By Mac Henry
More than 100 years of harness racing experience went into the win of Eyre’s A Rag Doll at Ascot Park on Sunday.
The six-year-old was reined by Hamish Hunter – who drove his first winner in 1974 – and is trained at Wyndham by Gary McEwan who remembers his was Winterloch on the big grass track at Invercargill in October 1959.
“I was working in Christchurch for Alec Purdon, it was my first drive, a probationary drivers race, Curly Thomas got me the drive,” the 75 year old McEwan recalled, “it was 11 months before I got another drive.”
Southland born and raised, McEwan said he wasn’t from a harness racing family but his mother and father had been keen racegoers. However, both him and his brother Ron have devoted most of their lifetime to racing.
“Ron started off with Roy Humphries, Roy was a galloping trainer at Invercargill,” McEwan said. “When I left school, I met Reg Curtin and he got me a job in Christchurch, I was there about four years”
McEwan was in his 20s when he returned south. Like his brother, he also got involved with galloping and did a lot of riding over jumps.
“Point To Points were big then, I was about 10 stone and rode at them a lot. I couldn’t get an amateur licence because of my professional trotting licence. I rode in a lot of saddle trots too.”
Working with the likes of Derek Dynes and Alex Townley gave McEwan the chance to enhance his knowledge in the harness racing sphere but didn’t lead to a lot more drives.
“There were huge fields and not many meetings then. I was looking once at the number of drives Craig Ferguson had in his first four years and that probably took me 50 years,” he said.
In 1975, McEwan went on his first trip to the United States and spent about four of the next 20 years there.
“I had a few drives there,” he said, “I won at Sacramento in California on a New Zealand horse Sholtz End.”
For the past few years, McEwan has concentrated on a trotter or two but without success since training and driving Summit Invasion to seven wins in 2004 and 2005. His sole driving win since then was on the Clarrie Sprott trained Village Lord in March 2007.
Eyre’s A Rag Doll was having start number 40 when she graduated from the C0 class on Sunday and although McEwan wasn’t her driver, he had driven her in 35 of them. And it didn’t mean he watched the victory from the comfort of the stands. He was in fact in the sulky of stablemate Our Budd who started from the 30 metres mark and finished seventh.
“I’m grateful to still be here and able to do it,” McEwan said.
*** Wayne Adams took three to the races, won with Milehigh Magic, got a quinella with Mach’s Back and Navajo Art, and can’t remember ever having had a quinella before.
Mach’s Back is out of Dream Angel, a year-older full sister to One Dream, and gave Invercargill lawyer Murray Little a particular thrill. He both bred and races the three year old son of a mare he’d bought before One Dream had even begun the stellar career that saw her triumph in five New Zealand group ones and another two in Australia.
Dream Angel and One Dream are out of the Soky’s Atom mare Solitaire.
“I leased Solitaire, she could run like anything but broke down,” Little said.
Solitaire was bred from by Jill Smolenski. Dream Away was her first foal but didn’t make it to the track. Little acquired her as an early three year old and she went straight to the stallion.
“She’s had four foals and three winners, this is the first horse I’ve had that I’ve both bred and raced on my own. He didn’t win his qualifying trial but he’s impressed in all his preps.”
Driven by Shane Walkinshaw, Mach’s Back went from the outside of the front row, led within 200 metres and blew the opposition away with a 57.8 closing half. Stablemate Navajo Art and Nathan Williamson had the one-one early, were three back at the 1200, parked from the 700, tried hard, were outsprinted but nicely clear of the third horse.
Little said he bred from four mares last year and is breeding from five this year.
Milehigh Magic, was also driven by Walkinshaw and also went from outside of the front row. It was his first stand start at any outing but after dwelling slightly when the tape shot past, a flick of the reins on the rump and he was quickly into gear. Despite the lack of experience with a flying tape, both Adams and Walkinshaw had no worries. Milehigh Magic made the trail 600 metres into the race, took the passing lane in the straight and when Walkinshaw pulled the distinctive green deafeners, it was all over.
An $8500 purchase by Adams at the 2014 premier sale for Grant Stalker and Margaret Kreger, Milehigh Magic boasts the same grand-dam – Michael’s Magic – as Terror To Love. Adams said the now four year old had been a bit weak at two and three year old but has matured with time.
“He is better than just a maiden winner,” Adams remarked, “he didn’t have a real hard run today so he should back up for (Trans Tasman) drivers day next week.”
*** Junior Driver Maruia Parker is making the most of her latest move with two wins in the past fortnight. She was successful at Wyndham aboard Tuherbs Two and won with Justan’s Sister on Sunday. Both are trained in Northern Southland by Shane Matheson.
“My partner moved to Glenary Station about a month ago and I work part time for Shane,” she said, “he’s about half way between Riversdale and Balfour.”
Parker, whose career tally now stands at 10, said she’d driven for Matheson in the past but the latest were her first two wins for him.”
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
Driving The Future Of Harness Racing
