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FEATURE RACE COMMENT

Dr Hook (inner) holds out Springbank Richard (1)

2011 GLENFERRIE FARM INTER-DOMINION TROTTERS (Heat 1)

Dr Hook was the winner, leading throughout for Jimmy Curtin, Springbank Richard was the best of seconds, and Beat The Monarch was a chirpy third at long odds after trailing.

Raydon, I Can Doosit and the Swedish mare Annicka all ran well enough to expect at least more of the same this week, but not everyone was happy. Chris Lang was back at the drawing board after Sundon's Gift ran well below his best, even taking a tough trip into account. "No matter how you look at it, that was a bad run," he said. Sundon's Gift was parked, and started losing ground before the turn. Lang said the horse should have stayed on better than he did, in spite of the run he had.

Further up, there were good reports, especially from Mark Purdon and Anthony Butt. "I'm very happy with him," said Purdon, of I Can Doosit, who added that Auckland Reactor had resumed work with the intention of racing again soon. "He did a bit of work early, and had the run he needed."

Butt was just as upbeat with Annicka, and expects her to be a formidable threat this week, when trainer Jorgen Westholm will take over. "She got held up on the corner behind Sundon's Gift and wanted to hang a bit when we came out. She found the line well, and she went to the end of the back straight before I could pull her up."

Phil Williamson was a man on more of a mission with Springbank Richard, whose form had been patchy at best and a worry at worst. The race would give him a bead on just wherehis form sat - and it did. From three-deep, Springbank Richard flashed into second, which carried the message Williamson was after. "It was just the run we wanted. He's a very nice horse when he's on his game. If he's as good late on as he was tonight, he's got a real chance in the Final," he said.

Paul Nairn had Dr Hook in grand shape and still expects him to get better. "He has only raced once since the Cup Meeting, and he's always happier racing right-handed," he said. Asked whether three races in a fortnight might be a hurdle for the 5-year-old, Nairn said: "I'm sure he's done it before ... on the Coast, three races in five days. I know he will be a stronger horse in a year or two, but he's fit and there's no point in being here if your not. As far as being good enough, he'll answer that question."

Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 30Mar11

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

Let Me Thru (3) beats Sovereignty (8)

2011 TRACKSIDE CHANNEL - INTER-DOMINION TROTTERS (Heat 2)

An hour or so after Chris Lang was still puzzling over a very off day for Sundon's Gift, stablemate Let Me Thru continued his dazzling form by winning the Second Heat. He has the edge over the opposition at present. He made a winning fist of leading and holding off Sovereignty by a neck, and he won on Auckland Cup night from Sovereignty by a little less than that after sitting parked.

Driver Chris Lang jnr said he was even better coming off a sit. "But he can do it anyway; lead, sit parked, or come off the pace. He doesn't do a thing wrong. We can't find a fault with him," he said. Lang's the one to talk about that. He has won nine straight on the big 5-year-old. His imposing record is 18 wins and three placings from 25 starts. I'm always confident he will run well wherever he is in the running. He could have started racing fiercely tonight after being revved up getting to the lead, so I just let the reins go and he backed off," he said.

Lang has seen enough of Sovereignty to know how hard he is to beat. "He wouldn't want to draw fourteen in the Final and Sovereignty to draw somewhere good on the front."

There was much to like about the run of Stylish Monarch, who was parked early and trailed later, and Master Bomber who came into it with a tidy burst. Stylish Monarch blew heavily after the race. "He'll be one of the big improvers," said driver, Ricky May. "He takes a lot of work, and the more racing he gets, the better he gets." Stylish Monarch has not won on the track from six attempts, but the breakthrough is anytime soon.

Lets Get Serious went for a gallop after 600 metres and Musgrove did the same 600 metres from the finish.

Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 30Mar2011

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

2011 ALABAR INTER-DOMINION PACERS (Heat 1)

Smoken Up had little more than a good blow-out, running the 2700m mobile close on six seconds slower than it took Themightyquinn to beat Washakie in the Second Heat. Once Luke McCarthy parked Mr Feelgood, the others could do little more than sit and hope, and that's what they did.

