By Mac Henry
Makarewa Rum’s breeder, owner and trainer, Clark Barron drove the four year old to victory in the Willy’s Flooring / J D Souness Ltd Trot at Wyndham on Sunday and then hung up his driving kit for the rest of the day.
“I’ve been lucky to work for people who have known when to slow down,” Barron remarked, “I’m not sick of it and I’m not retiring, I’ve just got too many racing and not enough time to do both. I’ve pretty much finished outside driving.”
At the previous Wyndham fixture, Barron had 10 racing and drove eight of them. In the first race on Invercargill Cup Day, he provided three of the six runners in the race. That helped him make the decision to cut down on driving and spend more time with the racing team.
Another factor was when his daughter Elle, a talented equestrian, regular assistant on raceday, and recently qualified physiotherapist, took up full-time employment with SportsMed at Stadium Southland.
Barron had nine horses at Wyndham, including three for his brothers Ken and Tony, and double-ups on a couple of occasions.
He bred and owns Makarewa Rum in partnership with his father Ron. A four year old son of Bacardi Lindy, the gelding’s dam Ali’s Girl is out of 1991 Rowe cup winner, Gee du Jour. Ron Barron recalled the Cain family of Gore shared in the ownership of Gee du Jour who was trained by John Lischner when Ken Barron worked for him.
Clark and Ron were given Ali’s Girl to train, she failed to win, her owners didn’t want to breed from her and gave her to the Barrons.
“We took three foals, Makarewa Monarch had a second and third in New Zealand, and won in Australia,” Ron Barron said.
Of the three visitors from Ken and Tony’s barn, Shezza GNP and Don Domingo were both winners. Shezza GNP, one of a trio of three year old fillies to impress at Wyndham, was driven by Blair Orange in the Aon Insurance Mobile.
Don Domingo scored in the hands of Matt Anderson who picked up both junior drivers events. From the All Stars stable, Anderson said he is happy to come south for just one drive and two wins was a bonus. His first winner, the Tim Butt-trained The Best Beg gave him special satisfaction.
“He’d been doing things wrong, it was good to win on him,” he said of the victory in the Rodgers Garage Ltd Trot.
Anderson was driving both horses for the first time and comfortable sitting parked on Don Domingo in the Marshalls Garage 2005 Ltd Pace.
“The front wasn’t available but I was on the best horse and dictated the speed to a certain degree,” he said, after winning in 2:57.6.
The Southland Standardbred Breeders Association mobile mile for mares, third of four heats in the Southern Belle Speed Series, was won in 1:54.9 by Dexter Dunn aboard the Regan Todd-trained Kayteeoh Denario.
From one off the gate, Dunn handed up to Matthew Williamson on My Cash, quickly when round to regain the lead and never surrendered.
Bred and raced by Mark and Pauline O’Connor, Kayteeoh Denario is from the family of 1:48.4 miler Fake Denario. Kayteeoh Denario started her career with Wayne Adams at Invercargill but Mark O’Connor said she brushed a knee and it was decided to send her for straight line training on the beach.
She is named after the O’Connor’s second daughter Kaitlen Therese, an Auckland banker who at Arrowtown a couple of days earlier, celebrated her 26th birthday. Kayteeoh Denario had been set for the mile series in a bid for a good winning mile time and will be back south for the series final at Winton on 9 April.
In other highlights from Wyndham:
* three year filly Seaswift Franco lined up against the older horses in the MLT/Pioneer Tavern Handicap and won her first stand start contest in 3:00.1, a track record for females of any age;
* Alister Black picked up a training double, starting with Bettor’s Delight gelding Jean Luc’s win in the non-tote Southern Bred Southern Reared mobile mile for two year olds in 1:57.6. Gavin Smith was the winning driver. Black’s second winner was three year old Changeover filly Power Surge who overcame going from the outside of the second line on debut in the stand-start Alan Caldwell Contracting Pace;
* another winner on debut was the Brett Gray-trained El Capitan in the Betterthancheddar @ Alabar Mobile for the Dolamite Syndicate, still going after 47 years and one of the oldest ownership groups in the country;
* three year old Whittaker backed up his Invercargill win from last week with an even more impressive performance in the Placemakers Invercargill Mobile to make it three from four;
* more than 13 years after winning with Cool Ripple at Wyndham, trainer Greg Hunter and driver Andrew Suddaby scored with her daughter Simple Pleasure, in the G T Chamberlain Builders Mobile;
* on his first trip to Southland, West Melton six year old The God Botherer was successful in the Shane Matheson Crutching & Shearing trot.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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