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RACING HISTORY

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

2003 GIANNIS PITA BREAD CANTERBURY PARK TROTTING CUP

What a fine trainer of a trotter Paul Nairn is. And what better way to show it than run first and second in the Giannis Pita Bread Canterbury Park Trotting Cup, and judge the finish with such precision. Only a dead-heat between Call You Later and Bristle could have been closer.

Less than a week earlier, Nairn had won fresh-up at Motukarara on the grass with both of them. He was a little worried with the jump in class facing Bristle, but the stallion gave Nairn cause to forget them with his work during the week. "If anything, he has been working better than Call You Later," he said.

Nairn trained Call Me Now, the sire of Call You Later, to win the Cup. David Butt drove the horse when Nairn went through a stage when he wasn't driving much at all. "I started off driving Stan Boy and Wave Goodbye, but then I stopped for a while. If you train them, I think you should drive them when you can, but there is also a time when maybe you should step down," he said.

Like many stables, Nairn is well served by enthusiasts, in his case by his father Graham who makes the morning tea and Peter Willman who does everthing else. "Pete's been coming out for almost ten years. He is a wharfie and arrives at 6:45am every day; he drives the galloping pacemaker, does the yards, and fixes the gear. If it wasn't for people like that, who love horses and racing, it just wouldn't be so good," he said.



Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 8Oct03

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

2003 PGG NZ YEARLING SALES 3YO TROT

Just Incredible jogged to "his race" in national record time in the $60,000 PGG NZ Yearling Sales 3yo Trot at Addington, but not without his moments. "I said to (Syndicate Manager) Mike Gourdie that this was 'his race' right at the start of the season," said trainer Michael House.

But six weeks ago, Just Incredible went awful in the Hambletonian and House was thinking "this can't be happening now" after everything had been going so perfectly. Just Incredible had been troubled by a cough and House had been at a loss to find someone with a cough mixture, before one day, out of the blue, vet Cliff McGrouther "made up a syrup which turned him around in a week."

Things fell into place nicely then, despite Just Incredible drawing awkwardly behind a number of inexperienced, uninformed and erratic competitors, who did conspire to provide a false start. Last early apart from more breakers was the place to be when Sundon filly Kristalvagen tore through the opening quarter, at which point Colin De Filippi merely had to plot a safe passage. This was as simple as circumnavigating the field as Just Incredible, despite sitting parked over the last lap, was under no sufference at all at the finish, shaving two tenths of a second off Aramid's week old record.

To underline the improving quality of young trotters these days, each of Just Incredible's four races this season have been won in record time. These have been Glenbogle's 2:28.7 (1950m), Thedonsson's unratified 1:58.7 (1609m) and Aramid's 2:27.6 (1950m) prior to Just Incredible. All of which bodes well for an exciting and keenly-fought Trotting Derby this week.

The result of the Sales race though was an outstanding success for the large Trotting NZ Syndicate, which also races Castleton's Mission, and the game in general. The syndicate and another one since with a slightly different mix were the brainchild of Gourdie and House, and given the success to date the enthusiasm from all concerned is hardly surprising. Castleton's Mission and 2-year-old winner Evening Dash were bought in the first year at the sales for $9000 and $12,000 respectively.

The first attempt at a sales race didn't quite go according to plan when Castleton's Mission went from being nine lengths in front and bolting in the run home, to having a go at pacing, but inspired by the success of these Sundon colts, they were back for another one two years later. Their first choice was Sundotcom, but Sir Roy McKenzie went to $18,000 to secure him. But House did like another one later in the day, a colt from Princess Della. "Mike said to me,'but he is such a big colt he won't go early, and he doesn't fit our criteria'," recalls House. "I said yes he does, he is out of a Group-placed mare, and just look at the head on him."

Gourdie was concerned about the fact that Princess Della was by pacing sire Last Lord, and the only known mare by him in production, and wasn't fussed about the name - Incredible Hulk - either. The criteria was that the colts have to be from Group-performed mares or producers. And so Incredible Hulk was acquired for $10,000, and then there was just the simple matter of a name change.

