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RACING HISTORY

INTERDOMINIONS

2003 THUNDER DOWN UNDER INTER-DOMINION TROTTERS GRAND FINAL

Take A Moment's owners are starting to think that they need a different spot to watch his races from at Addington. Up until now the eight-member Long Drive Syndicate have always gathered on the first floor of the main stand, outside the Lindores level. But that location is past the winning post, and with Take A Moment's last two big events at the track being mighty close finishes, they have had an excruciating wait before knowing that they can make their way to the birdcage and start celebrating.

They were caught out in the Dominion Handicap last November, thinking their horse had won when in fact he had deadheated with Martina H. And last Friday night they occupied seats in the same place again, waiting anxiously like everyone for the running of the $200,000 Thunder Down Under Inter-Dominion Trotters Grand Final. Regardless of where any-body perched last Friday, no one was in their seat for long, because the event was one of the greatest trotting spectacles ever witnessed at Addington.

It had everything...predictable early moves from the handily-drawn speedsters who jostled for positions; an unchanged order until the last mile; a three-wide line that moved up soon after but then didn't go anywhere; the favourite sitting second last with arguably his biggest danger breathing down the back of Anthony Butt's neck; lightning displays of speed from the attackers as they swooped starting the last 700 metres; a field bunched in threes, fours and fives as the horses swung for home, and a magnificent finish that brought the crowd to their feet.

In the final analysis, Take A Moment had done what champions do, and won. "Unbelievable," said the syndicate's manager Bruce Greenhalgh, describing the occasion. "I honestly wasn't too worried when Take A Moment was still at the back with a lap to go, but I started to get a bit nervy when he wasn't getting dragged into it. We were on the edge of our seats."

Apart from a host of other top trotting victories, Take A Moment has now captured two Inter-Dominion Grand Finals, re-claiming the crown that he won brilliantly in Brisbane this time two years ago. But Greenhalgh says the feelings surrounding the two Finals were completely different. "When we won in Brisbane we had only owned him for six months, and it was almost unexpected. This year there was very much more expectation, with him being such a hot favourite, and that put a real edge on it. It was the first time the whole syndicate has been there for a big race too. Obviously the two Dominion Handicaps that Take A Moment has won at Addington were fantastic, but to win an Inter-Dominion Final to home...well, it is really special."

Greenhalgh considers himself very lucky to have his name amongst the ownership at all. "I was one of the last on the scene," he recalled. "Merv Rodgers and I were on a golfing trip in Queensland three years ago, and we were sitting down having a beer after our round one day when Merv mentioned that there was a share in this trotter available. "They had already sold seventy percent of him at that stage. I knew of the horse, and had seen him win some of his earlier races, so I thought...bugger it, why not?" Greenhalgh ran the idea past his wife Allison on returning home, and it wasn't long before he had the 'okay' and was on the phone to Rodger to confirm his interest.

Take A Moment had won four of his six starts for original trainer Paul Corkran at that stage, and since Tim Butt scouted him for $120,000 the record stands at 45 starts for 26 wins, nine seconds and a third, an stakes of $823,837. "Early on, Take A Moment lived very much in the shadow of Lyell Creek," Greenhalgh noted. "To think that he is only coming to the end of his third season but he has already won thirty races, it's really quite amazing. It is like he has snuck up on everybody. I think he has now justified his place amongst the best trotters that this country has produced though."

Take A Moment proved with last week's victory that he is indeed the best around, and he can win his races from anywhere. He stands head and shoulders above a crop of elite trotters which, in all fairness and apart from one or two exceptions, is probably on the way out more than on the way up. And perhaps one of the few horses who looks capable of lowering his colours in the next season or two is Sonofthedon, who comes from the very same stable. "I know Tim's got a huge opinion of him, and you only had to watch the way he won in Auckland the last time he was up there to see why. He could be the best trotter we have ever seen.

