| FEATURE RACE COMMENT |
YEAR: 2005
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| Robert Dunn & Ian Dobson celebrate |
She quickly collared the uncomfortable Mi Muchacho who was holding on by heart alone, and put a goodbye break on the bunch. Wider out, Just An Excuse worked home strongly after settling handy at the 1600m, beaten for second by Alta Serena, who dashed home after being held up to a minor extent on the turn. Then came Bobs Blue Boy.
How did Mainland Banner become the youngest mare to win the $400,000 Christchurch Casino New Zealand Trotting Cup? No-one better to give us a match report than driver, Ricky May. "I was a wee bit nervous before the race, because of all the hype she was getting. All New Zealand must have been talking about it. But the good thing was that Robert (Dunn) left the race completely to me. She was a wee bit keen in the preliminary, and didn't make that good a beginning. It must have cost her two or three lengths, and she felt like she didn't quite know what to do. She just wasn't concentrating."
May, who had won the race with Inky Lord in 1989, and Iraklis in 1997, settled her five places back on the outer, with the early line ahead being Likmesiah, Jackson Browne, Bobs Blue Boy and Howard Bromac. He sat until the day-trippers had gone round, and left on his own just before the mile. He didn't hurry and none came after them.
"I had to chase her up to get round them." Before the post a lap out, he was second and happy. "I knew she could win sitting parked from there. On the corner I still had a good hold on her, and when she heard the other horse start coming on the outside, I could feel her surge again," he said. The curtain fell with Mainland Banner home by a length and a quarter in 4:04. She wrecked the hopes of the sprinters by running her last quarter in 26.9.
May was in head shaking form after getting the job done. "It was a great training feat...she's phenomenal...she's an incredible horse...there are no words to describe it, and she still doesn't know how to race." And to his credit, he openly wondered about the target when he first heard about it. "I wasn't that keen on it when I first knew that it was on. I'd seen Happy Sunrise go through the same thing when he'd just a few more starts, and he didn't handle it. I knew she could do it, but I thought it was just a year too soon," he said.
With the game plan underway, May put his weight behind it. If he needed comfort, it came last week when down-the-road trainer Cran Dalgety told him Mainland Banner worked "sensationally" on his track. No-one told her Ricky May knew then that she could complete the mission.
Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HR Weekly
YEAR: 2005
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| Mainland Banner & Ricky May head for the judge |
When Foreal drew two and Mainland Banner landed 15, the odds seemed very much in the former's favour. But with the horse drawing inside Foreal being an emergency for the event, her automatic scratching moved Foreal into one and changed the whole complexion of the race. Driver Anthony Butt no longer had options, needing to secure the lead no matter what to avoid him and Foreal getting buried back on the fence. And he had three goes at it too...firstly at the start when Robyn Blue matched them for early speed, once again soon afterwards after that rival had crossed them, and a third time down the back straight when he pulled out of the trail behind Nick Off Holme. The latter had zipped around with purpose just before the bell and been allowed to go to the front, but the damage to Foreal had been done by then; a lead time of 1:13, Mainland Banner sitting back in the pack having not spent a penny, surely it was only a matter of time before she pounced.
Back where he and Mainland Banner were sitting, Ricky May knew that part of the plan was working - but some parts of it weren't, either. He'd thought two or three times about moving but nothing pulled out to give Mainland Banner cover on the way round, so in the end he hooked out starting the last lap and got stuck behind a runner that was sitting three-wide and going no-where. Playing the waiting game as long as he could, May finally decided it was time to go wider passing the 600m mark, and with a slap of the reins Mainland Banner inched forward. Rounding the turn she was fair travelling, and in the twinkling of an eye she simply changed down a gear and zoomed away. Molly Darling burst out of the pack to get within a length and a quarter, but nothing was going to deny Mainland Banner her moment and she stopped the clock in a breathtaking 1:58.8 mile rate.
