| HORSES |
YEAR: 2020
Gavin Smith has made the tough call to pull the plug on the career of Great Things Happen, his first and only Group 1 winner to date.
The big eight-year-old gelding by Love You has battled a myriad of issues arising from poor conformation and bad gait throughout his career, racing only 45 times over six seasons for his 16 wins and $234,000 in stakes for Smith and breeder Ted Edwards.
“His feet are actually the best they’ve ever been at the moment and physically there’s not a lot wrong with him,” said Smith.
“He worked 3.15 home in 27 the other day and normally you’d be pretty happy with that, but he’s just not the horse that he was.
“He’s only running at probably 85% and you can’t be at that when competing against the big boys.
“His main problem has been his gait and hitting his near side hind shin, but it’s just been one thing after another in recent years and I think things have built up and got the better of him mentally.
“He deserves better and as he won’t tolerate retirement very well, we’ll find a trekking home for him, and then there will always be a paddock here for him.”
Smith recalls seeing Great Things Happen when he was offered at the Premier Sale by Edwards and passed in.
“I could see he had bad conformation then and I thought he would hit himself, so he wasn’t one that I was going to buy.
“But Ted offered to do a deal on him and as he was well enough bred, so I agreed to take him.
“For a start he was big and weak and just hopeless and at one point I threw in a paddock and had pretty much finished with him.
“But I never got around to making the call to Ted to tell him he’d been sacked.
“There were sentimental reasons that went with him as my first child (daughter Hayley) had been born the morning of the sales or the day a horse called Great Things Happen came through the gate.
“And then each time I brought him back in, he got better and better as he got older and stronger.
“He would hit himself but he wouldn’t break, so you knew he had a big heart and a big motor.”
Great Things Happen made rapid progress when he did begin racing and at one point won five races in a row as a late four-year-old.
As he’d made open class after just 16 races, Smith then sent him to Greg Sugars in Victoria to “harden up” in lesser company and Great Things Happen won four of his seven races there, including a Warragul Cup.
Back home in the spring of 2017, Great Things Happen won the Ashburton Flying Mile in 1.55.4 over a top field and then he bolted away with the NZ Trotting FFA on Cup day in a 1.56.9 mile rate.
That was a national record for 1950m which still stands and it is faster than Tough Monarch’s 1980m record set at the last Cup meeting.
At this point, Great Things Happen seemed to have the world at his feet and he went into the Dominion as a hot favourite.
But he was an abject failure that day and it has been a real battle since for Smith.
Great Things Happen was going good again in the early part of last season and after skipping the FFA, he was again one of the favourites for the Dominion, but again he performed poorly due to a virus that had swept through Smith’s stable.
“He’s always been a lot of hard work, but the Dominion proved a bogey race for him being at the wrong time of the year.
“When things dry off he gets allergies from the dust.
“We got him back a year ago to win twice at Addington, but then he broke a splint bone, and this season has been a real struggle.
“We’ve been managing a succession of little issues for 2-3 years now and it’s got to a point where everybody concerned has said enough is enough.”
Credit: Harnesslink Media, 2 March 2020 : by Frank Marrion courtesy of the HarnessXpress
YEAR: 2018
The Dominion is all about the Ford factory.
However, it’s horsepower of a different variety – equine!
For the second straight year, West Melton trainer Ken Ford has walked away with the biggest trotting cheque in the southern hemisphere after his brilliant performer Marcoola delivered a stunning performance to win the Gr.1 $300,000 Used To Me @ Haras de Trotteurs Dominion at Addington today (Friday).
Twelve months ago, the Ford family was left shell-shocked after Amaretto Sun and young Sheree Tomlinson (Ford's grand-daughter) pulled off a longshot shocker to win the south island feature and again today, they were left a little gob smacked by the sheer arrogance and blinding acceleration of their star trotter as he raced away with the 3200m standing start feature.
Handled by Ford's son Clint, it was utter domination from Marcoola.
Unlike last year, the performance today didn’t completely shock anyone because most are acutely aware of the rich talent the Sundon six-year-old entire possesses.
In lead-up to the event, his form has been true and consistent but the barrier allowed punters to gain a juicy price about the speedy performer.
Race favourite Speeding Spur was backing-up following his Gr.1 FFA victory on Tuesday and was attempting to claim the Rowe Cup/Dominion double in the same year while join the other 17 trotters to claim the Cup week double.
With Alderbeck, Temporale and Hey Yo all beginning quickly and vying for the early supremacy, Speeding Spur stepped safely and landed in a handy spot just behind the leaders.
Classy mare Harriet Of Mot galloped away badly and lost considerable ground.
Within the first lap, changes swept over the field with the highly fancied Great Things Happen finding the lead while Lemond was left parked without cover and Speeding Spur sitting right on his back.
The tempo was dawdling with Great Things Happen and driver Gavin Smith walking the big field through the opening lap.
