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A break by the hot favourite Stig and a monster upset in record time by Romper Stomper in the $75,000 First Sovereign Trust NZ Trotting Free-For-All on Show Day has put a puzzle on the face of the Dominion Handicap this week.

Stig will still be favourite, but Our Sunny Whiz, who did not run on Show Day and Houdini Star and Mountbatten who did, are right in the mix in a race that is now wide open. It may not suit Romper Stomper, in spite of his obvious ability at the top level and his dashing late passing lane run to catch Houdini Star and Mountbatten. Romper Stomper had done his case no good by galloping on the grass at Motukarara and doing the same on Cup Day, but there was good form just behind that when he rattled home for third in the Canterbury Park Cup behind Whatsundermykilt.

Trainer Robbie Holmes did not rate him out of it. He made a couple of gear changes and thought the mobile would be the key to it. He settled him three-deep, behind Mountbatten and the early leader Rhythm Of The Night, and kept making ground on Mountbatten after Braig had retired from a bitter war between the 700m and 400m. "I saw Ants (Anthony Butt and Mountbatten) tiring and my horse just kept digging," he said.

For Holmes, this was his first Group 1 training success. The 8-year-old by Armbro Invasion is raced by Phil Sherley, a Hamilton insurance agent, and John Dickie, who trained the horse and won a heat of the Inter-Dominions last year, and then decided that his best chance with the horse was putting him on the beach. "It's been a real challenge," said Holmes,"but I love training trotters, and I've got half-a-dozen in work and they're all either racing or not far off it."

Hougini Star was a neck off winning and a short head in front of Mountbatten, and there was a gap to Petite Sunset who doesn't need much improvement to join the elite group.

Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HR Weekly 21Nov07

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Megan & Brendon McLellan

News that It's Ella has been retired might be a tad premature. Former trainer Brendon McLellan, whose wife Megan co-owns the mare, says there is actually a chance of It's Ella returning next year to defend the two Addington titles that she won so brilliantly over the last two Friday nights.

"We haven't ruled it out," McLellan said. "She is definitely out for the rest of the season, and she will be served early in the Spring. But if something were to happen, like, she didn't get in foal, we might bring her up for those mares' races again. Either way we will know closer to the time, and we will let her tell us," he said.

If last Friday's $100,000 PGG Wrightson NZ Breeders Stakes does end up being the last time we see It's Ella on the racetrack though, what a way it was to go out! Just like she did a week earlier, It's Ella displayed her customary ability to get out of the gate and push forward to secure a handy spot, yet she still had enough in reserve to sprint again and get away from her opposition. And if it was her swansong, It's Ella ended her career in exactly the same way as she started it - with a win.

It was late in January two years ago when a little Washington VC-Just Ella 3-year-old filly made her first official trial appearance, at Gore, romping away with her qualifier to win by three lengths. Coming home in 58.9 that day, she recorded 2:49.9 for the 2200 stand, nearly nine seconds inside the required time! Seven days later she debuted at Invercargill, winning by an equally impressive margin and in quick time again; It's Ella had announced he arrival.

"Yeah, then she ran into Mainland Banner at her second start and finished fourth," McLellan said with a smile, adding that it was "quite a good crop of 3-year-old fillies that year. She had always shown ability but didn't do too much as a 2-year-old, we didn't ask her to. And she only won a couple of races in that first season, she was always just in behind the good ones. But she had niggling problems all the way through though too, and jarred up a lot, and we had to keep backing off her every three or four starts."

Counteracting these ongoing problems was the main reason why the McLellans put in a swimming pool this time last year, and then the decision to transfer It's Ella to David and Catherine Butt soon afterwards - where she'd have access to a pool, the beach, and more racing opportunities - proved a masterstroke, and was the turning point in the mare's career. In 16 starts from her new home, It's Ella recorded five wins, five placings and just over $167,000 in stakes - more than 72% of her total career earnings. And there were many Group race highlights...third in the Ashburton Flying Stakes, third in the NZ Cup and second to Waitfornoone in the Queen of Hearts in Auckland, not to mention finishing her current campaign with a Group 2/ Group 1 double at Addington.