She might float like a butterfly, but she certainly stings like a bee. Afterwards, May could do little more than shake his head. "She just did that herself," he said. "She had absolutely no favours out there tonight; I knew by the time we settled down we were going to be twenty lengths off them, and we were. But she's such a stunning filly - she's just so good that anyone could drive her." May then went on to say things that no-one thought they'd hear any driver admit... "She feels better than her father, and I know that's a big call. But she feels better-gaited than Christian Cullen, because he used to go a bit rough at times. She wears a sixty-three inch hopple, no shorteners and no knee boots... she's just the most nicely-gaited horse you could ever drive. And that run won't knock her either. If anything she'll come back better next week."
'Next week' is this Friday night's $100,000 Nevele R Fillies' Final, and after such a performance Mainland Banner will be all the rage to extend her unbeaten streak to eight.
There in the background, as he was throughout the night last week, will be former owner Ian Sowden. Sowden is the Ashburton horseman who purchased Mainland Banner off Dennis and Dianne Moore at the Premier Yearling Sale before on-selling her to Ian Dobson 21 months later. And even though he no longer owns the vehicle, he's never stopped enjoying the ride. "She's still a part of me," he said. "I've never missed being on-course when she races, and I spent all night down at the box with her tonight. I remember when she won at Invercargill, they had to come and find me to get her to pass urine. They'd been trying for over an hour, but after I got there she did it within a couple of minutes. No, I'm just getting a hell of a kick out of seeing her race."
Sowden says despite the fact that he sold Mainland Banner last November, he "could write a book" about the filly. The opening chapter would undoubtedly be about how he'd never intended to buy her in the first place, showing up at the Sales with his eye on something else. "That was a Spirit of Zeus colt, but I didn't like it when I saw it. I'd brought the horse float with me, so I thought I may as well take something home in it. And then this Christian Cullen filly came into the ring. She was nice and wide in front and had big ears, and they'd been hammering away at $5,000 for ages before I put my finger up and got her for $7,000.
Sowden showed remarkable patience with Mainland Banner early on, taking her back to the workouts again and again for more and more practise. "Right from the first day I put her in the cart she was clever, and relaxed. It was quite incredible," he said. "She's one of those horses that just kept improving every day - you never had to go back and do anything all over again."
It's all been quite a ride since trainer Robert Dunn took over as well...an unofficial record at the trials; seven starts without even looking like getting beaten; $111,824 in the bank so far. "She's very exciting," he said. Dunn says that last week's clash between Mainland Banner and Foreal obviously caught the public's imagination very early on. "I don't think I've ever trained a horse leading up to a race where there's been so much hype from such a long way out. I mean, during Master Musician's era there were like eight millionaires. And the only other time I've experienced that one-on-one hype was when he took on (and beat) Jack Morris in the Victoria Cup."
Dunn says he wasn't "cock-a-hoop" confident leading into last Friday's event, having immense respect for Foreal among others, but despite where she drew he also knew what his filly was capable of. "All those times when you see horses run fifty-five halves, they're only at top speed for about fifty metres of that; this filly can carry that speed for a lot, lot longer. I think she could be a freak," he said.
Credit: John Robinson writing in the NZHR Weekly
YEAR: 2006
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| All class....Mainland Banner |
Last week's $35,000 Group 2 Premier Mares'Championship was Mainland Banner's first appearance since her dramatic Cup win, and she was up against some very classy and race-hardened girls.
So when she was used out of the gate to find the front, got taken on vehemently during the running by firstly Nursemaid and then Nick Off Holme, she was literally a sitting duck for those in behind her that had had a soft trip. But this is Mainland Banner we're talking about. One reminder with the whip, a dozen double-handed shakes of the reins, and Mainland Banner proved once again that she is the best there is.
"She was always going to need the run, so I suppose that the way the race panned out she was vulnerable," said trainer Robert Dunn afterwards. "Ricky (May) wasn't going to use her early, he was going to nurse her round the first bend and then move forward. But when That's Life Lavra put a rough stride in at the start, he had no choice. So it is nice to know that she has got gate speed as well. She was tested tonight, and she knew it too because she blew afterwards. She has been as bright as a button ever since though," he said.
