 | RACING HISTORY |
YEAR: 2003
FEATURE RACE COMMENT
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There were some wry smiles after astute Mid-Canterbury trainer Patrick O'Reilly won the inaugural running of the NZ Trotting Oaks at Addington.
O'Reilly is no chum of the stock of Sundon, so it was ironic that a daughter of the great sire gave him such a memorable win in slick time for the 1950m mobile. More have left the stable than stayed, but Without Fear is one who has passed the test. O'Reilly is happy to take it on the chin. "I just can't get on with them. I have tried at least fourteen and they have all been hard work. Raymauwarrhen Sun was a handful and I don't think he will be back. This is one that's had the most brains. You earn your money with them, put it that way," he said.
And this is what Without Fear did for her Ashburton owner Michelle Baird - $9030 for first and a harness plus bonus worth $4000. Baird has a pedigree as good as her horse; her father Jack McDonald who died 19 years ago was a forthright champion of the trotter and raced the tiny Frivolous, the grandam of Without Fear. Frivolous was by Rodney Day who McDonald stood at stud, and Fickle, the daughter of Frivolous and dam of Without Fear, was by Wide Acclaim, who McDonald also stood at stud. Rodney Day did not leave anything of great note, and Frivolous was no exception, but 46 of his 88 foals were winners. His broodmare credits were better, the best of them being Count Me In(6wins), Double Stitch(9), Game Command(14), Gravel Lawn(6), Ironman(8), Karina Lee(6), Roman Guy(7) and Tokyo Bay(6). Wide Acclaim also had modest success as a sire, but Kahuna Pele, the winner of 13, was exceptional.
Fickle was one who might have improved his average. She won a number of workouts until Michelle left her in the care of her husband Allan during a pregnancy. Allan is gently reminded that this was the time when Fickle suffered an injury that prevented her from racing, so her ability has always been open to speculation. Fickle is also the dam of Fear Not and Roy McCloy, two of Wide Acclaim's four broodmare sire credits. Fickle is getting on, now aged 20, and O'Reilly can prepare himself for her next foal, a yearling colt by Sundon. "There was a lot of family history in this win," said Michelle," and I think Dad would have had something to say about it. I'm sure it is Rodney Day who has given this filly the brains," she said.
Without Fear was broken in by Ashburton trainer Dale Forbes, and the Bairds are complimentary of the work he did with her. "Allan did the roadwork with her, and when he got crook we asked Patrick to take her. Back she came with a list of instructions this long," she said.
The Oaks concept was a tribute to the foresight and perseverance by the New Zealand Trotters' Club, headed by Gary Allen and Mike Gourdie. They were pioneers in the establishment of a club by a group of trotting enthusiasts five years ago, and one of their goals was an event that would promote and foster the trotting breed in this country.
Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly