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The win by Jacanti Franco in the $60,000 NRM Sires' Stakes 2YO Trotters Championship as Addington was not the only first in the race. Just as important were the facts that Steven McRae had trained his first Group winner, and that Continentalman had sired his first as well.

All three were notable in other ways: it was only the second start for Jacanti Franco but she's obviously picked up her game quickly; Continentalman has only two crops on the track; and the only other trotter McRae remembers at Spreydon Lodge was Franco Habit, onr John Hay won with when he was private trainer 10 years ago.

"It was a big thrill," said McRae, who has been in his present role at Spreydon for three years but on the payroll for 13. Because of Spreydon's focus on sales moreso than racing, he doesn't get too many opportunities at high stakes like this, but he predicted the possibility of it a year ago. "I remember having dinner with the owners, and they asked mr who was the next young horse we could expect something special from. They got a shock when I told them there was a yearling trotting filly by Continentalman who could be the one to watch for. She broke in as good as any we had last year. She was fast, and showed ability from 'Day One'. It's the only Continentalman I've had and there's no more I can see coming at present," he said.

And while the conservative McRae is looking forward to starting her in the Harness Jewels, he said he was just as keen on seeing her end this campaign because she wanted a break.

Jacanti Franco is from Jaguar Franco, a Sundon mare who was sold at a reduction sale a year ago. She is the dam of a yearling filly by C R Commando, and is owned in Christchurch by Dave Still.

Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HR Weekly 16May07

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Blair Orange & Mark Purdon

Trainer Mark Purdon kept a little secret from Blair Orange leading into last Saturday's $200,000 PGG Wrightson Sales Series Pace at Addington. And minutes after driving Steve McQueen to win the equal richest 2-year-old race of the season, Orange was glad his boss hadn't told him all the facts.

Just three days before the win, Purdon, who couldn't drive in the race because he was suspended, had taken Steve McQueen to Addington for a private workout. the son of Artiscape whizzed his last 800m in just over 56 seconds during that workout, suggesting to Purdon he was back to the form that saw him dominate the juvenile events at the Auckland Cup carnival. But Orange was none the wiser as he rolled onto the track on Saturday afternoon. "Mark didn't tell me until after the race," said Orange. "I guess he didn't want me to get too carried away and out-drive him, so it worked out well. I suppose that's why he's the boss."

As it was, Orange sooled Steve McQueen off the gate and then trailed Roburascal, who rolled along at a solid clip that took mid-race challengers out of the equation. At the top of the straight there were only two winning chances, and Steve McQueen used the passing lane for a copybook victory over the leader, with Fiery Falcon just holding out Absolute Magic for third.

Both Orange and Purdon had been perplexed by Steve McQueen's mixed form since he returned from Auckland but never doubted his ability. Yet, ironically, the gelding is only Orange's third choice juvenile drive in the stable. He also drives top-ranked youngster Ohoka Arizona, who was ineligible for last Saturday's race, while he wanted to partner Fiery Falcon last week. "To be honest that was my first choice but the owners decided to go with Colin (De Filippi), so this really is a lucky win. Not that I thought there was much between them, but Steve McQueen hasn't been one of my drives before. I knew how good he was though, and it was just a matter of him showing his best and getting a little luck."

Credit: Michael Guerin writing in HRWeekly 16May07

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Dave McGowan doesn't care if he's fragile and gets weepy when One Dream wins. He's past caring what other people think. And he's been told by the people who matter most - his wife Clare, driver Frank Cooney and owner Jill Smolenski - to stop the worry and start enjoying watching the champion filly race. And now, he is.

He couldn't remember a day at the races he enjoyed so much as he did at Addington last Saturday - not because One Dream won the $125,000 Nevele R Fillies Final like the trooper she is, but because he'd gone to the races and gone without the pressure. Before, he carried it inside like a friend who wouldn't leave. "As she kept winning, I felt the pressure more and more. No-one else did. It was just me, putting the pressure on myself. I was being growled at to enjoy what she was doing."

And then, One Dream was beaten in the Northern Oaks by a dropped whip and Running On Faith. "I was just waiting for the bubble to burst. I was a mess after that, not because she lost, but because it was over. I was not enjoying going to the races - I was so scared. And I thought 'Ooo, whats happening here?' The good thing was that it brought everything back into perspective for me."

