 | RACING HISTORY |
YEAR: 2005
FEATURE RACE COMMENT
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| One Over Kenny & her pleased owners |
He has increased the stable to 13, which is a comfortable number, and one he knows he can manage with time to attend to the little things. With it has come more success than they gave thought to, including a heat of the Inter-Dominions with Allegro Agitato and success by One Over Kenny in the $30,000 NZ Trotters' Trust Trotting Oaks at Addington last Saturday night.
The win by One Over Kenny was pretty much in keeping with Williamson's professionalism and knowledge of what he needed to win the race. "Phil said a year ago that we would win the Oaks with this filly," said Bev.
A chestnut filly by Sundon from Frances Jay Bee, the winner of six, a half-sister to big winner One Under Kenny (11 wins), and half-sister to One Kenny (17), One Over Kenny showed off her class with a stayer's run that started at the 1200m when Williamson sent her round the field. She was as strong as an ox in the run in, beating Petite Sunset by a length. Now Williamson will step her up a notch by running her in the $50,000 NZ Trotting Derby on Friday week, and he expects her to be no less competitive in that company.
One Over Kenny is raced by Heather and Lex Williams, formerly of Waimate where they had a farm, and now in Oamaru where they operate a movie theatre. New clients of the stable, they bought her as a yearling for $23,000, and returned to this year's Premier Sale where Williamson bought them a brother to Lord's Invasion, the young winner of two of his three starts.
Williamson has been a shining light in the North Otago area since winning 16 races with the first horse he trained, Role Model. He then won seven with Cockie, by Chiola Hanover, who won on Cup Day at Addington. This season he has trained 23 winners, quite a margin ahead of his previous best which was 14.
Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 31Mar05
YEAR: 2005
FEATURE RACE COMMENT
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| The connections of Pay Me Christian |
Pay Me Christian drew nicely at four in the Sires' Stakes Final, and most of those that sent him out hot favourite would have expected him to use his gate speed and go straight to the front, but it was well into the event before driver David Butt got serious about it; it was a pre-race plan that fell into place.
"David and I did talk about it," Kerr said. "We knew there was going to be a lot of speed early, because there were about three horses which were going to try and get the trail behind him. So we just decided to stay out of that early rush and then push forward, and David drove him beautifully. He had to be a real good horse to win it today. And I was just so pleased for him, because he had one or two knockers."
He's not getting all stirred up or being silly when he goes out on the track anymore," Kerr continued. "He's settled down now, and he is starting to develop into his body too. Pay Me Christian's identical to his old man, in that he's got such natural high speed. And he possesses all the same characteristics as his grand-dam Pay Me Back, who was a super,super mare...beautiful gait, high speed, great in the wind, and can stay all day."
Bred by Mark Paget, Paul Mahoney, Gerald Dwyer and Barrie Rose, who own his dam Pay Me Tu, Pay Me Christian was bought back through the sale ring and then Martin Boyce and Terry McCormick joined the quartet in the ownership.
Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly 10Nov05
YEAR: 2005
FEATURE RACE COMMENT
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| White Arrow & Wayne Higgs race toward the Nobilo |
White Arrow made full use of his inside draw and a trailing trip behind Flying Sands to work up the passing lane at Addington and take last week's feature off London Legend. Higgs thought the winning margin - a half-length - could have been more. "He was just winding up at the end because I had two or three goes at pulling the cord to take out his ear plugs. He is a long horse in the cart, and it took me thirty or forty metres before they came out. It is a wee thing we need to get sorted out," he said
Higgs has always championed the merits of White Arrow. This season he has been calling him "a monster," which in the context of what Higgs means is a horse who has come of age and could do something awesome. "I guess a lot of people might look upon him as another Borana or Smooth Dominion; it's up to him. But he is a very good stayer. He won the Nelson Cup by six of seven lengths, and when he won the Marlborough Cup he had a very tough trip and a speed duel, ran the 3000 metres in 4:05 and still kept giving. And while others might be better from the mobile, he has speed from a stand."
White Arrow, a 6-year-old bay by Sands A Flyin, has not had the smooth preparation Higgs had planned to give him but the wheels are back on now. "We missed a workout and the Avon City Cup when he got kicked and it was quite serious. We were chasing our tail after that, and he was down a bit after racing at Oamaru and then at Addington four days later. He didn't eat up the night after that, but he cleaned up after the Nobilo and is one happy horse."
