Weekend border hop has sweet success

Kylie Sugars can’t remember the last time she drove at her original harness racing home track – but she made some special memories with consistent mare Euryphaessa (Majestic Son) in Adelaide on Saturday night.

The four-year-old square-gaiter is part-owned by Sugars and was foaled, broken in, trained and driven by her until two months ago, when she took the decision to place her with David and Ingrid Smith in South Australia.

But when circumstances allowed, Sugars, now a Victorian, who was born and raised in Adelaide, didn’t hesitate to catch a flight and head west to drive “Thea”.

“It would be six or seven years since I drove at Globe Derby, but it was great to get back again and catch up with friends and family as well over there,” Sugars said.

“Poor David got himself injured at that terrible fall in Mildura a couple of weeks back and I didn’t have anything on this weekend, so I thought why not?”

Sugars shares ownership in Euryphaessa with long-time Adelaide-based friends – former racecaller Jamie Braidwood (who now runs a TAB outlet) and whom Sugars has known for most of her life, and car salesman Barry Lay, who Sugars bought her first car from!

“Because of COVID, Jamie and Barry had actually never seen the horse in the flesh until I sent her over to the Smiths,” Sugars said.

“They’re thrilled to have her over there and go out to the stables once a week to watch her work and be a little bit more involved that way,” she said.

Euryphaessa was a model of consistency for Sugars, recording three wins and 17 placings from 35 outings. Transferring her to Adelaide has reignited her career, though, now with four wins and two placings from six starts for the Smiths.

“It was a shame to see her go because she was pretty special to me.  She was running good fourths and fifths and running consistently good times, but had probably reached her mark here in Victoria,” Sugars said.

“The handicapping in Adelaide suits her – she went over there not as highly graded as she was here and it’s been the best thing for her.

“I had previously sent three other trotters over to David and Ingrid, that were owned by Graeme Rayner and they did well.  David and Ingrid definitely have an affinity with the trotters.”

The reunion between Sugars and Euryphaessa didn’t go without a hitch, though, with the trotter giving her some anxious moments by galloping in the score up.

EURYPHAESSA REPLAY

“Every now and then she can get a bit loose going up to the gate, but she hasn’t been doing that lately – I did think ‘oh you’ve picked a great night to do this!” Sugars laughed.

“Usually when she does something wrong, she isn’t that easy to get down, but thankfully she got back trotting pretty quickly and we were up at the gate for the start and she went terrific from there.

“I like to think she’s missed me as much as I’ve missed her.”

by Terry Gange, for Harnesslink