In total, the Washingto VC mare won 13 of her 42 starts, and in all fairness she should also earn the title of Aged Pacing Mare for 2006/07. "Her performance in the Cup was definitely the biggest highlight at the time," McLellan said. "It was a dream result; for us, it was like winning it. And then to win both these mares races...wow, it's amazing."

Although retirement wasn't really talked about, It's Ella's connections knew the broodmare paddock had been drawing ever nearer since her second in the Queen of Hearts. "She won a trial when she first got to Auckland but pulled up a bit lame after it, so we knew she wasn't at her best for the event," McLellan said. "Her problems flared up after that race; basically, she has been a day-to-day proposition ever since. She seemed to be fine when she returned to Canterbury, but the other night Ricky (May) said she felt a bit scratchy on the way back from the birdcage. And she was lame when we put her on the float."

While one door may be closing, another one is definitely ajar, and the McLellans and co-owners Jim and Irene Holland have something just as special to look forward to. Their association with the retired Mokoreta couple stems back to when McLellan was just starting out. Boyden's Beau (5 wins) was the first he trained for them, and others since have included Anna Patron (5 wins) and her half-sister Shania Patron (7 wins, $178,000). "Jimmy and I have been breeding from about three mares together for a few years, Shania Patron was one of our first," McLellan said. "Unfortunately we had to put It's Ella's mother (Just Ella) down, but we are pretty excited about what lies ahead. I think it's natural to get more of an attachment to the foals if you have had so much to do with the mare - especially one like her. And we are not sure what stallion she will go to yet, but it will definitely be a commercial one."

Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly 8Feb07

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The Changeover Support Team celebrates

It's official - the industry has a new champion.

If there was possibly any doubt about Changeover's status before the NZ Derby last Friday night, a little over three minutes later there was none left whatsovever as he destroyed his rivals. Not the best field ever assembled for the time honoured event, granted, but Changeover made them look even more 'second rate' with a superlative performance.

The In The Pocket colt worked hard to hold the lead early, kept up a sizzling tempo throughout, and then pulled away at the finish to win with ease by two and a half lengths in 3:11.8. It was victory number 11 in a 20-start career, he's earned over $650,000 in stakes now, and there is not a 3-year-old in Australasia that can get near him - all qualities that befit a champion. But Changeover's trainer Geoff Small isn't quite ready to label him that; not yet anyway. "I hope he is," the typically reserved horseman said. "It's a bit early for me to start saying that though. He's just an all-round nice horse...good around the stable, and good on the track."

Small knows a thing or two about training champions, having also put the finishing touches on Elsu during his illustrious career. But you won't get him to draw comparisons between the two pacers, other than Changeover's achieved more during the early stages of his career. And Small's "hopeful" that one day Changeover might even be able to bring home about the only big-race trophy that is not in the cabinet, a NZ Cup.

Changeover could even tackle the event as early as next season, but not if he goes to Australia for the Breeder's Crown. A start in the latter is still to be decided, and in the meantime there's a possible trip across the Tasman prior to the Harness Jewels. "We'll start in a Prelude of the NSW Derby on April 20, but only if we can fly out of Christchurch," Small said. "That will all be decided this week, if not, we'll just stay in Canterbury and go for the Jewels. He is eligible for the Breeder's Crown, but it is a long season too. We'll let the horse tell us, and if he's still bucking and kicking after the Jewels then we will look at the Crown for sure."

What is scary is Small's opinion of where Changeover will go from here, ability-wise. "He's a bit older and stronger at three than he was at two, and you'd have to assume he'd carry on his merry way. We've got a bit of work to do this season yet though, with other big races to target. But I'd expect him to get even stronger as a 4-year-old."

Friday night's NZ Derby was also a triumph for Small's right-hand man David Butcher. It's an association that first started with the horse All Hart, and it's been formidable ever since. The job that Small does off-track is completed with equally as much aplomb by Butcher on it, yet he's quick to unload the credit. "Geoff's such a good trainer - he's meticulous," Butcher says. "He puts hours and hours in, and he does the numbers. The key is getting the horses 'up' at the right time; and Geoff's super at it."