With some relief from that, McGowan was able to sit back and analyse how One Dream had been racing, and he knew she wasn't quite playing the game. "She wasn't hitting the line like I knew she should. So I gave it some thought and decided to work her in half blinds. I had no need to do it, but she was being a bit casual and I knew she needed a wee tune-up." They went on last Tuesday, but not for her work on Thursday, as McGowan considered they had done what he intended. He was right. "I pulled her out on Thursday, to see if it had made any difference. Well, holy sh... I wasn't ready for it, and lost control for a short time," he said.

That was the horse that took the unflappable Cooney to a convincing win over Belletti in the Group 1 feature. "I've driven some good fillies, like Alta Serena and Oaxaca Lass, but they couldn't do what this filly can do," Cooney said. "My own belief is that she's better coming off the back of one, and she's better racing this way round," he said.

A sensitive and gentle man, McGowan had more pleasing moments to come after the race. "Frank and I were taking her back to the box, and each driver of the next race we passed on the track called out their congratulations to us. It makes you feel good about yourself, and you could tell they love to see a great horse win. She's such a sweet horse... no ears back, no swishy tail. And she gets so excited when she goes out to fast work. At home, we'll either go left to the jog track or right when we go to our fast work track. She gets that spring in her stride when we turn right and she knows what's happening," he said.

McGowan made his start in Canterbury with Brian Gliddon, when he had Frosty Lobell and Alias Armbro, followed by time with Murray Hamilton and Peter Robinson, and his first training winner was Fergie's Rocket who won eight for J X Ferguson. He doesn't think the success he's had with One Dream has been a huge success for business, but a documentary on 'The Racing Show' brought him Sue Dreamer, Alta Sirocco and Nicky Hanover. "They've all come with their little problems, but that's where Clare is so good in helping them thinking it through. I really think Sue Dreamer is the fastest horse over a furlong I've sat behind, and I think there is a lot more in her."

Another key to the success of the team is stable driver Nicole Molander. "She's there every morning, and she comes back and tells us things that only we know about. She gives you all this information, and it's all about caring for your horse and making a difference," he said.

McGowan is well aware of where he's heading with One Dream, and the program from here is simple and laid out - as it was when they started. "It's easy to plan for her, because the races are programmed. She races this week in the Oaks, then the Harness Jewels, a heat of the Breeders' Crown at Cambridge at the end of July, a semi-final, then the final, and then it's a spell for two months. Very limited mileage really, because Jill has said she does not want a tired broodmare." So nice for them too, knowing they have a half-sister by In The Pocket waiting in the wings to take her place. "And she knows what life's about. She has that same attitude and quiet aggression that One Dream has," he said.

So, has McGowan really shaken the pressure off? "On Sunday I had a lovely time taking Mum out for Mother's Day, and on Saturday night we celebrated and I had two gins. That was the first time I'd done that since Ballarat." Perhaps he has.

In the meantime, Smolenski has Fraser - her maiden name - Island, a half-brother by Island Fantasy, to look forward to, while their dam Solitaire will be going to Christian Cullen next season.


Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 16May07

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Top trainer Mark Purdon has three of four top qualifiers Ohoka Arizona, Fiery Falcon and Steve McQueen for the $200,000 Harness Jewels 2YO Emerald at Ashburton on Saturday week.

Fiery Falcon, syndicated for $200,000 only hours after being passed for that amount at last year's Ready To Run 2YO Sale, rewarded his connections at Addington last Friday.

The Mach Three gelding had his big payday in the $175,000 Garrards NZ Sires' Stakes Final at Addington.

He was given every chance in the trail by Colin De Filippi behind stablemate Ohoka Arizona (Blair Orange), who led after 600 metres from a wide gate.

Fiery Falcon had the last say along the sprint lane, scoring by half a length in a 1:58.1 rate (1950m), the leaders running their last 800m in 57.6s.

Outsider Reklaw's Boy finished along the markers from four back to snatch third, ahead of another late finisher in Bettor's Strike.