The sprint home took Smoken Up 55.7 and the quarter 26, which effectively ended the contest. Villagem did hugely well to make ground for third, and Captain Peacock ran out of the pack and made the placing close. Justice left the course thinking how easy it had been. "I was waiting for something to happen, but nothing did. It would have been a pain if Auckland Reactor was in it, and that made it easier."

Justice said he had been particular in his preparation of running the horse the Auckland way. "I've given him lots of training ... the wrong way. I thought nothing would beat him the way he worked before this. Even Themightyquinn would be lucky to come home as quick as we did tonight. He's in the right frame of mind for this - both of us are. What's so special about this horse is that he doesn't know how to not try. Sokyola was the same. They just don't like other horses going past them." Justice has been home and returned. "I flew back to Adelaide on Saturday for my son Robert's wedding, and came back on Sunday."

Lisa Miles, the trainer/driver of Villagem and on her first visit to NZ, was pleased with his third. "He's not as seasoned as some, so he was always going to benefit from the race. From where he was, Lance was never going to hammer the horse."

Monkey King finished in the pack, running on late like most of the others. Ricky May didn't beat about the bushes. "I had my chance to pop out and I didn't. It was a negative drive. I knew I'd made a mistake." Trainer Benny Hill wasn't that concerned. "He's pulled up super - I'm happy."

Brent Mangos finished a place ahead - in fifth, with Franco Jamar. "I've never known a Heat to go so slow," he said.



Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 30Mar2011

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

Themightyquinn (outer) from Washakie(5) and Choise Achiever(1)

2011 SEW EURODRIVE INTER-DOMINION PACERS (Heat 2)

The only difference to the finish in this Heat to the first one was that the Australians ran 1,2 and 4, rather than 1,2 and 3. Choise Achiever was the lone New Zealand placegetter, beaten a half-head for second. The only Australian horse to miss a first three finish was Blacks A Fake, and it so happened that he's probably run best of them all.

With Washakie running on springs in front, and Choise Achiever just as keen in behind, Blacks A Fake ran easily in the open. They were all fodder for Themightyquinn once Gary Hall jnr dropped him to the trail. They sped home in 54.6, which again gave the chasing bunch no show. The first four around the corner held their places.

"My horse was a bit fresh, because I have been easy on him, and Themightyquinn has a brilliant burst," said Luke McCarthy, the driver of Washakie. Choise Achiever looked comfortable with the big step up, running strongly in the trail and anxious to do more. "That's the first time I've used him off the gate, and he made the lead easily," said Anthony Butt.

Given the same run that won him the Auckland Cup, Themightyquinn was in his element. Hall's main occupation after finding the back of Blacks A Fake was choosing the time to set him loose. The slush from the wet track made it difficult. "I had to pull my goggles down on the corner. I couldn't see how much ground we had to make up," he said. "It's good that he's doing it in the wet, because he hasn't been that good in it at home."

Hall said it had been easier for Themightyquinn back in Perth where the opposition did not have the depth that he is facing here. "But the horse is as well as he has ever been. I couldn't be happier. He's coming through these runs so well, because he's not being used up. At home, he's in a walk-in, walk-out box, but here he goes into a paddock at 9 or 10 o'clock, and stays out till 4." Hall does not have to worry about how much grass he eats. "He's not a guts, and has room for lunch. He does manage himself very well, like all good athletes."

But Hall knows the sunny days can turn cloudy at any time. "There are a lot of variables to consider. Smoken Up, Blacks A Fake, the others, all need different trips. The barrier draw will have a lot to do with it," he said.

Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 30Mar2011

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

Raydon(12) wins from Stylish Monarch(8) & Sovereignty(11)

2011 GARRARDS HORSE & HOUND INTER-DOMINION TROTTERS (Heat 3)

There was never much doubt Raydon would again find the form that made him a star at four. He hasn't travelled all that badly in the meantime, but it's still been 15 months since he last won - and that was at Alexandra Park on December 18, 2009.