Mainland Banner steps out again this week in the PGG Wrightson Standardbred Breeders' Stakes, and although she was beaten the only other time she raced twice within seven days, Dunn thinks it is a totally different story this year.
"When Molly Darling got her in the Nevele R Fillies' Final it was the end of her 3-year-old season - she had gone from qualifying to a superstar in the space of about four months," he said. "She had travelled south a couple of times, and the Oaks win a week prior had taken the edge off her. But right now she is on the way up, and she will improve with that run for sure."
Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly 1Feb06
YEAR: 2006
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| Mainland Banner winning the Breeders Stakes |
He knew she was short of a hard run before winning the Caduceus Club of Canterbury Premier Mares' event over 1950m the previous week, but he was sure it would top her off nicely for the $100,000 PGG Wrightson Breeders' Stakes.
Without making a meal of it, Mainland Banner duly won, beating Imagine That by a length and a quarter and Nick Off Holme by nearly two. After being settled on the outer by Ricky May, Mainland Baner went forward at the 1250m, sat parked soon after and came away for a comfortable win by a margin that may have flattered her rivals.
"Ricky said she did not feel as sharp as she did at Cup time," said Dunn. "But she only did what she had to, and I felt she was coming away again over the last twenty metres. "She blew hard again. We've had a roundtable since, and we feel we have to increase her work a bit."
Dunn expects her to take it in her stride because she is so relaxed in training. "This is her greatest weapon, and as she matures she is getting stronger. This is the first time she has backed up with a race two weeks in a row. The other time was last May when she was very tired after the Oaks."
Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWEEKLY 9Feb06
YEAR: 2005
 |
Mainland Banner was promoted to first in the Stewards' room following the disqualification of Dudinka's Cullen for racing inside the markers for approximately 90 metres. He knocked down six of them on his way to running past Mainland Banner, Baileys Dream and Presido and winning the race by a length. This was his first start since trainer Tim Butt had bought him for leviathan Perth owner, Neven Botica.
Mainland Banner gave Dudinka's Cullen a 20m start, and had no favours in the early part of the race although she began well without being quickly away. She had a smother in the middle stages and after some pushing and shoving on the final bend, unleashing a strong finish from there.
This has left driver Ricky May in the interesting position of having two possible drives in the NZ Cup, with London Legend, who resumes in the Nobilo this week, as the other. "I'm really happy with her. I knew she would step okay from the start and she did, but got sqeezed a bit. We have got a meeting planned this week to see where we go from here," he said.
Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 12Oct05
YEAR: 2007
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| Brendon Hill & Robert Famularo's daughter Sara |
In race number 166, and attempting to make it a Cups double on the night for 10-year-olds after Some Direction had dominated the Ordeal Trotting Cup in her 138th start, Flashing Red drove to the front 1300m from home and a burner down the back in 27.4 had most struggling just to keep up. But Baileys Dream was still keen and indeed relishing the chase, and he came again up the passing lane to have Flashing Red covered quite easily in the end by a neck in a searching 3:11.7, a mile rate of 1:58.6 in cool and breezy conditions.
The last mile had breezed by in 1:55.8 and it will be a scary thought that the remarkable Flashing Red, off the back of one easy workout at Ashburton a fortnight ago, can only be expected to improve with the run. Ricky May for one remains in awe of the unfashionably-bred stallion, when he is one of those who will be most concerned by him. A year ago it was Flashing Red who effectively 'gutted' Mainland Banner when he fought back to down her in the Ashburton Flying Stakes in a world record of 1:57.3 mile rate for 2400m stand, prompting May to comment "he is like a disease - one that won't go away".
May knows that Baileys Dream may have got the better of Flashing Red on this occasion, when the draw enabled him to win a tactical battle of wits, but also that it will be entirely a different day whenever he comes up against him again from a stand and/or over two miles. "We got the drop on him and got to him pretty easy, but he just doesn't give up - he is just an amazing horse," said May. "Baileys Dream felt terrific and I had no idea we'd gone that quick overall (3:11), but I can see we are going to need to be at peak and have things going in our favour at any time (to beat Flashing Red)," he added.
