A long journey but Bec’s beaming

Eighteen months ago, southwest Victorian harness racing trainer Bec East and her partner Kevin Brough had their hopes dashed of ever getting their eagerly anticipated youngster He Will Wantano to the races.

But the Sportswriter three-year-old, from the lovely producing mare Mama Tembu, gave the couple a particularly satisfying and hard-fought victory at Stawell this week.

“We’ve had all but one of Mama Tembu’s progeny in our stable and she has produced some really good horses,” East said.

“But this fellow we are in the ownership of, and it’s been such a journey with him. He’s very lucky to be at the track – he did his suspensory twice and the vet told us he would never race, so it’s been a bit of an uphill battle,” she said.

“He did the suspensory the first time as a late yearling. It was a big setback, and he was still a colt, but we did a good rehab with him, exactly what the vet said.

“We brought him back as two-year-old, had him scanned, then started to work him. We got him rescanned after eight weeks and the vet basically looked at the scan and said it was no good, he’d had it as a racehorse. It was pretty heartbreaking.”

But East said the decision to have another go with He Will Wantano as a three-year-old had been a lot of hard work, but well worth it.

In his first three-year-old preparation, three starts yielded two placings in April before a letup, then another preparation to get back to the races in September.

“He’s had seven starts and never finished further back than fifth. He would definitely be a really nice horse if he didn’t have leg issues,” East said.

“I think now he’s as sound as we can hope to have him. He gets worked the same as all of our others but gets a lot of attention to manage his legs. He’s under the soaker hose after every time he works, and he’s bandaged every day,” she said.

He Will Wantano is owned by East as well as breeders Bob Robertson and Rob Beckham.

“Mama Tembu was bred by John Connelly, who went on to breed from her. Bob Robertson went over with a group of friends to the Adelaide yearling sale one year and ended up buying her first foal,” East said.

“Bob was a bit concerned about telling his wife about his purchase, and that’s how the name came about! It was Dontwantano.

“Later when John wanted to sell the mare, he got in touch with Bob and they bought her and kept breeding from her. And after that, all of Mama Tembu’s foals had the name Wantano.”

It would become a notable moniker. All of Mama Tembu’s progeny to race have won. She has left nine individual winners: Dontwantano (Davids Pass); Bobby Sox Belle (Camcracker); I Wantano (Armbro Operative); Weallwantano (It Is I); Always Wantano (Total Truth); Just Wantano (Tintin in America), They Wantano (Shadow Play); She Will Wantano (Roll With Joe); and He Will Wantano (Sportwriter). Seven are multiple winners, with Dontwantano, Weallwantano and Just Wantano each earning in excess of $100,000.

“This bloke reminds me so much of Weallwantano (winner of 19 races and $125,000). He was a lovely horse and He Will Wantano is very much the same in a lot of ways,” East said.

“He’s had a rough start, but it would be nice if he could come up to anything like Weallwantano was,” she said.

“We are so happy to have got him to where he is. It would be nice to try to win another three-year-old with him, then tip him out and bring him back again as a four-year-old, because every break he has had, he’s come back a bit stronger in his legs.”

He Will Wantano was driven to victory at Stawell by Jason Lee and was the second leg of a winning double for East. Four-year-old Seal The Destiny won earlier in the day, driven by Jackie Barker, the pacer’s second since arriving at the East Stable.

Previously trained by Barry Finnis just over the border in South Australia, the pacer was relocated to Victoria during the most recent lockdown by her owners Peter and Leslie Medhurst.

By Terry Gange for Harnesslink