Following that and before the Rowe Cup a year ago, he hurt a hock that meant a spell of more than three months. He didn't race for nine months. It's been a trail of redemption in the meantime, a trip that co-trainer Barry Purdon knew would eventually have a pleasing outcome. It could be as close as a day or two away. He has emerged from a solid block of form with the ultimate turnaround - a strong win over Stylish Monarch who roared past the tiring Sovereignty inside the last 20 metres.

Raydon had looked sharp in his Heat the week before, and that came after an encouraging third on Auckland Cup night behind Let Me Thru. Purdon was ready for it. "He looked really good twelve months ago, but it's taken him a while to adjust to the new standard," he said. "There's been no pressure on him. We've just taken him quietly. We always felt it would happen, and it has. He has just stepped up a level."

Stylish Monarch made the transition from middle class to upper class without quite the form hiatus that affected Raydon. He has won 15 races, or roughly 40% of his starts, and he rarely finishes out of the money. He has got better with each run at the meeting so far; a third, and a rattling good finish for second after being near last with a lap to run. Again, he recovered as if there was another three or four lengths of benefit to come.

Maurice McKendry said the false start put a keen edge to Sovereignty. "He pulled a wee bit, but I was quite happy with him," he said.

First night winner Dr Hook got back and was buried from the outset, and he ran on without turning heads. "We were there to get some money, but it just didn't turn out our way," said trainer Paul Nairn.



Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HR Weekly 6Apr2011

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

Let Me Thru(13) from Springbank Richard(inner), I Can Doosit(4) & Danny Cash(9)

2011 NEW ZEALAND HERALD INTER-DOMINION TROTTERS (Heat 4)

The kindling stick form of Let Me Thru continued at Alexandra Park last Friday night. But instead of doing it in front, instead of running parked or sitting close with cover, Let Me Thru used blinding speed from the back.

He had one behind him with a lap to run and began the run home giving I Can Doosit an enormous start. Springbank Richard was back with him, but a place or two ahead. They set out after I Can Doosit, who had taken the lead off the tiring Annicka on the corner. "I thought we'd run into third or fourth," said driver Chris Lang jnr. "I didn't even ask him to go. What he did up the straight ... that's the best feeling I've had in harness racing. The more we ask him to do, the more he can do," he said.

Lang, who was fined $250 for not having Let Me Thru on the gate at dispatch, said he felt for Nathan Williamson and Springbank Richard after the horse was sent to the outside for causing a false start and then having to travel wide on the mobile for another lap. "That was tough for him," he said. Lang said he would like to say the draw doesn't matter for the Final, but added that it would play a part.

Williamson knows what it can mean. He went from barrier two to the outside of the gate, which cost him the prospect of a better position. "He was a bit keen on the gate," he said. "Who knows, that might have been better for him. I was held up and it cost me a bit of ground in the straight, but Let Me Thru came from behind me."

I Can Doosit is making pleasing progress at the right time and he's shaping as good as any of the chasing pack. "He didn't have it easy, and hit the wall halfway down the straight," said driver, Mark Purdon.

Danny Cash ran better but Master Bomber didn't and made the Final with a battling sixth. Trainer Gerard O'Reilly said a hoof problem and the change of location had given him one problem and then another.

Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HR Weekly 6Apr2011

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

Themightyquinn(10) swamps Mr Feelgood & Monkey King(9)

2011 NEVELE R INTER-DOMINION PACERS (Heat 3)

If winning came down to looks, Themightyquinn wouldn't win much. Gary Hall jnr smiles at that. "Everone can pick out Blacks A Fake and Mr Feelgood. With this guy, they just walk straight past."

If winning had something to do with presentation, manners and articulation, Gary Hall jnr would be up there with Lance Justice. Both can run up a few good quotes, and driving great horses gives them plenty of practice. They've been doing all the talking in the barn at Alexandra Park so far.

