David Aiken is a meticulous horseman who leaves nothing to chance and he is confident that it will be a case of ninth time lucky when Lennytheshark contests the $1.3 million TABtouch interdominion championship final at Gloucester Park on Sunday afternoon.
Lennytheshark, who has been kept in cotton wool by Aiken, is a hot favourite for the group 1 feature event and a victory would certainly earn the Victorian-bred six-year-old the tag of not only a true champion, but of a harness racing bargain pacer.
Victorian businessmen Kevin Riseley, an astute judge of horseflesh, selected Lennytheshark as a weanling in 2010 and he and his son Martin outlaid $35,000 to purchase him from famed Shepparton breeder Kevin Newbound. A win on Sunday would boost Lennytheshark’s earnings to $1,450,992.
The 57-year-old Aiken has had a lifetime in harness racing and he won three trainer-driver premierships at Sydney’s Harold Park before he decided 19 years ago to vacate his training establishment in Bankstown because the area was becoming increasingly urbanised. And he has won further training premierships in Victoria since moving to a property in Avenel, some 120km north of Melbourne.
The interdominions have been a heartbreak for Aiken, who has, as a trainer, qualified eight runners for the championship final over the past 30 years. His first finalist was Toby Duane, whom he drove into fifth place behind WA star Preux Chevalier at Moonee Valley in 1985.
Three years later he drove Tiffs Mystery when he finished third to Our Maestro in the final at Harold Park and he qualified two runners for the 1994 final at Harold Park when he handled American import Ultra Jet, who finished a 1m second to Weona Warrior. Stablemate Insutcha finished seventh.
In the final at Moonee Valley in 2008 he drove Karlsruhe into seventh place behind Blacks A Fake; then Jaccka Clive finished 13th behind Im Themightyquinn at Menangle in 2013 and he was in the sulky behind Wartime Sweetheart when he finished last behind Beautide at Menangle in 2014. Lennytheshark was his eighth finalist, finishing sixth behind Beautide at Menangle early this year, with ace Victorian reinsman Chris Alford taking the reins.
After Lennytheshark drew favourably at barrier three in the 2536m final on Sunday, Aiken said that he couldn’t be happier with the athletic stallion, who had performed superbly in the qualifying heats with powerful victories over 2130m and 1609m before a strong effort in the 2536m heat in which he started from the outside barrier and came from last after a lap to finish a close second to Lovers Delight after working in the breeze over the final 1200m.
Lennytheshark is lightly raced, having had only 44 starts for 23 wins, 12 seconds and five thirds for stakes of $670,992. Aiken took over the training of the horse about two years ago after he had been prepared for his first 24 starts by John Justice for nine wins, including the group 1 New South Wales Derby in March 2013.
Lennytheshark has had only 20 starts for Aiken for 14 wins, three seconds, two thirds and one sixth placing. Chris Alford was the reinsman in all 20 starts. The sixth placing was in the interdominion final at Menangle early last March when he drew the No. 1 barrier, set the early pace and then trailed the pacemaker before wilting in the final stages.
“He just pulled up distressed,” Kevin Riseley explained. “But we couldn’t find much wrong with him.” And this was a major relief because Lennytheshark had been laid low by leg injuries a couple of times earlier in his career.
These injuries have restricted his racing considerably. He raced only six times as a four-year-old in 2014 for six wins and he had eight starts as a five-year-old for four wins and three placings. His six starts as a six-year-old have produced four wins and two seconds.
“As a late three-year-old he had a slight rip in an off-side tendon and he underwent stem cell treatment in Melbourne,” Riseley said. “Then as a four-year-old he damaged a near-side tendon and had another operation, using the stem cell treatment.
“He has never broken down or gone sore. It’s through due diligence that we have him scanned every now and then and we’ve been able to pick up the problems early. You have to be fanatical on having everything just right.”
Riseley said that it was the brilliance of two-year-old filly Led Suitcase that influenced him to make a bid to buy the filly’s half-brother (Lennytheshark) as a weanling out of paddock at Newbound’s Forest Lodge stud.
Led Suitcase, the first foal out of Botswana (by American stallion Albert Albert), showed her class when she won a heat, semi-final and the group 1 final of the Australasian Breeders Crown for fillies in 2009. And his decision to buy Lennytheshark was reinforced when Botswana’s next foal Blissfull Boy won the group 1 WA Sales Classic at Gloucester Park in April 2010.
Botswana was a moderate performer in Victoria in 2003-04-05, having 61 starts for seven wins and 17 placings for earnings of $32,685. Her dam Lourenco Marques was the dam of even winners, including WA performer Lord Marques, who had 144 starts for 24 wins, 50 placings and $214,830 in prizemoney. His wins included the group 2 Western Gateway for three-year-olds in 1996 and a consolation of the WA Pacing Cup in January 2007.
Lennytheshark has contested nine group 1 events for two wins, two seconds and two thirds. He also has had nine starts in group 2 races for six wins, one second and two thirds. Group successes are no novelty for Riseley. He bred and owns star Victorian trotter Spidergirl, who has earned $317,657 from 20 wins and ten placings from 42 starts. Her victories include four in group 1 events, two in group 2s and three in group 3s.
Riseley has bred many outstanding trotters and pacers and he has raced horses successfully in America and New Zealand. Among his recent successes as a part-owner are Border Control (46 starts for 18 wins, 20 placings and $550,026), Supersonic Miss (19 starts for six wins, seven placings and $212,234) and the outstanding New Zealand colt Lazarus, who has amassed $354,762 from eight wins and two placings from ten starts. Last month Lazarus notched his third major race, the group 1 Sires Stakes at Addington.
Alford (47) is seeking to end a 20-year drought by scoring with Lennytheshark. His only interdominion winner was Golden Reign, who defeated Chokin at Addington in 1995. One of his most serious rivals on Sunday will be fellow-Victorian champion Gavin Lang (57). Lang, who shared the Victorian metropolitan drivers’ premiership with Alford last season, will be handling second fancy Philadelphia Man, who equalled Lennythshark’s effort of winning two heats and then finishing second on the third night of heats.
Both Alford and Lang have driven more than 5000 winners and Lang is desperately keen to drive his first winner in an interdominion pacing championship. He has won three interdominion trotting championships.
This is a dream harboured by Lang ever since he landed his first winner with the aptly-named Pensive Dream at Kilmore on June 2, 1975.
“There is little separating Philadelphia Man and Lennytheshark,” Lang said. “Everyone is saying that there aren’t many winning chances. But the great thing about Gloucester Park is that it produces very competitive racing. It’s a tight circuit by our standards over east where all our tracks are basically 1000m.
“There’s not a lot between Lennytheshark and Philadelphia Man and the horse who gets the better run will probably beat the other one. However, I’m certainly not discounting some of the other horses.”
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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