By Matt Markham
When Brent White and Stephen McNally next combine to win a race there will be an extra reason for the two good mates to raise a glass and toast to the success.
The trainer and driver combination notched up their 49th success at Timaru on Sunday when they combined not once, but twice, for success with Petite’s Blue Chip and Ultimate Fella, continuing a golden run for the pair that has lasted almost a decade.
“When I had the Australasian Hotel in Greymouth we sponsored Stephen purely through the boys staying with us when they came over for the Greymouth meetings.
“I got to know him through Murray Edmonds who drove my first winner back in 1992 and we’ve been good mates since really. He actually drove a bit for me when I was an owner and Mark Harrington trained a few for me and a syndicate of us from the Pub.
“And when I moved over to Springston and took over the Springston Hotel we once again sponsored him and it’s gone on from there.”
Their first success came in April of 2007 when Cassino Woman won at Timaru and there’s been plenty that have followed.
“99 per cent of the time we see eye to eye which helps,” White laughed.
“He’s looked after my horses really well though and has helped make some them into really nice horses.
“I think he’s a pretty underrated driver these days.”
White went to Timaru on Sunday thinking he had a good chance of a couple of victories if things went his way.
But he expected one of them to come from Wobbegong, a maiden pacer who hasn’t been having a lot of luck.
“He was the one I tipped out to anyone who asked, so I got that wrong.”
Petite’s Blue Chip, a five-year-old son of Santanna Blue Chip did it the hard way, sitting parked before wearing his opposition down to win clearing away in the final stages.
“Stephen actually said his last 80 to 100 metres was his best, he coasted to the line.
“He’s been a horse who has just kept surprising me to be honest, there’s a bit of scope there for him to maybe win another couple of races.
“We will look to the junior drivers’ race at Oamaru on Sunday and see how things pan out.”
Ultimate Fella’s victory might have come as a surprise to many considering his $14 price tag, but not White.
“I’ve got a bit of time for him and he hasn’t had a lot of luck lately to be fair.
“We’ve probably been driving him a little too softly too, but Stephen got around them at the right time on Sunday and he did it all pretty nicely.
“He’s got the makings of a nice horse and I think he’s going to be a really nice four-year-old.”
A Changeover gelding out of Alright Now, Ultimate Fella is a member of the dour breed of Barry Ward.
With 16 wins this season, White is just one win shy of reaching personal best season of 17 – which he set last year.
But he’s chasing four more wins so he can have a few bragging rights over one of his more effervescent owners, Ross McCutcheon, who is better known as Bear.
“Bear and I had a bet that I would reach 20 wins for the season and he’s been pretty smug about it.
“But a few wins in the past few weeks have him feeling a little nervous now I reckon.”
With horses like Wobbegong, Shards Halo and Sunday’s two winners set to race through to the end of the season the four wins are definitely on the cards if White can get everything going his way.
“Wobbegong is knocking on the door, we have probably been driving him a bit too pretty lately.
“And I think he’s the sort of horse who when he wins one race, could then turn around and win a couple in a row.
“Shards Halo is going great too, she was a bit unlucky on Sunday, but she’s been a great horse for us.”
White relocated from his former base in Springston in October last year and is now operating out of the South Canterbury township of Temuka, just north of Timaru.
It was a big call to move away from the main centre of harness racing, but so far it’s produced good results and, more importantly, some new clients into the stable.
“I’ve been lucky enough to pick up a few owners from around here and a bit further down the road which has been great.
“We are just ticking along and doing our thing and so far it’s going great.”
And if day’s like Sunday are anything to go by then it’s only going to keep getting better.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
Driving The Future Of Harness Racing
