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Lady Toddy lasts to beat Alta Serena

Lady Toddy was all but written off when she drew the cruel number nine marble in the $100,000 NZ Standardbred Breeders' Stakes sprint at Addington last Friday night.

It was a fair call, for neither of the two choices available to trainer Ken Barron made any appeal. One was to ease and go back and hope to hook a ride in the three-wide train over the last lap, or take the enormously risky gamble of pressing on from the start and slip in with cover. This wasn't going to be a drive for the faint-hearted, and Barron knew it and said it. "I told Rodney (O'Neill, the stable foreman) that I couldn't go back if I wanted a fair chance of winning."

Not many try this trick, and those who do it are usually remembered for going on a perilous journey that ends badly. Barron is not one of them. Within 400 metres, Barron had snuggled in to trail Tibetan Lass, on the outer. Coburg held the front, Imagine That had gone three-deep, favourites Armbro Innocence and Alta Serena had taken their only choice and stayed back, and Barron pinched himself to see if it was true.

Even with 1000 metres to run, the back markers had hardly moved, leaving Lady Toddy with a trip she has seldom had this season. She stayed under cover until just before the turn and, in her usual determined style, came out hard and strong. At one stage, halfway down the straight, she might have got a length on the other chances, and while that may have painted a pretty picture then, it started to look less than enough 50 metres out.

Wide on the track Alta Serena started to carve the margin back, slowly at first but with mighty chunks near the end. The post came just soon enough for Lady Toddy. Had it been a few metres more this may not have been the case, Alta Serena's effort was huge, Lady Toddy has long been an Addington favourite and deserved her win.



Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 9Feb05

Mister D G justified his favouritism in the $25,000 Nobilo, winning from Light And Sound and Scorching.

Coming on top of his Hannon Memorial win, and with more room for improvement still likely, Mister D G is emerging as the horse to beat in the Canterbury Draught New Zealand Cup.

Lady Toddy was a game and close fourth, less than two lengths from the winner, and the Australian Mont Denver Gold finished strongly, about a length further back.

Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 20Oct04