| FEATURE RACE COMMENT |
YEAR: 2008
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Club syndicates acquiring yearlings at the Sales by trainers selecting them from the middle market is a concept that has proved an outstanding success, and another chapter was written in that story when Roydon Flash took out the featured Ballantynes Trot on New Zealand Cup Day at Addington. A good and consistent sort who is "always a chance," Roydon Flash recorded his ninth win on Tuesday, and along with 13 seconds from his 49 starts to date the 6-year-old son of S J's Photo has now won around $120,000.
Anthony Butt gave the gelding a lovely trip on the outer and he outgunned Braig and the brave pacemaking mare Marie Wishes close to home. Roydon Flash will now back up in Friday's $100,000 NZ Trotting FFA and the $300,000 Dominion Handicap on Friday week. "He might as well race on Friday - that will save me having to work him," said co-trainer Tim Butt. "The trotters don't actually look overly strong at the moment so this could be a very good meeting for him," he added.
Tuesday was already good enough for most of the many people involved in the Met Three Syndicate, which purchased three horses out of the 2004 Premier Sale. The three leading trainers from Addington the previous season have got to do the honours at each sale in recent years, and that year Ken Barron sorted out Willie Five 0, who managed a win at Addington a couple of years ago. Cran Dalgety had selected Analyst, a smart youngster who won a Sires' Stakes 2YO Silver at Addington and started in the Sires' Stakes 3YO Final won by Pay Me Christian. The Presidential Ball colt won four races and $54,000 before he was sold to America.
The syndicates had started out with Met One, which had three winners including a good sort in Pocket Game (4 NZ wins, $64,000) for Barron. Met Two went even better however with New Zealand Derby winner and unlucky Cup runner Likmesiah (13 NZ wins, $424,000) along with Danger Sign (7 NZ wins, $59,000). Met Four races rising star Texas Hold Em, who was second later on Tuesday, along with Jack Jack Attack who has managed half a dozen placings to date. Met Five has three 2-year-olds by Christian Cullen and McArdle and a brother to Sovereignty, while Met Co-Syndicate Manager Blair Cartwright says they are likely to "go again" next year with the amount of interest about. "We normally have a syndicate every second year, but the next one is half full already and we haven't even put it to the existing syndicate members yet," said Cartwright. "It is the horse which make it so successful and easy - I call Roydon Flash out little Eftpos machine," he added.
It was Tim Butt who instigated buying a trotter when the syndicates had previously sought pacers. "Most pacers win a race or two and they have reached their mark, but if you can get a decent trotter, they can go on racing and winning for years," said Butt. "Roydon Flash might not be able to beat the good trotters, but he is still pretty good. He has speed and he can stay so he is always a chance," he added.
Butt recalls that he looked at four colts by S J's Photo in the 2004 Sale and wound up with the last of them for his budgeted $25,000. "He was actually the smallest one of them, but he was out of a Simon Roydon half-sister to Sundon and he had no faults. I don't think the others did any good." The others were Lightscameraction, who won a two-horse Breeders' Crown event as a 2-year-old, and who is still trying to win another race in Australia, along with Kyvalley Mirage (8 Aus wins, $34,775) and Locophoto, who raced without winning.
Once through the Cup Meeting, Roydon Flash will either go to Auckland for Christmas racing or to Victoria, but either way he is heading for the Inter-Dominions.
Credit: Frank Marrion writing in HRWeekly 13Nov08
YEAR: 2008
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If Stig lost any mana having an off-day at Kaikoura, it was forgotten and forgiven as he won it back with a handsome win in the $100,000 First Sovereign Trust NZ Trotting Free-For-All at Addington on Friday. Idid It Myway came with his customary strong, late run for second, heading off Roydon Flash and Awesome Imace.
The effort suggested that Stig is near enough to a good thing in the $300,000 Heller Tasty Dominion Handicap. He was unforgiving when he resumed after a long break to win a stand over 3200m at Addington; he was brilliant winning next over a mile at Ashburton, and then the real Stig stood down from what he normally does at Kaikoura, a track that can be tricky for some.
Trainer Paul Nairn said he probably didn't like the track there being "shifty", but perhaps more telling was that he was "annoyed" the day before by his stablemate Day Of Reckoning who was in season. In any event, he was a box of birds getting back home, and if Nairn wasn't "overly confident" on Show Day, he has a right to be now.
Safely through this week's mission, Stig will have a small operation to remove a stitch that has caused a wee weeping bump above the offside hind foreleg after he broke a sesamoid a year ago. "For some reason the stitch hasn't dissolved," said Nairn, "we will get it out soon."
Stig, of course, still has some way to go to match and better the feats of Call Me Now, Above The Stars and some of the other top trotters Nairn has trained, but it shouldn't be long before he is there and gone past. "This horse is still getting there," said Nairn. "Call Me Now ran 4.05 and still holds the New Zealand record for 2000 metres." Beyond this meeting, Nairn is taking his time. "I'm happy to leave the page open after this. He will most likely spell, have a month or so off, and then get ready for the Rowe Cup."
Stig is raced by Tim and Andrea Butt, Ross Thomas, of Christchurch, and Jim Boyd, of Hamilton, whose musical talents in the birdcage did not reach the same high notes that Stig did on the track. Butt originally tried to syndicate Stig as a yearling with 12 shares at $5000 each, but when only two were taken up, they were left with 10.
Springbank Richard was eight lengths from Stig, and driver Nathan Williamson said he'd be driving him differently in the Dominion, hoping he will settle better. "We knew it would take him a few starts to find his feet in this grade. I would like to drive him cold, and see what he can do with one run at them."
Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 19Nov08