Credit: Frank Marrion writing in HRWeekly 26Mar03

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2003 PGG YEARLING SALES SERIES 3YO FILLIES FINAL

Peter Revill felt a gentle nudge in the side of his ribs as he thumbed through the pages of his PGG catalogue. It was a beautiful sunny day back in March 2001, and Peter and his wife Wendy had stopped off at Yarndley Farms during an inspection tour to watch a parade of yearlings. They were shopping for a horse, and stood like two wide-eyed kids in front of a toy shop window.

"Oohh, I like that one," Wendy murmured to her husband, pointing to a striking individual with a rich, reddy-brown coat. Looking up to catch the horses lot number, 132, Peter turned to the corresponding page in his book and realised that by coincidence he had already marked it. This horse buying business was all new to the couple, and there were guidelines to follow; whatever they bought had to be a filly, because they were looking for a broodmare first and foremost, and she had to be by Soky's Atom, that was Peter's wish. Lot 132 was both, and got a big tick placed next to her name. Wendy noted that the filly was also called Classical, which was exactly the sort of studies she was doing at the time, so that was enough for her.

The Revills kept their options open though, and came Sale Day the choices had been norrowed down to three...Fantasy Star, Classical and Listen To The Rhythm. And of course there was also the budget to consider. The first on the list was going under the hammer in Christchurch, so Peter flew down from the North Island specifically. But he returned home empty-handed, having been one of the last to shake his head at $26,000. Off to Karaka the next day, and Geoff Small did the bidding on behalf of the Revills, securing Classical $20,000; within half an hour, someone else paid $80,000 for Listen To The Rhythm.

History now shows that the couple couldn't have made a better choice. Fantasy Star was renamed Personality Plus and has won three races and $30,528 to date; Listen To The Rhythm has saluted the judge just as many times for $47,823 in stakes, and Classical's record stands at four victories and $247,565.

The most recent of those wins came at Addington last Friday night, when Classical beat the other two fillies and eight others in a powerhouse display in the PGG Yearling Sale Series Fillies Final. It was the 3-year-old's first victory this season, and ended a frustrating couple of months for trainer Geoff Small. "That's an understatment," agreed the Patumahoe horseman, sighing with relief. "It has been a pretty soul-searching experience. She didn't have one main problem, just lots of little ones. And there wasn't anything we could pinpoint - nothing we could actually fix. It was worse than having a bad horse in the stable - at least you know that they can't perform any better."

Small says the decision to bring Classical to Christchurch wasn't made until after a workout on February 1, and even he wasn't completely convinced. "But Peter said to go for it," he cotinued. "She had a messy week, what with a couple of days travelling and then a trial at Rangiora on the Friday where she ran second to Mister D G. But I wasn't real happy with her; it wasn't a workout that I thought would be good enough to win the Final." The tide turned last Monday though, when Small put the half blinds on Classical and gave her a private run at Addington. "She worked super, coming her last quarter in twenty-six seconds flat.

Wearing the new gear again at Addington last Friday, driver Maurice McKendry felt that she was the Classical of old, saying that when he asked her to sprint to the lead she accelerated so fast that she "dug holes in the track." Small is not convinced that they are out of the woods just yet though, and for that reason he has only planned as far ahead as next week's Nevele R Fillies Heat.

But for the Revills, who leased a racing share in Classical to their friends Owen Whyte, Mike Ringrose and Dean Biddlecombe, they are back on cloud nine once again. Peter, 60, is a retired bank manager, and Wendy, 49, calls herself "a compulsive student." She recently completed a bachelor's degree in psychology, and has started on her next assignment, a diploma in classical studies. "That is my passion," she said. Peter has been back at the sales this week, and this time he was looking for a colt.

Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly 19Feb03

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

2003 PGG PREMIUM MARES'CHAMPIONSHIP

Oaxaca Lass raised interest in her Inter-Dominion nomination by winning the Group 2 PGG Premium Mares' Championship Pace. She did it brilliantly, making a wide run on the corner after going back at the start from her outside front-line draw.