Butcher was also the raceday pilot behind Elsu of course, and doesn't want to talk about him and Changeover in the same sentence either. "No I don't want to compare them - because they're individuals, and I'd rather keep them apart. Changeover was always going to improve, and you'd like to think that he'd be as dominant next season too because the same horses follow you through. The thing about him is that he does everything easy in himself, and that makes it a little bit harder on the others."

In talking about his pre-race thoughts about the Derby on Friday night, Butcher says he didn't have a 'Plan B' in case Changeover was beaten out of the gate; quite simply, he wanted to lead. "When your horse is that good, you don't leave anything to chance," he said.

Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly 4April07

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Gerry & LynnSmith with the Ordeal Cup

The quite relentless Some Direction show at Addington continued on it's merry way last week when the 10-year-old mare dominated the $20,000 Ordeal Trotting Cup.

In what was her 138th race and the commencement of her eighth season of racing, Some Direction stepped it out like a 2-year-old to win the time honoured and attractive trophy at her fourth attempt - she was sixth in 2004 and third for the last two years. It was the daughter of Sundon's 24th win, while with 18 seconds and 17 thirds and numerous other cheques she has now won $274,000 with no signs of slowing down.
Some Direction is now only two races away from being a centurion at Addington, where she has now recorded 15 wins and become seemingly an almost permanent fixture in recent years. Her first six wins came at Ashburton (two), Washdyke (two), Oamaru and Forbury Park, but 15 have come at headquarters.

Some Direction will next attempt to further her quite extraordinary Addington record in the $30,000 Canterbury Park Trotting Cup in about a month, a race she won last year by coming off 10 metres to down Rowe Cup winner Inspire. The Banks Peninsula Trotting Cup also beckons, although Lynn Smitt is not sure whether she likes grass tracks as much as Addington. "She has never really excelled on grass, but she hasn't raced much on them either," said Smith. One has to in fact go back almost five years to November, 2002, for the last time Some Direction raced on a grass track, when an unlucky fourth at Orari when assessed as a four-win horse, while the only other time she has raced on the grass was when second and beaten a nose at Motukarara the previous February.

Whether Some Direction tackles that Cup or not will be a sidelight though to her main mission of NZ Cup Week and the Dominion on the final night, where she was a close fifth last year. Three years ago on NZ Cup Day she recorded perhaps her best performance when she downed Whatsundermykilt and the open class trotters in the Christchurch Casino Trot, sitting parked but winning in what is still a national record of 3:17.8 for 2600m from a stand and at odds of 76-to-one.

Smith, who races Some Direction with husband Gerry and son Justin and trains her with the latter in what is very much a family affair, downplayed her latest performance by pointing out that she was "lucky striking a field with a few of the stars missing", but she deserves every reward she gets just for perseverance and consistency. Her main rivals in stablemates Lord Burghley and Rhythm Of The Night are already sick of the sight of Some Direction, and they had pretty much conceded the Ordeal Cup to her before the race began last week. It was left to a spirited bid by Sundon entire Diedre Don to make a race of it, but his task of sitting outside the mare after circling the field a lap out was a forlorn one. Some Direction had been given an easy lead from the 2000m and Justin Smith merely had to turn the wick up over the last 800m in 58.6.

After Some Direction's form had got a little indifferent towards the end of her last campaign and some thoughts had turned to a possible retirement this year, such considerations have well and truly been put on the back burner for now. "Her form did drop away a bit and we weren't too sure what was going on, outside of having a bit of a cold for a while. We had expected her to go very well in her last race last season, but when Justin pulled her out there was nothing there. So we turned her out for a month and a bit earlier than usual, and wondered whether we might be pulling the stumps on her racing career this year."

