 | RACING HISTORY |
YEAR: 2016
FEATURE RACE COMMENT
LAZARUS - 2016 NZ CUP WINNER
For almost a decade popular owners Phil and Glenys Kennard have been riding the crest of a hugely successful harness racing wave. But last month they reached their ultimate goal when they owned their first New Zealand Trotting Cup winner in Lazarus. Matt Markham talked to Phil about the successful day in which they also won the Sires' Stakes final and what the game is all about to himself and his wife.
Experience, as it is with anything, is a key factor in any success. To achieve something, you are supposed to first failed at it a number of times. And just when you think you might have failed enough, you should expect to fail a couple more times before reaching the mountain-top. Just ask Phil and Glenys Kennard. They know what it's all about. And only now can they officially talk of what it feels like to overcome all that adversity and get all that luck required to win on the biggest of all the stages.
Their New Zealand Trotting Cup history leading into 2016 was, at best, frustrating - while at the same time it was also exhilarating. They felt well versed in how the biggest harness racing event Down Under can play out. They'd been around the block a few times. Highview Tommy had placed on three occasions. Fly Like An Eagle went awfully close to downing Terror To Love and Smolda produced a herculean effort when the chips were down last year to get within a whisker of Arden Rooney. Plus a host of others too. "Obviously we consider it a great thrill each time we have a horse in the race," Phil said. "But we'd gone close so many times that there was a pretty strong desire to get the monkey off the back and finally taste success in the race."
Enter Lazarus. Mighty by name, even mightier by nature. His first appearance in the lives of the Kennards was somewhat unspectacular. The Bettor's Delight colt out of Bethany had been paraded in front of them prior to the annual Yearling Sales and while he liked what he saw, Kennard wasn't super excited, initially. It was Glenys who fell in love with him first, she had a lot of ticks next to his name in the book," Phil said. "I thought he was a nice individual but it wasn't until I saw him again in the parade ring on Sale Day that I really got interested in him. He had come a long way from when we first saw him. We had settled on our budget for him but ended up going $25,000 more to get him we were that impressed. I always give Trevor Casey a bit of stick about something he said to me after we bought him, he said it was a big call to go as much as we did but then straight after the Cup win, Trevor said to me that it might be the best $25,000 I have ever spent and it's pretty hard to disagree with him."
The Kennard approach to buying horses at the sale has been quite simple. There is nothing special they try and spot in a horse but they are careful of letting the emotions get in the way of a sale. with a firm budget in mind, they try and stick to what they have set out but in the odd case, where they feel it is warranted - a little deeper into the pocket they shall go - case in point Lazarus. "I love the thrill of it all, from when the book first arrives to those first inspections, it's a great thing to be part of. Obviously we rely a lot on Mark and Natalie's judgement and there are a lot of discussions that take place about a horse before we even think about buying it."
"One thing we do try and be really careful about is not getting caught up on breeding. I see it as a big advantage of ours because we will not become engrossed in a family of a horse that we might have had a half-brother or sister to. We have been very lucky in the past few years with what we have purchased and we know that, so never take it for granted."
Buying and racing horses wasn't the early Kennard way though. Initially, they were largely breeders. With a band of just over half a dozen broodmares they were involved, without being heavily invested. The time wasn't there for a serious involvement with Phillip fully entrenched in a successful real estate business and Glenys handling three children - two big roles at completely different ends of the life spectrum.
But there came a time, like there does in most people's lives, where the Kennards decided they wanted more. They had been buying a horse or two at the sales each year and then selling them on. "I remember one morning we were talking and I said that this was bloody ridiculous and within probably 8-12 weeks we had sold all the broodmares."
"At that point in time we were mainly working alongside Michael House, who we got to know through Studholme Park and Brian West, we had got into a couple of the Yonkers Investments and had a bit of fun but we wanted more. We were also getting quite heavily involved in the family of Armalight at the time too and selling up those mares was probably a great decision because other than Barney Rubble who is doing a good job in Australia, the family hasn't been a great success."
