Shippy’s home-bred mare doing the stable proud

She’s named after a supermarket’s no-frills brand, and Black And Gold (Ships Spur) has certainly proven a low-cost and high-quality harness racing performer for popular horseman Brett Shipway.

One of Shipway’s long list of homebred trotters, the six-year-old squaregaiter had a 2022 season to remember with plenty of highs across the year.

She collected seven victories from 39 trips to the races and was put up in lights at the recent Victorian Square Trotters Association function as winner of the Chris E Howe Country Trotter of the Year, Aged Trotter of the Year and Trotter Racemare of the Year awards.

“She’s done a great job and is a good, fun horse,” Shipway said.

“She’s our champion, but she hasn’t got the higher speed that you need for the next bracket.”

Black And Gold is by Ships Spur out of Earls Gold, who both won races for Shipway before being used for breeding duties at his Carisbrook property.

“We had the stallion at home that we used to break horses in and we put him over Earls Gold so we just called her homebrand Black And Gold,” he said.

“A lot of people thought we were Richmond supporters.”

Black And Gold has managed only one victory in season 2023, but gets her next shot in a heat of the Aldebaran Park Sweetheart Trot at Maryborough tomorrow. The series is for trotting mares, with Shipway’s squaregaiter drawing gate four in the first and highest rated of the qualifiers.

Black And Gold will contest an NR 52-66 event, with the other heat for trotting mares rated up to 51.

Those that progress will battle it out in a $14,000 final at Melton on May 27.

“There’s a couple of horses in the heat that have just got a bit too much high speed for her I think, but she’s an honest little horse,” Shipway said.

“She doesn’t win out of her grade.”

Tomorrow’s Maryborough meeting kicks off from 11.55am, with the Sweetheart Trot heats marked down as races six and 10 on the card.

For complete race fields, click here.

by Tim O’Connor, for HRV