NZ HARNESS NEWS
Murray Little is still living in a euphoria after the wins of Betterthanbrie and Mach’s Back at Wyndham last week.
“To win two in a day with horses you bred, own, looked after and worked with as young horses, it was just unreal,” the Invercargill lawyer, vice-president of the Invercargill Harness Racing Club and board member of Southern Harness, said.
Although a lawyer for 40 years, Little said he has probably been interested in horses since he was five or six and riding ponies on his sister’s farm during the holidays.
And while still enjoying the hands-on side, breeding is his main passion.
Heading his band of mares is Mach’s Back’s dam Dream Angel, the older full-sister to the near $900,000 earner One Dream.
Suvarno Hanover, winner of the 2007 Southland Oaks, is the dam of Betterthanbrie.
Through his company Havtime Breeding Limited, Little is breeding from Don’thavtime, whose first foal Bettorhavtime has won twice in Australia.
Along with his cousin Malcolm Little and Malcolm’s wife Sarndra, the company is racing promising juvenile filly Havtime, and breeding from the winning Mach Three mare Popular.
One Christian is a winning half-sister to Mach’s Back and at this year’s sales the Auckland Trotting Club 2019 syndicate paid $20,000 for her American Ideal colt.
“I love the breeding side,” said Little. “I’ve got a six-horse barn near the beach, shelter sheds in all the paddocks and the ground is always dry.
The mares winter there, go to Macca Lodge in the spring and the weanlings arrive here in the autumn.”
Little feeds, handles and walks them before they are passed to others to be finished.
“I’m up at 5:30 in the morning,” he said
Last season, a new dimension was added to Little’s operation when former Cantabrian Paul (Tank) Ellis began training from there.
A lane to the beach was established and now, on Saturdays and Sundays, Little gets the chance to drive his own horses.
Ellis has taken over the training of both the Wyndham winners and on Saturday, Mach’s Back is backing up in the eighth at Wairio’s Mile Day.
Offered at the 2015 premier sale, Mach’s Back had a reserve of $20,000.
Little recalls the best bid was $15,000 so he took him home.
Trained by Wayne Adams, the then three-year-old won on debut at Invercargill in November 2016, finished down the track his next two and was put aside with a curbed hock.
“When we got him back in he was going to be aimed for the South Of Waitaki race,” said Little, but it didn’t eventuate.
“We kept him at the beach and Tank did a lot of walking just to build up his hind quarters.”
Mach’s Back finally resumed in January but still required fine-tuning.
“He had some problems with his teeth and signs of cross firing.
“Tank changed his shoeing, he went pretty good in a trial against Somejoy and (trials driver) Nathan (Williamson) said he felt fantastic.
Betterthanbrie began her racing career early in March and won at her third start. She is now being considered for the Southland Oaks.
- NZ Harness News
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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