25 June 2024 | Ashleigh Paikos
A tendon injury as a three-year-old threatened his career, but Resolution hasn’t looked back since making his return this preparation, bringing up his second win this season for Wayne and Helen Price yesterday at Pinjarra.
After injury struck on the 4th of October 2021, the then three-year-old son of Follow The Stars spent the next 12 months in the paddock recovering, but when he resumed work, it was discovered he had injured the same leg, but a different part of the tendon, requiring further rest and rehabilitation, and it was at that point his breeder Peter and Maxine O’Neill decided to sign the gelding over to Helen and Wayne Price.
“We educated and trained him for Peter and Maxine, and originally, we were going to train him for Peter, and he was going to drive him, but then he was pulling a bit and he decided not to drive him, and at that point, Peter gave me his half share and I raced him with Maxine, but when he got the second injury, Maxine gave me her share,
“They were very generous in giving him to me and we are very thankful.”
The giveaway racehorse has shown them plenty of promise, and after his first up maiden win on debut at Pinjarra back in February this year, they’ve not failed to finish in the top five at all nine attempts this preparation.
“He had seven starts a three-year-old and finish in the top five in five of them I think,
“He always showed a bit and we always thought he would get better with time.”
Resolution is a great example of WA’s double westbred system, with the aged maiden collecting his $3000 first win bonus earlier this year, as well as a further $5100 on top of his stakemoney for being a westsired horse, seeing Helen and Wayne Price pocket an impressive $13,255 for his first win.
Wayne Price has been involved in WA Harness Racing for the better part of four decades, and it wasn’t until she met Wayne that Helen got her introduction into the industry, but horses have always been in her blood.
“I was a track rider at Ascot, and when I married Wayne, him and his brother had been interested in trots, they both had an owner/trainer licence, so I just switched over,
“Horses are horses.”
With Wayne now 68-years-old, the pair had planned to start winding down, but those plans look to be on hold, with their team of four starting to ramp up a bit, including a two-year-old filly who isn’t far off a start, as well as two weanlings they’ve bred.
“We decided to wind down and suddenly we’ve got a nice horse,
“When things aren’t going too good you think we’ll stop, we’ll keep going for a while.”
The pair have The Honours NZ currently racing, but he wasn’t feeling it yesterday and broke in the first of the trotters’ events yesterday at Pinjarra, finishing in 10th spot, 99m behind the winner.
Taimate Angus will be making his return in the next week or two after having a spell after his last start back in February this year.
The nine-year-old spent two years away from the track due to time restraints and circumstances with a different trainer, and when the opportunity arose for the Price’s to purchase him, they took that leap, with hopes they could get his form back on track.
Taimate Angus hasn’t won since September 2020, and Wayne and Helen are trying everything they can to stop him from hitting his shins throughout the run.
Yet to race two-year-old Lyca Fantasy isn’t too far away according to Helen Price, who purchased her as a weanling from Mike Hackett at Global Breeding Farms.
The daughter of former WA stallion Caribbean Blaster is out of My Mississippi Rose NZ and is a half-sister to Independence Rose, the reason they purchased the then weanling, due to their history with the mare and her education that they performed.
They also bred two foals last year, a colt by WA sire Renaissance Man out of Cloudy Reactor, and a filly by The Storm Inside, out of Major Dazzler, who was out of the 2008 Gannons WA Oaks winner and $350,000 earner Ruby Dazzler.
Resolution is likely to head back to Pinjarra in a fortnights time, with Price making mention that they like to space his runs.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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