 | RACING HISTORY |
YEAR: 2004
FEATURE RACE COMMENT
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Two decades ago, seeing Ian's orange and brown stars silks lead the field home first was a common occurance, and he hit a real purple patch of form when in the mid-1980's he won over 20 races per season a few times in a row. Double figures were achieved again four times during the early 1990s, but lately the pickings have been slim, although not a season has gone by where Cameron hasn't bagged at least a couple of wins.
The tally for 2003/04 is now sitting on four after Ginas Brightest took out the $18,000 NZ Trotters' Trust Trotting Oaks last week, and she did it the hard way. Slow away from her wide draw in the 1950 metre mobile event, Cameron had her up outside the leader Tracy's Dream with a lap to travel and poured the pressure on, eventually pulling away from that runner and then holding out the late charge of Kahola.
"I am enjoying the game more now than I ever have," Cameron said afterwards. "I'm working eight, and it is the best team I have had around me for years." Cameron outlined the importance, for them, of his wife having a full-time occupation in addition to harness racing, because with her being the head teacher at their local kindergarten it enables them to manage their involvement in the sport.
It is quite an involvement too, because apart from the racehorses, they have been breeding for the yearling sales for nearly a decade, putting "the odd one" through the ring, and this year have seven mares in foal. One of those is their latest winner's dam, Rangitawa Gina. "Gary Allen and I bred Ginas Brightest, but he wanted out of the breed so Jocelyn and I leased his half share and also bought the mare off him. Her first foal was Debbie Galleon, who has won two, and the next was a full-sister to Ginas Brightest that Glenys Buchanan qualified nicely and then on-sold (now with Jeff Whittaker). We have got an Armbro Invasion 2-year-old filly which broke in nice, and she is in foal to Monarchy."
By Britewell, Ginas Brightest's career started last year when she qualified as a 2-year-old at Rangiora in July. "I was working her with the older horses, and she was going alright, so I decided to give her a start and she ran third in a mobile at Addington behind Time Of Reckoning. She broke from a stand next start, so she went out for a good five months spell and only came in when we got back from the Coast after Christmas. "She is good-gaited, and so tough - a run like the other night doesn't worry her. It was nice to win a race like that too...we had a bit of luck for a change," he said.
Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly 24Mar04