If Higgs had one question going into the Nobilo it was how White Arrow would address the mobile start. "I was concerned because he had never won from a mobile before. But I was able to give him two laps at three-quarter pace for his preliminary. I could not have done that with him six months ago. From a training perspective, that was the winning of the race."
Credit: mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 10Oct05
YEAR: 2005
FEATURE RACE COMMENT
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| Aramid (inner) catches Cracker Nova |
Aramid sat parked during the early rush for positions before Jimmy Curtin pushed him to the front nearing the 2000 metre mark, taking a trail behind Cracker Nova soon afterwards. From there the big Grant Our Wishes gelding had the best sit, all he had to do was lift himself at the business end, and Curtin timed their lunge to perfection.
The victory was win number 10 for Aramid, but just his third in the last two years, ending a frustrating run of poor form that have given his connections plenty of headaches. "We knew something wasn't right with him, but for a while just couldn't pinpoint what it was," Ford said. "There was trouble with his near-side leg, but he wasn't lame or swollen so it wasn't obvious. In the end Dave Senior scanned the leg and found he had a small tear in the suspensory - just the size of a matchstick head. Dave said that we could either push on and it would be alright, and he would probably win another race, or we could spell him and probably win a heap more."
That was last December. Aramid went out for a six-month spell soon afterwards, and the build-up to his two runs this campaign was long and methodical. "I felt for a while he was coming good," Ford continued. "He's just got some tightening up to do yet. He is fit, he just needs that sharpness back again.
Now a 6-year-old, Aramid is raced by Ford and his daughter Amanda Tomlinson, who's not too proud to admit that he is her favourite - or to give him some 'yell' at the end of a race either.
Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly 21Sep05
YEAR: 2005
FEATURE RACE COMMENT
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| Geoff Small, Kevin Warneford & Alison Eagle |
Sent out third favourite but paying over $12 due to the presence of both Tuherbs and Pay Me Christian, Ambro The Thug was kept out of the early rush for positions by driver David Butcher and settled three-wide in midfield. He lost his cover at the 1400m point when Looksaflyer crossed to the parked position outside Tuherbs, so pushed forward himself, bringing up Pay Me Christian who returned the favour and gifted him the one-one over the final 900 metres.
The race couldn't have panned out better after that, because the two hotshots eyeballed each other with enough pace to stop anything else creeping forward. Having sat there marking time, Ambro The Thug got the 'let's go' signal turning for home when Butcher peeled out to set off in pursuit of Tuherbs. The Armbro Operative juvenile picked up his more illustrious rival comfortably, and if anything was pulling away at the finish to win by nearly a length.
Accepting the trophy from Garrard's representative Natalie Gameson as he was about to make his victory speech, Warneford muttered something else first... "You see that? It's already got my number on it." And he was right. Ambro The Thug had worn saddlecloth five, the very same number carved on the side of the horse that features in the Sires' Stakes trophy. A omen? Maybe. But funnily enough, four days earlier Warneford had actually dreamt that Ambro The Thug would land that barrier position behind the mobile. "Yes, he woke up on the Tuesday morning and remarked that we were going to draw five," said Alison Eagle, Warneford's partner of 11 years. "When I asked him how he knew that he answered ...'because I dreamt it'. Later that day Kevin was feeding the horses while I looked up on the computer, and when I went down to tell him what we'd drawn he said 'you see - I told you so'."
And what about those lucky underpants, where do they come into it? "Well," Eagle sighed, rolling her eyes. "The night that 'Bro' won his first race, Kevin had, by chance, a pair of lime green jocks on. So because things had suddenly gone right and our horse turned his formline around, Kevin thought that they might be lucky ones. "He had them on again the next time 'Bro' raced, and he won again. So now they get washed and folded up and put right at the back of his draw - and don't get worn until the day 'Bro' races."
Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly 25May05
YEAR: 2005
FEATURE RACE COMMENT
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| Molly Darling upsets Mainland Banner |
Molly Darling simply out-toughed the favourite Mainland Banner, and did it on her merits too, being left three wide and parked outside her over the last 800 metres before crossing the finish line half a length clear in a brilliant 1:57.8 mile rate. Absolutely Brilliant speared between runners late in the piece to grab third, albeit six lengths away, and for good measure Christian Cullen's only other representative in the Group 1 event (Kamwood Cully) ran fifth.
Molly Darling's part-owner, trainer and driver Brent Mangos was actually quite humble afterwards, having inflicted the first defeat on Mainland Banner in her eight-start career. "Horses just can't keep winning all the time," he said. "So someone's got to beat them; I'm just lucky that on this occasion it was me. But when Molly Darling's right, she's very, very good. In fact I don't think there is anything between her, Mainland Banner and Foreal," he said.
