," McDonald revealed. "He is retired now, but he used to be a partner with me in business; we have probably raced horses together since the seventies."

Stunin Cullen is by Christian Cullen out of Vicario, a Soky's Atom half sister to duel NZ Cup winner Il Vicolo. Bred by Sandy and Jan Yarndley, the colt went through the ring at last year's Australasian Classic in Auckland where he was knocked down to Nigel McGrath for $65,000. He was unbeaten at the trials when he changed hands last April and joined the stable of Tim Butt and Phil Anderson, and now he has won five of his seven raceday appearances.

"We were actually at a Caduceus Club function when we first found out about him," Butt said. "So we rang Nige straight away. He had always liked the horse, it was just too early to tell how far he would go. We trialled him and bought him within a couple of days. And it was a big risk, but you have just got to go to work and away you go."

Stunin Cullen started his career with great gusto, winning a Sires' Stakes Heat on debut and making it two-for-two in the Yearling Sales Series 2YO Open, then inexperience shone through a week later in the Sires' Stakes Final. "He just bolted out of the gate that night, running his first half in something like fifty-five," Butt recalled. "He has always had that speed, and now he has moulded into a very nice horse. Sometimes when you work him at home, you wonder how any of the other 3-year-olds could be as good as him. We certainly haven't trained any youngsters of his calibre before." So he is really special? "I think so. Of course we are not talking anything like Auckland Reactor though. I mean, he went around and sat parked in this race last year and blew them away...today, our guy's had a cushy run and just won."

It was yet another clever big-race drive from Butt's brother Anthony, who must have been itching to use Stunin Cullen's ample gate speed but instead elected to mooch out and then managed to secure a cosy one-one spot. From there, with a record pace being set up front by Highview Tommy, Stunin Cullen was always going to have the last say. "This is one of the few times Ants and I have actually talked tactics before a race," Butt continued. "But he asked me what I thought, and I said it's a long season ahead."

This was reiterated by Anthony in his post-race interview, when he said that he "agonised all week" over what to do - knowing the colt had terrific gate speed, but not wanting to use him at both ends. In the end it could not have turned out better, and Stunin Cullen walked away with the NRM Sires' Stakes trophy and a national record next to his name.

His time of 2:18.3 for the 1950m mobile event is the fastest by any horse of any age, in this country's history. Wiping a full two seconds off Changeover's previous mark set in the same event two years ago, it was also nearly two seconds better than Awesome Armbro's all-age record over the distance. Plus it represented a staggering mile rate of 1:54.1, crediting sire Christian Cullen with his 20th sub-1:55 performer. "Phenomenal," said McDonald as the time was announced. "That'll be good for his stud career later on - if I'm still around to see it."


Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly 13Nov08

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2008 NRM NZ 2YO TROTTING STAKES

Steve McRae warned she was good. And he was right, we just hadn't seen the full extent of Jumanji Franco's talent until she won the $30,000 NRM NZ 2YO Trotting Stakes at Addington last Friday night.

Despite working hard from a wide marble to eventually hit the front, Jumanji Franco had plenty in reserve when the challengers came calling at the end, needing little more than a chirp up from driver Craig Thornley to score by a length and a half. It was the third outing and first victory for the daughter of CR Commando, and afterwards Thornley paid tribute to McRae for getting her to peak at the most important stage of the season. "Steve's timed her preparation to perfection - just like he did with Jacanti Franco," Thornley said, referring to this time last year when Jumanji Franco's year older half-sister took out the NRM Sires' Stakes 2yo Trotters Championship at start number two.

That event is this Saturday, and now the pair's dam Jaguar Franco has a very real chance of a noteworthy back-to-back double. "Her blood wasn't right during the week, so if anything she should improve," Thornley claimed. "She's got a lovely way of going, this filly. And it's better when they eyeball her, because she concentrates then; otherwise she's looking all round the place."

McRae hasn't trained many trotters in his time, and after the "freakish ability" Jacanti Franco showed he thought he'd never get another one as good. Seems he was wrong about that, but he's not complaining. "Jumanji's a completely different type to Jacanti," McRae said, meaning not only their builds. "Jacanti had a few tricks, and didn't like the grit in her face for a start. But Jumanji's never galloped at home in her life. The best thing about Jumanji is probably her gait. She's very light on her feet, and everything's very effortless to her. You'd hardly get excited about her in training, because she just flops about on a loose rein - but she's a real professional," he said.

