11 October 2017 | Paul Courts
TALENTED mare Sallywynda is looking to extend her extraordinary winning streak at Globe Derby on Saturday.
While she is unlikely to challenge San Simeon’s record for the most consecutive wins, Sallywynda can certainly boast one of the longest.
San Simeon won an incredible 29 races in succession – an Australasian stance which has stood for almost four decades.
Sallywynda on the other hand is chasing his fourth victory in a row!
What makes the nine-year-old’s streak different is the period between starts, with the Greg Rogers-trained pacer completing a hat-trick in 2014.
Sallywynda’s return this weekend will be just 10 days short of three years since her previous start.
“She was raced on lease from Shirley Standish and was picked up from my place one day by the leasee, but ended up spending two-and-a-half years in a paddock,” Rogers explained.
“Mrs Standish was heartbroken when she called me to say the mare was being taken away from our stable.
“I remember her saying it was the first time she had a horse win three in a row. Sadly, Mrs Standish died not long after and never got to see her race again.
“A few months I got a call from Wayne Standish asking if I’d like to give her a try again, so I said ‘yes I might as well’.
“She was sound as a bell when she was put into the paddock and has remained there all this time.”
Given plenty of work, and several trials, Sallywynda is ready for her return, however, to Roger’s dismay, the daughter of Friends For Life has drawn wide in gate six.
“She has had three trials and did well,” Rogers said. “Her work has also been good, but it will take a bit of time to regain her peak.
“She hasn’t lost any of her gate speed, which is good, so we’ll just have to wait and see how she goes under race pressure.
“I thought she was heading to free-for-all company all those years ago, so hopefully she can make up for some of that lost time.”
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