Despite being named the Long Drive Syndicate, Greenhalgh and Rodgers are the only two golfers amongst the eight members, and O'Donnell's choice of the name has nothing to do with the sport. Greenhalgh is an ex-Aucklander who moved to Christchurch a decade ago and manages the Smith's Spots Shoe store; Rodgers is the "semi-retired" owner of the Edgeware Civic Video outlet in Christchurch, and occupies his time with "golf, bowls and races"; Jack O'Donnell also classes himself as semi-retired, owning a block of land in Rolleston where he runs a few horses; Take A Moment is the first horse ever owned by Peter Barber, originally from Invercargill and now living in Queenstown where 18 months ago he bought the first franchise offered by the Country Road clothing store chain; Neven Botica is well-known and respected for his business acumen in Perth, not to mention his investment in this country's harness racing industry; Julie King-Turner runs a fishing business together with her husband Des in Te Anau; Tom Malcolm has painter/ decorating businesses in Invercargill and Wanaka, and moved to the latter area just last week; and Trevor Woolley oversees the installation and administration of gaming machines in and around Christchurch.

"We all met for the first time at that first Cup Meeting when Take A Moment won on Cup Day, Show Day and the last night," Greenhalgh recalled. "They are a fantastic bunch of people. Don't know how I ended up with the job of manager though; maybe it was because I was the new boy on the block. It's a real pain in the arse," he quipped, "but at least with a horse like Take A Moment you don't have any trouble getting money when the bills come in."

Greenhalgh says it is "much easier" to buy horses now. He also had a a share in Franco Solo, who won five races here in the mid 1990s before being sold overseas; he owns part of Tendulkar (three wins), who is on the market and possibly heading in the same direction; and he is involved in another syndicate that races Happy Asset's half-sister Smooth Asset, who has gone to stud after remaining winless and is in foal to Christian Cullen. Minus Rodgers and Botica, the Long Drive Syndicate members' latest excursion is a Sundon colt out of Take A Moment's dam Nakura, who is a big, strong looking colt" that is being weaned and handled by Murray Butt. His career is obviously a good few seasons away yet.

In the meantime, the syndicate will continue to ride the crest of the wave with their champion, Take A Moment. "I can't say enough about the respect, admiration and thanks we owe Tim and Anthony, and the rest of the team at their stable. It has been a real joyride, and everybody is just absolutely loving it. You dream about being involved with horses like this."

Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly 16Apr03

INTERDOMINIONS

Annie's Boy heads Alert Motoring & Pic Me Pockets

2003 WESTBURN GRANT INTER-DOMINION PACERS CONSOLATION

Doug McLachlan's eyes filled with tears as his partner Carol greeted him with a hug back at the stables last Friday night. Annie's Boy stood a few feet away, his body covered in sweat from the display he had just treated the Addington fans to. Annie's Boy had run his rivals off their feet in the Inter-Dominion Pacers' Consolation. And, little did he know it, he had almost brought McLachlan to his knees with the emotion surrounding this victory.

Half an hour earlier, McLachlan had geared-up Annie's Boy for what he knew could be the very last time on racenight; not just at Addington, but anywhere. For the little pacer from Myross Bush who is known affectionately as 'Jacko', this was do or die. "If he had gone out there and not raced any good, I was taking him home to retire," McLachlan said. "He had been too great a horse to us. After the road we have been down to get him here, I wasn't going to put him through it again."

Getting Annie's Boy to Addington for the Inter-Dominions has been a nightmare, to say the least, and all the way through McLachlan was ready to pull the pin at the first glimpse of anything untoward. The Soky's Atom pacer's last full campaign had ended back in March last year, and after a spell he resumed at Addington in September. But he broke a pedal bone during the running that night, and McLachlan prepared himself for the worst. "Our New Zealand Cup hopes were gone, and I was convinced that it could be the end of the line for him," he said. "I put him in a paddock for a month, and threw a colt in there with him for a bit of company. One day I looked out there, and he was teaching this colt to race around the paddock. They were tearing around, and Jacko was running into the corners without any signs of discomfort. So I thought I would take another chance, and try him again."