Fiery Falcon, initially bought by West Melton horseman Michael House for $5500 at last year's NZ Premier Yearling Sale, showed extraordinary speed when trialled leading up to the Ready To Run.

House set up a syndicate including Wellington owner Sir Roy McKenzie, and stable clients, Philip and Glenys Kennard, and Clive and Rona McKay, along with House's wife Michele, to race Fiery Falcon.

House suggested the gelding be sent to premier trainer Mark Purdon, whose record with the gelding now stands at six starts for two wins, two seconds and two thirds, for $143,845.


Credit: Harness Racing NZ

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

Dennis Smolenski is a lucky man. His charming wife Jill is one of harness racing's elite ladies - and she is the proud owner of a horse. Sometimes, that can be a tricky area. Not quite up to the mark, attachments, things like that. But this is One Dream. And Jill is particularly attached to her, and Dennis is happily attached to them both. So he should. She is more than up to the mark, adding the Group 1 Wayne Francis Memorial NZ Oaks to her Nevele R Fillies win of the week before at Addington last Friday.

And while it gave Jill another reason to bless her good luck, she was thinking the win meant more to Dennis than it did to her. "It was a race Dennis was really keen to win. He'd gone close before with Gina Marie and Gina Rosa, and knows how special Oaks wins are," she said.

For driver Frank Cooney it was just another day at the office, more or less. He reported faithfully that she felt sharper than she did in the Nevele R Final, and thought she looked a bit brighter in the coat. He said he had nothing to worry about - other than an early hic-cup when a hopple shortener pin got stuck - and it was just a matter "of not doing the wrong thing". He was not surprised the lead did not come to him immediately. "I had an inkling one or two might come out better than us, and it was nice to get that cover until we got to the back," he said.

Jill was again the epitome of graciousness, so thrilled that so many friends and family came to join her and share the success. "And we're so looking forward to Ashburton because my sister Rhonda and her family are coming up from Outram and they've never seen One Dream before." They are one of many who have written, phoned, faxed and texted Jill with nice words about One Dream. "They've come from all over really, but some are from people who we have never heard of. It's incedible really where that interest comes from," she said.

Jill has spent a lifetime in harness racing, joining Ross Dynes after leaving James Hargest School in Invercargill when he had Berry Hanover and other stallions of National Bloodstock's. She moved to Hamish Hunter's, where she was licenced and won a race with Ryal Avenger, and then went back to Dynes before taking up a Marcus Oldham Scholarship. This was in Geelong, for a year, which she said was 'brilliant'.

She went to Sandy Yarndley's on returning, then suffered a broken back after being kicked by a horse. Her next move was to Almahurst Farm, where Max Bowden stood Knight And Deigh and Oblivion II, and where she got her A I ticket. Then on to Roydon Lodge, Prebbleton Farm, Wai-Eyre Farm, Studholme Park and Woodlands Stud.

It was a career move that has taken her and Dennis to caring for broodmares, foals and yearlings owned by Stonewall Stud and Rod Croon. "It was time to step back, and work without the deadlines of managing a stud," she said. "We have about forty-five mares, and this season we had twenty-four foals and they're coming in every fortnight for handling. So there could be that many we will be preparing for the yearling sales."

Jill and Dennis have three mares of their own, including Solitaire, the dam of One Dream. They also have a half share in Maggicolo, an Il Vicolo-Regal Guest mare in foal to Red River Hanover, and with Clare McGowan a half share in Corzanello, a Totally Ruthless-Rear Window mare in foal to Western Terror.

The Smolenskis will eventually return to Canterbury, but Jill says "we are happy where we are and will do that only when we're ready. We're passionate about the industry. We have dreamed about having a lovely filly, but One Dream has exceeded it." And Dennis says she's deserved it. "She's brought thousands of foals into the world - it's nice that she's got one of her own."

Behind One Dream came Running On Faith, a bold finisher, and Smoke N Mirrors who flew the gate and trailed the leader.





Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 23May07

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

Changeover winning from Top Tempo

Changeover has the Christian Cullen NZ Derby on Friday night at his mercy.