This is pretty much as good as it gets among the mares, and Oaxaca Lass can make a strong claim for favouritism in much the same company for the Group 1 Standardbred Breeders' Stakes this Friday night. As good as she was last week, owner Graham Pearson and trainer Neil Hamilton expect her to be up a notch for it. "She needs racing to top her off," said Pearson. "She tends to be a bit thick-winded like a lot of Holmes Hanovers, and I am hoping she will improve a bit more for her race this week," he said.

Along with Hot Shoe Shuffle, Shortys Girl and Lombo Rapida, Oaxaca Lass is one of only four mares among the 55 entries for the Inter-Dominion series. And unless something happens that Pearson is unprepared for, Oaxaca Lass will be a certain starter. "I am resonably keen to do so, though Neil is not so fussed," said Pearson. I almost thought twice about it after her Blenheim run, moreso when it cost $550 for the first nomination. That is hefty and makes you think twice. Paying something like $200 would have got more in for a start, I would have thought, but I'm certainly pleased we have paid up now, and four races won't worry her. It suited her when we raced in Australia last season, so we know she can handle it," he said.

Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 29Jan03

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

Jack Cade (Mark Purdon) winning the NZFFA

2003 LINDAUER NZ FREE-FOR-All

The Free-For-All always loomed as a two-horse war and a battle of tactics, and it delivered, apart from the small matter of Jagged Account splitting Jack Cade and Elsu after making his own luck at the start to trail.

Jack Cade has always been seen in his best light when allowed to bowl along, as opposed to the sprint home which developed in the Cup, and Purdon made sure he was going to be able to dictate terms by wresting the lead through the swift first quarter as Elsu worked around three-wide with the live cover of Sly Flyin to face a stiff breeze from the 1400m.

After a brief respite in the pace, David Butcher and Elsu turned up the heat, but Jack Cade came home in two quarters of 28.1 to complete the 2000m in a 1:56.6 mile rate to win comfortably in the end. This was well outside the record 1:54.9 speed that it took Yulestar to catch Young Rufus last year, but it was ample consolation after only getting wound up when it was all over in the Cup.

Elsu was two lengths away shading an equally game Sly Flyin; All Hart again performed with credit for fifth and Gracious Knight showed something like his best form by beating the rest in. These included a luckless Young Rufus, who was squeezed and galloped after 400m, and Annie's Boy, who was retired after finishing last.

Credit: Frank Marrion writing in NZHR Weekly

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

Elsu wins the Derby from Light And Sound

2003 GEORGE CALVERT CLEANING NZ DERBY

Welcome back, Falcon Seelster. And what better way to acknowledge his return than the success of Elsu in the $100,000 George Calvert Cleaning New Zealand Derby.

The winner of the Sales Series Pace for 3-year-olds last November was back on the same platform after he called the shots over the last lap to beat Light And Sound. At one stage, brief though it may have been, Light And Sound appeared as if he would rally and take the challenge further. And had the race been a month and another race or so later, this may well have been the case. But this is little more than speculation because Elsu was superior on the night, and David Butcher was tactician supreme. He controlled the pace and wasn't worried he had Light And Sound on his back. "The draw was a big thing, but the race pretty much fell together. Considering the racing he's done, Light And Sound has done a huge job," said Butcher. He put trainer Geoff Small in the same category. "Geoff has done a super job. When Elsu came back in after his break, he only trialled fair, but Geoff has got him back to this level,"he said.

Butcher himself was lucky to be his partner. He got "both barrels" from a youngster earlier in the week, and feared he had broken his left leg. He was relieved of such anxieties by his doctor, and has since laboured on in some discomfort and pain.

Small had his own concerns as he tightened Elsu up for the Derby. "He became muscle-sore after he came back in after racing at Auckland. I could see how it happened. He did the damage skidding up to the fences before I brought him back in, and he was sore over the back. Clare McGowan has done a wonderful job using the machines on him, and Dave McGowan has carried on with the massage since we've been down in Christchurch." he said.

It is possible Elsu will campaign next in Australia, with the preludes for the New South Wales Derby on May 9 in mind for him.

