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Dave McGowan doesn't care if he's fragile and gets weepy when One Dream wins. He's past caring what other people think. And he's been told by the people who matter most - his wife Clare, driver Frank Cooney and owner Jill Smolenski - to stop the worry and start enjoying watching the champion filly race. And now, he is.

He couldn't remember a day at the races he enjoyed so much as he did at Addington last Saturday - not because One Dream won the $125,000 Nevele R Fillies Final like the trooper she is, but because he'd gone to the races and gone without the pressure. Before, he carried it inside like a friend who wouldn't leave. "As she kept winning, I felt the pressure more and more. No-one else did. It was just me, putting the pressure on myself. I was being growled at to enjoy what she was doing."

And then, One Dream was beaten in the Northern Oaks by a dropped whip and Running On Faith. "I was just waiting for the bubble to burst. I was a mess after that, not because she lost, but because it was over. I was not enjoying going to the races - I was so scared. And I thought 'Ooo, whats happening here?' The good thing was that it brought everything back into perspective for me."

With some relief from that, McGowan was able to sit back and analyse how One Dream had been racing, and he knew she wasn't quite playing the game. "She wasn't hitting the line like I knew she should. So I gave it some thought and decided to work her in half blinds. I had no need to do it, but she was being a bit casual and I knew she needed a wee tune-up." They went on last Tuesday, but not for her work on Thursday, as McGowan considered they had done what he intended. He was right. "I pulled her out on Thursday, to see if it had made any difference. Well, holy sh... I wasn't ready for it, and lost control for a short time," he said.

That was the horse that took the unflappable Cooney to a convincing win over Belletti in the Group 1 feature. "I've driven some good fillies, like Alta Serena and Oaxaca Lass, but they couldn't do what this filly can do," Cooney said. "My own belief is that she's better coming off the back of one, and she's better racing this way round," he said.

A sensitive and gentle man, McGowan had more pleasing moments to come after the race. "Frank and I were taking her back to the box, and each driver of the next race we passed on the track called out their congratulations to us. It makes you feel good about yourself, and you could tell they love to see a great horse win. She's such a sweet horse... no ears back, no swishy tail. And she gets so excited when she goes out to fast work. At home, we'll either go left to the jog track or right when we go to our fast work track. She gets that spring in her stride when we turn right and she knows what's happening," he said.

McGowan made his start in Canterbury with Brian Gliddon, when he had Frosty Lobell and Alias Armbro, followed by time with Murray Hamilton and Peter Robinson, and his first training winner was Fergie's Rocket who won eight for J X Ferguson. He doesn't think the success he's had with One Dream has been a huge success for business, but a documentary on 'The Racing Show' brought him Sue Dreamer, Alta Sirocco and Nicky Hanover. "They've all come with their little problems, but that's where Clare is so good in helping them thinking it through. I really think Sue Dreamer is the fastest horse over a furlong I've sat behind, and I think there is a lot more in her."

Another key to the success of the team is stable driver Nicole Molander. "She's there every morning, and she comes back and tells us things that only we know about. She gives you all this information, and it's all about caring for your horse and making a difference," he said.

McGowan is well aware of where he's heading with One Dream, and the program from here is simple and laid out - as it was when they started. "It's easy to plan for her, because the races are programmed. She races this week in the Oaks, then the Harness Jewels, a heat of the Breeders' Crown at Cambridge at the end of July, a semi-final, then the final, and then it's a spell for two months. Very limited mileage really, because Jill has said she does not want a tired broodmare." So nice for them too, knowing they have a half-sister by In The Pocket waiting in the wings to take her place. "And she knows what life's about. She has that same attitude and quiet aggression that One Dream has," he said.

So, has McGowan really shaken the pressure off? "On Sunday I had a lovely time taking Mum out for Mother's Day, and on Saturday night we celebrated and I had two gins. That was the first time I'd done that since Ballarat." Perhaps he has.

In the meantime, Smolenski has Fraser - her maiden name - Island, a half-brother by Island Fantasy, to look forward to, while their dam Solitaire will be going to Christian Cullen next season.


Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 16May07

Dennis Smolenski is a lucky man. His charming wife Jill is one of harness racing's elite ladies - and she is the proud owner of a horse. Sometimes, that can be a tricky area. Not quite up to the mark, attachments, things like that. But this is One Dream. And Jill is particularly attached to her, and Dennis is happily attached to them both. So he should. She is more than up to the mark, adding the Group 1 Wayne Francis Memorial NZ Oaks to her Nevele R Fillies win of the week before at Addington last Friday.

And while it gave Jill another reason to bless her good luck, she was thinking the win meant more to Dennis than it did to her. "It was a race Dennis was really keen to win. He'd gone close before with Gina Marie and Gina Rosa, and knows how special Oaks wins are," she said.

For driver Frank Cooney it was just another day at the office, more or less. He reported faithfully that she felt sharper than she did in the Nevele R Final, and thought she looked a bit brighter in the coat. He said he had nothing to worry about - other than an early hic-cup when a hopple shortener pin got stuck - and it was just a matter "of not doing the wrong thing". He was not surprised the lead did not come to him immediately. "I had an inkling one or two might come out better than us, and it was nice to get that cover until we got to the back," he said.

Jill was again the epitome of graciousness, so thrilled that so many friends and family came to join her and share the success. "And we're so looking forward to Ashburton because my sister Rhonda and her family are coming up from Outram and they've never seen One Dream before." They are one of many who have written, phoned, faxed and texted Jill with nice words about One Dream. "They've come from all over really, but some are from people who we have never heard of. It's incedible really where that interest comes from," she said.

Jill has spent a lifetime in harness racing, joining Ross Dynes after leaving James Hargest School in Invercargill when he had Berry Hanover and other stallions of National Bloodstock's. She moved to Hamish Hunter's, where she was licenced and won a race with Ryal Avenger, and then went back to Dynes before taking up a Marcus Oldham Scholarship. This was in Geelong, for a year, which she said was 'brilliant'.

She went to Sandy Yarndley's on returning, then suffered a broken back after being kicked by a horse. Her next move was to Almahurst Farm, where Max Bowden stood Knight And Deigh and Oblivion II, and where she got her A I ticket. Then on to Roydon Lodge, Prebbleton Farm, Wai-Eyre Farm, Studholme Park and Woodlands Stud.

It was a career move that has taken her and Dennis to caring for broodmares, foals and yearlings owned by Stonewall Stud and Rod Croon. "It was time to step back, and work without the deadlines of managing a stud," she said. "We have about forty-five mares, and this season we had twenty-four foals and they're coming in every fortnight for handling. So there could be that many we will be preparing for the yearling sales."

Jill and Dennis have three mares of their own, including Solitaire, the dam of One Dream. They also have a half share in Maggicolo, an Il Vicolo-Regal Guest mare in foal to Red River Hanover, and with Clare McGowan a half share in Corzanello, a Totally Ruthless-Rear Window mare in foal to Western Terror.

The Smolenskis will eventually return to Canterbury, but Jill says "we are happy where we are and will do that only when we're ready. We're passionate about the industry. We have dreamed about having a lovely filly, but One Dream has exceeded it." And Dennis says she's deserved it. "She's brought thousands of foals into the world - it's nice that she's got one of her own."

Behind One Dream came Running On Faith, a bold finisher, and Smoke N Mirrors who flew the gate and trailed the leader.





Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 23May07