The dogs were barking about Jumanji Franco at a very early stage though, and the filly was sold for a six-figure sum to Victorian enthusiast Peter Chambers before she'd even qualified. "That's how much we thought of her," McRae said. "I've never met the guy actually. He's a mate of Ted Demmler's, and that's where Jumanji will be heading after the Jewels. It'll be a shame to loose her, but that's the nature of our business I suppose; it's happened before, and it'll happen again." McRae says that with the Jewels these days its a big enough season for baby trotters, and given a decent three to four-month spell after Cambridge Jumanji Franco should come back "a really nice horse at three".

As for Jacanti Franco, who's by Continentalman, she's all but recovered from her tendon injury and should be back in work towards the end of June. "Hopefully she'll resume sometime in Spring. We'll see if we can make up for lost time, and win some stakes so we can target the Jewels with her next year," McRae said.




Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly 7May08

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Brian & Trish Fraser with Wayne Adams (centre) and Badlands Jewel

2008 NEVELE R FILLIES SERIES FINAL

Wayne Adams knows how much things can change in less than a minute. Because, 500 metres from home in the $150,000 Nevele R Fillies Series Final at Addington on Saturday, he was starting to think his trek north from Invercargill had been a wasted trip.

Badlands Jewel had only one other filly behind her at that stage, and then when a skirmish unfolded around the last bend, his heart sank even further as he conceded "oh well, that's it". But wait...two acts of sheer brilliance later - the first by driver Mark Jones to avoid the melee, and the second by Badlands Jewel to balance up and power home - and Adams had to pinch himself, because he'd just trained his first Group 1 winner! "That was unbelievable," Adams said. "After how the race had panned out, if she'd have got up to run third or fourth I would have been happy. What a huge thrill."

Badlands Jewel is about as 'Nevele R' as you can get. She's by Badlands Hanover out of a Holmes Hanover mare Holmes Dream, who in turn is a daughter of the great producer Port Melody who has been responsible for a plethora of winners in recent years. Oamaru enthusiast Brian Fraser races Badlands Jewel on lease from the stud, having an option on the filly until the end of her 5-year-old season. Fraser's association with Adams began more than a decade ago through the horse Brilliant Butler, whose last of six wins was achieved from the Adams stable when he took out the 1998 Waikouaiti Cup.

"Brian raced Brilliant Butler with the late Pat Heffernan," Adams said. "After Pat died I trained a couple more for him that weren't much, and then Brian sent me Bold Cruiser who was a real nice horse. It sort of grew from there, and he has been a great owner to have." Adams trained Bold Cruiser to win seven here before he was sold across the Tasman, where the son of Live Or Die has continued on his winning way. Badlands Jewel is Bold Cruiser's half-sister, and there is every indication that she could go a long way further. "Right from day one she had a bit of the 'X factor' about her," Adams says. "She won a couple of workouts, and I just liked the way she was very relaxed about everything. She's a big filly, so I was never expecting too much of her at this age."

That all changed once Badlands Jewel got to the races though, because within the space of a month she was unbeaten in four appearances. "She was very impressive at Omakau first up. Mark drove her that day, and wanted to stay with her for the big fillies races later on. And then at her second outing she drew seventeen in a 2700m stand, but bolted in by three lengths in 3.26 - I knew then that she was a real staying type of filly. She had a fortnight out after those four wins, and when she came back she wasn't as sharp for a few weeks. But when I worked her around Ascot Park with a galloping pacemaker last Monday, she just dropped her bum and flattened out really well. I thought we pretty much had her right again."

Still, four wins in the south is a long way from the cauldron of a Nevele R Fillies Final at Addington, and Adams wanted to believe that he had every right to bring her north. "Deep down inside, I always thought she was as good as the rest of them," he said. "Even Mark told me not to be scared of anyone. And I actually think she'll be better this week over the longer distance, although it'll be a real good field again."

Adams is no stranger to Addington, having campaigned the likes of First Glimpse, John Albert, Happy Chip, Atitagain, White Star Sam, Bold Cruiser and more recently Weka Lass there over the years. Even on Sunday he said the realisation of his first Group 1 victory was still sinking in, and he's also been humbled by the amount of congratulatory wishes he has received. "The phone's been red hot," he says. "I haven't trained many 3-year-old fillies at all really, and I've probably never had one as good as this."

