By Duane Ranger
My Sky is proving to be a very good buy for Franklin trainer, Adrienne Matthews.
The $3,000 claimer from the Thames meeting on January 21 was only one of two horses to win on both days at Manawatu Raceway last week. The other was the Brent Weaver trained Extra Guinnes
My Sky ran seventh for Jill Coppins at that Thames meeting a couple of months ago, but Matthews said she bought the 5-year-old mare for more than racing reasons.
“I was looking for a trotter for Erin Isherwood (junior driver and employee) to drive, but I also noticed that My Sky was very well bred.
“She is closely related to Sheemon (19 wins) and Solar Fire (14 wins) and I thought that if she didn’t make it as a racehorse then she would make a nice broodmare,” Glenbrook-based Matthews said.
She said because My Sky was a ‘nervy’ animal and didn’t take to kindly to regular racing she would line her up her infrequently this season and then put her to the broodmare’s paddock next year.
“She’s only a small horse and gets nervous easily and has only really started to settle in. She’s the sort of horse who just needs more confidence and I think her trip away to Palmerston North last week would have done her the world of good.
“Racing can knock her around a bit and that’s why I’m going to space out her races. She’s a good beginner and has good manners so there’s no reason why she can’t win a few more before we retire her,” Matthews said.
“I’ll probably line her up at the next Manawatu meeting later this month. She takes a wee while to recover from her races,” she added.
Matthews believed My Sky ‘turned the corner’ when she ran her first placing at Hawera on April 17.
“She ran a nice second that day and has really come of age since then. I drove her at Hawera and she followed that good run up with her two wins at Manawatu.
“She’s getting more and more confident all the time. Jay (Abernethy) gets on really well with her and drove her brilliantly on both days. He’s been a big reason why she has gone so good lately,” Matthews said.
At the Manawatu meeting on Tuesday My Sky was a $14.50 sixth favourite and trotted the R47 to R62 trot in 2:23.3 (mile rate 2:10.8) and she came home in 62.8 and 31.4.
Then two days later at the Wairarapa meeting she was the $4.40 third favourite and trotted the Up to R63 trot in 3:22.7 (mile rate 2:10.4) and home in 62.3 and 30.2.
Both races were 2500m standing star events.
The Skyvalley filly is the fourth of eight foals out of the one-win (from two starts) SJ’s Photo mare, Focus On Me.
Matthews has trained My Sky for eight of her 24 starts. Kevin Townley trained her to her first two wins at Timaru on October 4, 2015 and Reefton on March 6 last year. She came to Coppins’ Morrinsville stable last winter.
All up My Sky has now won four times and ran second once for $18,493. She was bred by Tavistock Breeding Limited.
She is one of 15 horses at Matthews’ Glenbrook stable, which is situated between Pukekohe and Waiuku.
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