Jackie not denied her Always B Miki filly

The win by Not To Be Denied (Always B Miki) in the first round of qualifying heats for harness racing’s NSW Breeders Challenge at Dubbo on Friday (Sep. 2) night highlighted the astute judgement that Young owner, breeder Jackie Gibson possesses.

Gibson gained the perfect grounding to do what she does so well, following in the footsteps of her father John who was recognised as one of the best in the breeding business.

But the story behind the acquisition of Not To Be Denied comes from a different path to where the Gibson horses usually evolve.

Gibson prepared the filly for the Sydney yearling sales for Rob and Julie Vandyke and was the last of the yearlings to be produced from their Pepper Tree Farm near Cowra.

“I loved her from the minute Rob dropped her to our farm to prepare,” Gibson explained.

“She just had a such a presence about her. A lovely big strong filly that moved impressively and had the breeding to go with it.

“I let her go to the Sale with every intention to be in the market to buy her from the Vandykes and as luck has it, was able to secure her and I guess the rest is now history.”

On Friday night Not To Be Denied was without her regular driver and trainer Mark Hewitt who was attending the wedding of his nephew Doug to Casey Owen, but she was driven perfectly by Michael Day Jnr who left nothing to chance, taking the three-year-old straight to the lead and giving the opposition something to chase by recording a scintillating 1.56.9 mile rating.

“Mark has done super job with her. He is very patient and a great mentor of young horses,” Gibson said.

“Unfortunately, she has had her share of problems along the way and that is why she has been sparingly raced.

“Being such a big filly, she has had a bad tendency to tie up after hard runs. But Mark is on top of that now and gives her every chance to recover between race starts so she is fit and ready for the next.

“They are exciting times ahead and it is a dream come true for every breeder and owner to pick up a big juvenile race and I do feel we have a real live chance this time around. Hopefully she can get the job done.”

NOT TO BE DENIED REPLAY

For complete race results, click here.

by Michael Dumesny, for HRNSW