Some Direction responded to that notion by winning two trials as easily as her raceday resumption. Smith is unsure what has given Some Direction such a degree of longevity, but notes the French sire of her dam as a likely source of toughness. Gekoj was probably the best of the four French trotting sires imported by Oddvar Andersen back in the early 80s, and was propably unlucky to be lost after just four seasons at stud. He sired about 100 foals and 19 winners outside of the great David Moss along with Look (9 wins) included good sorts in Cocokoj (5 NZ wins), Diamond Trail (7 NZ wins), Drott Moss (13 NZ wins, $111,685), French Warrior (4 NZ wins, US1:57.3) and Koy's Game (5 NZ wins). His mares have also poduced several fine performers, most notably Stig outside of Look's Now Another Look and Some Direction, while Take A Moment was from a mare by another French sire in Jet d'Emeraude.

Gekoj certainly had an impressive pedigree of French siring greats and Look has now produced eight winners from her first eight foals, after Speculate won at Ashburton by downing Desert Victory. That sister to Some Direction and the third of four foals bred by the Smiths from Look - Lynn takes turns with her sisters Helen Pope and Denise Nyhan - produced a CR Commando colt two years ago and was then brought back into work. "She goes pretty good actually, but we've just had another problem with her and I'm not too sure where her future lies at the moment."

Having had a good experience with Gekoj, Smith is looking favourably upon new French sire Love You should it come to that (breeding) with either Some Direction or Speculate this season. Then there is just the small matter of Some Direction's grandam being Someday, a good trotting mare by Light Brigade from Passive (U Scott) who also produced the splendid About Now (25 wins).

Smith also notes that while Some Direction has done a lot of racing, she has not done much travelling due to being a "picky eater" when away and she has hardly been stressed much either. "The focus has always been about just keeping her happy - she seems to be a lot happier in the float than in the paddock anyway."


Credit: Frank Marrion writing in HRWeekly 19Sep07

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For his connections, and an ever-increasing army of fans, Changeover's victory in last Friday night's $50,000 First Sovereign Superstars Championship was just what the doctor ordered. To trainer Geoff Small it provided confirmation that his stable star is right on target for the NZ Cup; for the fans, it was some justification for backing him into a very short $2.20 for the big event in less than five weeks time.

But last Friday's Group 2 event was an event that Changeover simply had to win. Not only because it was a field lacking both numbers and, to be fair, horses anywhere near the class of Changeover. And not only because it completely fell into the champ's lap: sitting three-deep as the field raced in single file and not even needing to move until the home bend. Because if your the one to beat on Cup Day when you take on the country's best pacers, you would want to trounce a field like that - which he did, in typical Changeover fashion.

And in the end, the Superstars turned into little more than a racenight trial with a $32,355 cheque attached. Understandably, Small bottled a lot of positives from Changeover's latest visit to Addington. "It was the first time he'd had a standing start, and he handled it well," Small said afterwards. "The challenge will be getting away with a group of horses around him." Small says he originally intended to kick Changeover's season in the north before trekking to Christchurch, but upon learning that the maximum handicap his horse could be given in the Superstars was only 20 metres, the schedule changed. "He was pretty close to the trial stage anyway," he said, "the Spring Cup up here was just a week too early for him."

And so the campaign's underway again, even though it's only seven weeks since Changeover won the Breeders' Crown Final across the Tasman. An appearance there was supposed to take this year's NZ Cup out of the equation, but those plans have changed as well. "I suppose we're trying to be 'smarty-bums'," Small confesses. "He had a long year as a 3-year-old. And even though we gave him a couple of easy weeks after coming back from Australia, he probably hasn't had the opportunity to have a break, grow big and strong and come back. But I'm not worried about it at the moment, because the racing doesn't appear to be taking anything out of him. It might catch up with him one day though."

From here Changeover heads to Ashburton for the Flying Stakes, and Small intends to top off his preparation for the big one with a start in the Cup Trial. Happy with where his fitness levels are at, he says it's just a case of keeping Changeover ticking over in the meantime and then giving him a 'tidy-up' run closer to the two events.

Ashburton will be the first real acid test for the In The Pocket entire, and will prove one way or the other whether he'll step up to the top league or not. Judging by early markets, a lot of people think he will. "I've just got to ignore the fact that he's favourite, and focus on Ashburton and then the Cup," Small said. "If I start worrying about that side of things then I'm not doing the horse any favours. But yes it will be a big ask for him. It's a bit like the young fellas playing sport - quite often when they step up to the top grade they get their arse kicked for a while. He's got seven or eight really good ones to beat. And they're strong horses they don't roll over. On the surface it appears that he is up to it - we're not really going to know until we get there."


Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly 10Oct07

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Dave & Katie Carville celebrate with Blair Orange

Prominent Canterbury breeder-owners Dave and Katie Carville gained their first Group One success on Friday night at Addington Raceway when their charge Ohoka Arizona was successful in the New Zealand Welcome Stakes. Elected the best Purdon chance by punters, Ohoka Arizona started second-favourite behind Mattnamara's Band and returned a juicy winning dividend of $4.50 for his efforts.

The Harness Jewels leader (Ohoka Arizona) had to overcome barrier 14 over the 1950m journey, launching his claim with 900m to go by challenging stablemate and pacemaker Fiery Falcon. The two Mark Purdon representatives fought like cat and dog in the home straight as Fiery Falcon came from the trail to attack Ohoka Arizona in a final attempt for success.

At the finish a just half-length separated the two as Blair Orange and Ohoka Arizona buried their main rival with ease in the end. Race favourite Mattnamara's Band fought stoutly for third 1 ¼ lengths away after racing hard in the middle stages.

Ohoka Arizona recorded a winning time of 2.23.4 in freezing conditions, posting a mile rate of 1.58.3 and his final 800m in 58.3. Not only was the Group One success special to the Carville's, but it was just driver Blair Orange's second Group One win of his career. The first coming behind Jay's Debut in the Juvenile Championship.

It was a big night for owners Dave and Katie Carville - alias Mr and Mrs No1 enthusiasts - whose first Group 1 win it was. There contribution to harness racing as breeders, owners and sponsors is more than what can be adequately said here. The Carvilles bred Ohoka Arizona from sending Millwood Krystal to Christian Cullen. Millwood Krystal, by Falcon Seelster, won two races, and is from the direct line of top mares Lancia and Valencia. "I have to thank Wayne Francis for getting into this breed, and have to thank my barber Harry Webber for insisting I use Christian Cullen, and I apologise for coming here in jeans; from the draw I just didn't think we would be up here," Carville said.

Credit: Harness Racing NZ

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2007 THE SOUTHERN TRUST DOMINION TROTTING HANDICAP

Having already trained the winners of six Dominion Handicaps, it's hard to imagine Tim Butt feeling like he was in unfamiliar territory this year.

The Dominion is a race that Tim and his brother Anthony have virtually 'owned' during the last decade, because they won it half a dozen times in a row from 1999-2005. but when Tim took his place in the Addington stand 12 nights ago, ready to watch it all unfold once again, he knew that things had been different in the build-up. Missing was the hype surrounding his stable's representative, the public's focus aimed squarely in other directions; unlike the champions Lyell Creek and Take A Moment before him, Mountbatten wasn't weighed down with a tonne of expectation. The son of Earl didn't own a trotting crown yet, so there was nothing to defend.

A little over four minutes later, that'd all changed. "We got got bit of a kick out of this one," Tim said, comparing Mountbatten's victory to his previous Dominion titles. "Lyell wasn't quite the favourite when he won it the first time, and Take A Moment was third in the betting when he won his first Dominion...all the other times the two of them were red-hot. So their wins were a relief more than anything."

To take home a seventh Dominion Handicap trophy within the space of nine seasons truly is a remarkable achievement by Premier Stables and its three wise men - Tim, 'Ants' and Phil ('Prop') Anderson, who's been part of the team for many years and official co-trainer for the last two. Even more sweeter is the fact that they snared both big plums from this year's Cup carnival, with Mountbatten's victory coming hard on the heels of a mind-blowing performance by Flashing Red. We'd barely finished shaking our heads in disbelief when Mountbatten re-delivered the message, loud and clear: these guys are masters when it comes to setting horses for the big events.

Its quite amazing to think that Mountbatten started the season as a one-win horse, yet 12 weeks later he tears away with the 'NZ Cup of Trotting'. But Tim says he had the Dominion in the back of his mind pretty early on. "I first started to think about it when he won his second start this term, by eight lengths. Obviously none of the big guns were there, but he beat a couple of handy ones in 3.22 - and I timed him to run some bloddy good sectionals that night too. It reminded me just how far ahead of them he was."

