A day to remember

Bruce and Colleen Negus had a harness racing day to remember at Addington today.

“You have the odd one when everything just goes right,” said Bruce who won races with Foveaux Gambler (Betting Line) and Dancing Glenis (A Rocknroll Dance) as a trainer and shares with Colleen in the ownership of Oliver (Majestic Son) which won for Colin and Julie De Filippi.

The Negus treble commenced with Foveaux Gambler in the amateur drivers race. Driven by Colleen the five year old led and won by a length and a quarter.

“He goes good for her. She’s got his number now because he can get a little bit lazy and cunning. You just have to make him go. You can’t be passive.”

FOVEAUX GAMBLER REPLAY

The win was Foveaux Gambler’s eighth, Colleen having driven him in three of those victories.

“We line him up a bit but he’s a good sound racehorse.”

Three year old trotter Oliver turned his poor formline around to win the next race. Bruce and Colin De Filippi share in the ownership of the three year old with Colin and Julie doing the training.

OLIVER REPLAY

“Colin and I have been friends for years. I’ve got Paige that I race with him, and he’s got Oliver.”

Driver Jim Curtin took Oliver straight to the front and held him together in a close finish, beating Opawa Peak (Peak) by a head.

Oliver is out of Susan (Straphanger) which won eight races. Her second foal Majestic One which is a full-sister to Oliver, won fourteen races.

“We bought him (Oliver) as a weanling. At nine thousand dollars he’d be the most expensive I’ve ever bought. He’s taken a while but he’s going to be good one day. Colin feels he got the potential to be a good horse. He’s just taken a bit of time to organise.”

To round out the Negus run, pacing bred Dancing Glenis took out Race Four. The five year old mare is owned by Robert Anderson and Mike Stevens.

“She was sent to us to race in the Gold Chip Series in Southland and we sent him to Colleen’s brother (Denis O’Connell) who trains on the beach at Waikouaiti. She got to trot very nice like a lot of trotters do when you send them to the beach. She did qualify as a pacer and sometimes she paces in her races but she didn’t today which was good. She may go back down south for some of those early races if we can get a junior driver for her because the races are penalty free.”

DANCING GLENIS REPLAY

Negus says Dancing Glenis, Paige and Buffy Northstains will all line up in the Darren De Filippi Memorial at Addington next Friday.

“That’s a race we all like to race in. I think the whole three of them are good chances. It’s penalty free and it’s for a big stake.”

For complete race results, click here

by Bruce Stewart, for Harnesslink