Many of the owners of Elsu were on-course to enjoy the occasion, none more so than Joyce Walters, Geoff's aunty, who originally bought him as a yearling for $32,000 and now owns half of him. The rest is owned by the Double Up Syndicate, of eight sharholders, the estate of Dave Hudson and Pat Small, Geoff's mother. "I was a bit hesitant for a start, knowing there'd be eight or nine other people involved who I didn't know. But it's been brilliant. We've all had so much fun,I'd do it again," she said

Credit: Mike Grainger writing in NZHR Weekly

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

Pullover Brown & Anthony Butt

2003 WAYNE FRANCIS MEMORIAL NZ OAKS

The 2003 Wayne Francis Memorial NZ Oaks will be remembered for more reasons than the win by Pullover Brown. Foremost will be the dramatic failure of the hot favourite Champagne Princess. Next will be the astonishingly quick time Pullover Brown took to win the race; her 3:11.8 clipping more than a second off the New Zealand record of 3:13 held by Elect To Live.

Add to that the fact Geoff Small had four of the 14 starters in the race; Alta Serena was relegated from third for causing interference to Unrehearsed and Lady Toddy; Anthony Butt continued to bag May's biggies, and Mayor Heather set the race alight when driver Jo Herbert refused the chance of a trail behind Champagne Princess. This was where the race director gave up and left the players to run it themselves.

Jack Smolenski had worked Champagne Princess smoothly through the pack, and after 600 metres only Mayor Heather stood between a hard run in the open and a controlling one in front. As to be expected, Smolenski pressed on. But he was soon surprised, then alarmed, to find that Herbert was not thinking the way Smolenski thought she should have. When he got to the mile peg, after running hard for 400 metres, Smolenski took hold of Champagne Princess, giving the impression of dropping into the trail while there was still time to do so. But this was not an option Smolenski considered. "I didn't know much about the other horse, except it was trained somewhere in the North Island, and I didn't want to run the risk of getting in there," he said. Champagne Princess sat parked, where she pulled hard.

Butt was head of the chasing pack, and he settled Pullover Brown behind Mayor Heather until moving off the marker line at the 500 metres. Champagne Princess was disappearing quicker than a dropped stone on the corner, where Alta Serena was causing trouble to Unrehearsed and consequent interference to one or two others. Mayor Heather also left the stage pretty quickly in the straight, and that's where Pullover Brown pulled away to win by more than two lengths.

While it was all going Pullover Brown's way, the running of the race was not entirely favourable to her stablemate Classical. Going the speed they were meant late gaps and spaces for the back runners, and Classical and Coburg both came generously into the finish in this manner. Classical was four-deep on the markers, and cut a healthy chunk out of Pullover Brown's margin inside the final 200 metres.

Pullover Brown is raced by a syndicate of five headed by Chris McLeod, who had not been to Addington before, nor Chrischurch for that matter. With a group of friends, he leased Dinavinetto from Steve and Anne Phillips, and raced her for a win and six placings from 43 starts out of the Shane Hayes stable. She was then returned to the Phillips for breeding, who put her in foal to Armbro Operative. "I was actually quite taken with Dinavinetto, and then I spotted a weanling filly by Armbro Operative being offered at an all age sale up here," said Mcleod. "We bought her for $2,500. We didn't have a trainer for her, but I had my eye on Geoff Small because I knew he was so good with young horses. I just phoned him, but he didn't know me," he said.

Anne had originally bought Dinavinetto, by Fitch II from the Mercedes mare Precious Dina, at Ted Hooper's Dispersal Sale, and they still have her but perhaps not for long. "We have an Iraklis filly and one by D M Dilinger from the mare, so we have the breed. We have offered Dinavinetto, in foal to Armbro Operative, to the syndicate, so she's there if they want her," she said. Phillips was in Christchurch for the week, caring for her father Des Grice who has been in ill-health, and extended her stay when Pullover Brown made the field for the Oaks.