It would need a heap of imagination to think of it in any other way on the strength of his efficient demolition of seven others in the First Sovereign Trust Flying Stakes at Addington last week. He was in front after 500 metres, and with arch rival Gotta Go Cullen parked wide early and then having it hard outside him later, it was pretty much a race as expected. But while Gotta Go Cullen faded from the picture smartly from the 400m, Top Tempo again looked sharp with a bold finish for second, and Montecito held on well after being in the trail, although he was more than three lengths from Changeover when it was over.

Both trainer Geoff Small and driver David Butcher claim there is still some improvement to come, ever though a trial before the Flying Stakes made a big difference. Butcher said he did it easily enough, and was surprised to hear how quick the horse had gone down the back when he considered he got it 'soft'. "I think that will tighten him up just nicely," he said.

He has not written off Gotta Go Cullen as a threat in the Derby. "He had the hardest run of all, and it could be different this week," he said. He concedes the opposition is not as strong as it might have been, but says there is still quality in the ranks. "With Lombo Pocketwatch and Fergiemack not there, it is weaker than it could have been," he said.



Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

Short in name and short in stature, but Spicey is a big-time girl who caused a minor upset in the $150,000 PGG Wrightson NZ Yearling Sales Series Pace at Addington last Friday night. She was not expected to be a match for Top Tempo, but there was hope after she worked well with blinkers back on during the week that she would account for most of the others.

The winner of four races - not as many as Top Tempo, but more than the remainder - Spicey was given a patient run back in midfield, and behind Top Tempo for much of the last lap. Top Tempo raced ahead near the 500m and forged to a clear lead turning in, but halfway down the straight, there was still much to do and she had little left to do it with. Given the benefit of a well-timed finish, Spicey picked her off easily, and Belletti finished strongly at the end to take second.

Spicey was sold by Shard Farm of Invercargill at the Premier Sale for $30,000 to 'Weekly' writer Mick Guerin, one of four he bought at the Sales that year, and a day after he stopped at $150,000 to buy Mombassa at Auckland. Two of the others he later sold at the 2005 Ready To Run Sale, and the other was Ten CC. With Spicey, he bought in Jeanine Browne, Suzanne Herlihy and Steve and Jill Stockman, and their return in less than a year has been over $150,000.

Guerin liked the filly so much he went back last year and bought her brother, who is shaping up well for Herlihy without looking a prospect this season. Guerin has never made a noise about Spicey, in spite of the tidy job she has done. "She's not in the top three fillies in the country, in my opinion," he said. "She's a lovely little rat, and she's never got much bigger than she was when we bought her. It's not the money that's been so good about this, but the people I'm with. They're very good friends, and they all contribute to harness racing in so many ways - far more than me."

Guerin said Tony Herlihy, her trainer, was the key to it all. "He has this strange ability to do the right thing at the right time. I don't know what it is, but it worked for Spicey."

Guerin, a Trackside presenter, was quickly back hosting the Franklin meeting just minutes after being an exuberant audience at Alexandra Park. "It was a huge buzz. I had to go outside, and take a deep breath before going back on. It was the first time I found it hard to concentrate, and I really don't know what I was saying for ten minutes," he said .

Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 21Feb07

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

Flashing Red had to run a NZ record over 3200m to win the $750,000 2007 Christchurch Casino NZ Cup last Tuesday.

Written off as a pale portrait of the horse he was when he carried all before him last spring, Flashing Red overcame a 15m handicap and 14 others in a punishing, grinding, desparate drive to the finish. He was beaten at the 100m; had seen young star Monkey King go past, and then, briefly his stablemate Tribute. This was as near as Flashing Red was going to get and everyone was proud of him. But old horses just don't go away, not when they're great and have done it before, and not when their name is Flashing Red.

With more determination than most have ever seen, Flashing Red must have sensed that Monkey King hadn't finished with the king-hit he needed. Not even gradually, he closed up again, and 20 metres from the finish he was slowly widening the margin to win a magnificent race.

Was there disbelief? Almost. Was there astonishment? Yes. Was there acknowledgement for the greatest staying effort ever seen in the Cup? Yes, yes.

