by Tayler Strong
Alexy, the most raced pacer in New Zealand in 2016-17, ended the season on a winning note at Oamaru on Sunday.
The seven-year-old gelding was having his 44th start for the season and his 166th lifetime start when he came off a second line draw.
The nine-year-old trotter Danke raced 58 times in NZ during the season and won three.
Alexy had won at Rangiora seven days earlier. He was driven on Sunday by Blair Orange, who ended the season with a personal best 193 wins in second place to Dexter Dunn (228) in the NZ premiership.
The win of Alexy was a tribute to his sire, Courage Under Fire, who died on Saturday. Courage Under Fire also sired Social Fireball, a winner at Maryborough on Sunday.
Alexy is trained at Waikouaiti by Denis O’Connell, who races the gelding with his sister, Colleen Negus. She is the wife of Burnham trainer, Bruce, who trained Courage Under Fire to win his first 24 races including six Derbies with Colin De Filippi the driver.
O’Connell took over the training and ownership (with Colleen) of Alexy in January, 2016.
Alexy had his first win as a three-year-old at Fobury Park in August 2012 when trained by Mark Jones for breeder Greg Brodie.
Alexy did not win again until three years later when owned and trained by Bruce Negus.
Alexy has won three times for O’Connell, including two at Rangiora.
He began his seven-year-old campaign at Motukarara in October and raced on 15 different tracks from Rangiora to Invercargill during the season.
Alexy had 42 starts as a four-year-old and 37 at five.
“I just jogged him at the beach during the week. He loves the beach and training a straight line,’’ said O’Connell.
He is planning to start Alexy in a race for amateur drivers at Addington on Friday night with Negus the driver.
O’Connell has won with other sevem-year-olds — the trotters Miri (2015) and Rambling Willie (1993) and the pacer Enterprise Two (1989). He trained the trotter Francis Dalrae to win a free-for-all at Addington as an eight-year-old in 1989 when the Inter-Dominion winner Yankee Loch was runner up and another Inter-Dominion winner, Tussle finished fifth.
O’Connell won with the nine-year-old pacer Tomoco at Alexandra in 1987.
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