 | RACING HISTORY |
YEAR: 2005
FEATURE RACE COMMENT
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| Tom (left) & Ossie Hickman with the Derby Trophy |
Tozzie is raced by 77-year-old Tom Hickman and his nephew Ossie Hickman, hence the gelding's name. They both own large farms in Taimate, a township near Ward and about half an hour south of Blenheim which has been home to several branches of their family ever since their ancestors first settled there over a century ago.
'Large' would be a way to describe the support crew in attendance on Friday night too, because together with their wives Aileen and Mary, most of their 12 children and a host of other friends and relatives from both Taimate and Christchurch, there were 30-odd people in the birdcage to savour the victory. And boy had he done them all proud!
Tozzie started off the unruly in the 2600 metre mobile event and trainer/driver Pat O'Reilly took hold of him right from the start, so much so that the 3-year-old was still last and four lengths off the back of the bunch as they wheeled by the mile peg. Coming past the winning post with a lap to go Tozzie had begun his run three-wide, with cover, and then O'Reilly managed to nestle him in one place closer to the fence when George Castleton broke at the 700m mark; but it was only briefly, and with a handful of horse he sent him up three-wide again and challenging round the last turn. Tozzie surged to the front inside the last furlong, and even though Jazz Legend looked a threat late in the piece, at no stage did O'Reilly ask him for what was in the tank and they powered to the line strongly.
Just for good measure, and despite the cold and drizzly conditions, Tozzie had stopped the clock just three tenths of a second outside the national record. "This is just unbelievable," Tom said afterwards. "I have been racing horses with Pat for thirty years. We love to come to Addington, and we have always wanted to win here. And now to win a Group 1, well, it is just a bloody great thrill."
By Sundon, Tozzie is the first foal of Jacnnan, a Gee Whiz II mare that scored her only win from 14 attempts at the corresponding meeting at Addington seven years ago. That was Hickman's first winner at Addington, and Tozzie is his second. Jacnnan was out of Taimate Charm, who was by Noodlum out of Miss Charming, the resulting foal of Hickman's first Sales purchase - the Stormyway mare Stormy Star, who he bought in-foal to Prince Charming. Jacnnan was the only one of the aforementioned mares that ever qualified, but Tom has stayed loyal to the breed and all the horses he has ever raced belong to it. "It is a great buzz to have bred all the way through to get Tozzie," he said. "We always wanted a straight-out trotter. After putting Miss Charming to Noodlum to get Taimate Charm, we put her to Gee Whiz II to get Jacnnan and then Jacnnan to Sundon. We have got a 2-year-old full-sister to Tozzie at home, called Tozzie's Sister, and the next one out of Jacnnan is an Earl filly. And she is back in foal to Sundon again," he said.
Last Friday's victory was Tozzie's third on end. all three performances are in total contrast to his first campaign, back in January, when he had three goes in standing start races and broke every time. "You wouldn't know it but he is perfect at home - I can't fault him," O'Reilly said. "On raceday he trots away with them, but then he just tries to go too quick. He is a bugger for throwing his head up when the grit hits him in the face too, because he doesn't like it. But he will come out of those things. A month ago I had never even thought of the Derby. And I only threw him in that race a week ago just to see how he would go behind the mobile, and put him on the unruly."
So what has made the difference between Tozzie now, and Tozzie we saw at the start of the year? "I just put him on the float every time it went out the gate," O'Reilly answered. "He wasn't starting, but if we were off to the trials or the races he was on the float too. And I mucked around a bit with him at the trials - even when he went away with them I would keep him back in the field just to get him used to the grit."
Despite being loathe to put a label on horses and predict how far they will go, O'Reilly can't help but admit that Tozzie has got all sorts of potential. "He had natural ability from day one," he said. "He was very good-gaited and had a bit of quick speed too. But I am not a great believer in starting 2-year-old trotters, I don't care how good they are. He is not fool-proof yet either though. Like, he could just as easily go out there next start and break. But the thing about him is that he felt just so strong the other night, despite the start he gave them and what time they went. So to answer your question about how good he is...I don't know."
Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly 13Apr05