Flashing Red got there the hard way. He made a fair beginning, passing the breakers Foreal, Awesome Armbro and It's Ella. Changeover had made a fast start, and led until David Butcher gave way to Classic Cullen two laps out. This left Baileys Dream parked out, Roman Gladiator inside him, and Sly Flyin on his back. For the first mile, Anthony Butt sat at the back with Tribute and Monkey King. It was quick enough, so there was no hurry to get moving. Just before the 100m, he knew it was time to go. He rattled up Flashing Red. They set off, and Tribute followed, and Monkey King followed Tribute.

They made good, steady progress, and Flashing Red was as strong of any of them on the corner, outside Baileys Dream and Classic Cullen, who were both spent or getting near it, and look! Monkey King has joined in and looking sharp. Sly Flyin is also in the picture, and so is Changeover but he's in a spot of bother behind the tiring Classic Cullen.

With 25,000 people makng noises of some sorts, Monkey King appeared at the 100m as if he had the race by the collar. Stephen Reid, his driver, must have thought so. Had it been anything other than Flashing Red, he certainly would have got away with it. But no-one tangles with Flashing Red at the end of 3200 metres in a record 3:57.8 and has his nose in front at the end of it. Ask Monkey King. He Knows.

-o0o-

The Cup Flashing Red won as an old horse last year will stay where it is. As an older horse this year, he bucked the odds, silenced the young pretenders, and produced what must be the greatest staying performance seen anywhere, anytime. Could any horse have climbed the harness racing mountain from ground-zero that Flashing Red faced this season, as a 10-year-old? And when his campaign seemed as good as gone, could Tim Butt and Phil Anderson and Anthony Butt then pick him up from the canvas and turn him into the 4:00.3 two-mile mauler he was a year ago? When everything said they couldn't, they did.

His win over Monkey King at Addington last Tuesday was certainly a five-star, must-see wonderment. The old dog-over the hill, a handicap to overcome, no longer the mighty marathon cruiser he used to be; little leg ailments - much to much on his plate really. Tim Butt never dropped his guard that far. He was keener on his stablemate Tribute, never on Foreal, but he kept safe and coy with Flashing Red, saying there might be one big race in him somewhere. He never said it would be the $750,000 2007 Christchurch Casino NZ Cup, and only 50 metres from the finish did he know for sure that it was.

Unlike last year, when Flashing Red was more or less invincible and went into the Cup with three successive wins, this campaign and build-up had never reached any glitzy heights. Tim said it was almost as if there were two different horses. He was thrilled when he started his build-up to the Cup again, pretty much quickly on target with his second in the Avon City Ford Cup to Baileys Dream, but the run took the edge off him. He had three further races, and appeared to slip with each of them. Not only was the prospect of winning a second Cup fading by the week, but there was the daunting challenge after his fading sixth at Ashburton of not knowing for sure what was needed to turn him round, if indeed it could be done.

Butt could see it wasn't the same as what it was the previous year. He knew they had to do something different when it was taking him so long to recover from his races. "He was fit enough, we knew that, so we focused on eliminating anything that might have worried him. We took him to the beach for his training. We'd had a little problem with a front joint, we thought he might have had ulcers. We were really going into unchartered territory with him, but we've always had faith." With a new battle plan underway, and deciding that going into the Cup fresh was the only chance they had, they anxiously monitored his revitalisation programme. "In the last seven days, you could see the change," he said. "And for his last hopple, he worked super. I still thought we might have been coming a week too late."

When he assessed the race, Butt saw a few pluses. "He was off fifteen metres, but that didn't worry me. I thought that two miles might negate that handicap. He has shown before that he rises to the occasion in these big races. And I thought he was old last year at nine, and here he is at ten. I wasn't as confident as I was last year, but I felt he'd still go a cheeky race." Deep down, he suspected Flashing Red might prove him wrong, as he had done before. "I could see Ants was very patient with him over that final mile, and then he had to go when he did. In the end, you've just got to do it. You still know that when they get older, you can't go to the well every week." This was a day in the week when the well was full. "I was yelling for him; I knew Monkey King might come to the end of it."