For Mangos it has been a long, hard road to get Molly Darling back to where she is now, but even if the fickle harness racing public seemed to lose faith, he didn't. The hiccups started after Molly Darling's trip to Sydney in February for the NSW Oaks Prelude and Final, which were the filly's first racetrack appearances since she won the Breeders' Crown Final in Bendigo last August. "Going to Sydney gutted her," he said. "She was probably only eighty percent ready when she went, and afer two big trips and the heat over there she had lost a lot of weight by the time she got home. "So I just backed off, and didn't rush her. That is why I missed the Great Northern Oaks and Sires' Stakes heats - so that we could specifically target these two events in Christchurch. I think she turned the corner the night she won in Auckland prior to coming down for the Oaks, because although she didn't beat much that night she felt like she was starting to come right. And I didn't do a lot with her in the week leading up to the Nevele R Final, but she'd felt good all week at Catherine and David Butt's and never left an oat. I wish the Oaks was next week now, because she just feels that good again."
Molly Darling is raced by Mangos in partnership with Scott Plant, Warren Oliver and Brian Hewes. You couldn't meet a more enthusiastic bunch of horse owners, but over the next few months there are some serious decisions to be made with regards to Molly Darling's future. After a fillies' and mares' event in Auckland on June 10, Molly Darling will either stay here for a heat of the Breeders' Crown on July 15 or cross the Tasman for the Australian Oaks. "Those two races are on the same night," Mangos said. "After that we may well send her to America, and lease her to someone over there for eighteen months or so. It's just that there is not a lot for her here as a 4-year-old mare. She might measure up to the good ones as a five or 6-year-old, but in the meantime she could win a lot of money in the States - and come home with a quick mile time. "It's all about keeping her happy, because if horses are happy they go good - especially mares."
Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly 25May05
YEAR: 2004
PRESIDENTS: NZMTC
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"I have always had a philosophy that when a job is done, don't recycle," Cotton said. "I had my time, and now it's someone else's turn to step into the role. The Club is in good hands, because there is a good core there, and we have got new blood coming onto the committee and there are some astute businessmen amongst them."
Cotton has been a member of the Met for nearly 40 years, and has been involved in the administration of harness racing for the last two decades. He was Co-Chairman of the club for two years following the merger of the New Brighton, Canterbury Park and NZ Metropolitan clubs into one body, and he spent the last four years as Chairman. "It has been a great Journey," he says. "The committee has been very supportive, as has my wife Julie who hasn't missed a beat."
Cotton said he was honoured to be part of the team that handled the merger of the clubs, adding that it was done very efficiently and at no cost to the industry, and one of the most rewarding things for him during his time in office was the club's success with sponsorship. I think it is second to none. We started from scratch in the old days, and the amount of sponsorship we have attracted to the club and maintained since, is a tribute to all concerned. And of course you can't replace things like Cup Days and the Inter-Dominions, and last year's Cup was especially significant because of it being the club's centenary year. It was a great reunion and a tremendous occasion for all."
Cotton turns 65 at the end of this month, and although leaving his last remaining administration role in harness racing he has no intention of retiring business-wise. No yet anyway. "I have got some lovely little grandchildren that I want to spend time with, and we have got a few young horses with Maurice O'Leary that maybe I will finally get the chance to go and see how they are coming along."
Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly 22Sep04
YEAR: 2004
PEOPLE
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He was born in 1924, served during the Second World War in Fiji, and returned to work on the family farm at Winslow. Together with his father Ben, he moved to Prebbleton in 1951, where they stood Brahman at stud, followed by Lopez Hanover, Bandit, World Skipper, Cardshark and Melvin's Strike.
He trained such good pacers as Smokey Lopez, Ceremonial, Petro Star, Courtier, Deference; Royal Lopez, Glamour and Jonboy Star, who all won the Sapling Stakes, and the NZ Oaks Winners Have Care (driven by Bob Young) and Ruling Lobell (Denis Nyhan).
"Des drove a bit, but when Rona (whom he married) saw him for the first time and he nearly fell out of the cart, she suggested he shouldn't drive again," recalled his daughter, Anne Phillips. "They always had a top young horse, and Des was very proud when Have Care won the Oaks as an outsider," she said.
Later he employed Jeff Whittaker and Geoff Small, and when he stopped training, he gained great pleasure following their training careers.
