Mikko Koivu wins for veteran horseman

Seventy seven year old Oamaru harness racing trainer Eion Latimer says when he gets to fifty winners he’ll retire.

When trotter Mikko Koivu (Majestic Son) won on his home track today it was win number 48 for the veteran horseman. He has two horses in work, Wavewatcher and Mikko Koivu, on a property adjacent to the Oamaru course.

“We were looking for a horse and I had Wavewatcher up with Robbie (Holmes). He knew that Jenny Becker (breeder) was getting rid of a few of her horses. He told me about Mikko Koivu who’d been to the workouts. He had a quarter crack but didn’t go too bad,” Latimer said.

Latimer duly bought the gelding from Becker but getting the four year old to the races hasn’t been easy.

“On his near hind he’s sickle hocked and was scalping himself all the time. So we’ve been mucking around with his shoes. I said to my daughter the other day that I was just going to whack a wedge under that shoe to see whether I could straighten that foot up. He went round today and never even touched. I’m not a blacksmith but all the shoes he had on today I put on (laughter).”

His usual blacksmith Barry White might not have been involved in shoeing today’s winner, but probably made more off the tote that he would normally charge for his services.

“He actually drove him in trackwork on Thursday and told me the horse wouldn’t get beaten on Sunday. So he got plenty (laughter).”

Mikko Koivu is owned by Eion, his wife Pat, son Brent and daughter Jacqui and adds to the long list of winners the whole family has been involved in, including Life Of Royce, Chief Kapai, Spirit Of Chronos and Vic N Art.

In today’s race driver Matty Williamson got Mikko Koivu away well before settling in the one out running line. He then took the gelding forward to lead before handing up with a lap to run. Williamson came up the passing lane to beat Diamond Harbour which was driven by Holmes, by a head.

MIKKO KOIVU REPLAY

“It was a really good drive by Matty. The horse has been a bit nervous at the start so that’s why we put him on the unruly to get his confidence back. He’s doing everything right now so I’ll take him off. He’s getting better and better each start.”

Mikko Koivu who is named after a former Finnish professional ice hockey player, is out of Tehoro Diva which won five races for Holmes and Becker.

“Every other horse I’ve had other than Wavewatcher has been a chuck out. I just like mucking around with the old horses and getting them right. Spirit Of Chronos was seven when I got him and Motu Speedy Star raced until he was fourteen.”

Spirit Of Chronos won six races for Latimer while Motu Speedy Star won ten for the Oamaru horseman.

“I did a crazy shoeing job on Spirit Of Chronos and it worked.”

Latimer moved to Oamaru in 2010 where he’s trained most of his winners.

“I was a butcher for twenty eight years in Dunedin and then I did what all horse trainers do, I bought a milk run so you get plenty of time to work horses (laughter). In those days I was training out of Forbury Park.”

Eion worked for his uncle Wattie Latimer who had success with thoroughbreds and owned 1973 New Zealand Cup winner Watallan which was trained by Brian Anderton

“I started off mucking around with horses at Mosgiel at the weekends. I ended up being next door neighbours to Tomahawk trainer Ali Malcolmson. My first winner Kotare Inca was trained out of Tomahawk.”

Later on the card at Oamaru Latimer’s other runner Wavewatcher which was favourite, didn’t get the luck in the run home and finished sixth.

For complete race results, click here

by Bruce Stewart, for Harnesslink