Tim says that when mapping out a programme leading up to the Cup Meeting, with a trotter like Mountbatten he'd normally "wait" and kick him off in the four-win grade on Cup Day - which gives them the chance to start on each day of the carnival, and win three races. It's a formula that's proved successful in the past...Take A Moment(three wins in 2000 and two wins in '01), Sonofthedon(two wins and a second in '02), Genius(two wins in '05) and Moment Of Truth(a win and two seconds last year) each putting in three appearances at the meeting. "But I suggested to Mountbatten's owners that I thought we should try and win what we can and dominate," Tim said.

"When he won at Ashburton on Labour weekend he had a hard run, but did it with a leg in the air. And his sectioals that day (56.9 and 27.5) showed that he's got that 'X Factor' as far as speed goes. Then at Kaikoura, I wasn't worried about the fact that he broke because it was it was all about the trip up there. He's a highly-strung horse and can be a bit flighty - most times at home we have to warm him up on the lead with a galloping pacemaker. So Kaikoura was good for him because he saw all the crowds, and stood all day in his box there next to the track where he got to see every race. He's settled down a bit since then."

Next stop was the NZ Trotting Free-For-All on Show Day, a race that Tim admits he set him for. With a two week break from the racetrack since Kaikoura - "a freshener after he'd hardened up" - Mountbatten was right where his trainers wanted him. "He was ready to go," Tim said. "And I was rapt with his run, because it was only in the last thirty metres that they got him. He'd come out of the gate, and eventually gotten to the lead with a lap to go - so he'd sprinted three times before he turned for home." Mountbatten came within half a length of victory in this, his first real test against the big boys, and they'd gone so fast that the eventual winner Romper Stomper shaved a tenth of a second off the national record held by none other than Lyell Creek - the one he set in the very same event three years earlier.

In hindsight it was the ideal 'top off' for Mountbatten's assault on the Dominion a week later, an occasion where, yet again, Anthony would produce a drive that was out of this world. Making a safe enough beginning to land in the one-one for the first mile, Mountbatten lost the cover soon afterwards and Anthony then thought briefly about having a go for the lead himself. The three-wide train had started moving by then though so he opted against it, and their position became more and more precarious as the race got older. Nearing the home turn they were back in the middle and surrounded by horses inside and out...was Anthony going to be able to find some room? You bet! Once balanced as he straightened for home, Mountbatten was set alight by his pilot and they pierced through a gap so small that it didn't even exist. The 5-year-old flattened out beautifully, and Dominion Handicap number seven was in the bag! "Winning these sorts of races isn't about having the best horse," Tim said. "Because in all fairness, horse like One Over Kenny and Stig if he'd started are probably better than him at this stage of his career. It's a case of having them right on the right day."

Talking of days, one that Tim will never forget in the occasion when he first laid eyes on Mountbatten at John 'Coaster' Howe's property some four years ago. He was just a yearling at the time, having not long been broken in, and I went to trial him," Tim said. "Some of the boys were there, standing near a bend of the track by a gate laughing and carrying on. When Mountbatten came around the corner he shied at them, and the next thing I know we're heading inwards, down over a bit of a bank and onto another track, but he never missed a beat, and kept trotting the whole way; most young horses would've had a gallop for sure. I bought him right there and then."

Tim didn't have any trouble rounding up a group to race the precocious youngster, and by the time he made his debut as a 2-year-old in April 2005 Mountbatten was owned by Pete Darby, Bev Hickman, Kevin Schmack and the five-member Foxtrot Syndicate, a group comprising of Graham and Shona Stoddart along with Alister, Ross and Raewyn McCutcheon.

The son of Earl and Sundon mare Sunvette never missed a cheque in his first two seasons, starting 10 times for two wins, two seconds, three thirds, two fourths and a fifth. Then a bump in the road... "He went lame," Tim said. "So we boxed him for two months, and he spent another couple of months in a paddock after that, but when we started on him again he got really sore. In the end he had two screws put into his pastern and was away from the racetrack for more than a year; the injury's not serious, we've just got to hope that he doesn't develop arthritis in it in the future."