What also remains to be seen is whether May is doing battle with Flashing Red behind Baileys Dream or Mainland Banner come Cup Day, and it could be quite late in the piece before anyone knows. Mainland Banner is almost certain to resume at Ashburton and be driven by May, and Baileys Dream is just as certain to be bypassing that race. "We definitely won't be going there - we don't see it as being a good race for him," said caretaker-trainer Brendon 'Benny' Hill. "A hard race at that point doesn't suit and the Hannon and Methven Cup are looking far more attractive options along with a final lead-up race at Addington," he added. The latter could either be a race on November 2 and 11 days before the Cup, or the Cup Trial, but the "hard yards" would have been done by then anyway.
"It's a bit difficult for the owners and trainers and I don't want to upset anybody either," said May. "The mare is going to have to come back very well and it's not going to be easy. You can't ask Baileys Dream to do anything more than he's doing either. In some ways you kind of hope the decision might be taken out of your hands, but I guess we'll just have to make a call when the time comes if we have to," he added. It does appear though that if May decides to handle Mainland Banner in the Cup again, where she will be back on the front line, that the Baileys Dream drive will go back to Todd Mitchell. That being the case, for Hill's part, he would hope that Mitchell "doesn't go into the Cup cold" and has a drive beforehand. That might seem to suggest that May might have to make a decision before November 1, regardless of whether Baileys Dream and Mainland Banner are both engaged in the November 2 race at Addington or not.
What May does know though is that Baileys Dream is "that fit and well he is jumping out of his skin, and that the credit must go to Brendon. He was very keen and actually wanted to over race when I handed up tp Flashing Red - that's why he was getting his head round a bit - although much of that was simply because Anthony (Butt) was driving to get past us. I'm sure the time off has been a blessing in disguise as I think he's probably going through a few growing pains. With no more problems, I can only see him improving with the racing because it will just serve to settle him."
What Hill knows is that from now on Baileys Dream will only be racing from stands, which will be as much about getting him off the unruly list as keeping him settled. "We've been told hat he will have to race himself off the unruly line, and we definitely want to get him off it as well. "He went away in the Cup last year from the unruly mark, but he has to learn the (standing start) game and be on level terms if he wants to win."
Hill says that missing the Flying Stakes has little to do with that being the track where he almost certainly hurt himself in an accident in a workout at the start of the year. "We were following horses at the start and there was a lot of dust. I was blinded and he couldn't see much either, and he paniked and knuckled over. We carried on to win the heat, but a couple of days later he was swollen and sore."
Hill said last Friday that Baileys Dream was bright and appeared to have come through the New Brighton Cup in great shape. "I'll still weigh him on Sunday though and keep an eye on that. Their weight can't tell you everything but it can tell you something. Every race now will be a stepping stone and a learning curve towards having him spot on for the Cup.
Credit: Frank Marrion writing in HRWeekly 19Sep07
YEAR: 2005
 |
| Molly Darling upsets Mainland Banner |
Molly Darling simply out-toughed the favourite Mainland Banner, and did it on her merits too, being left three wide and parked outside her over the last 800 metres before crossing the finish line half a length clear in a brilliant 1:57.8 mile rate. Absolutely Brilliant speared between runners late in the piece to grab third, albeit six lengths away, and for good measure Christian Cullen's only other representative in the Group 1 event (Kamwood Cully) ran fifth.
Molly Darling's part-owner, trainer and driver Brent Mangos was actually quite humble afterwards, having inflicted the first defeat on Mainland Banner in her eight-start career. "Horses just can't keep winning all the time," he said. "So someone's got to beat them; I'm just lucky that on this occasion it was me. But when Molly Darling's right, she's very, very good. In fact I don't think there is anything between her, Mainland Banner and Foreal," he said.
