Bits and Bridles

When Swayzee won his second New Zealand Cup on Tuesday it made his two New Zealand harness racing owners very proud.

Lester Drake and his good friend Neville Jackson who live in the Hawkes Bay largely fly under the radar, with trainer Jason Grimson, major owner Mick Boots and driver Cam Hart sharing the limelight.

“Tim (Butt) bought him as a yearling and asked us if would like a share in him. So we’ve been in him since day one,” Drake told me in an interview.

Drake was unable to make Cup Day because of Covid in the household. Jackson was lucky to be on-course after he’d slipped when exiting his boat and had to be hospitalised for a number of days. He was discharged in time to be able to be on-course for the million dollar feature.

Winton breeders John and Katrina Price will also be happy after Swayzee’s win in the Cup.

At the recently held APG Mixed National Sales in Australia at a cost of $90,000, they purchased a close relative to both Swayzee and Leap To Fame named For Us All.

She’s out of Left For Me (Fake Left) who is the dam of For A Reason (Art Major) which won $1,111,470.

Left For Me is also the dam of Lettucereason, (Art Major) the mother of Leap To Fame and Swayzee.

When Swayzee and Just Believe won the Cup Day double it was only the second time Australian horses have won the New Zealand Cup and the Dominion Handicap in the same year. The previous time was in 1983 when Steel Jaw and Scotch Notch both won their respective features.

The spoils over Cup Week this year have well and truly been spread around.

The leading trainers by wins were the partnership of Barry Purdon and Scott Phelan from Clevedon and Yaldhurst trainer Regan Todd, with three wins each over the two days.

In past years this week has been dominated by the All-Stars stable. In 2018 Mark Purdon and Natalie Rasmussen won twelve races (eight on Cup Day) while over Cup Week in 2014 they won ten (seven on Cup Day).

Chapter Seven stallion Helpisontheway sired his first qualifier at Addington this month.

Two year old gelding Help Me trained by Michael House got his ticket at the Cup Trial. He’s one of just eight foals by Helpisontheway in New Zealand.

Helpisontheway stands at Llowalong Farms in Victoria and has left some good winners in North America including Helpfirstedition (TR1:51.3, $468,000), Helpoftheseason (TR1:53.3, $486,000) and Naturdays (TR1:52.0, $339,00).

Southland trainer and breeder Clark Barron is having a good run.

His consistent pacer Always On Sale (Always B Miki) owned by his wife Jackie, broke maiden ranks at Ashburton on Thursday winning by nine lengths in the hands of Blair Orange, while Showsomejoy (Art Major) a horse Barron bred and developed, continued on her winning way last weekend when she took out the South Australian Oaks at Globe Derby. She has now won seven of her ten starts in Australia.

The junior driver’s premiership is getting interesting.

Sam Thornley (55) still has a lead of six over Carter Dalgety (49). Wilson House (45) is still in the mix after driving four winners at the Manawatu meeting on Monday.

House’s father Michael tends to take large teams to Manawatu meetings and usually gets multiple winners, so with three meetings scheduled in Palmerston North before the season ends, the chances of Wilson closing the gap on Thornley and Dalgety are high.

When Life Of Art (Art Major) won at Wyndham recently he broke a New Zealand record that had stood for seven years.

The Amber Hoffman trained geldings time of 2-51.5 was a second quicker that The Dorchester’s 2-52.5 recorded at Ashburton in October 2017.

by Bruce Stewart, for Harnesslink