Jogging his pride and joy for eight weeks, McLachlan kept looking for signs but couldn't find any. Addington became a little bit more possible with each week that passed. "I knew we were up against it trying to get him ready for the Inter-Doms, because we just didn't have the races for him down here. First-up he finished third at Forbury Park, and then he muffed the start at Gore so it was just another run. I took him to a workout at Invercargill the very day that the final payment for the Inter-Dominions was due. I drove him myself in the 2200 metre mobile heat and we sat back, then he ran his last half in a tick over 55 seconds. That night, I faxed through a copy of the cheque to Addington and told them it would be in the mail the next day."

Annie's Boy's performances throughout the heats didn't earn him enough points to make the Grand Final, but he was improving all the time nevertheless. Twelfth behind Holmes D G the first night, the 8-year-old was unlucky not to finish closer than fourth on night two and then he did all the work to lead and fill the same placing in the last round. His trainer tried something different at the carnival too, sending Annie's Boy out for a three-lap warm-up an hour before his scheduled event each night. "It helped to get his blood pumping, and it got him fired up a bit," McLachlan said. "We'd had some intimidation from the vets on-course during the series, because on two occasions they had threatened to withdraw the horse because they thought he was lame. We even held up his heat on the first night, when they asked him to pace up and down the home straight before allowing him to start. Jacko's always had a touch of arthritis. He has got a club foot, and that combined with the fact that he has broken both his pedal bones during his career means that he has always going to walk with a limp. I specifically asked my vets to document everything before I came up, for this very reason. I had it all down on paper."

Handing the reins to Clark Barron last Friday night, McLachlan felt like there was no point to be proven. Knowing Annie's Boy would soon show whether he was up to it or not, he asked his driver to "go out there and get us some money." Barron worked Annie's Boy to the front starting the last lap and they never took their foot off the pedal, winning the Consolation in a tenth of a second quicker than the 3:12.6 Baltic Eagle required to win the Grand Final. The final splits compared favourably too...Annie's Boy reeling off his half in 55.8 and quarter in 27.7, as opposed to the Aussie giant's 57.8 and 27 flat.

"It was a great honour to have a horse in the Inter-Dominions, and we were rapt to make the Consolation. To win it, well, I can't put how that feels into words. Since Jacko injured himself again last September, every hour of my time has been devoted to him. It has been a truly magic day, because my foreman Kirstin Green also steered home two winners for us at Invercargill."

During the Inter-Dominion carnival, McLachlan said he received offers for Annie's Boy from both Australian and American parties. But selling him is not even an option. "I have just got so much admiration for the little horse. He's the sort I will give to the grandkids. I just don't know what to do, now. Where he starts next will depend on what races we can get over the next month or so, and then he'll be wintered inside. He will tell me when he is ready to retire. And even when he does I will keep him in light work, because he'll be a great team horse to teach the young ones with. Jacko and I have a great bond. When he was born, he was so weak for the first month of his life that I had to lift him off the ground every day to help him stand. He got pretty used to me. I would be out round the place doing something, but I only had to cough and he would leave his mother in the paddock and run to the fench to see where I was."



Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly 16 Apr03

INTERDOMINIONS

Gold N Gold & Michael Marais

2003 REGENCY TAX & DUTY FREE INTER-DOMINION TROTTERS CONSOLATION

New South Wales horseman Michael Marais finally had something to smile about when he steered Gold N Gold to an emphatic victory in the $25,000 Regency Tax & Duty Free Inter-Dominion Trotters Consolation at Addington.

It had been a frustrating series for the South African-born Marais, who described Gold N Gold's win as "too much, too late" after the gelding's inability to get around in one piece during the heats cost him any chance of earning enough points to line up in the grand Final.

Campaigning a horse in Christchurch was a plan that started months ago; Marais was keen to come over, so he scouted around looking for a horse to buy and found out about Gold N Gold through Ray Jenkins. "We get horses all the time from New Zealand," Marais said. "And your trotters are better. Australia hasn't won an Inter-Dominion Trotter's Final for many, many years. I looked at a few, but didn't even trial Gold N Gold. I had watched videos of his races and once I saw him in the flesh that was it, I wanted him. What I liked about him was his size, and he was well gaited."

