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JEAN & BILL FEISS

When it comes to total winners Jean and Bill Feiss don't match some but when it comes to strike rate they are simply sensational. Their first runner in New Zealand was only in 2009 when Sammy Maguire was sent over from Victoria to the All Stars stable for better racing opportunities here and won at Ashburton and on Cup Day.

Jean and Bill, who race their horses as a partnership but in separate names, moved on to buying horses to be trained at All Stars and what a list it is. It includes two, Two Year Old of the Year Titles, (Chase the Dream and Spanish Armada) the brilliant Messini; top mare and Sires Stakes Final winner Willow; Backup, Benecio, MacKenzie, and now highly rated Derby prospect, Vincent and the brilliant Riccardo.

It is not as if they have been buying big numbers, either. "I do a bit of research on the pedigrees and then we consult with Nat and Mark on type and it seems to work out ok so far," says Jean, who rarely misses a NZ race day when her small team are racing. Ok? A typical Feiss understatement.

Trivia fact: The association with All Stars was largely through Natalie whom the Feiss's have known for a long time and Mark was based at their former property Woodstock during one Australian campaign. Jean was with racehorses from an early age, rode gallopers in work and trained Sammy Maguire among others,

Credit: David McCarthy writing in Harnessed Jan