Along with Operation Dynamite and Armbro Innocence, Pullover Brown has carried the banner for Armbro Operative, which is good news for buyers who were able to buy his stock at deflated prices at the recent PGG yearling sales.

Small, who has made a meal of winning big races at Addington over the last 12 months - with Elsu and Classical - said that he believed that the Armbro Operatives had a preference to sitting on the pace. "Most of the Armbro Operatives I've seen seem to like it that way," he said.


Credit: Mike Grainger writing in NZHR Weekly

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

Meredith Wilson presents the trophy to Bruce Greenhalgh

2003 SOUTHERN TRUST DOMINION TROTTING HANDICAP

Using his relentless, grinding power, Take A Moment became the first horse to win three successive Dominion Handicaps. He won the Southern Trust sponsored edition with ease from the vastly under-rated Last Link, and the hugely inexperienced Allegro Agitato who was racing in this grade for the first time.

In this win, his 17th in succession, he set an entires and geldings record for trotters over 3200m of 4:05.5, which was .2sec inside that held by Call Me Now. He also topped $1 million in stakes, joining his stablemate Lyell Creek in that league.

The great horse is raced by the Long Drive Syndicate, managed by Bruce Greenhalgh who said at the presentation: "We are so proud of him. He is a fantastic horse to watch. We love to hear a good horse clapped back to the enclosure. To crack a million is an absolute miracle, and so is Tim's feat to train five Dominion winners in a row and Anthony to drive them. To be honest, Tim could win the race again next year."

While Anthony had a night to remember, with three successive wins, Tim Butt's carnival did not spark until the final night and it needed Take A Moment to save it. The first casualty was the promising young trotter Genius, who missed the meeting with a deep-seated stone bruise and won't race again until the autumn. Lyell Creek's resumption was put on hold while he continued to adjust to southern hemispgere conditions, and Pocket Me was retired after almost pulling off the Junior Free-For-All on Cup Day. "He was fine until a week before the race, then got a bit sore when the pressure went on," said Tim. Then Thedonsson had a minor problem and failed to get a start last week after two unplaced runs over Cup Week.

He was in safe hands relying on Take A Moment to carry
the flag - a bit like England depending on Jonny Wilkinson to kick them out of a tight spot. It never got to that. Once Take A Moment began well and slid through the field to sit for a time in the middle of the pack, the signs were always ominous. Anthony got him cracking and into the lead after passing the 1600m, and he didn't see much of the others from then on. Tim says Take A Moment has never had a sick day, and even now is stronger than he was last season. "I always thought that would happen. With that French blood, it is a late developing breed," he said.

Soon, they will be on the road again. On December 1, Butt will fly to Australia with Take A Moment, new stablemate Mister D G, Strange Town and All Talk. Mister D G will race in the Cranbourne Cup on December 8. He will be a force to reckon with, even in the best company, going by his outstanding run to worry Young Rufus out of first in the main free-for-all last Friday night. After racing at Auckland over Christmas, Take A Moment will head to Europe for a race in Germany in mid-April, Naples on May 2, then the Elitlopp. All up, Take A Moment will be away for three and a half months. Butt thinks the ability to acclimatise is crucial, and with that in mind he is booked to leave for his Italian base in early March. "The good thing with Take A Moment is that he doesn't need the work that Lyell needed. He can miss a couple of days without it affecting him - a couple of runs and he's back to where he was," he said. "The syndicate got together over lunch on Saturday to go over it all. They're looking forward to what should be a trip of a lifetime," he said.

The smooth highway of success for Take A Moment and the retirement of Sundowner Bay made Butt recall a game of golf he played some years ago, when the talk turned to buying a horse for the Inter-Dominions. Lyell Creek was only C2 at the time, so we tried to buy Sundowner Bay but they weren't interested," he said. Much later, they bought a son of Armbro Invasion who packed a long drive and sunk huge putts.