Purchased in February after he had had a brief stint with Peter Jones (three starts for two wins), Gold N Gold had also won races from the stables of Graeme Rich (three) and the Mike Berger/ Warren Rich partnership (one)earlier in his career.

Despite just the one victory from five appearances for Marais before being brought back across the Tasman, Gold N Gold was, and still is, highly-rated by his trainer. "It is bitterly dissappointing that Gold N Gold didn't make the Final, because he can definitely run," Marais said. "I still had a handful of horse left at the finish tonight. But I could tell as soon as he got out there and started warming up that he was going to go well, because he felt like a different horse. The track was different - it had less top on it and it was hard, which is what horses are more used to. That was one of the biggest factors relating to his form through the heats."

Marais sold up everything he had and moved to Sydney three years ago, after harness racing in his home town basically became non-existent. Having trained horses all his life and driven them from the age of six, he didn't want to do anything else. Today he has 15 horses in work, and he doesn't pull any punches when it comes to talking about his stable star. "He is the best trotter in Australia," Marais said. "He will race around Sydney, Victoria and South Australia for the next couple of months now, and I think he will keep improving. Next year's Inter-Dominions are in Melbourne, and we'll definitely be there."

Also enjoying Gold N Gold's powerhouse display were Doug and Val Hawkins, who sat and watched his Consolation win from their Takanini home. The couple bred Gold N Gold, and Doug remembers him well. "He was always a horse that had tremendous speed, right from the day I broke him in," he said "But he would be good one day, and then misbehave for a week. He would gallop for no reason at all. It was always going to be a time factor with him."

By Evander's Gold, Gold N Gold is out of the Mister Hillas mare Golden Wings, who Hawkins acquired after she showed a disliking for the pacing gait. "She was bought down south by the vet, Tony Parker, and I broke her in for him," he recalled. "But she couldn't pace a yard, so I tried her trotting and she loved it. Tony didn't want to race a trotter though, so we decided to have a go ourselves." Golden Wings won five races, and from limited opportunities at stud she also left the winners Gold Baron (by Whata Baron, 5 wins, sold to Australia) and Golden Flight (by New York Motoring, Australia).

Gold N Gold was an unqualified 4-year-old at the time Hawkins sold him to his next door neighbour Frank Weaver, the owner of Evander's Gold. "I had decided to get out of the game at that stage," Hawkins recalled. "I had done forty years, and it was time for a change of lifestyle. Gold N Gold was the only horse I had left at the time. Had it been years ago, I might have persevered." Selling their property, where Doug managed a mobile car-tuning business, the couple moved to Takanini and retired.

Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly 16Apr03

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

2003 CHRISTCHURCH CASINO NZ TROTTING DERBY

For Tim Butt, winning the major trotting races isn't as simple as just turning up. It might look that way from the outside, because if you have just started to tune in to harness racing over the last couple of weeks you would have heard Butt's name mentioned a lot. Take A Moment is sweeping all before him at the Inter-Doms, proving beyond doubt that he has filled the massive hole left by Lyell Creek. And last week Butt stamped his name on another trophy when Thedonsson scored an emphatic victory in the $50,000 Christchurch Casino NZ Trotting Derby at Addington.

Taken to the front in the 2600 metre mobile event, Thedonsson pinged along in near record pace and was being eased down a long way from the winning post when Belle Galleon closed the margin to under three lengths. The win itself was easy, but getting Thedonsson to produce his best on racenight was quite the opposite. "That is the hardest Group race I will ever win," Butt said afterwards, summing up what has been a trying time for him and his staff at Premier Stables. "Everything was progressing along nicely when he won the Hambletonian at Ashburton last month, but then for no particular reason he started trotting roughly. He lost his gait, and his confidence. It was frustrating, because at his peak we know he is one of the best 3-year-olds around," Butt said.

The West Melton trainer put his trotter's problems down to muscle soreness and growing pains, which hit home when Thedonsson broke during the running at each of his next two starts. So Butt set about trying to rectify the situation, placing the gelding on the 'extra care and attention' list. Thedonsson had a couple of visits to renowned chiropractor Fred Fletcher, and his back was also massaged by stable employee Sam Smolenski twice a day - firstly after being worked and then again at night when brought in for a brush. "It was a case of getting the soreness out of each part of his body," Butt said. "Then he got a couple of corns in front, and had to be bathed twice a day for that as well. This win has been a great team effort."

