When Craig Demmler headed to New Zealand to finalise the purchase of My Kiwi Mate he liked what he saw.
On the advice of Dennis Wills, who Demmler is a big wrap for, the Parwan horseman headed to the Land of the Long White Cloud to view the son of Bettors Delight.
“He’s a very good judge,” Demmler said of Wills. “And they’re hard to find.”
My Kiwi Mate was stabled with Brian “Bunty” Hughes, who trains The Orange Agent and Hughie Green, in New Zealand.
“The only thing that put me off a little bit was that he wore spreaders,” Demmler said.
“But I was confident that he would be the sort of horse who would get stronger as a four-year-old and mature with time. That’s what we thought when we bought him.
“We weren’t thinking about Derbies or anything like that, to be honest.
“But he’s done really well. Some of his times were out of this world and they’re only three once, so we’ve chanced our arm a bit and it’s paid dividends.”
My Kiwi Mate has earned $103,925 in stakes and boasts a best winning mile rate of 1:53.7.
He will line up tonight at Bendigo in Race 1, the first of three three-year-old Breeders Crown heats on the Lords Raceway program with regular driver Jodi Quinlan in the cart.
The pacer has been freshened up the past fortnight after his Queensland trip, where he ran third to Burnaholeinmypocket and Hug The Wind in the Group 1 Nursery Flying Stakes, third to Menin Gate and Spare Me Days in the Gold Coast Derby and second to Menin Gate in the G1 Queensland Derby. On all occasions his sustained high speed was on display.
“His best attribute is not only that he’s got high speed but that he can hold for a long time. He can hold it for 600 to 800 metres,” Demmler said.
“He ran unbelievable times in Queensland.
“A lot of horses can sit-sprint or they can stay, this one can do both.
“I’m rapt with how he’s going and I’m just thrilled to have a good owner like John (Fitzgerald). When you pay good money for them you want to make sure you’re doing the right thing by the owner.”
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