For Mangos it has been a long, hard road to get Molly Darling back to where she is now, but even if the fickle harness racing public seemed to lose faith, he didn't. The hiccups started after Molly Darling's trip to Sydney in February for the NSW Oaks Prelude and Final, which were the filly's first racetrack appearances since she won the Breeders' Crown Final in Bendigo last August. "Going to Sydney gutted her," he said. "She was probably only eighty percent ready when she went, and afer two big trips and the heat over there she had lost a lot of weight by the time she got home. "So I just backed off, and didn't rush her. That is why I missed the Great Northern Oaks and Sires' Stakes heats - so that we could specifically target these two events in Christchurch. I think she turned the corner the night she won in Auckland prior to coming down for the Oaks, because although she didn't beat much that night she felt like she was starting to come right. And I didn't do a lot with her in the week leading up to the Nevele R Final, but she'd felt good all week at Catherine and David Butt's and never left an oat. I wish the Oaks was next week now, because she just feels that good again."
Molly Darling is raced by Mangos in partnership with Scott Plant, Warren Oliver and Brian Hewes. You couldn't meet a more enthusiastic bunch of horse owners, but over the next few months there are some serious decisions to be made with regards to Molly Darling's future. After a fillies' and mares' event in Auckland on June 10, Molly Darling will either stay here for a heat of the Breeders' Crown on July 15 or cross the Tasman for the Australian Oaks. "Those two races are on the same night," Mangos said. "After that we may well send her to America, and lease her to someone over there for eighteen months or so. It's just that there is not a lot for her here as a 4-year-old mare. She might measure up to the good ones as a five or 6-year-old, but in the meantime she could win a lot of money in the States - and come home with a quick mile time. "It's all about keeping her happy, because if horses are happy they go good - especially mares."
Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly 25May05
YEAR: 2009
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| Ricky May's 2000th winner |
There was no whip fourish, just a sly smile of satisfaction on the face of Ricky May as he drove Tara Royale to his 2000th success at Rangiora yesterday. May's modest demeanour suggested it was just another race, but the win put his name in New Zealand harness-racing record books.
In a career that has seen the Methven reinsman win nearly every major race in New Zealand and Australia, May became only the third New Zealand harness-racing driver to reach the 2000-win mark, joining driving legends Maurice McKendry and Tony Herlihy.
Racegoers got their first look at Ricky May successes at the Geraldine racecourse on November 27, 1976, when he drove Ruling River to victory. The horse went on to win another seven races with May in the sulky. "She was owned by my grandmother (Anne May)," May said. "I was in the one-one early, but got shuffled back a wee bit. It was a pretty tight finish, but we won the race, and that was the start of things, really. She got me going."
In a time when it was tough for a junior driver to get a break in the game, May managed 20 wins in his first four seasons in the sulky. The real fun began when May teamed up with fellow Mid-Cantabrian Brian Saunders. The pair quickly struck up a training-driving partnership with an impressive strike rate that started with Miss Bromac, which won the Greymouth Cup.
Miss Bromac incidentally gave May his first New Zealand Cup win in the form of her son Inky Lord, which, to this day, is one of the most talked-about New Zealand Cup victories in the 105 runnings of the great harness race. Inky Lord appeared to be wiped out with 500 metres left to run, but made a remarkable comeback to win. "It's hard to name what was exactly my best moment, but your fist NZ Cup win is always special," May said. "He (Inky Lord) gave me some of my best moments in the game, but he also gave me some of my worst." A year after his breathtaking victory in the Cup, Inky Lord looked on song to make it two from two, before suffering a heart attack after the Cup Trial a week before the big race. "He felt awesome that day, too. It was gut-wrenching," May said. "I really think he could have won back-to-back Cups."
Two more New Zealand Cup victories were on the cards for May with Iraklis in 1997 and then Mainland Banner in 2005. "Mainland Banner would get the greatest performance of any horse that I have ever driven. She started out having her first start on Boxing Day, and 11 months later she won the NZ Cup, as well as nearly all of the major fillies races in between."
Renowned as one of the most patient drivers in racing, May early on based his driving style on Mike De Filippi and Peter Jones who were leading drivers at the time of his introduction to the game. It was that patience that earned May major respect from his peers, opponents and critics alike, although nowdays May sees it as something that cannot always be emulated. "Brian (Saunders) liked his horses driven quietly, so that fitted in with the way I liked to drive. You can't do it so much these days, just with the way that things have changed, but it still comes in handy every now and then." it was fitting then that May's 2000th winner came courtesy of just such a drive on Tara Royale yesterday.