The lead time was covered in 2:08.1.
Speeding Spur made a move around the 1200m point and parked outside Great Things Happen while Ronald J soon followed and raced outside the leader.
The first half was covered in 29.2 and 31.7 seconds.
Entering the back straight, Great Things Happen led Ronald J while Speeding Spur sat poised ready to strike.
Passing the 1000m point, driver Clint Ford made his move with Marcoola and allowed him to stride forward three wide and his run was unimpeded.
And he came with a rush as he built massive momentum.
The third quarter was covered in 29.7 seconds.
With his blinding acceleration, Marcoola surged to the lead and soon opened up the field and raced away to lead by a clear margin entering the home straight.
Ford kept his charge focused as Australian trotter Kyvalley Blur started to charge down the outside but the margin was too great.
Marcoola scored convincingly and registered a margin of 4 lengths from Kyvalley Blur with a further 2.75 lengths back to Lemond in third while Speeding Spur finished fourth.
The winning time was 4:08 – a mile rate of 2:04.6 with a final split of 28.7 seconds.
Yet again, it was time for celebration for the Ford family.
“He felt really good and there was some cat and mouse tactics from Anthony (Butt – Kyvalley Blur) and Tony (Herlihy – Temporale) and I just went for it. He trotted great and showed great speed but I kept thinking they were coming and I kept checking but he did it well.” Driver Clint Ford said.
Marcoola is raced in partnership by Clint and his father Ken.
The last time a trainer prepared back to back winners in the Dominion was Tim Butt back in 2003/04 after Take A Moment and Lyell Creek proved triumphant.
Interestingly, Marcoola is closely related to Lyell Creek and takes his record to 14 wins from 31 starts while his earnings now exceed $410,000.
The next leg of the 2018/19 Australian Pacing Gold Trotting Masters is the $150,000 Inter Dominion in Melbourne on December 15.
Credit: Chris Barsby, Harnessink Media, 17 November 2018
YEAR: 2017
It was an upset of gigantic proportions. But it was also history in the making. Talented trotter Amaretto Sun and harness racing teenage driver Sheree Tomlinson proved victorious in today’s (Friday) Gr.1 $300,000 Haras des Trotteurs Dominion Handicap at Addington in Christchurch.
Prepared by respected horseman Ken Ford, Amaretto Sun was friendless in the betting and saluted at odds of $91.20 while defeating The Foot Tapper and Monty Python in the 3200m stand-start classic, the biggest trotting event staged in New Zealand and first staged in 1911.
Tomlinson, 19, becomes the first female driver to win the time-honoured trotting feature and showed patience beyond her youthful years when guiding the Sundon gelding to victory.
The pre-race hype focused on Tuesday’s Trotting Free-For-All winner Great Things Happen with many expecting the giant trotter to repeat his crushing victory while the flashy Bordeaux was tipped to be his biggest challenger.
When the strands released, Amaretto Sun pounced on the early lead before releasing The Foot Tapper while Great Things Happen quickly moved forward and tackled for the lead role.
With Great Things Happen controlling the speed, there were little or no moves within the first mile of the event which had punters on good terms with themselves.
The lead time was covered in 2:06.8.
The first move in the race came via Bordeaux who moved three-wide with 1300m to run while Daryl Boko and Dark Horse joined the developing cover.
But Great Things Happen continued to cruise in the leading role and posted sectionals of 29.1 and 29.5 seconds for the first half of the final mile.
Approaching the home turn, Great Things Happen found little when challenged quickly by Bordeaux while The Foot Tapper and Amaretto Sun went to the passing lane with Monty Python and Harriet Of Mot both starting to charge deeper off the track.
At the 100m mark, it was Amaretto Sun who struck the lead while The Foot Tapper, Bordeaux and Monty Python battled hard.
Harriet Of Mot, who almost fell soon after the start, made a break in the final stages and cost itself a certain placing.
At the finish, it was Amaretto Sun who sprinted best to score by over a length from The Foot Tapper with another half-length back to Monty Python in third while Bordeaux finished a close-up fourth.
The final half was covered in splits of 29.4 and 29.7 seconds.
The gross time was 4:04.7 – the mile rate was 2:03.0.
It was well outside of the race record set twelve months earlier when Monbet trotted 4:00.7.
Race favourite Great Things Happen weakened to finish 11th.
"He felt good in the running and has so much speed. It felt amazing," Tomlinson said.
“It’s very special for the family.” She added.
Tomlinson is the granddaughter of Ford and the family has enjoyed tremendous success in recent times with outstanding trotter Marcoola.
The shock result provided Tomlinson with her maiden Group One triumph and it’s a victory she will never forget.
Amaretto Sun's sire Sundon won the Dominion in 1990.
Credit : Chris Barsby writing on Harnesslink, November 2017
Credit: Chris Barsby writing on Harnesslink, November 2017