Cambridge local thrilled with Spring reward

Thursday night (Oct. 13) harness racing action headed south of the Bombay Hills to Cambridge Raceway where the 10-race programme was beefed up with the addition of the Spring Rewards Series.

The popular Harness Racing New Zealand initiative has given the everyday ratings horses and their connections an opportunity to race for a stake of around $20,000, almost double the average you would expect on offer.

As we saw at Timaru a fortnight ago, the governing body and host club are rewarded with fantastic fields and competitive racing and a consequence, some surprising results for punters to navigate.

All but one of the four Spring Rewards Series races were won by horses paying double figure odds which would have been great for the gross betting revenue also.

The Tim Hall trained Keystone Comet (Andover Hall) was fantastic in the first of the $20,000 features, with Zachary Butcher having the six-year-old gelding away safely before eventually taking a trial behind Alana (Majestic Son) and Luk Chin.

They sprinted best up the passing lane to score a much-deserved victory and paid a tidy $17.40 for their efforts in the rating 35 to 46 handicap trot.

It was career win number two for Keystone Comet at his 32nd start, with the $11,000 winners’ cheque equating to more than a third of the square gaiters $32,000 lifetime earnings in the one hit.

KEYSTONE COMET REPLAY

“I sort of thought the handicaps evened things up with some of the better chances behind us. But in saying that, with the $20,000 stake you need a few things to go your way and we had a bit of luck with horses galloping, and Zachary gave an inch perfect drive in the end,” said the trainer of Keystone Comet, Tim Hall.

“He’s been pretty consistent and has had a whole bunch of placings that could have possibly been race wins with a bit more luck, but he got his reward last night for being consistent and racing well.

“We had planned to target this race. He had been racing in good form in his prior Cambridge starts without a lot of luck but hey, what a great concept that a horse like him that is down in the ratings can get the opportunity to race for such a nice stake for us and the other owners. He’s no star, but he is very capable on his day,” said Hall.

As fate would have it, Hall was the only one of the connections on track to enjoy the victory of Keystone Comet but didn’t let that rain on his parade.

“There was only me there representing so I had to make sure I ran down and took the opportunity for a photo,” he laughed.

“Barry Kilkpatrick who is in the ownership is a dairy farmer in Startford and he was busy with calving, but ‘Comet’ is the first horse he has ever had a share in, so we were delighted for him and he no doubt would have enjoyed the result,” he said.

It was a popular win for the locally trained trotter with the winning connections being very much a family affair.

Keystone Comet was co-bred by the winning trainer’s father with much of the syndicate behind him being family owned as well.

“My dad, Patrick, bred and raced Flipside, (Aereus) the dam of Keystone Comet after having a broodmare called Turangi Lass (Roydon Glen). She was unraced but left a few good horses for Dad and his brother who had a few silent shares,” he said.

Turangi Lass was a half-brother to the well performed Riley Hale (Holmes Hanover) who was good enough to race in a New Zealand Messenger and won the Cambridge Futurity while in the care of Barry Purdon before going on to do a good job in America.

It’s not a family that jumps off the page in a sales catalogue but got a tremendous boost in recent times when Flipside’s second foal, Keystone Del crossed the ditch and went on a rampage to become the fifth NZ bred trotting millionaire (now seven of them).

Hall trained the son of Dr Ronerail for two wins from its nine New Zealand starts as a late blooming five-year-old, before he was sold to stable clients of Brent Lilley and going on to win 10 Group Ones and 37 races.

Despite having the unique disticntion of having a millionaire to her credit, Flipside is light tried as a broodmare having only produced the four foals. That looks set to change at the ripe old age of 25 with the daughter of Aereus possibly in line for one last roll of the dice.

“The plan we are hoping for is to possibly do an embryo transfer with her this breeding season. She is obviously getting on in age, but it is pretty expensive and will require a bit of luck to produce a foal but that is the plan for her. She is in great order still and I’m actually just looking at her now and she looks a million bucks.

“She’s actually done a really good job. She is four from four, and obviously Keystone Del was the standout. Once he got to Australia and found a system that suited him and he liked, he just kept getting better and better,” he said.

As for a consort, Hall has done his homework and likes what he sees from the richest French trotter of all time.

“I’m thinking of going to Timoko with her,” he said.

“It would be an outcross obviously and the family have never had that sort of blood through them. He’s a little bit dare, but what a phenomenal horse and what a breed of horse to put across your trotting line. Going forward into the future if you have a colt, you’ve got a sellable option and if you get a filly down the line, you have a great breeding prospect.

“What I like is the fact he raced for a long period of time and at the high end for a long period of time. I think that’s a really good stamp for a stallion and if he can pass that on you do get good racehorses out of that. I do like those horses that race with longevity at a high level, they’ve got to be sound, and they’ve got to have the will to do it and the right attitude. Breeding to a horse with those sorts of credentials, surely you’re not going to be too far away,” he said.

The win of Keystone Comet was the third of the season for Hall, with the Waikato horseman having now trained 29 winners across 12 seasons as a license holder.

Hall is at maximum capacity with eight horses in work, plus two more he is working for local horsewoman and breeder, Kym Kearns while she recovers from a foot injury.

Working hoses is very much a passion for Hall and while it takes up much of his spare time, he is involved in other areas of the equine sector as a means of livelihood.

“I’m a farrier so pretty much the farrier work pays the bills, and the horses take up all my free time,” he laughed.

“But that’s the great thing about the Spring Rewards Series, it gives people like us the chance to earn a decent dollar which goes a long way into going to a bit of a better stallion or breeding the next one.

“As we all know it’s not cheap whatever way you look at it. We don’t have the huge clientele and we sort of have to breed them to get the better-quality horse and go the long road with it, so to get a little bit back last night was massive. It all goes back into the industry and will keep us enjoying the sport we love,” he said.

For complete Cambridge Raceway results, click here.

by Brad Reid, for Harnesslink