Emotional win for Green

“It’s been a tough week and I just really wanted to get a win in his colours and show respect for him,” trainer driver Kirstin Green said after Samanthas Moon (One Over Da Moon) won in the late Wayne McEwan colours at the Invercargill Harness Racing Club’s meeting at Ascot Park.

SAMANTHAS MOON REPLAY

McEwan died on Thursday after a short illness and as a mark of respect Green wore his colours on all of her horses today.

“As a junior driver I drove a few for him here and there and then we became really close. Once I started training he and Tom Kilkelly were instrumental in me going out on my own. He just became a big part of my life, a big part of the stables and really looked after me. He was someone who liked to see people do well and get ahead. He appreciated people that worked hard. He backed me and became someone I really looked up to.”

McEwan and Green often transferred horses between Wayne’s Te Anau stable and Tisbury.

“We just had a good working relationship in that way. We were always talking on the phone and swapping things round.”

Green said McEwan was very straight forward and honest.

“A spade was a spade, but he was very generous with his time and always available to talk on the phone. He was a true blue southern man. He didn’t mince his words and you knew if he wasn’t happy.”

She says McEwan was very proud of his newly established Te Anau base.

“He really loved that place and they’d just got it set up perfectly. He was getting ready to back off from working and concentrating on life there so it’s all so tragic.”

In today’s Level One Restaurant and Bar Handicap Trot, Green had intentions to lead early with Samanthas Moon and won the race to the top. She then proceeded to open up the field before backing off.

“She trots the bends really well and tends to lay out in the straights. Knowing she could get round the bends really well I’d then try and give her a breather up the straights to use that advantage.”

As the backmarkers started to attach onto the back of the bunch Green put the foot down again and had a four length leading margin on the second horse with 800 metres to run.

Although she was running out of gas inside the last 100 metres, Samanthas Moon went down to the line to win by six and a half lengths with Joeking a further two and a half lengths back to Gift Card in third.

“He (McEwan) loved his horses being put in the race. If he had a horse, he loved it being sent off the gate or being driven positively. So he would have enjoyed that.”

After Green had crossed the finish line she let the horse roll around to the back straight.

“I was pretty emotional and upset. I just needed some time to compose myself because the week has taken its toll.”

As a trainer Wayne trained fifteen winners, his first being Kacee Jane at Winton in September 2011.

McEwan’s best horse was Tommy Waterhouse which won seven races for Green including the Listed Uncut Gems in May 2022 and the ‘South of the Waitaki’ on Show Day in 2021.

“We were so proud that we raced the horse together. We both picked him out at the sales and I was lucky enough to train him.”

Latterly McEwan has been using his late father Ron’s colours and the win by Hot Saucy Betty at Winton in December last year was significant as it was the first time a horse had won for McEwan in his father’s colours.

Today’s win was also a change of luck for owner Murray Swain who bought Samanthas Moon from Gavelhouse after she’d won four races for Brent White.

Unfortunately Swain lost his good trotting mare Sally Lindenny earlier this month after she got caught up in a fence.

For complete race results, click here

by Bruce Stewart, for Harnesslink