By Mac Henry
The Brett Gray-Butterworth Racing bandwagon kept on rolling along at Invercargill on Monday when Son Of Brahma scored his second successive win.
It was the combination’s ninth victory of the season and Gray’s 17th, leaving him on top of the Southland Trainers ladder midway through the term.
Eight of his winners, including the two of Son Of Brahma, were driven by Brent Barclay who got two for the day. He was aboard Justan’s Sister, part owned and trained by Paul Ellis, who exploded clear to win the Claimers Pace by five and a quarter lengths from Blow A Cloud.
No claims were lodged for Justan’s Sister but more than one for Blow A Cloud who went by lot to Art Shirley for $4500. Tilly Patron, seventh, was the only other runner claimed. The daughter of New Zealand Oaks winner Shania Patron was claimed for $6000 by Karen and Grant Milne.
Chasing Gray hard, with 16 wins, is Clark Barron and three of them came in successive races on Monday. First up was Rakaporsche who won by a nose in her first victory since having four screws inserted in a damaged hind pastern about 12 months ago.
“Sometimes they don’t come back, she’s not quite where she was,” Barron said of the three year old, bred and raced by Brendan Fahy of Rakauhauka.
Fahy’s brother Keiran, and Michael Turner, race Barron’s third winner Tight Lipped. A $6000 purchase from the Tuapeka Lodge draft at the 2013 yearling sales, the Changeover gelding is from the family of renowned broodmare Maureen’s Dream.
His half brother, Mach Tu, won three from five in the North Island as an early three year old and has picked up another 12 in Western Australia. He recorded a fifth, seventh and ninth in heats of last year’s interdominion series.
“He lacks speed, you couldn’t have picked a better day,” Barron said after the slushy track success.
Grant Dowdall of Auckland is a new owner for Barron and races Sumthin Special, who quit non-winner status at her second start.
“She had problems with her feet with the wet and the frost and would be lame for a month, we’ve been playing catch-up all season.”
Earl Swain landed his first training and driving success since Kiwi Kex in April 2014 when Southland Reflector won the 2200 metre stand-start trot. Earlier in the day he’d finished third in the C0 trot with his other runner Denn Nee Nose Best.
It was taken out by Poppa Don, providing a quick return for owners Locky May and Genevieve Crawford.
For most of his career the Sundon gelding was part-owned and trained by Locky’s grandmother Barbara May, a member of the well known Mid Cantebury harness racing family and widow of the late Leo May.
After racing at Ashburton on Boxing Day, she gave Poppa Don to her grandson, and his girlfriend, Crawford, who works for trainers Geoff and Jude Knight.
She is a grand-daughter of former Lawrence trainer John Crawford and said Poppa Don was her second winner. In four starts for the Knights, Poppa Don has recorded a third and a win.
“I’ve been at the Knights for abut two years, I’ll be getting my junior’s licence in August,” Crawford said.
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