That future's looking pretty rosy too, with a fully fit and race-hardened Mountbatten currently on top of his game. He will go north later this month for three races, and then Tim will float the idea about crossing the Tasman. "See, he'll get ten metres in the Rowe Cup now," he said. "But he could also target races like the Dullard Cup and then the Inter-Dominions. I reckon he'd be great in Aussie, because they are good front-runners tracks and he's got that real zip to go past them and take the lead."

So Cup Week in Christchurch has come and gone for another season. Quite simply, this year's carnival belonged to the Butt brothers, their right-hand man 'Prop', and the team at Premier Stables. Their NZ Cup/ Dominion Handicap double was unprecedented - and it might be a long time until we ever see it happen again, if at all.

Tim isn't one to bask in glory, but as a professional he gains a lot of satisfaction from 'a job well done'. Like most people that excel in their chosen field, he's got where he is today through sheer hard work. Yet, he hasn't forgotten that things were pretty humble in the beginning either..."We probably battled for ten years, buying cheap horses from down south and trying to get owners," he said. "We're quite pro-active though, and aren't afraid to get out there and have a crack. Early on we didn't have the resources or quality stock, and back in the year 2000 when we bought fifty acres where we are now, we started from scratch. I work hard on getting horses and owners, because that's where my next Flashing Red's coming from."

If anything, this year's results at the Cup carnival reflect the stable's main focus. "Our forte is Grand Curcuit horses," he said. "And ours always improve from year to year, that's our style of training - we're looking at the long-term picture. Take Goldie Blue for example...he finished third in this season's Sires' Stakes Silver at Ashburton, so at the moment he's probably only just in the top fifteen 3-year-olds going around. But you just wait - in two years time, he'll be one of the top three in that same group. I think a lot of him."

Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly 5Dec07

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Age has not dulled the racing spark of two old campaigners.

If anything, Whatsundermykilt and Some Direction have raced into action this season already near top form again, and in fact they're winning earlier than the did last season. Some Direction first won last season on October 13 - in the Canterbury Park Trotting Cup - but this season she's won a month earlier. And for Whatsundermykilt it's come a week earlier; last season it was in the Flying Mile at the expense of Allegro Agitato.

The pair, with more than 220 starts between them, are 9 and 10 respectively, which means they've done a lot of hard yards. And they've won a lot of money - something like $600,000 between them. No wonder they had to give starts to all but Pompallier in the Giannis Pita Bread Canterbury Park Trotting Cup at Addington last Friday night.

Between them, they made a great finish of it: Whatsundermykilt hauling in Some Direction after giving the mare at least six lengths start at the 600m, and covering much ground to get to her. Some Direction had been sent to the front at the 1600m by Justin Smith. It was an enterprising move and would have paid off had Whatsundermykilt not carried such a sustained run for as long as he did. The break she pinched 150m out looked the winning of the race, but Shane Wilkinshaw had other ideas as he set Whatsundermykilt after her.

"He had to be brilliant," he said. "The mare made it hard for us, and I thought we had too much to do. It hadn't been easy getting round. Lord Burghley, in front of us, was hanging, and we went from four-wide at the 600m to five-wide turning in. It was a big run," he said.

Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 17Oct07

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Bruce Hutton enjoyed one of his finest moments as a trainer when his stable representatives ran first and third in the $25,000 Ballantynes Handicap Trot at Addington on Cup Day. Hutton only had two horses in on the day, and he almost walked away with the perfect result when Lord Burghley led all the way and Rhythm Of The Night made ground stylishly late for third. "Getting a quinella on Cup Day is something that I really would have liked - just that blimmin' North Islander got in the way," Hutton joked afterwards.

That 'North Islander' was Our Sunny Whiz, who, in her first look around Addington, galloped on the Showgrounds bend when challenging for the front early yet staged a mammoth recovery afterwards to go under by a head. "No matter how good you are, it just goes to show that you can't come off your home ground and dominate - especially against the Canterbury boys," Hutton said. "That was a terrific effort by Our Sunny Whiz after breaking, but she did get a pretty good run afterwards and Rhythm Of The Night dragged her into it."