Hall was applauded after his post-race comments immediately after the race last Friday. "It will be a long week," he said. "Dad has come over, but he's said he's only come to watch." That's gone down well. Hall jnr said he was a little concerned coming into the series, saying the pressure of training the horse without his father there "was a bit of a worry. But he is a very easy horse to train, and great for letting you know when he's right."

Themightyquinn has been right for months, but never quite in the zone of fitness and contentment that he's in right now. "I don't have the words to describe how fast he is going here. I do know it's a great asset to have. From where we were, I thought we would be lucky to pick up Monkey King, so his finish did surprise me. I didn't think he could go faster than what he has, but maybe now he is. We think he's better now than what he was for the Auckland Cup, and he could be a better horse for the Final."

While the Perth people went home and slept well, those in the Monkey King camp were tossing and turning. "He's not steering right," said driver Ricky May. "He doesn't feel good on any of the corners, and it's taking too much out of him. I've got to take hold of him too keep him off the markers. "We've got some issues." May said he was well aware of the punch that Themightyquinn brings to the fight. "I know what he can do; I drove him often enough. One time, Monkey King used to have the same speed that Themightyquinn is using now."



Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HR Weekly 6Apr2011

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

2011 MAGNESS BENROW/ PANASONIC INTER-DOMINION PACERS (Heat 4)

There is not a horse to match Smoken Up for brutal, gloves off, pound for pound slugging. Lance Justice decided at Alexandra Park last Friday night that if anyone had forgotten, it was time for a stern reminder. "I thought I'd give a message to the opposition - we're going good."

Smoken Up held out Washakie for the lead. Smiling Shard was put in the hunt, sitting parked for more than a lap and Blacks A Fake dropped back but again looked on target with another bold finish. Justice opened the throttle before the 500m and Smoken Up broke away and soon cleared out.

"He's got Sunday and Monday off, that's why I gave him this," said Justice. "He needed a good hit out. I'll have to change the bearings on the cart - they were 'smoken'. I've never had him going better. I don't think Themightyquinn could do that, going that speed, but I wouldn't like him within two or three lengths of me, so it will come down to the draw," he said. Justice said it would make people "take a breath and think what he can do".

Justice recalled that he always wanted a horse by Tinted Cloud ... "I don't know why. I looked at a few and then saw a tape of this one. I told the guys that if they wanted him, don't make an offer, pay what they want. I'd only had him three weeks when I told Adam (Hamilton) I had something special ... a horse who could be very good. The same people had Smooth Crusa, and it was soon Smooth who? But he's always had a bad hitch that I've trained him out of; but even tonight, when he got a bit crowded, you can feel it."

Smiling Shard had to front up and he did, though the Australian mountain has doubled in size with six making the cut. "He went huge," said driver Dexter Dunn. "We were all done at the quarter, but I'm rapt in the way he's kept at it. We'll need a good draw and a decent run - that's our only chance because the Australian horses are that good."

Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 6Apr2011

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

2011 SKYCITY INTER-DOMINION PACING GRAND FINAL

The $800,000 Skycity Inter-Dominion Pacing Grand Final was a clinical triumph for the powerful Australian contingent. Had it not been for the courageous effort of nuggetty little Smiling Shard, it would have been a first four finish. The best endeavours of the Kiwi team could not match the grinding pressure that is the Australian calling card. In the end, it was not even close, even amongst the visitors.

Smoken Up was never really put to the test by Themightyquinn and won by three-quarters of a length. In the same manner Themightyquinn was unchallenged for second, but Blacks A Fake was in a squeeze for third, and only got there by a neck from Smiling Shard. Mr Feelgood was a luckless fifth and a good margin ahead of the second bunch.

