Special drench works wonders for Cup winner

The now five-year-year continued his exceptional return to racing with an all-the-way victory in the $45,000 Stawell Toyota Pacing Cup, with Sunday’s success a second in as many starts for part-owner and trainer David Lewis.

Lewis has been through a long and testing journey with the gelding, who has endured major setbacks since returning from a Queensland campaign through the middle of last year.

Kowalski Analysis was one of the country’s most promising youngsters while trained by Matthew Craven, but his career hit the crossroads when illness struck following the two-run stint in the Sunshine State.

Lewis said a subsequent antibiotics treatment caused serious stomach problems for the horse, and many “traditional” methods for recovery had failed to bring him back to full fitness.

“My wife is a vet and she suggested we take the poo out of a good, healthy horse and drench it down into his stomach…,” Lewis told TrotsVision on Sunday.

“You strain it out so nothing solid goes in there – it’s just water.

“We did it one day and I thought he was just a little bit better, so we did it for three days in a row and he started to come good. And about two or three weeks later, he was fine. Amazing.

“I think it’s been done in America a bit – my wife’s a superstar vet.

“It’s basically taken six months to get him completely back to full health.”

Following Queensland and a long time away from the races, Kowalski Analysis had down-the-track finishes at Melton in April and May this year before Lewis took over training duties of the horse.

And the 59-year-old has now produced him for a first-up second at Geelong on October 22, as well as wins at Ballarat and Stawell.

Kowalski Analysis (driven by Glen Craven) led Sunday’s Stawell Pacing Cup from barrier one and controlled the race before sprinting home in a slick 26.5sec final quarter to win by more than five metres over Imnopumpkin (Mary-Jane Mifsud/Daryl Douglas).

The race was the second last leg of the 2022 Trots Country Cups Championship, a series which comes to a close at Cranbourne this Saturday night.

Demon Delight remains at the top of the standings on 19 points, one clear of Phoenix Prince and two ahead of Our Millionaire and Torrid Saint.

Torrid Saint has been nominated for the Cranbourne Pacing Cup and could clinch the title with victory in the Group 1 event.

Earlier in the afternoon at Stawell, Kolora trainer Barry Beasley was celebrating one of the biggest moments of his career when Archleo (Wishing Stone) took out the Wimmera Mallee Vet Services Stawell Trotters Cup.

Driven by Jackie Barker, the six-year-old squaregaiter settled in the one-one through the early stages of the stand start event before sliding back a further spot in the running line when James Herbertson sent Travel Bug outside the leader approaching the bell.

Barker peeled him three-wide down the back straight and he sprinted best to defeat Andy Gath-trained Havehorsewilltravel by just over a metre on the line.

The 26-year-old reinswoman said it was a massive thrill to win for Beasley, who has worked hard to get his horse back from injury.

Archleo was sidelined from April 2020 to October this year, with the Stawell win coming at just his third run since returning from the break.

“This little horse is going super, they’ve done a fantastic job to get him back from an injury and he deserved to win,” Barker said.

“I was so, so happy for Barry mostly because I know how much he loves this horse and I know how much he’s put in to trying to get him back to the races.

“He’s gone so close in so many big races and I knew he’d be thrilled to win this.”

Havehorsewilltravel’s gallant second from the 50m handicap moves him four points clear in the Maori’s Idol Trotting Championship.

He sits ahead of Stawell fourth place-getter Travel Bug heading into the last round of the series at Cranbourne.

For the overall Country Cup Leaderboards, click here.

For complete results and race replays, click here.

by Tim O’Connor, for HRV