| HORSES |
YEAR: 2019
“It seems surreal -but its actually real” -that sum up by Mike Woodlock co-owner of One Change with Trevor Casey and All Stars, seemed to sum up the remarkable rise of the two year old with his five for five win in the $170,000 Sires Stakes Final at Addington.
As for Trevor tears came to his eyes as he remembered his long time partner, the late Neil Pilcher, an original owner of the youngster after he was passed in as a yearling for $20,000
Bought post sale by the stable for $30,000, Neil’s share was taken up by All Stars on his death and Mike, a retired teacher at St Andrews College who helps out at All Stars, was offered a share. He had previously raced a horse successfully with “Pilch”.
As chief admirer and handler Ashleigh said “the dream continues” after One Change, looking headed by Flying Even Bettor close to the post kicked back to win.
Natalie had given him the run of the race but said afterward it went “nothing like I expected”
“I didn’t know how much gate speed he had because he hasn’t be used out of the gate previously. But he had it and we got the break.
I wasn’t sure we’d won. Flying Even Bettor, which went a terrific race came back at us and I wasn’t confident at all”
One Change has now won over $200,000 not a bad return on his yearling price.
He now heads to the Jewels and possibly the Breeders Crown in August if all goes well in the interim.
“He’s done nothing wrong and shown he has the early speed as well” Mark said
“Smooth Deal was disappointing and he will come out of the Jewels on that run. He is going backwards when he should be going forward”
His recovery rate raised questions as well, Natalie said later.
Credit: Harnesslink Media, 18 May 2019; courtesy of All Stars Racing Stables
YEAR: 2019
ONE CHANGE: 2 B c Bettor’s Delight – Changedown
OWNERS: Allstars Racing Stables Limited, M R Woodlock, T G Casey
BREEDERS: Rob Carr and Don Kirkbride
TIME: 2:26.3 Mile Rate: 1-58.8 Last 800m: 58.7 Last 400m: 28.2
Rob Carr and Don Kirkbride hit the jackpot as breeders when they acquired Chokin’s well-performed sister Chaanger as a 12-year-old broodmare and her first foal for them was Changeover.
It was purely a coincidence when Geoff Small bought him at Karaka for $28,000 for an Auckland TC syndicate which Carr was charged with managing, and had the pleasure of watching him win 29 races and over $2.4m.
Those wins included a $1.2m New Zealand Cup in record time, the New Zealand and Northern Derbys and 3YO and 4YO Emeralds at the Jewels.
“Geoff did ask the question whether or not there was going to be a conflict of interest with Rob managing the (ATC Trot 2006) syndicate, but it was put to the then club president Steve Stockman and he gave it the all clear,” recalls Kirkbride.
“It was just a bummer that having been in the two previous syndicates, we opted out of having shares in the third one, although we still had the kick of being the breeders.
”Carr and Kirkbride would breed another 11 foals from Chaanger and five of them won, including good sorts in Change Gear (9 NZ wins, US1.52.8), Change Time (7 NZ wins, 1.56.2) and Change Stride (4 NZ & 21 Aus wins, $316,000, US1.51.6).
The now rising 29-year-old Chaanger was retired a few years ago after producing a staggering 19 foals and she remains in fine fettle in Kirkbride’s care.
“I had 50 acres at Ardmore up until 7-8 years ago, but now I’m down to four acres following a marriage break up.
“Rob had a lovely property at Karaka where we prepared the yearlings, but he moved to Cambridge a couple of years ago and for the last four years the yearlings have been done at Breckon Farms.
“So we have been winding our breeding operation down for one reason or another, but One Change has put a spring in our steps again.
” In the wake of Changeover, many of Chaanger’s foals were sold for good money at Karaka, with Change Stride making $90,000 in 2013.
Carr and Kirkbride would retain two fillies from Chaanger in Changedown, an unraced daughter of Falcon Seelster, and the very last foal in Super Change, a daughter of Mach Three who won a race at Cambridge and was then promptly retired. Super Change is now in foal to Art Major.
Changedown had been tracking in just an average manner, so much so that she had been entered in the Mixed Sale at Karaka this year while in foal to Art Major, before being withdrawn. One could assume that was because Carr and Kirkbridge had got wind of how good her two-year-old son in One Change was going to be, but “funnily enough, that wasn’t the reason at all.
