Duke of Cornwall steps out again

Former New Zealand superstar juvenile Duke of Cornwall (Sweet Lou) is set to resume his harness racing career at Maryborough this Sunday (Sept 18) – but how long will he race in Australia is less clear.

“The Duke” was purchased in a deal reportedly worth $500,000 by American owner Richard Poillucci in January after winning four of his first nine starts in brilliant fashion as a two-year-old in New Zealand.

He made a big impression stepping out in Australia in March, winning first up for trainer Belinda McCarthy at Newcastle and rating 1:56.6, but was sent to the paddock after a disappointing follow up performance.

Duke of Cornwall was destined for the USA, but a series of flight cancellations due to COVID-19 saw him eventually sent to the Victorian Great Western stable of Kerryn Manning.

“He’d been at the Ballarat Equine Clinic getting checked over and the owner was looking for somewhere to place him for a while.  The clinic suggested us, which was lovely,” Manning said.

“So originally he was just coming here for me to poke along with and to jog up before he went to America, but with more cancelled flights along the way he ended up in limbo,” she said.

“He’d had six weeks off after his last start and got here to us in mid-July, so he’s done a fair few miles now.

“He’d done some fast work and was fit and well and nearly ready to race, so after talking to the owners we thought, why not give him a run?”

Manning said she was pleased with the colt’s work.

“He wasn’t really pacing that well in his last two starts but he’s pacing well now – every now and then he still puts in a funny step, but I think that’s just him.  He’s working nice times, probably still a little bit podgy, but we’re really happy with him,” she said.

“He is eligible for the Breeders’ Crown, and you have to keep that in the back of your mind if he is on track, depending on the circumstances and providing the owners want to go that way – of course that’s a very hard race, but he’s a very nice horse when he’s right, so we will just see.

“He’s booked on a flight again later this month or early October, so we will see how things go on Sunday first of all, how he progresses.  And depending on what happens with the flights, of course!”

Manning said, by coincidence, she found a connection to the pacer after he arrived.

“I didn’t realize it at the time, but we’d had his half-brother, Duke of Wellington (American Ideal).  He was an absolutely beautiful horse, one of everyone’s favorites.  He was a big boy with a white blaze, but other than the name, I didn’t really click that this was Duke’s little brother.

“This one is a nice size, not as big as Duke of Wellington, but one white sock and white on his face, so you can definitely see the family likeness.”

Duke of Wellington, owned by loyal Manning stable clients the Butterworth family, won more than $100,000 in a short career of 17 starts. He won eight races, including the Group Two City of Melton Plate, and finished out of a place only twice in his career.

“Duke of Cornwall is really starting to look the part now.  He’s lovely.  A colt, who has a little talk every now and then, but he’s generally a nice boy to have around,” Manning said.

“It’s kind of exciting now to be able to give him a start.”

by Terry Gange, for Harnesslink