Anderson and Stevens – a successful partnership

Canterbury harness racing horsemen Robert Anderson and Mike Stevens have forged a successful breeding and racing partnership over nearly four decades and on Friday night two horses they bred – Ilsas Son (Majestic Son) and Betterthancash (Art Major) won.

The win by Ilsas Son at Alexandra Park was the eight year old’s sixth and he provided Harrison Orange with his first winner.

Trained by Barry Purdon and Scott Phelan, the pedigree of Ilsas Son extends back to U Scott mare Soft Magic which left Doctor Voss (4), Ripper’s Delight (8) and Ilsa Voss (14). Ilsa Voss won a National Trot and a Canterbury Park Trotting Cup.

The Anderson/Stevens association with this breed began with Ilsa Hanover, (Chiola Hanover) a daughter of Ilsa Voss.

“Mike bought Ilsa Hanover at the end of her career, put her in foal to Sundon and got Sunny Ilsa,” Anderson said.

Sunny Ilsa won two races for Stevens and as a broodmare has left Dragons Den which won seven, Sunny Glenis the winner of ten and Ilsas Son.

Ilsas Son qualified at Rangiora in August 2019 and from twenty nine starts for Anderson, won once at Ashburton.

“He couldn’t get round the bends and went his best races on Ashburton which is a big sweeping track. I’ve always worked him the Auckland way round and he was a hell of a lot better that way.”

Ilsas Son had his last race for Anderson at Addington in March 2023, finishing eighth.

“He never got round the last bend. He was hopping and hitching and Mike said ‘sack the bugger.”

But Anderson decided to send Ilsas Son to Auckland to be trained by Barry Purdon and Scott Phelan.

“My daughter Emma is Scott Phelan’s partner. They’ve had a few of mine up there like Betterthankaty and Smooth Operator. They ring me up all the time when I’ve got something that’s going alright, saying to send them up to Auckland. Half the time in the north they’ve only got small fields and the stakes are good.”

Since being in Auckland Ilsas Son has won just over $47,000 in just ten starts and between June and August 2023 he went on a four race winning streak for junior driver Crystal Hackett.

“Barry and Scott are good at putting the young ones on. We’ve had a couple of penalty free wins because of the junior drivers claim and that was the same with Harrison the other night.”

After winning those four races Ilsas Son developed a quarter crack.

“He’s had three lots of quarter cracks. I brought him home and we chucked him out on the farm. He was out between September and January and we grew the quarter crack out. I brought him home and jogged him up, pre-trained him and sent him back up there. He’s just one of those horses that suffers from quarter cracks. That’s why he hasn’t had many starts.”

Micheal Ward has also bred from the family of Ilsa Hanover.

Stevens loaned him Time To Shine and Ward bred Majestic Time (Majestic Son). Majestic Time won eight races including the New Zealand Trotting Oaks and the Hambletonian Classic and earned just over $100,000 in stakes.

At stud Majestic Time has left Time Up The Hill (Muscle Hill) the winner of twelve races including the G3 Northern Trotting Oaks. She is also the dam of promising Volstead trotter Time For Victory.

The Anderson/Stevens partnership’s second winner Betterthancash (Art Major – Betterthankaty) was at Addington on Friday. He was purchased by his trainer Regan Todd at the 2022 NZB Standardbred Yearling Sales for $62,500.

Betterthankaty won three races and her dam Karen Donna (In The Pocket) has left Cash N Flow, Katy Perry and Pitch Perfect.

It was through the sale of Dragons Den that Anderson and Stevens purchased both Karen Donna and her Presidential Ball daughter Pistol Packing Mama.

“We sold him for $50,000 to Perth. That was about the time they started having weanling and mixed sales (2013). Mike suggested that we spend the money at the sales and buy a couple of weanlings. I told him that was a good idea but they’d have to be by Bettor’s Delight.”

Anderson stayed at home and Stevens flew to Auckland to do the bidding.

“He couldn’t help himself (laughter). Karen Donna was one of the first ones into the ring. She was in foal to Art Major, and they couldn’t get a bid. Mike put in a bid and got her for $1,000. A few lots later Pistol Packing Mama one of her daughters, in foal to Art Major came up and we got her for $3,000.”

Anderson says Karen Donna who’s twenty two will probably not be bred from again. Her Lazarus colt is entered in next year’s yearling sales.

Despite Karen Donna doing a good job at stud Anderson reckons Pistol Packing Mama is the partnership’s best broodmare. She’s left Rocknroll Mama (12), Bite The Bullet (10), Major Mama (9) and Bettor Pack A Pistol (8).

The partnership sold Muma’s Wish (Bettor’s Wish – Pistol Packing Mama) for $100,000 at last year’s NZB Standardbred Yearling Sales. He was purchased by the Purdon/Phelan barn.

“All that does is pay for the mares and foals for the next year.”

On a personal front Anderson and Stevens got to know one another when Anderson worked for Murray Butt.

“I did a lot of the stud work there. Every year Mike would send Murray a mare or two so I got to know him there. When I went out on my own he gave me a couple of horses to work and he’s stuck with me ever since.”

Outside of their partnership Robert and Mike have carved out their own individual training careers.

Stevens held a trainer’s licence between 1983 and 2014 and trained 76 winners. His first was Captain Phillips (Mack Lobell) at the Spotswood meeting at Cheviot in October 1982.

His best winners have been Smooth Dominion 10, Glenroydon 10 and Shatahlia Image 7.

Smooth Dominion received notoriety when running second to Iraklis in the 1997 New Zealand Cup, a half a head away from causing a huge upset in the race. He was 13/13 in the betting.

Of Stevens 76 winners Anderson drove 44.

Anderson who has been training since 1984 still holds a licence. His first winner was Sheasa Bromac (Nat Lobell) which deadheated at Nelson in June 1986.

In all he’s trained 83 winners, the best being Sunny Glenis 10 wins, Dreams To Reality 8 and Glenisthebettor 7.

Anderson’s first winner for Stevens was Insurmountable (Surmo Hanover) at Addington in June 1992.

“He’s been very loyal to me. He’s good like that. We keep all the mares and young ones out on the farm. Mike jogs some up on the jogging machine and I bring them over here.”

The Anderson/ Stevens partnership has endured the test of time and although Stevens who’s in his mid eighties is scaling down, I suspect there will be a few winners yet to keep himself and Anderson young.

by Bruce Stewart, for Harnesslink