Twenty years ago, he changed direction after he felt harness racing was not able to sustain the business they had. He sub-divided their property and Anne said he was "challeged by skills" needed to do this.
He is survived by Rona, his sons Roger and David, and daughters Anne Phillips and Judy Ingram.
Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 24Nov04
YEAR: 2004
PEOPLE
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After kindling his interest with modest success on the provincial tracks of Canterbury, Seaton stepped up a cog with the purchase of Il Vicolo for $23,000 as a yearling at Karaka in 1992, and he had been buying in the top bracket ever since. His name was synonymous with big spending at the yearling sales, major wins at major meetings, and forging a formidable partnership with his No.1 trainer and driver, Mark Purdon. Together, they took sure aim at the classics and the cups with colts from the most distinguished pedigress.
A dealer in every sense, Seaton revelled in the cagey science of auction bidding. He was a hard man to head when he set his sights on a prospect in the ring. Purdon was his faithful ally and confidante, and he valued their relationship both as a friend and professionally. "He was one in a million," he said. "It was a partnership that was probably meant to be. He had a big impact on my career. And it probably developed more as it went on."
Purdon said Seaton loved his 2-year-olds, and he would organise their yearling sale tour before the sales to inspect up to 75% of the offering. He said this one would be "a tough trying week. But I have got other clients and other horses, and it will have to go on," he said.
Mike De Filippi was a trainer for Seaton in an era before the scale grew with Purdon, and he raced the good horse Delegation with Seaton's wife Ann. "He came here with a horse when my brother Colin went north. He was very supportive and loved his horses. We never had any trouble, and he liked to celebrate a win with a jug of beer afterwards."
Roy Purdon, who watched Seaton nurture the careers od Mark and his son-in-law Tony Herlihy, was devastated when told by his son of Seaton's death. "I was shocked. I spoke to John on Sunday. It is just so hard to believe. He was so much fun to be with. I know he was devastated when he learnt of the charges Harness Racing New Zealand were bringing against him and when they came. It took the glamour off Addington's big day, and it is very sad for trotting." Purdon said he definitely thought it would have some sort of affect on harness racing. "I think Mark has been very strong through this. I wish I could see a better outlook for it all, but it is just too gut-wretching," he said.
Il Vicolo was Seaton's ticket to fame and fortune. But there were plenty of others, and his tally of wins has passed 250. Il Vicolo won two NZ Cups, in 1995 and 1996. He won the Sires' Stakes Final at two and three, the Great Northern and NZ Derbies, the Rising Stars Championship, the NZ FFA, and he sired Jack Cade, who for Seaton also won the NZ Derby, a Sires'Stakes Final, and the NZ FFA.
Seaton enjoyed racing his horses with friends, notably Tim Vince, and they shared notable victories with Cool Hand Like (Noel Taylor Mile), a Sires' Stakes Final (Light And Sound), and the Cardigan Bay Stakes (Jack Cade and Lennon). He decided to race Advance Attack, the brother to Courage Under Fire, himself, and his wins included the Cardigan Bay Stakes, Sapling Stakes and Welcome Stakes
His other big winners included Beatem, Bella's Boy, Born Again Christian, Flashing Sword, Hindover, Horizon, Kotare Testament, Ohara, Perfect Seelster, Raptorial, So Cool, Tricky Vic, Ulrich and Willow Chip. His ownership included 41 horse aged 4 or younger, including 2-year-olds by In The Pocket, Soky's Atom, Il Vicolo, Presidential Ball, Rustler Hanover, Badlands Hanover and Artiscape.
The cause of Seaton's death will now rest with the coroner. He leaves his wife Ann, and daughter Ann-Marie. He also leaves a stable of horses - young ones with great potential he couldn't live to see - a state of the art training establishment, boots that are really beyond the size of anyone in harness racing to fill, an engaging smile that made you smile back, and a dreaded horror of being called to the microphone.
John Seaton will be sorely missed in harness racing. But sadly, John will miss it so much more.
Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 17Nov04
YEAR: 2004
INTERDOMINIONS
Only centimetres seperated the first four home, with Jofess piping The Falcon Strike, Sokyola and Mister D G, the leading points scorer in the heats. Jofess won the race at the barrier draw when he landed the ace and driver Darren Hancock was able to hold out all challengers in the short run to the first turn. All the heats, the final and consolation, were won in sub 2:00 mile rates, with the final cut out in 1:58.7 (mobile 2544m).
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