Natalie Rasmussen pretty much determined the pattern of the race, sending Blacks A Fake on a fast move out of the gate. Luke McCarthy, who had moved Mr Feelgood on the first lap to sit parked, expected her to stay there, so he'd be covered when Lance Justice came up with Smoken Up. Much to McCarthy's alarm, Rasmussen let Justice go by. "She said she was going to hold up." McCarthy was disgruntled. "He's no sitter. I should have gone on myself," he said.

Having Blacks A Fake and Mr Feelgood where he wanted them, and knowing Themightyquinn had not travelled up, Justice didn't have much on his mind. "I drove him a bit quiet early, used a bit of patience," he said. "I knew I had a bit of grunt left in the straight. I was waiting and holding him. I saw Themightyquinn run out of steam alongside me. He got to my girth and then I knew I had it."

Justice said winning races at this level was the pinnacle of being a trainer. "The horse came into this series with only one race in two months, so his fitness was always going to get better. He can race the way he does because of the way in which I manage him between them. But he doesn't get beaten in a dog-fight. He'll be dead on his feet and keep trying. There was no need for that this time."

There has barely been a bump in his career since Canterbury standardbred agent Paul Davies arranged the sale for $60,000 after sending Justice a video of the horse. "He had a paddock accident once when he tore a muscle in his back and missed the Miracle Mile. That's been it."

An 8-year-old by the In The Pocket horse Tinted Cloud, Smoken Up is very much a one-man horse. "He's always a pleasure to work," said Justice. "I've got to be pretty crook or away somewhere if I don't work him every day. If they're good enough to take away you should go with them. I always like to make sure they're happy. He's called 'Trigger', after the horse Roy Rogers had. When I call him, he comes. And I think he must hold some sort of record for the number of apples he eats."

The key players in the ownership are Alex Kay and Peter Gadsby, who race Smoken Up with Kay's son Ryan, Danny Locastro, Vince MacDonald, Michael Van Rens and Allan Bonney. They won over $400,000 with Smooth Crusa, who was trained for them by Paul Fitzpatrick, and then engaged Justice after being impressed with his management of the ageless star, Sokyola.

Having top horses is nothing new for Kay and Gadsby, Kay having a share in the big West Australian winner The Falcon Strike, and Gadsby with Miracle Mile winner and $1.2 million earner, Double Identity.

Smoken Up has long since topped their commendable earnings, having now won 47 races and more than $2,6m.

Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 13Apr2011

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

2011 KAHDON 4YO TROTTERS CHAMPIONSHIP

For practical reasons, Gay McClymont chose to watch her race at Addington on Saturday from the rooftop of the new stabling area. It was certainly an occasion for the Gore trainer, being the first time a horse in her colours had started at Christchurch Headquarters, but on the tote her trotter Larix wasn't given much of a show and McClymont wasn't about to argue. "I knew we weren't going to be needed in the birdcage after the race, so I thought we may as well watch from a spot closer to where she'd be coming back in," McClymont said.

From her head-on vantage point McClymont could see Larix had put herself in the finish, but it wasn't until a few moments later when course commentator Mark McNamara confirmed it that the reality sank in. "That was a huge thrill," she said. "You take a win wherever you can get it but to win one at Addington is certainly a buzz."

McClymont and her husband Nick didn't have much time to celebrate their victory in the $25,000 Group 3 Kahdon Four-Year-Old Trotters Championship, because as soon as they were finished in the swabbing box they loaded Larix onto the float and began the journey home. "It doesn't take long to come back to earth when you've got a farm," she said. "We've got hay on the ground, and we've managed to get some of it in but there's still half a paddock to do. It's rained a lot down there lately, and every time the hay starts to dry out enough it'll pour again; it's very frustrating."

The McClymonts live in Gore and own a 200 acre sheep farm at Whiterig about three kilometres away. At peak there's up to 900 ewes and 200 hoggets to manage, but as Nick is a full-time tanker driver for Fonterra, Gay does most of the work herself. "I've always said that the farm has to come first and the horses second, because the farm is what pays the bills," she said. "Things have had to change a little bit this season though." That's because Larix has really put McClymont on the map during 2010/11, winning four of her 10 outings. She's been a 'hit or miss' type of trotter ever since her career began last March though, evidenced by her record of six victories from 16 starts in total but not a single placing amongst them.

