 | RACING HISTORY |
YEAR: 2009
FEATURE RACE COMMENT
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One Over Kenny won the 29th race of her career when she took out the $100,000 Garry Thompson/ Fred Shaw Solicitors NZ Trotting Championship at Addington last Friday night. The great mare led for the last half of the 2600m mobile event, and after reeling off a 57.9 half she won it ever so easily by nearly a length in 3.16.7. Amazingly, it was her fifth Group 1 victory on New Zealand soil.
"It just shows you how good Stig is," trainer/driver Tony Herilhy said afterwards, referring to how dominant the latter had been over his mare in their last two clashes this year. "You never like to see good horses injured, but we were just pleased to be there (Addington) ourselves and we'll take it."
It was also satisying for Herlihy because it proved the One Over Kenny was back to her best again after a 'failed' Inter-Dominion campaign across the Tasman, which he put down to her being sick and not being "half the horse" she normally is. "She definitely seems to have come up a lot stronger this time as well," he said.
Herlihy used to believe that One Over Kenny trotted better the Auckland way round, but she has had a Murphy Blind added to her armoury since the Flying Stakes victory at Cambridge on January 2 and now he is not so sure there is any difference at all.
The 7-year-old Sundon mare will be shooting for victory number 30 when she steps out again in Auckland a week before the Rowe Cup, and then it is onto the big one itself as she attempts to emulate her win of two years ago.
Credit: John Robinson writing in HR Weekly 8Apr09