 | RACING HISTORY |
YEAR: 1987
FEATURE RACE COMMENT
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| Young Eden after her record breaking win |
Young Eden had to overcome a long list of adversities to win the New Zealand Oaks in race and New Zealand record time. Indeed, on at least two occasions, Edendale trainer Alex Milne really wondered if she was finished as a racing proposition.
The first occasion came before Young Eden even lined up in a totalisator race. Milne recalled after Young Eden's surprise success in the $40,000 Nevele R sponsored classic how the daughter of Noodlum had crashed to the track in training in the early stages of her two-year-old preparation. "She smashed the sulky and a broken shaft dug deep, high up on the inside of a hind leg. I had to tell the owners she was finished for the season at least. She'd just been to her first workout and shaped up pretty well...well enough to consider racing her later in the season," Milne said.
Ken Milne and Russell Hollows had originally leased Young Eden from her Stirling breeder Frank Young with no right of purchase, but with the right to her first foal. When advised of the accident, Young gave his friend, Milne, one month's option to by the filly at a 'pretty reasonable' price. She is the first foal from Young's smart racemare Eden's Joy, a winner of six races and a half-sister to six winners. "Ken asked me if I thought she would recover from the accident and whether she was worth buying," said Milne. Saying he could see no reason why Young Eden shouldn't make the grade as a three-year-old, Milne persuaded Milne and Hollows to buy her, and what a bargain she has proved.
The Oaks success took her record to four wins and four placings from nine starts for stakes worth $43,000, with the promise of much more to come. But it's been far from plain sailing this season as well.
From the time she stepped onto the track, Young Eden has looked one of the better fillies around, but her racing programme was again in doubt a couple of months ago. "She curbed a hock and was actually a bit lame when she won the DB Heat at Ashburton. Then she tore some ligaments in a hind leg in the DB Heat at Forbury Park. Both hind legs were a bit of a mess but we tried everything we knew and then sent her up to Craig Buchan at Dunedin so he could work her on the beach at Brighton. "I worked her there about a week ago and she felt alright, so we thought we would give the Oaks a try. With no workout or trial to get a line on her, I really had no idea how she'd go," said Milne.
Young Eden, a hot favourite in her previous outing at Addington when she was a gallant third in the Fillies' Triple Crown, was allowed to start at odds of almost 30 to one in an Oaks seemingly dominated by Bionic Chance and Victoria Star. Settling at the rear from her second row barrier draw in the mobile 2600m contest, Young Eden was able to leave the rails when Coma Berenices choked and fell after 800 metres. Eddie Cowie, who won the Oaks last season with Free's Best, suffered minor bruising after parting company with Coma Berenices. With Young Eden travelling strongly, Milne decided to press forward three wide entering the back straight the last time and was up outside the leader Bionic Chance 600 metres out. "I got a hell of a surprise when I got up there and found Bionic Chance wasn't going so well," Milne said, "Pat looked at me and said something about being flat." Young Eden took the lead early in the run home and kept going strongly to win by a length and a half over Victoria Star, Rosy Score and Bionic Chance.
There was considerable merit in the performance of Victoria Star as well. The daughter of Lordship was trapped three wide during some scorching early sectionals and then became badly placed back in the field. She rallied gamely in the straight to leave a fine impression. After a slightly disappointing run in the Great Northern Derby, Bionic Chance raced right out of character. Hunted out from barrier nine to lead after 200 metres, Bionic Chance ran herself into the ground, being timed through the first mile in 1:59. Only Lightning Blue, in the Inter-Dominion heat won by Skipper Dale in New Zealand record time, has run the first mile of a 2600m race at Addington faster. "She wasn't so much pulling or hanging, she was just on one rein the whole way," said driver Pat O'Reilly Jnr later. "I thought there was something wrong in the preliminary and I knew as soon as we were underway, we were in trouble," he added.
After being tucked away for much of the suicidal pace, Young Eden proved the best stayer on the night. Her 3:16.41 (2:01.5) easily bettered Free's Best race and New Zealand record.
It was by far the biggest success to date for Edendale horseman Alex Milne, 31, son of renowned Southland trainer Alex Milne Senior. A professional licence holder for about eight years, Milne has had some handy pacers before, the best of them King Farouk and Auburn Bret, but rates Young Eden in a class of her own. "I really don't know how good she is. To have done what she has done after all the trouble we have had...well."
Russell Hollows, a sawmiller in Balclutha, was on hand to accept the trophy and found the experience rather bewildering. "This is the first horse I've had. This racing game is all very new to me." Russell said. His partner Milne, a Stirling wool buyer whose only other venture in the game was the smart pacer King Farouk, was unable to make the trip due to his commitments as coach for a Balclutha rugby team.
Credit: Frank Marrion writing in HR Weekly