Astute South Australian harness racing trainer Jonathan Kingston-Mayne has had some exciting pacers over the years, but he's now thoroughly enjoying the ride with an ex-claimer.
Kingston-Mayne, based at Angle Vale, 30 kms north of Adelaide, chalked-up a hat-trick of wins last Saturday night with stable newcomer Ellmers Hoofing It NZ (Falcon Seelster-Ellmer Rae (Silk Legacy).
"The horse is going very nicely, but he's shown in the past that he can be pretty smart on his night. I think he's suited to the smaller tracks with his high speed," Kingston-Mayne said.
"He's raced by Glenys Benz. Her son Andrew is so passionate about horses and had his eye on Ellmers Hoofing It for quite a while," he said.
"After he was put in a claiming event at Menangle in late May, Andrew dived on him! When he told me, I was obviously impressed with the form of the horse, particularly a Melton win back in March going 1.55-4.
"He's been a pleasure since he arrived, and if he can keep stepping up, you never know where he might take us."
Up until about a decade ago, Kingston-Mayne was a leading light in the State, taking out both trainer and driver premierships. He has prepared some class performers in the past, among them, Ohoka Nevada, SA Derby winner Glengowan and Strathalbyn and Whyalla Cup winner Some Kinda Tactics.
"Ohoka Nevada was a star. He won the Mildura Pacing Cup, and back home over here, the Port Pirie Cup, Strathalbyn Cup, probably every other Cup, but for one – we finished third in the South Australia Cup to the mighty Smoken Up!
"Prior to that, though, he did take out the prestigious Barastoc feature, which was the lead-up event to the SA Cup."
Kingston-Mayne said he'd wound back his involvement in the sport over recent years, and a health scare with his father Dennis had shifted the family's focus elsewhere.
"Dad always helped me out around the stables and initially complained about a blister on his leg, then a staph infection developed from that," he said.
"At one stage they were thinking that he may lose his legs. There was more surgery and a battle with fluid which he couldn't get rid of. He had to be kept sitting up, or he would have virtually drowned. It was certainly touch and go there a few times.
"It was a battle, but we got through. And he's doing fine now-he's 83 but going really well and back cleaning out the yards for us!"
Kingston-Mayne said his dad's recovery allowed him to take up new roles and these days combines training a small team with on-course farrier and assistant starter duties at Globe Derby meetings.
"I enjoy just small numbers of horses where I can do the one-on-one with them. My wife Tayla is a big help and is always around lending a hand, which is great," he said.
"When I haven't had many race horses, I've still had the young ones that I've been educating at home, but Ellmer's Hoofing It has been fantastic for us."
The pacer started his three-win SA run on June 27 and has followed up with further triumphs on the past two Saturday nights, handled each time by polished reinsman Mark Billinger.
Victorious reinsman Mark Billinger, who is in great form at the moment, with Ellmers Hoofing It after their latest Globe Derby win (Photography by Walter Bulyga)
Ellmers Hoofing It began his racing career in New Zealand and was placed before winning at Ashburton in April 2017 for Colin De Filippi. He then crossed the Tasman Sea and joined the strong Amanda Turnbull team, winning 10 races and being placed nine times for $80,000 in stakes.
"He's an easy horse to do anything with, very straight forward and I'm just keeping it simple and doing things the way I always have," Kingston-Mayne said.
"We plan to keep racing him at Globe Derby Park. I think there's a few $10,000 races coming up for his class," he said.
"The Benzs are going through a bit of a tough time at the moment so hopefully their horse is giving them a lift."
Terry Gange
NewsAlert PR Mildura