McClymont and her mum Rae Given bred Larix themselves. The 4-year-old Safely Kept mare is out of Tamarix, who they also bred, and McClymont trained her in the last four of her five victories. "Brendon McLellan helped me with Tamarix early on," she recalled. "And she actually started out as a great pacer - running a quarter in twenty-six at the Gore workouts one day; we thought we had an Oaks filly. But she never tried an inch once she got to the races, so in frustration I stopped in the middle of training one day and threw the hopples away. She had a few issues and took a bit to get organised, and at one stage when we were busy with lambing I gave her to Brendon."

Tamarix ironically won her first race while boarding at McLellan's, and the same thing happened with Larix too. McClymont broke her wrist badly in a shearing accident and was in plaster for a year, so her good friends Geoff and Judy Knight took Larix into their care and she qualified and won her first two races from the couple's stable. "I don't think Geoff was too happy about giving her back in the end," she smiled. "She was lovely to break in and is lovely to work with, but she's got her funny wee ways too. She just got into her head that she couldn't get round corners. When she's good she's very very good, but when she's bad she's horrid. And once she gallops she's usually history. I mean, she's had sixteen starts but you couldn't say she's had sixteen races. I do very little on the track with her now. Our farm's a very rolling property, so for work she goes up hill and down dale. One day she might see a rabbit, and the next it'll be a duck. I just take her around the sheep and stop at all the gates as we go through them, and she's not near as silly as she used to be."

Another component in the equation is Larix's driver Nathan Williamson. "He's fantastic with her," she says. "I wouldn't have a horse if it wasn't for Nathan, because he's looked after her beautifully and taught her all the way through. She knows him really well, and seems to relax for him. He's had big wraps on her right from the dayhe drove her in qualifying, too."

So did Larix's trainer get any of the $50 dividend on Saturday? "I actually don't bet. I've always maintained that if I put money on a horse it'd be the quickest way to stop it. You might wonder 'what if' when they pay what she did, but you don't regret it when you see them gallop away."

McClymont's career tally is now sitting one short of double figures. Larix has won four for her since October last year; Tamarix recorded the same amount of victories between early 2001 and March 2002, and for her first training win you have to go back to March 1995 when Saperfluous scored at a hometown meeting in Gore. All of her wins have been trotters, but that's just coincidental. She did actually win a pacing race with Luigi in 1999, but "they took it off me for him moving one cart width out down the straight, and I'm still sour about it to this day".

McClymont bought the farm at Whiterig off her parents, and her mother still lives there. Of course it's famous for sending forth a great pacer in years gone by as well, because McClymont's late father Lionel Given co-bred, co-owned and trained none other than Sapling. "we soon got used to travelling up and down the country with a horse like him," McClymont remembered fondly. "It was Dad's partner (in Sapling) George Cruickshank that actually got me started in the eighties when he gave me a share in the broodmare Spruce, who was a half-sister to Sapling."

One of the best horses McClymont ever bred was Spruce's Double Century gelding Try A Fluke, who was sold to Australia after a couple of starts and ended up winning a Hunter Cup. With the 'highs' has come the 'lows' too though, because both Larix's half-sisters were lost within two weeks of each other to colic and twisted bowels in 2007. "The next one out of Tamarix is a 2-year-old Sundon, who was born on my son Graham and his wife Vicky's wedding day so I gave them a half-share in him as a present. He's the first colt I've bred since Dad died in 2004, so I've named him Given. She foaled a Sundon colt on Christmas night, and has gone to Monarchy."

In addition to being a farmer, and affectionately calling herself "a hick from the sticks" who trains a horse of two, McClymont is on the committee of her local club and was even President for a three-year term at the turn of the century when Gore celebrated it's centenary.

Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly 9Feb2011