”“Rob had done an exercise on costings and worked out that based on an $8000-$10,000 stud fee, the cost of breeding a yearling and getting it to Karaka was between $25,000-$27.000.
“We could do it a lot cheaper when we had our own properties and were preparing them, but that hasn’t been the case in recent times and it costs a lot more up here than in the South Island.
“Changedown’s first five yearlings had been selling for between $42,500 and $17,000 and basically we were just treading water with her.
“But we had to withdraw her from the sale because a foot issue came to light and the long term prognosis is not good.
“I don’t know a lot about the problem but I think it’s called White Line Disease a form of laminitis.
”A lot has changed since that sale of course – One Change is unbeaten in his five races to date and will be 2YO Pacer of the Year having won the Sales race, Sires Stakes and now the 2YO Emerald at the Jewels.
That has been an even bigger change for Carr and Kirkbride, as about six months ago, Mark Purdon mistakenly informed them that One Change had been put down.
“We believed that for about a fortnight then one day Rob rang to say that Mark had got the wrong horse and we might have to rename him Jesus.
”Purdon wasn’t overly impressed with One Change last year, but like a lot of the Bettor’s Delight’s, he has never stopped improving and just refuses to be beaten.
The irony in all this is that Carr and Kirkbridge only reluctantly bred Changedown to Bettor’s Delight and One Change remains her only foal by him during eight seasons at stud.
The service was actually a free return after they lost another mare while in foal to Bettor’s Delight, and Changedown was the best if not the only option for it at the time.
“We were among the first to use Bettor’s Delight, but after four foals by him, two were midgets.
“They were from Chaanger and Dancingonmoonlight and they weren’t any good.
“Changedown was a smallish mare as well and we figured we would be tempting fate with Bettor’s Delight.
“One Change was on the small side and initially he was passed in for 26k.
”Trevor Casey wandered along later however and agreed to take him for the reserve of $30,000 along with Neil Pilcher.
When the latter passed away last year, his share went to the All Stars Stable and part-time stablehand Mike Woodlock, a retired school teacher.
Changedown had been an embryo transfer because Chaanger had gotten to foaling late and one way of getting a mare ‘back on track’ is an ET rather than leaving them empty for a year.
She had failed to measure up in training with Geoff Small and most of her foals were on the small side and not up to much either.
Her first foal in the Christian Cullen filly Schnucki Putzi, which is German for Sweetie Pie, was sold for $18,000 and went unraced.
She is now owned by Dave Kennedy and her first foal is a weanling filly by A Rocknroll Dance.
Second foal Unchanged was a Mach Three filly and she was also on the small side, although Mark Purdon signed for her at $30,000 and she proved a smart juvenile as Renske B.
She was placed at Group 1 level for Hazel van Opzeeland and she has produced a weanling filly by Highview Tommy, himself a smallish son of Bettor’s Delight.
Then came a filly by Rocknroll Hanover in Ready Change, who was bought by Terry Chmiel for $42,500, but who went unraced.
She is now owned by Donna Williamson and the four-year-old was bred to Vincent this season.
Changedown then produced a fourth straight filly in La Vitesse, a daughter of Well Said who was bought by Rob Lawson for $17,000.
She raced eight times here without threatening and was sold to Australia in January, winning a race at Port Pirie last month.
One Change was Changedown’s first colt and he has turned things right around obviously.
It just remains to be seen if he can go on and prove to be a Chokin and Changeover, but one couldn’t ask for anymore at this stage.
Changedown subsequently produced another filly by Somebeachsomewhere, but the filly had to be put down after cracking a stifle as an early yearling.
Carr and Kirkbride now have to decide what to do with a weanling filly by Betting Line called Star Change, a three-quarter sister to One Change.
Normally she would have been run through the sales like the rest of them. Carr and Kirkbride are getting on a bit these days. Kirkbride is leaning towards keeping the filly and Carr is probably going to concur.
“Don might be 74 now but I’m only 67 and I’m still interested in future broodmares,” said Carr after another session at the gym this week.
“I do really rate Betting Line and with the uncertainty surrounding Changedown, we probably should be looking at an insurance policy.”
Credit: Frank Marrion