It was House who first pointed the Kennards in the direction of Mark Purdon at the Sales one year and that fateful meeting has paved the way for an incredible decade of success, with good horse after good horse littering the pages in between. Despite becoming a firm part of the All Stars furniture, the Kennards have remained good friends with House and enjoyed being able to celebrate Smolda's Grand Curcuit victory in Australia with House who was in attendance.
"Michael is a great guy and I'm pleased to say we still have a great relationship with him and own a horse or two in his stable too." Moonrock, who was one of the three horses the Kennards owned a share of in the Cup this year is with House while they also support young trainer Brad Mowbray when they can with a horse of two as well.
A crowning glory of the Kennards success has been the establishment of their syndicates after purchasing horses at the sales. Incredibly hard to get into due to the success of each one, they are meticulously managed by Glenys who handles all the bookwork - which is made slightly easier by the fact there is generally a success or two every month when it comes time to pay the monthly bills. The groups have been littered with some of racing's most prominent names. Kevin Riseley and Trevor Casey, who of course share in the ownership of Lazarus are there as well as names like Neil Pilcher, Marcus Kirkwood, Phil and Margaret Creighton, Gavin Douglas and a whole heap more. "That all sort of started with Fiery Falcon and then went into Major Mark so we hit the ground running with a bit of success early on there and it thjen led into the likes of Fly Like An Eagle and most recently Ultimate Machete. Kennard said it was as much about the camaraderie as it was the racing side of the business and they had made many lifetime friends from their involvement with horses over the years.
When they re-evaluated where they were heading over a decade ago, there was a firm decision in the type of horse they could buy. Phil had a strict policy of no fillies and trotters were out of the question too. A friendship that has grown with Ken and Karen Breckon has led to that being slightly broken as they are involved in the ownership of brilliant trotting mare High Gait and have also had shares in the talented Prince Fearless who is expected back to the track at some point in the near future.
With more than 30 Group Ones next to their names already, there isn't a lot more left for Phil and Glenys Kennard to achieve. But don't expect that to stop them. They will be at Karaka and then Christchurch early next year with the catalogue in hand looking to find another star and that process is starting to kick into gear already.
"We flew to Australia to attend our first grandchild's first birthday after Cup Week and our flight home was delayed. And as we were sitting in the Airport we were talking about the fact that the catalogue must arrive soon, so it is nearly time to do it all again but that is exciting. I have always said that I stopped paying school fees so I could pay training fees and I don't really feel like stopping anytime soon."
Kennard said that they were lucky their three daughters Amanda, Philippa and Hayley were understanding of their passion for the game and also added that while they were interested, visits to spend time with them were a welcome escape from the demands of harness racing.
"Philippa, who lives in Christchurch, often jokes that she is an orphan because we always seem to be away watching a horse race somewhere. But we are trying to make the most of what we have got while we can, because you can't expect to stay around for ever. We do love getting out and about and watching the horses, wherever they might be racing, Glenys particularly enjoys it. I have always joked that if we had a horse racing somewhere and there was only one seat left on the plane to get there it would be her that would take it."
Hopefully, with that comment in mind, flights will be booked well in advance for the next few months for the pair as they look set to have a few big months with horses racing all around Australasia.
First though, there is a trip to Perth to take in the Inter Dominion action and cheer on their old favourite Smolda, who is over there flying the flag. "I am a bit of a traditionalist and love the three heats then the final format of the Inter Dominions so it is going to be great to get over there and take all that in. We got a real buzz out of the Grand Circuit racing and are looking forward to enjoying a bit more of it over the next few months with the likes of Smolda and Lazarus."
And with a horse like Lazarus in their corner, the Kennards along with their co-owners look set to be in for one most enjoyable ride.
Credit: Matt Markham writing in Harnessed Dec 2016