While Anderson and the Butts will see the end of Flashing Red's NZ racing career on Friday, it will also signal the start of another because there is a plan to return him next season to stand at stud in the South Island. Former trainer and part-owner Stuart Hunter said he would compete next month in the Victoria Cup and other Grand Circuit races in Australia, and his Cup win has already gained him a semi-final start in the new version of the Inter-Dominions

Hunter always enjoys recalling the manner in which he and part-owner Norm Jenkins came by Flashing Red. "He was racing down in Tasmania and bought by Barrie Rattray for $20,000. He was quoted to me at $40,000, which I was told was far too much. Nothing happened for a number of months, but I was still keen and eventually said I was going to go down and if I liked him I'd pay the price. It was an awful day and he was running in mud, but I thought he had some try in him. He always wanted to give you something more. So I paid the $40,000. He can run four twenty-eight quarters, and that can break their hearts." Hunter said he was so much better racing on the bigger tracks in NZ. "He'll race in a fifty-five inch hopple back home, and here he can go in a sixty-one inch. He's exceptional like that, and can stay a lot better."

Jenkins, natually enough, is happy to leave it to those who know best. "They're the experts; I just listen to what they say. I couldn't believe it. I didn't expect him to fight back when he was headed."

Of course, that's exactly what Tim did expect. "He rates right up there with Hands Down and Blossom Lady as the great stayers I've seen. Fortunately I can do what I like without pressure, and that only comes with experience. He was down and out, and he came back."

Back to win another Cup - now that takes a special kind of greatness.

Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 15Nov07

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

Auckland Reactor has always had quite a reputation, but even Mark Purdon was a little shell-shocked by his superlative performance to win Tuesday's $200,000 NRM Sires' Stakes Final at Addington.

Not really tested against the cream of his crop before, and saddled with the outside of the front line in a 1950m affair that was always going to be a torrid and seemingly even encounter, Auckland Reactor went back to last early in a strung out field passing the mile before circling them with cover from the 1400m to range up outside his more favoured stablemate Ohoka Arizona down the track. But just when he could have been expected to battle in the circumstances, Auckland Reactor went into overdrive and exploded away to put the result beyond doubt a furlong from home.

The Mach Three colt was clear by almost two lengths in the end from another son of Mach Three in Fiery Falcon, a last quarter off the front in 27.5 for an overall rate of 1.57 leaving no excuses or chances.

"I could see Blair (Orange on Ohoka Arizona) was gone on the turn, and I was really only worried about Benny Mac on my back," said Purdon. "But he had done a bit of work to get round them as well," he added. It was left to Fiery Falcon to lodge a late challenge, but he never looked like troubling the winner. Colin De Filippi had performed a minor miracle at the start to get Fiery Falcon over from barrier eight and into the one-one in the early piece, but had lost such a prominent position in the running. It was still a performance which confirmed that last season's Sires' Stakes 2YO Final winner is again going to be a major factor this term however, and a pleasing result considering he only made this Final by literally the skin of his teeth in the last heat.

But it was the performance from the unbeaten Auckland Reactor which suggested he is a class above his contemporaries and a superstar in the making which had most buzzing. Purdon knew he was good, but not that good. "He has always shown the promise, but it's a long way from winning a maiden race at Washdyke (less than two months ago) to winning the Sires' Stakes. "That is a big ask, and it was a big effort. He doesn't look much, and we've been patient while trying to build him up. It's only in the last few weeks that he has started to do well and put some condition on. But he has come on lately and improved from week to week."

Purdon said Auckland Reactor, bred and raced by Auckland's Tony Parker, and the 11th foal from the Soky's Atom mare Atomic Lass, would now go for another break and "come back for the Derbys. We'll look at the Southern Supremacy Series as well next year, as that's quite a nice race now too."

Purdon's decision to drive Auckland Reactor could in no way be interpreted as a sign of confidence over any of the other five 3-year-olds from his stable that made the Final. "Blair has driven Ohoka Arizona right from the start, and I didn't want to take Colin off the other horse as he has got on so well with him. It's just the way things have worked out." Auckland Reactor only just downed Steve McQueen by a head in the Sires' Stakes Heat at Forbury Park, but he wasn't all that happy in the wet conditions. The colt felt a lot better bolting in over older but lesser company at Kaikoura and had "trained on" since then.

Ohoka Arizona, last season's top-ranked juvenile and impressive when resuming in the first heat at Addington five weeks ago, was beaten on his merits and is obviously not right. "He had every chance and wasn't good enough today," said Orange. "It's a wee bit dissappointing really," he added.

Ohoka Utah was even more dissappointing considering he trailed and dropped away to beat only Reklaw's Boy home.

Credit: Frank Marrion writing in HRWeekly 15Nov07

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

Nick Off Holme (outer) beating Days Of Courage

Not much has gone right for Nick Off Holme this season. Unable to pay a dividend in three starts when racing luck had been against her, her connections were left 'quite gutted' when she failed to gain a NZ Cup start.

Just to rub salt into the wounds, Nick Off Holme was saddled with the outside of the second line for the $50,000 Firestone Free-For-All over a 1950 sprint journey on Cup Day, which was probably going to be short of her best should the race develop into not much more than the usual sprint for home. The situation did not seem to have changed much either as late in the piece as the field streaming past the 600m, where Nick Off Holme and regular pilot Stephen McNally had only Woodlea Life behind them and a seemigly impossible task before them. But racing is a funny game and this event had actually panned out just perfectly for such a dour stayer as Nick Off Holme, the 6-year-old Holmes Hanover mare.

The pace up front had been frenetic, and anyone who had engaged in it was starting to feel the pinch as they raced inside the furlong. Game 4-year-old Days Of Courage was proving the gamest of them all, but Nick Off Holme descended on him from the clouds and delivered the knockout blow right on the post. In scoring by a nose with a challenge that had been timed down to perfection by a thousandth, Nick Off Holmes posted an all-comers' national 1950m record of 2:19.8, a mile rate of 1:55.3 which will be of immense long-term value to her breeding career.

Changeover's 2:20.3 (MR 1:55.7) from last year's Sires' Stakes will remain as the 3-year-old record, and Rameses and Winforu can still lay claim to being the equal fastest older male pacers in 2:30.s, but Nick Off Holme is now the fastest of them all and obliterated the mares' record of 2:21.3 held by Flying Sands, set in a lower-class race on Show Day five years ago. "I thought they'd got away a wee bit on me, but I knew they'd gone hard and she would run home strongly," said McNally. "But I didn't think she could make up that much ground," he added. McNally also drove Rameses in his record on Show Day two years ago, but outside of Ella Powell's NZ Trotting Oaks last year, this was the biggest win of McNally's eight-year driving career.

Trainer Paul Kerr agreed that Nick Off Holme's Group 3 success was of some consolation and of benefit to her broodmare value, but still would have liked to have seen her in the Cup for principal Christchurch owner Rusty Smith, who races her with Oamaru's David Owens and Dunedin's Bob Shaw after securing her at the 2003 Australasian Classic Sale for $17,000. "Owners dont get too many chances to start in the Cup, and it would have been nice for Rusty to have been there," said Kerr. "And I think on what she has done in the past, she probably deserved to be there too. The races this season before today had just been going against her - she was having to do the work to make them," he added. Given that Nick Off Holme had won more races and stakes (10 wins and $125,317) than Cup starter Keeprightondreaming and could claim two fourths in her three preceding races compared with his one fourth, admittedly in the Kaikoura Cup, a pretty good case could have been made.

Nick Off Holme is now the winner of 11 races and $152,632, which also includes miles at Ashburton in 1:56 and 1:56.7 and a Cup Week double at Addington two seasons ago, and all things being equal she will get her Cup start next year before she begins her broodmare career. There had been no consideration given to the latter this year. "The plan this season was always to have a go at everything, particularly the big mares' races again. She will now be set for the Queen Of The Pacific in Auckland and then come back here in the New Year."

Nick Off Holme has been third in the last two NZ Standardbred Breeders' Stakes to It's Ella and Mainland Banner after being fourth and fifth in the Premier Mares' Championship the week before, while at last year's Cup Meeting she was second to Mainland Banner and pushed her to go a mares' record of 3:09.7 for the 2600m mobile. "She's been a bit unlucky to be born the same year as Mainland Banner and Foreal, but perhaps this will be her season.

Credit: Frank Marrion writing in HR Weekly 15Nov07