Thedonsson has now won three from eight and $50,951, and will head to Auckland on Sunday week to prepare for the NRM Sires' Stakes Trotters Championship (April 24) and PGG Great Northern Trotting Derby (May 2). "He is not going to Australia at this stage," Butt said. "With a horse like him, the costs and stakemoney don't really add up. It is a $15,000 round trip, so he would have to win either the Derby or the Holmfield to break even. To do a trip like that you have to have a horse that is complete, and at this stage he is not. He is slightly immature, and travelling generally causes those little niggly problems to resurface.


Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly 02Apr03

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

2003 NZ TROTTING OAKS

There were some wry smiles after astute Mid-Canterbury trainer Patrick O'Reilly won the inaugural running of the NZ Trotting Oaks at Addington.

O'Reilly is no chum of the stock of Sundon, so it was ironic that a daughter of the great sire gave him such a memorable win in slick time for the 1950m mobile. More have left the stable than stayed, but Without Fear is one who has passed the test. O'Reilly is happy to take it on the chin. "I just can't get on with them. I have tried at least fourteen and they have all been hard work. Raymauwarrhen Sun was a handful and I don't think he will be back. This is one that's had the most brains. You earn your money with them, put it that way," he said.

And this is what Without Fear did for her Ashburton owner Michelle Baird - $9030 for first and a harness plus bonus worth $4000. Baird has a pedigree as good as her horse; her father Jack McDonald who died 19 years ago was a forthright champion of the trotter and raced the tiny Frivolous, the grandam of Without Fear. Frivolous was by Rodney Day who McDonald stood at stud, and Fickle, the daughter of Frivolous and dam of Without Fear, was by Wide Acclaim, who McDonald also stood at stud. Rodney Day did not leave anything of great note, and Frivolous was no exception, but 46 of his 88 foals were winners. His broodmare credits were better, the best of them being Count Me In(6wins), Double Stitch(9), Game Command(14), Gravel Lawn(6), Ironman(8), Karina Lee(6), Roman Guy(7) and Tokyo Bay(6). Wide Acclaim also had modest success as a sire, but Kahuna Pele, the winner of 13, was exceptional.

Fickle was one who might have improved his average. She won a number of workouts until Michelle left her in the care of her husband Allan during a pregnancy. Allan is gently reminded that this was the time when Fickle suffered an injury that prevented her from racing, so her ability has always been open to speculation. Fickle is also the dam of Fear Not and Roy McCloy, two of Wide Acclaim's four broodmare sire credits. Fickle is getting on, now aged 20, and O'Reilly can prepare himself for her next foal, a yearling colt by Sundon. "There was a lot of family history in this win," said Michelle," and I think Dad would have had something to say about it. I'm sure it is Rodney Day who has given this filly the brains," she said.

Without Fear was broken in by Ashburton trainer Dale Forbes, and the Bairds are complimentary of the work he did with her. "Allan did the roadwork with her, and when he got crook we asked Patrick to take her. Back she came with a list of instructions this long," she said.

The Oaks concept was a tribute to the foresight and perseverance by the New Zealand Trotters' Club, headed by Gary Allen and Mike Gourdie. They were pioneers in the establishment of a club by a group of trotting enthusiasts five years ago, and one of their goals was an event that would promote and foster the trotting breed in this country.

Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

2003 NZ STANDARBRED BREEDERS STAKES

After being a gallant pacemaker, Oaxaca Lass fell half a length short of winning the $75,000 NZ Standardbred Breeders Stakes at Addington. She put up a spirited fight, and had it been any other mare than Shortys Girl on he tail, she might well have fought the challenge off.