Credit: Mike Grainger writing in NZHR Weekly

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

The successful training and driving team

2003 CANTERBURY DRAUGHT CENTENNIAL NZ TROTTING CUP

On Tuesday, Robert Mitchell carried the cup he should have held in 1975. Just An Excuse brought the Canterbury Draught Centennial New Zealand Trotting Cup to him with the stamp of the new enforcer.
Had he been a truly confident man, rather than the restrained man that he is, Mitchell could well have began his trip to the presentation area after 600 metres of the race, because Just An Excuse had the lead from that far out, and a position of power.
He didn’t, of course, but the nail was in the coffin for many of them at that point – and Mitchell probably knew it. If he had anything to worry about, it was the start. But Just An Excuse made a flier and was on the journey quicker than most of them.
“He was the last to come up and stepped away third,” said winning driver, Todd Mitchell. “There was plenty of room outside Elsu, and Mark Purdon (driving Jack Cade) didn’t make it too hard for us to get past him,” he said.
Besides Jack Cade, Falcon Rise, Jagged Account and Elsu all slipped into good positions. Elsu moved again near the 1800m when Young Rufus rolled forward, and the next move came from Anthony Butt, near the 1300m, with Cool Hand Luke, and the last of any note came from Mister D G.
None of them were serious enough to force Todd to click the pacemaker up, and he must have had “this is for you, Dad”, well in his thoughts as he cruised past the 600m and then put the foot down. Cool Hand Luke did his best to level, and may have done so for a few strides.
Elsu then emerged, wider out, on a better run, and Jack Cade gradually closed along the marker line. But as gallant as they were, Just An Excuse always had them covered, and appeared to win with more authority than a long neck, which is how close Elsu got.
There was a moment of panic at the end when the siren went, which coincided by a visit to the stewards’ room by Purdon. It concerned some movement by Just An Excuse into the passing lane, but nothing came of it, and the occasion never lost stride.
There could also have been a slight panic at the start, when a streaker took off down Queen’s Drive, in front of the main stand. His timing was awful because starter Jack Mulcay had them almost in line. Racing Secretary Tony Lye was aware of some mischief, but not knowing what it was, suggested that Mulcay should hold them while it was sorted out. As it happened, it was over in a flash, and the field was sent away.
Purdon said Jack Cade had worked a bit to get the lead early, from Falcon Rise, and then he had the task of running past the pacemaker on a 26 final quarter. “Just An Excuse may have come in a little, but he came straight back out,” he said. Todd admitted that he was surprised to find the lead, certainly as soon as he did.
“I didn’t think we’d settle handy, and it was at the back of my mind to let something go,” he said. Just An Excuse, a first-season son of Nevele R stallion Live Or Die, is raced by Ollie and Irene Haines who bred him from their Smooth Fella mare, My Excuse.
Todd recalled that he did the Haines' a favour when the horse was a late 3-year-old. “Andrew Neal came up and said he was interested in buying him. I said he taps a knee a bit, and it didn’t go any further. It’s the best advice I’ve ever given.”
Todd has now driven in the New Zealand Cup five times for three wins – the others were Homin Hosed and Gracious Knight – and a second. The race took 4.05.7 which was predictably slow once the favourites had control. “Once that happened it was all over for us,” said Peter Ferguson, the driver of Falcon Rise.
“He needed the pace on from the start, and it didn’t go like that.” Was anyone unlucky? Not that we could see, but Sly Flyin did get home well from five-deep on the fence at the 600m, and Jagged Account also ran home smartly.


Credit: Mike Grainger writing in the HR Weekly

THE CUP CARNIVAL
The training partnership of Mike Berger and Warren Rich produced Gracious Knight and Facta Non Verba to run the first stable Quinella (1st & 2nd)in the history of the Cup.
In addition, both horses were sired by the former champion juvenile Tuapeka Knight.

In the NZ Free-For-All on Show Day Yulestar driven by Peter (PN) Jones registered a stunning performance to win from the previous year's winner Young Rufus and Stars And Stripes. Yulestar's time for the mobile 2000 metres of 2:22.9 (Mile Rate of 1:54.9) broke Armalight's world record of 2:23.9 which had stood for 21 years.

Earlier on Show Day Take A Moment won the Trotters Free-For-All

Credit: The Cup: Bernie Wood