You could tell that the Greendale trainer had been quietly confident about both his horses' chances in the event too, an attitude that belied their ninth and tenth favouritism on the tote. "The media and public have overlooked them," he said. "To tell how a horse has performed, you've got to look at the whole race. I mean, Rhythm Of The Night took two lengths off Houdini Star the last time they raced here, and all they (the media) could talk about was how good Houdini Star went." That was back at the start of the month, when Rhythm Of The Night ran fourth behind Genius, and having scored the start prior he was taking some pretty good form into Cup Day's race.

Lord Burghley was a different kettle of fish in that department though, his formline reading 006 after starting the season off with a third and a win. "He had bad luck at Motukara, then stood on a shoe after that - we've been battling to get him right ever since," Hutton said. "He hung real bad here at Addington two starts back, even though he showed some speed that night, and it's just been a case of a lot of hard work being put in by my partner Vicky and the guy Troy that works for us. "We use a product called Equipak on their feet, which is really good because it takes all the shock out of them. Lord Burghley's been on it for the last fortnight, and Rhythm Of The Night can't race without it."

Hutton says his latest winner will be staying home on Show Day while Rhythm Of The Night takes on the NZ Trotting FFA field, then both sets of his maroon and grey colours will be donned again in the Dominion. "Rhythm Of The Night normally gives them fifty metres start and then has to go round them, so the mobile's going to suit him. And if he draws good, then who knows. I think both horses have earned the right to be there."

Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

There were some big winners from the 2007 Chirstchurch Casino NZ Free-For-All, for instance: it was Dean Taylor's first Group 1 success; Waipawa Lad ran the mobile 200m in 2:22, which smashed the NZ record of 2:22.9 set by Yulestar in 2002; it gave sire Live Or Die his fourth winner on Show Day (others being Stay N Alive, Mark Antony and Runnin Outa Excuses); it was Mark Jones's third winner for the day, and while two were achieved with a supreme level of confidence in the abilities of Roburascal and Trotupastorm, the win with Waipawa Lad came from calculated brilliance.

Waipawa Lad was not one of the favourites, not after he had run ninth in the NZ Trotting Cup three days earlier; his 4:01 wasn't in the ballpark. That didn't faze Jones much. He had won 13 races with Waipawa Lad, and all but one had been sprints. He was third in the Free-For-All last year. Taylor gave owners Ron and Colin Bennett encouragement. "Dean said if we're ever going to win a Free-For-All, this will be it," said Ron.

In the form he was in, Jones could chance his arm and get away with it. And this is what he would do. Waipawa Lad flew the gate and made Baileys Dream work hard to lead him. Close-up Changeover had a tough run in the open, and further back, Monkey King had a tougher one three-wide without cover. Neither figured later, Changeover running ninth, five lengths from the winner, and Monkey King was a place and half a length behind him.

The owners of Waipawa Lad are retired Taranaki dairy farmers who now live in Christchurch. They had never raced a horse before until they bought Waipawa Lad as a weanling for $7500 from Nevele R Stud. Ron had met Taylor during the 2000 Inter-Dominions in Brisbane. "I used to bet on his horses, so I went up to him and asked him how you got started in getting a horse. I said I didn't have any money, so Dean said well we'd have to get something cheap. After a few months he phoned me up and said I'd better get to Nevele R because they were selling ones that had just been weaned. There was a paddock full of them, but I got it down to four or five and then just two. I was looking for one with big ears and a bit of room under the jaw and a wide nostril. Dean had to go to a funeral, so he just left me there," he said.

The one Ron left behind was Brownie Points, who did a job but not to the level Waipawa Lad has. Waipawa Lad is the first horse the Bennetts have raced, but now they have another and the reports are encouraging. "The stud phoned us and asked if we'd like to buy Waipawa Lad's half-brother by Red River Hanover for $15,000. We have done that, and we're told he's better than Waipawa Lad when he was at the same stage," he said.

Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 21Nov07