After this Friday night's NZ Oaks its full steam ahead to Cambridge for the Jewels, although there is one thing that worries him. "She hasn't got a lot of gatespeed. But then again she could develop some in time, because she's never really been asked. She's actually been growing a lot in the last three or four months too - upwards, not outwards."

Adams says last Saturday's victory was his proudest moment in the sport, with the only other one that comes close being First Glimpse's win in the Oceania El Dorado Final in Melbourne 17 years ago, although that occasion was also tinged with a great deal of sadness. Adams stayed with the late Vinny Knight for five weeks during his Australian sojourn in 1991, and Knight was in the sulky when First Glimpse took out the Aus$270,000 event. First Glimpse turned out to be the last horse that the great Australian ever partnered in a race though, as two days later he was found dead after committing suicide.




Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly 14 May08

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

Terry McDonald and his daughter Janine McCann

2008 PGG WRIGHTSON NZ YEARLING SALES SERIES 2YO OPEN

Nigel McGrath had as much right to be in the foreground as he did in the background after the dashing win by Stunin Cullen in the $220,000 PGG Wrightson NZ Yearling Sales Series 2-year-old Open last week.

It was McGrath who bought the Christian Cullen colt for $56,000 as a yearling for his mother Annette and Ann Seaton, and it was McGrath who put the value on him when Terry McDonald and Eddie Griffin came calling with their cheque last month. It was good business all round, sellers early winners and buyers not much later for Stunin Cullen collected $117,000 for his win over Tintin In America and Highview Tommy. Stunin Cullen is now with Phil Anderson and Tim Butt; Butt saying while it needed courage to buy, it also needed courage to sell. "He came with a perfect attitude," he said. "Nigel had done him well."

While the other fancied horses drew poorly in the race, Stunin Cullen did not. He was out smartly from gate two, led strongly, and had plenty in reserve. Tintin In America made a forward run on the back of Highview Tommy a lap from home, was second at the 1000m, got cover, then closed the gap without making an issue of it. From behind Tintin In America, Highview Tommy did the same. He won by a length and a half, and the margins back to fourth were greater.

McDonald, whose brother Ken raced big winner Master Musician and is now supporting galloping trainers on the Gold Coast, has an impressive ownership portfolio that includes Charles Bronson and Comebackmach, along with more than 30 others aged three or younger. He was also a partner in the ill-fated Tuherbs, who won the Easter Cup and Welcome Stakes. "Before Tuherbs, he used to dabble in some cheaper ones. I talked him up for this one," said Butt.

An added bonus for McDonald was sharing the occasion with the company of his daughter, Janine, aged 45, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, but was out for the day from Burwood Hospital after treatment. McDonald made various tributes after the race, but this was the one that counted most.

Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly14 May 08

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

Alan and Fiona Clark

2008 NRM SIRES STAKES 2YO TROTTERS CHAMPIONSHIP

From where he was at the 500m, a furlong from the front, Alan Clark could only hope Castletonian was a force in the finish of the $60,000 NRM Sires Stakes 2yo Trotters Championship at Addington. To what extent he didn't know, and he was cheered when Kevin Townley joined him and went past with Dream Machine and wished good luck. He considered Townley might have had a better view of who was where than he did.

By the time he reached the finish in last place with stablemate The Statistican, Castletonian was being turned by driver Colin De Filippi after a surprise win in the Group 2 trot from Gimli and Outmuscle. He was not inconvenienced by the mistake hot favourite Jumanji Franco made in front after 700m, the one Merckx made at the start, and the gallop Pocaro made when making a fair challenge at the 100m. It was deliverance for a horse with no frills, came with no sharp speed, who was simply safe and steady, and was there without the fanfare and fuss of a big stable.

Castletonian is raced by Fiona Clark and her husband Alan, a retired school teacher from Mosgiel, who do the hard yards from "a nice set-up" as a little team of their own. Alan works Castletonian by himself, relying on trials and raceday starts to top off his preparation and give him the edge he doesn't quite get at home. Fiona used to drive fast work, but a spill here and there has pretty much meant her main drive now is in the ute with the jog team. Clark is renowned for his enthusiasm in sending his trotters - because that's all he trains - into action at the earliest opportunity. "I like to get the mileage into them," he said. Constar, a current NZ record holder as a 2-year-old, was a good example. She's now retired, and the foal she'll have to Sundon will be sold.

