Zoltan dominates Addington ring

After breaking and casting a shoe at his last start, Zoltan Boscik (Majestic Son) bounced back into winning form at Addington for Springston harness racing trainer Jeff Whittaker.

Yesterday Zoltan Boscik stepped away nicely from barrier one securing the trail behind pacemaker Edward Longshanks.

Once the passing lane presented itself driver Jim Curtin pushed the go button and the four year old sprinted up the straight, beating Edward Longshanks by and length and a half with Freya two lengths back in third.

ZOLTAN BOSCIK REPLAY

“We haven’t changed anything from his first start back and he did what we thought he would do yesterday. His work up until then had been nice. I took him in to Addington on Monday to let him have a look round because he’d never been to Addington” Jeff said.

The win was Zoltan Boscik’s second in just three starts and was Curtin’s forty first winning drive for Whittaker. The first was on trotter Game Reb at Hutt Park in February 1987.

“Curty and I have been best friends from when we got into the sport and were junior drivers together. I was his best man and he was mine, so it’s nice we can get a bit of enjoyment out of it with the whole family there and Curty who’s been a big part of my career.”

Curtin was associated with Whittaker’s good pacer Wait A Moment, (Clever Innocence) driving the gelding in nine of its ten wins including the 1988 G2 Four Year Old Championship at Addington.

“We had a lot of fun with Wait A Moment. He’s our number one driver and when we can get him we like to put him on because we know he looks after them and educates them on the way.”

Zoltan Boscik is owned by Jeff and Tracey, their children Josh, Luke, Stephanie and Cara, Merv Whittaker (Jeffs father) and close family friend Sue Szabo.

“My mum Alice passed away three years ago, and she also had a share in the horse. Dad’s in a home with dementia and parkinsons. He’s still a big part of the breeding around here. We go and see him every week and tell him how the horses are going. We bring him out here and drive him round the track and he sees what we’ve got here.”

Zoltan Boscik is named after Sue’s late husband Zoltan Szabo a Hungarian wrestler whose ring name was Zoltan Boscik.

“When he left Hungary for England he was a professional wrestler and that was his wrestling name. He was very stocky and a very strong man. That’s where the horse’s name came from because he was a nuggety wee foal. Tracey always said he looks like Zolly and it went from there.”

Whittaker has been patient with the trotter, giving him plenty of workouts and trials and time to mature.

“He always showed some ability and had lovely manners. When you own them you can give them that extra time. We’ve let the horse tell us and gone from there.”

Zoltan Boscik was bred by Jeff and Norm Withers and is out of the nine win Sundon mare Tilthesungoesdown.

“Normy and I have been best mates forever and a day. Normy has had a lot of horses and we’ve bred a lot. This is the last horse that Normy and I bred.

Tilthesungoesdown did most of her racing in Australia and ran second in the 2006 G1 Victoria Oaks. As a broodmare she’s left Another Chapter, the winner of five and Borntobeastar two wins. Zoltan Boscik is her last foal.

“We raced her (Tilthesungoesdown) here. She qualified and was placed here. There were some nice three year old races over there so Normy and I sent her over and raced her over there in partnership and brought her back here to breed from.”

Whittaker is breeding from two of Tilthesungoesdown’s daughters – Another Chapter and Moonlightglow.

Whittaker has held a trainer’s licence for forty two years, training one hundred and twenty four winners including Loving Touch (Tuapeka Knight), Franco Whisper (Holmes Hanover) and Waihemo Rainship (Soky’s Atom).

Jeff’s wife Tracey owns a share in Mach Shard (Mach Three) the winner of this year’s G1 Noel Taylor Mile paying $155.20.  A week later he won the G1 New Zealand Messenger.

“Barry and Scotty and the staff have done a huge job with him. He’s nine and a bit of a warhorse, and to win two Group Ones in a week was a bit of a bonus. We’re pretty spoilt to be honest.”

Whittaker has Moet Shard back in work and says she’s not too far away from going to the races.

She was purchased for $280,000 by Graeme McClintock at the 2020 Yearling Sales and he races her with his two daughters.

“Graeme passed away and it took about 12 months to sort the will out. We couldn’t race her or have her in work so she’s had a year off. We’re going to breed from her but we’re hoping to get four or five months of racing out of her and try and race her in foal. We’ve had a lot of problems with her tying up. Touch wood that’s behind us. Her work’s been a lot better in the last couple of weeks.”

by Bruce Stewart, for Harnesslink

For complete race results, click here