By Matt Markham
The tale of South Coaster’s maiden victory at Timaru yesterday is a far cry from your normal success story.
But then again, South Coaster isn’t really your normal sort of horse.
It’s unlikely he will ever put together a picket fence formline and there’s no great hope he will race in a Group One.
The son of Great Success is cut from a different cloth to a lot of the other horses he races in the fact that he’s a true indication of the term, a good Kiwi battler.
In two years and 41 starts, the horse who is better known around the stables as Russell, hadn’t won a race.
He’d been to 14 different race tracks, from Auckland in the North Island to Wyndham down the bottom of the South.
Eight drivers, including Ricky May and Tony Herlihy – two of the best ever, had tried to win on him, joining Matty Williamson, Dave McGowan, Todd Mitchell, Sam Ottley and even his trainer Brad Mowbray as unsuccessful applicants for the role of winning driver.
But on Sunday at Phar Lap Raceway, his fifth visit to the South Canterbury track, with his old mate Stevie Golding in the bike, Russell finally did it. He came home at the head of the field.
“Relief is one word for it,” Mowbray said.
“It’s great though, we have always known he was good enough to win a race. But it’s felt for a while like it was never going to happen.
“It’s not a big win by any stretch of the imagination, but for us it’s a great win as he’s top of the tree around our place.
“A definite favourite.”
On more than one occasion, Mowbray has admitted to being close to retiring the rising six-year-old.
But his partner Melanie has usually won the argument and Russell has found himself back on the float and heading off to another race meeting.
“We’ve come close a few times, but he tries so hard every time he goes out there and that’s made it hard.
“He’s a genuine horse who will give you everything, you’d love a stable of horses with the same attitude he’s got.”
With $14,000 in the bank for his two year’s work, South Coaster is, without doubt, running at a loss for his career.
But for Mowbray, it’s not so much about the financial reward but more the satisfaction and relief of finally getting that win on the board.
But the big question now is, what next?
“We haven’t had that discussion yet. I’m not quite sure what to do. I think he would be competitive in C1 grade so he will probably have a start or two before we really decide what we do.”
Yesterday was a big day for the Mowbray team.
With four horses racing and only one trailer float available they had to put the call out on social media for a loan of a float and luckily the offers were plentiful.
“One of Mel’s friends from pony club lent us hers thankfully.”
Of the four they took to the races, South Coaster was the undoubted star of the show but good performances from Quite Ideal and Absolutely Delighted, who finished second and third respectively were just as pleasing.
With 7 wins on the board for the season and a handy team of maiden pacers around him as well as the usual suspects, Mowbray is a chance of drawing level on his personal best tally of nine within the last month of the season.
He knows he will need a bit of luck to do it, but for Mowbray it’s not out of the realms of possibility.
“Maybe South Coaster might win them in a row now that he knows what he’s doing,” he laughed.
Now wouldn’t that be cool.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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