 | RACING HISTORY |
YEAR: 2008
FEATURE RACE COMMENT
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The six owners of Special Ops have a very simple way of making decisions when it comes to the mare. They vote, and the majority rules.
Recently the Haymakers Syndicate had the opportunity to send Special Ops to America with Ray Sharpe, and because it was the most important conundrum that the close group of friends had ever been faced with, everyone had to be in favour or she'd be staying home. As it turned out the final count was 4-2 for her to go, hence she didn't, so a couple of them might be feeling smug about the Armbro Operative mare's stylish victory in the $35,000 Konami Canterbury Regional Country Cups Championship at Addington on Saturday night.
In the back of everyone's mind was Special Ops's form, which trainer Ross Rennie says was totally opposite to what it appeared like on paper. "She's just been having so much bad luck," Rennie said. "And that's basically why they pulled the plug - because she's been racing so well." If anything Special Ops was slightly over the odds when returning $5.20 on Saturday, because a fortnight earlier she had sat outside Bondy for the last lap and been beaten a nose by the Cup class pacer; you don't do that without having immense ability.
The misfortune Rennie refers to stems right back to the Methven Cup won by Baileys Dream in October, which Special Ops was scratched from at the last minute. "I had her going as good as this back then," Rennie claims. "But then she got a foot abscess two days out from the race, it was like a big bulge around her off-front hoof. She'd had them before, but usually they come right a couple of days later; this time it took ages." At that stage Special Ops was nominated for the NZ Cup, but she missed all of Cup Week and the mares' race on the last night and didn't resume until the Methven Green Mile in December. Even then bad luck stayed with her, as a clod of dirt hit her in the face and she galloped out of contention.
Special Ops's form since has been consistent without much luck in the running, so the fact that things are finally going her way again has been welcomed by Rennie and the syndicate. "I suppose we could have a look at the Easter Cup, I just don't know yet. She's the sort of horse that loves the 3200 though - I wish there was a race over three miles because I know she'd be right there. We'll target the Rangiora Classic at the end of April, and then tip her out for a spell. She'll definitely be going to stud this year."
Rennie says Special Ops is a hard horse to get along with, a trait she inherited from her late mother Middle Legacy, and for that reason he wanted to make a special mention of his right-hand-man John Kemp. "John's been with me for six or seven years, and drives Special Ops in all her trackwork," he said. "He was at the beach with her this week, then again on Thursday when she had a hit-out at Rangiora, and he gave me the big 'thumbs up' for her race tonight. He's a big part of her success," Rennie said.
Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly 27Mar08