Castletonian, by Continentalman and the second foal from the four-win mare Anna Castleton, was bought as a yearling for $6500 off Barry Ward, who has since sold the mare to Lex and Heather Williams. "I just liked the way he moved," said Clark. "Sometimes I don't know what I'm looking for, but he appealed because although he was big he wasn't heavy boned. I gave him a show as long as the pace was on. I knew he would keep on trotting when some of the others didn't."

De Filippi, who will retain the drive in the Ruby and wear the yellow jersey at the end of the month, drove the horse to suit his abilities; as he did later in the day when producing the classy Idid It Myway on the fresh side to arrive with a brilliant burst in the main trot.

Clark also has the Breeders Crown in mind for Castletonian, but in the meantime he is selling three yearlings this week at the Mixed Age Sale. "I sold Solana last year to Sydney and Solar Flare to Noel Shinn, and he's done well with Armed Guard from me. I've got eight yearlings in work, and one by CR Commando would drop-kick Castletonian. I've also got a nice one by Monarchy who can run a quarter in thirty, and I'll be keeping both of them. Our four weanlings are by Continentalman and Monarchy, and we have got five mares in foal to Thanksgiving."

Like many with Cambridge in mind, Clark is on the road this week. Fiona and Vicki Cowan left on Wednesday with Castletonian and Trotupastorm. With the untimely death of the Clark's good friend Peter Cowan, it's been a memorable week for good reasons and sad.

Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 14 May 08

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

2008 WAYNE FRANCIS MEMORIAL NZ OAKS

Robbie Holmes chanced his arm with an aggressive drive in the $150,000 Wayne Francis Memorial NZ Oaks. He made his run at the mile with Kiwi Ingenuity, following up stablemate Neat Treat, to sit second at the 1200m.

But he didn't stop there. On he went with the filly, serving it up to pacemaker Badlands Jewel and Mark Jones at the 1000m, and to his surprise he was allowed to cross and lead at the 800m. "I didn't really think Mark would hand up," he said. Not that Holmes thought it would matter much if he did or didn't. "She was jogging when she got there," he said.

Up in the stand, big Hamish Scott and his co-owner and partner Dr Kim Lawson could see hope turn to promise, and by the time Kiwi Ingenuity struck out for home at the 400m it had a look of reality. Holmes knew Kiwi Ingenuity had come to stay the course. Badlands Jewel was one of the first to throw it in, and none of the other favourites came into it as they should have. Angela's Dream closed strongly for second, and so did Natal Franco, making it a trifecta from the second line.

Holmes in very much Mr Busy, with frequent trips to Southland and places in between, and he has a team of 40 in work. Kiwi Ingenuity started her career on one such trip, racing at Nelson in January, where she had two starts and was unlucky. "I've had her right from the start, and she was a big girl then, and is 16.2h now. Early on there wasn't much of her, and although she started to show something in the summer, I had no plans for her."

But Hamish had. He wanted to win the Southland Oaks with the filly they'd bred, and Kiwi Ingenuity did that. "She just started to step up; her work kept getting better," Holmes said. They pressed on, her Southland win followed by a plucky third in the Nevele R Stud Fillies Final behind Badlands Jewel and Fight Fire With Fire. In the week leading up to the Oaks, the filly didn't take a backward step. Holmes was as confident as common sense would allow. "It was funny during the week when Graham" - Graham Pearson, the driver of Neat Feat - "said he'd probably keep me out when I came round." Pearson didn't have much say in that, however unlikely it might have been.

Kiwi Ingenuity was Holmes's first Oaks runner, and his second Group I training win, the other being with Romper Stomper in the NZ Trotting Free-For-All. Earlier driving ones have been with Lew Driver's pair, The Reckoning and Gretamaro.

This weekend, Holmes heads north to Cambridge with the daughter of Christian Cullen and her regular travelling companion Toscarni, who will race on Tuesday night. He will have higher hopes of success in this year's Jewels than he did with his lone drive in last year's extravaganza, which was Riverboat Royce.



Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 21May08