The Dave Thompson-trained runner was given the prefect run by May, and when asked to give at the top of the straight, the Live Or Die filly gave plenty and cleared away for victory by three-quarters of a length. "It's a pretty big relief to finally get there actually. I drove Vita Man to win the Ashburton Flying Stakes in 1982 for Ray Anicich, who owns Tara Royale, so that makes it all the more special. He's pretty over the moon about it, too.
So the main question is where to now? May isn't too sure, but leaving the driving ranks isn't on the cards yet. I'll keep on going. I have been pretty lucky in having both trainers and owners who have been loyal to me and stuck with me throughout the years, and they will soon let me know when I'm not driving any good. "I haven't won an Interdominion or an Auckland Cup, but I am not too worried. If Monkey King was to come back next season as good as when he finished this one, he could get me one of them; he was fair flying before he went for a spell."
Three thousand wins paints a picture of a long road ahead, but it only took a matter of hours for May to get win number 2001 when Eisenhower crossed the line first later in the day yesterday, so who knows? Anything could be possible.
Credit: Matt Markham writing in The Press 29 June 2009
YEAR: 2009
2009 CHRISTCHURCH CASINO NZ TROTTING CUP
Robert Famularo didn't mind who knew - he was emotional before the running of the $1m Christchurch Casino New Zealand Cup at Addington Raceway.
After it was over, he had the immense pleasure of reporting the news to everyone. Because minutes after he stopped crying listening to the National Anthem, Monkey King brought a new wave of tearful joy by winning the Cup with a swooping run wide out on the track. "I was crying before the race and I cried after it."
That was after Monkey King, which he races with his wife Kerry and daughters Sara and Michelle under the Cavalla Bloodstock banner, had delivered the killer blow to the Aussie hopes, Smoken Up and Karloo Mick. No sooner had he done that when Bettor's Strike whistled out of the pack, slipping between the weakening Karloo Mick and a tiring but trying Kiwi Ingenuity, to close quickly and run him to a neck.
Famularo knew that if one horse deserved a reward at this high level, it was Monkey King. "It would have been a travesty if he endeed his career without a triumph such as this." Monkey King had gone close before, beaten a whisker by Flashing Red two years ago. Last Year, it was more of the same for Cavalla, beaten with Baileys Dream by Changeover. "It's been a difficult two years, coming to this one. I made a real effort to stay calm and collected. I love Monkey King and I'm so proud of him."
In fact, Famularo cast his passion net much further, praising his pivotal pair, trainer Benny Hill and driver Ricky May. "I can't underestimate the great strength that Benny brings to our operation. He loves these animals and so does Ricky. What's so wonderful about Ricky is that we are always presented with a racehorse each time when he gets back."
Famularo, who inherited his interest in racing from his father who liked a bet and his involvement from a successful company in the building industry, bought his first horse 30 years ago and has expanded to create a boutique breeding and racing establishment in North Canterbury. Monkey King came as a $20,000 purchase by initial trainer Steven Reid from the Premier Yearling Sales, and Famularo later bought his sire, Sands A Flyin.
Famularo is the first to admit that Hill and May have greater responsibilities than he has. "I can afford to be detached, and balance emotion with the objective. They must finish the business." In that respect, he has his horses in kind and clever hands. But Famularo has his eye on wider targets. "There has got to be another challenge. Whatever it is, we have got a long way to go."
Unlike the quiet and retiring Famularo, it is a flamboyant ambition but one they could well achieve.
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BENNY HILL'S SUDDEN RISE TO THE TOP
Benny Hill has arrived in harness racing's fast lane quicker than he thought. Not so long ago, he was a loyal offsider for Steven Reid, then a training partner. But less than two years ago, when Reid threw in with Graeme Rogerson, Hill was left with the pleasant burden of looking after Monkey King, Baileys Dream, Harley Earl and some others with tidy connections.