There had been a moment of brief hope for her supporters at the 250m mark when Shortys Girl almost looked on hold, before setting herself for something extra. And sure enough, 50 metres later Oaxaca Lass was in for it. Shortys Girl powered forward, and such was the purpose of her finish that it was quickly clear which way the cake would be cut. In the end it was decisive, and trainer/driver Allan Beck confirmed how decisive it was by saying the mare could have gone another furlong at the same clip.

On the face of it, Oaxaca Lass deserved to be favourite because she was race fit. Shortys Girl wasn't; she was fresh. Her last start was at the NZ Cup Meeting in late November, where she raced three times in ten days. In the two starts following her third in the Cup behind Gracious Knight and Facta Non Verba, she raced like a horse with the edge off her. Beck was not surprised. "She is bred on the same immediate cross as Stars And Stripes, and both of them seem to race best when they are fresh or first-up. We saw that when Stars And Stripes won the Nobilos in the spring. I worked it with her last year, she won the Wairio Cup in a jog. Then we backed up a week later at Gore and Shania Patron sat parked and beat me. The same thing happened to her at Forbury Park this time last year, in the 4-Year-Old Championship. Admittedly, I didn't drive her that good, but we were beaten by Camero and that was again after racing a week before, at Addington."

Beck was not to be fooled again. To prove it, he had her fresh for the NZ Cup Meeting, where she ran third in the Cup at long odds. And he never gave a thought to racing in the PGG Mares' Prelude, the race Oaxaca Lass won the week before. "I gave her a good trial with Makatai Galahad at home, and they had a good race up the straight and there was only a nose between them. That is all she needed, and I knew she was ready," he said.

Once she settled into the trail behind Oaxaca Lass, where Whanau might have been had she been on her game, Shortys Girl had the best trip of all. Beck could see Oaxaca Lass get softened up a little, by Hot Shoe Shuffle then Swift Mirage, but he was still cautiousas he approached the corner. "From day one, she has always run out. I was waiting for it, and could sense she thought about it. But I was ready. I just waited for her to balance up before sending her," he said.

Shortys Girl won the Breeders' Stakes last year, so joins Blossom Lady as a double winner of the race.

Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 05Feb03

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

Take A Moment ...easily

2003 NUGGETS BAR & CASINO NZ TROTTING FREE-FOR-ALL

Tim Butt hoped that history wouldn't repeat itself at Addington on Show Day.

The West Melton trainer has totally dominated the top trotting events in recent years, thanks to the deeds of firstly Lyell Creek and now Take A Moment, but last week was one occasion when he wished for a different result. Because it was on this day three years ago that the unthinkable happened...Lyell Creek got beaten. Shooting for his 21st consecutive victory at the time, Lyell Creek drew 'the ace' in the Trotting Free-For-All, was crossed at the start, and spent the entire 2600 metres of the event looking anything but comfortable as he chewed steel and wanted to run faster. When finally getting space in the home straight he took too long to wind up, crossing the line in second place and later being relegated to third for breaking short of the post.

Not that Butt wanted to look for them, but there were some ominous signs leading into this year's $50,000 Nuggets Bar & Casino NZ Trotting Free-For-All also...Take A Monent drew the same marble, he is not known for possessing blinding gate speed, and he too was looking to add another 'post' to his picket-fence formline.

And after the mobile pulled away the deja vu continued, with Take A Moment getting beaten to the lead by firstly Frugal Echo and then Superstaragogo, but that is where any similarities to Lyell Creek's performance of three years earlier started and finished. His pilot Anthony Butt was well prepared, and had the champ off the fence before a furlong had passed, tagging onto the back of Young Pointer and then pressing forward to lead starting the last mile.

From there the opposition were never going to beat Take A Moment, and he jogged home to win by five lengths and take his winning streak to 16. "We tried something a bit different today," said the Armbro Invasion gelding's trainer afterwards. "We put the pull-up half blinds on him, to see if it would help him develop a bit of gate speed. We have used them before, off and on, and in Aussie quite a bit. But we might not be able to use them again because the stipes were telling me after the race that they are too hard to police. Butt said that he couldn't ask for much more than his trotter showed last week, and he is very happy leading into the Dominion Handicap when Take A Moment will be trying to win the coveted event for the third consecutive time.

Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly 19Nov03

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

2003 WYATT AND WILSON PRINT SUPERSTARS 4YO CHAMPIONSHIP

With a career formline of 1131214231, Anvilanunoit was not embarrassed by credentials when the field assembled for the $35,000 Wyatt and Wilson Print Superstars at Addington.

Neither were the others, but in his case they were not in the reckoning as the public went for his stablemate Grenfell Robyn who had won his last four and was off 10 metres. Had he had time to look, trainer Dean Taylor would have been bemused by the ratings - Anvilanunoit paying $23 and drifting, and Grenfell Robyn in at $4. But with three in the following race, Taylor didn't have time to point out the Anvilanunoit was dangerously over the odds. He did later. "I have always had a lot of time for this horse, and he is dead even with Grenfell Robyn at home. There is nothing between them, not even the width of a match stick," he said.

The Superstars has always been a nightmare race for the backmarkers, those off 20 metres, and the first three home were all front liners. The speed was set by Craig Thornley with Aveross Seelster, whose tactics to run them ragged were not looking too bright at the 500m. But they worked for master craftsman Peter Jones who settled Anvilanunoit in fourth place, and then behind Elwood J Blues who ran a cracker and finished third. Jones was off before the corner and soon had a winning break.

Anvilanunoit is by Jaguar Spur who was a financial disaster for his owner Graham Beirne and fell short as a sire. In the case of Anvilanunoit, he was probably saved by his dam Armbro Flirt, whose grandam was the fine racemare and New Zealand Oaks placegetter, Armbro Play. He was offered by Studholme Park , whose proprietor Brian West rated him in the top two of their yearlings at the annual PGG sale. Not many were sold on the idea, but Beirne was still good for a punt and Taylor has never been shy in trying his luck with something near the bottom end of the market.

"Graham had just sold an In The Pocket filly for good money, and he wanted one to replace it. I said go and find a cheap Jaguar Spur, but make sure it's out of a decent mare and is a good looker." Taylor admitted that Jaguar Spur had done him a favour. "We had Scottlyn Jag and we sold him for money that was real good for the mortgage," he said. It has also been payback time for Beirne, who bought Jaguar Spur for $375,000 soon after he arrived in New Zealand and after three years sold him to Australian interests for $100,000. "He was a huge disappointment," said Beirne who still has interests in 65 horses.

It didn't take him long to get ahead with Anvilanunoit. He was withdrawn from a race at Addington in June while some new partners joined the partnership. Beirne was offered $80,000 for the horse, but Taylor, keen to keep the horse in the stable, arranged for regular clients Bob and Sam Bradley and Bernie Bevan to take half.

Grenfell Robyn made ground well but late, finishing seventh, two and a half lengths from his stablemate, who finally paid $27.55. Beirne had such a good collect that he left the course thinking Jaguar Spur might not have been so bad, after all.

Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 8Oct03

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

2003 PGG NZ YEARLING SALES SERIES OPEN

Two Christchurch milkies stood quietly in the birdcage during the ceremony following the close finish between Lennon and Born Again Christian in the $200,000 PGG NZ Yearling Sales Series Open.

Without fanfare, they slipped into the nearby bar, made a toast to Lennon, and left with the comforting satisfaction of knowing the major part they played in the win. Don Bates and his racing partner Steve Hammar are small time breeders now operating in the top commercial section of the market. Bates bred Lennon and sold the son of In The Pocket and Penny Lane at the sales for $68,000 to John and Anne Seaton, Tim Vance and Jeanine Browne.

Bates, aged 52, raced his first horse when he was 18, and did it in his mother's name because at that time an owner had to be 21. Hammar has not been in the game 35 years like Bates has, but after 20 years he also has a substantial portfolio. Penny Lane, the dam of Lennon, has since left two fillies, who will not be sold. "One is a Fake Left yearling who is big and will need time," said Bates. "The weanling is by Presidential Ball, and she is identical to Lennon at the same age," he said.

