By Mac Henry
Canterbury and Southland owners shared the limelight at Winton on Thursday, following Glenferrie Classic’s win in the Aon Insurance Equine Stakes.
The daughter of Bettor’s Delight is the fifth foal of Mainland Banner and trained by Mark Jones who won the race last year with Mainland Banner’s fourth foal Rocker Band. He also won the feature for up to C3 mares four year old or older in 2009 with Telemecanique.
Glenferrie Classic paced the mile on Central Southland raceway in 1:55.9, a tad faster than the 1:56.2 taken by her dam on her first visit south. That was in a Southland Oaks heat at Wyndham, ahead of Mainland Banner’s triumph in the group two final in 2005.
Jones took a hand in arranging the ownership of Glenferrie Classic with the Canterbury half taken by Equine Investments Ltd, the company of Hamish and Kim Scott, and Ashburton couple Gavin and Sheryn Saunders. Gavin Saunders is no newcomer to the winner’s circle, having bred and owned Inky Lord who was prepared by his brother Brian to win the 1989 New Zealand Cup.
The Southland connection came about through the mare Twice The Delight who was trained by Jones for a group of owners including Matai Farms Limited. That Company includes Bathan and Jane Muir, who were co-breeders of Twice The Delight, and Bathan’s parents Ken and Jill.
“It was Mark who asked if we were interested, we took a quarter share and our friend Brendan Duffy took a quarter,” Bathan Muir said.
Duffy breeds and races horses with his father, Southland District Council Deputy Mayor Paul, who was called on in the absence of Brendan to speak for the group at the presentation. As Jane Arnott, Jane Muir represented New Zealand in the 400 metres at the Manchester Games in 2002 and Melbourne in 2006.
Glenferrie Classic was driven by Stevie Golding who earlier in the day won the the 2400 metre PGG Wrightson ‘Sale Of the Stars’ mobile on Best Defence, also trained by Jones. The six year old has been leased this season by Katie and Mark McNamara and was having his sixth start for them. In the first of those six, Best Defence ran second at Timaru to Dancing In The Dark who also raced at Winton and finished runner-up to Glenferrie Classic.
Best Defence was cared for at Winton by Andrew Stuart who said the win would be consolation to McNamara who recently lost the Alta Christiano filly from Beaudiene Bianco he had named Angela. According to Stuart, the filly was in fact a colt and will be renamed Caitlyn. Best Defence paced the journey in 2:58.3 and won comfortably.
Ninety two year old Ivy Wong, from Fairfield in Dunedin, was at Winton to see her filly Kitura win the Regent Car Court Fillies and Mares Mobile Mile. Wong, who can recall racing horses with Jack Litten, races Kitura with the filly’s breeder, Mark Law of Wellington. She had previously raced Kitura’s half brother Livura with Law. Livura won four in New Zealand and when he was sold to Australia, Wong took an interest in Kitura. Livura and Kitura are out of 2006 Southland Oaks winner Zitura.
Ten years later the 2016 Southland Oaks was taken out by Nek Time and at the time it provided her Southland owners Robert and Sharyn Symon with their biggest win. This season, their aim has turned to the Supremacy Stakes for colts and geldings and Robert Symon hopes Young Conqueror will be the horse to pull it off for them. The gelded son of Mach Three and Ballroom Babe was a winner on debut of the ‘ChCh Lot 288 – Don’t You Know Who I Am?’ Pace at Winton and in all his time as an owner, Symons said it is the first time he has had one win first time to the races.
Young Conqueror received his early education with Mark Shirley and Debbie Larkins who qualified him at Gore in October, clocking 2:48.6 for the Mobile 2200. The following month, Symons bought the three year old after having Nek Time’s trainer Terry Chmiel travel south to test drive him. Brett Gray then became Young Conqueror’s new trainer, he was driven to win by Brent Barclay and is likely to race next at the Northern Southland meeting next month.
Don Sebastian delivered at Winton for the Test Syndicate of which his trainer Des Baynes is a member. Baynes said he arranged for the syndicate to buy the gelding after he had been educated and had a couple of starts for Jesse Wederell.
“We’d sold Galactic Star and didn’t have Bettor Buy It back at the time so were looking for something,” Baynes said.
Don Sebastian’s win came at his sixth start for Baynes, after his first five results had included a second two thirds and a fourth.
Southland Shearing identity JJ Cringle enjoyed success with Pay Master, a four year old he races with the gelding’s trainer Alan Paisley and Paisley’s wife Gail. Pay Master is the 12th and final foal of Nuclear Princess, a now deceased mare the trio acquired in the twilight of her life.
Cringle first became involved in the stock of Nuclear Princess when his friends Gad and Joan Carter acquired her seventh foal Princess Delight – a $9000 premier sales purchase – and invited Cringle into the ownership. Trained by Paisley, she won four and had 16 seconds or thirds.
According to Cringle, Paisley noticed Nuclear Princess was for sale, in foal to Extreme Three, at the 2011 Christchurch Autumn Sale. She was knocked down to the trio for $1100 and the foal she was carrying, Extreme Prince, won at Wyndham last November at his second start. He was immediately sold to Australia. Pay Master by Gotta Go Cullect was her only other foal.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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