Hill had done six years as a junior with Reid and had schooled well. "Four years ago my life changed. My wife and I split up. It was a big move to come south, and certainly a bit nerve-wracking. When I took over Dancingonmoonlight, it was really an extension of what I had already been doing," he said.
Having driven Monkey King in 2006 and in every start over the past 18 months, May was already part of the team. His patient style appeared to suit Monkey King, who has a lightning sprint but was always toey at the start. At the Met's Easter Meeting, Monkey King looked more like the professional racehorse he promised to be. "From that time onwards, you could notice a change. The stands were still a concern, but not the major worry they were."
Hill was so happy with the horse that he said he could do nothing more to improve him. Midway through the afternoon, he left the course with fellow trainer Laurence Hanrahan for a raspberry and coke. "But I was relaxed. It was only when I heard the National Anthem that I got a bit nervous."
Hill said May gave Monkey King a drive that suited the horse. "It was perfect. I just hand him the reins. But he comes and gets to know our horses, and he came up and drove four at the workouts for us last week: his job, not mine."
For Hill, Monkey King has now raced 10 times for seven wins and two seconds.
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RICKY MAY WINS FOURTH NZ CUP
Super-cool Ricky May has become one of only two to drive the winners of four New Zealand Cups. He won with Monkey King on Tuesday, which followed those of Inky Lord, Iraklis and Mainland Banner. Todd Mitchell has won four, with Just An Excuse(twice), Homin Hosed and Gracious Knight, and they are both one behind the great Cecil Devine whose five wins were with False Step(three), Van Dieman and Thunder.
May's first hurdle was to get Monkey King off the mark, and he stood slightly ahead of Awesome Armbro to be on the safe side. He was away in good order, but settled well back while Pembrook Benny set off hard and Karloo Mick carried it on, and so did Smoken Up. So the Australians ran to the mile one and two, Pembrook Benny placed nicely three-back, while Washakie and Mr Feelgood were at times parked.
With a lap to run, Power Of Tara moved round, bringing up Kiwi Ingenuity and Monkey King caught the back of her. Near the 500 metres, Kiwi Ingenuity made her move, circling wide. May could see Smoken Up and Karloo Mick lower on the track, working hard, and the worring signs of Pembrook Benny looking strong behind them. "I was still back a bit on the bend, and I didn't know whether we'd be able to pick them up or not. I'd had a good run till then, but felt they were running along a bit - what time did we go? I could have sat longer, but I could see that Robbie (Holmes) was a bit flat and I looked up and saw the others were further ahead than I thought."
This is what Monkey King loves best - to spring from cover, a chase and a hard sprint. It was a Tua-type blow. Just when he had done that, Dexter Dunn found a gap for Bettor's Strike between Karloo Mick and Kiwi Ingenuity, which appeared to incovenience the mare when Karloo Mick ran out. Driver Greg Bennett was later fines $500 for it. "I've never been so excited," May said. "I'm so rapt for the horse. He's never had the accolades he has deserved."
Like Hill, May said he saw the change in Monkey King start six months ago. "He's great over two miles, and he is really quite versitile. Inky Lord was one-dimensional, in that he had to sprint. Iraklis was a bit like that, and Mainland Banner was tough but did not have the speed that he has."
May was later fined $500 for overuse of the whip and Lance Justice, the driver of Smoken Up, was fined the same for the same offence.
Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 12Nov09
YEAR: 2006
Dudley Moore, who died recently in a Blenheim rest home at the age of 88, had a long and notable association with harness racing. Along with his brother Dennis, he bred and raced the wonderful pacer Caduceus, and stood at stud the successful sire, Tuft.
Caduceus, by U Scott from Little Ada, won 28 races in NZ, 18 in Australia, and took a record of 1:57.8 in the US when he was 12. He was trained by Jack Litten to win the 1960 Inter-Dominion Grand Final at Harold Park at his sixth attempt, when he was nine.
Moore was a former steward of the NZ Metropolitan Trotting Club and was a regular vendor at the national yearling sales.
He is survived by five children, including Dennis, who bred the 2005 NZ Cup winner, Mainland Banner.
Credit: HR Weekly 29Oct06