But they will have three colts for next year's sales - a Soky's Atom from Paperback Writer, a Soky's Atom from Jacinta Bret, and an Armbro Operative from Westburn Belle. This year, they sold two colts by Fake Left, one from Westburn Belle for $21,000, and Alright On The Night's for $27,000. As part of the stake payout, Bates and Hammar received a vendor's bonus worth $3500.

While Lennon was amongst the top 2-year-olds this season, his claim to being the best became flakey when he was beaten into seventh behind Midfrew Tailormade the start before but was unlucky. To regain the prestige he had, Lennon had to put up a good fight and this he did. Blair Orange had him on the pace but in the open from the 800m. It was a tough battle from there, but Lennon was up to it.

Stablemate Born Again Christian, who also had some credibility to recover, produced a withering run to give Orange something to think about as they eased up. He missed by a nose, with the roughie V For, by Christian Cullen, finishing well for third. Classy Cullen blew his chances with an early gallop, while stablemate Likmesiah was checked and lost his chance when that occurred.

Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 14May03

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

2003 GARRARD'S SIRES' STAKES FINAL

Barely three years since he last set foot on a racetrack, Christian Cullen has stamped himself as a sire of untapped potential. To most he was the greatest pacer they had ever seen, and few doubted that a successful stud career would follow naturally. Principal owner Ian Dobson was certainly confident in his mind. "I never doubted that he would make it as a sire," Dobson said. "Because he is beautifully bred, and he had everything as a racehorse."

Loyalty aside, in all fairness Christian Cullen still had to prove himself in the breeding barn, because quite a few brilliant racehorses have been flops at stud, failing to pass on the same dominant qualities to their stock. And the first season that a sires' babies step out can be crucial. But when the curtain comes down on the 2002/03 term in 10 weeks time, Christian Cullen can hold his head high because his results are nothing short of phenominal.

With a mere 46 live foals that are now 2-year-olds, Christian Cullen has sired four winners of eight races and nearly $270,000 in stakes. They are not just winners either, with names like Roman Gladiator, Born Again Christian and Likmesiah amongst the mix. The stallion's crowning glory was last Friday night's $135,000 Garrard's Sires' Stakes Final at Addington. Not only was he responsible for almost half the field with 5 of the 13 starters, Christian Cullen also sired the first, second and fourth horses home - and this is despite arguably the best of them and favourite Roman Gladiator performing well below expectations to finish eighth.

Dobson himself part-owned one of the Cullens - Classy Cullen, who tired to 11th after being left out three-wide in the open over the last 1000 metres. Speaking to him afterwards though, you would have thought he owned the winner. "This is a far greater result than I could have ever expected," he enthused. "To have five horses in the Sires' Stakes Final in your first year is unbelievable, especially since I think there has only been about fifteen to twenty that have actually been in work as 2-year-olds. It was pretty much third or fourth- grade mares that he attracted in his first season too. Cullen has only had two Australian-bred starters this year (Fair Dinkum Lombo and Cullombo) and both of them have won as well. It's been a fantastic season."

Over the moon with their son of Christian Cullen is the 62-member Met Two Syndicate, most of whom were on-course last Friday to cheer Likmesiah home and then crowd into the birdcage to start celebrating their victory. Likmesiah was picked out by trainer Mark Purdon from the Premier Sale for $15,000, which was well under the budget of $25,000 that he was 'allowed'to spend. The gelding out of the New York Motoring mare She's Mighty is the only one of the syndicate's three horses to make it to the races thus far, although David and Catherine Butt's Life Sign colt Danger Sign has trialled attractively.

Having handled just the three juveniles by Christian Cullen this season, all of whom won races and made the Sires' Stakes field, Purdon is understandably upbeat about the In The Pocket stallion's stock. "He has had a magic year," Purdon said. "His progeny are just good gaited, and they want to be there. They are a pleasure to work with. It is probably hard to say whether Likmesiah is the best of my 2-year-olds; Lennon has got the best record but he's not a standout. Likmesiah's trackwork has never been great, he seems to be three to five lengths better on racenight though. There is not much between them, and I am looking forward to next year with Born Again Christian because he will be better over more ground. He has got big potential," Purdon said.

Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly 21May03