Cantabs to raid The Dark Horse

Four Canterbury trained trotters head south on Sunday for the inaugural running of the $40,000 Group Three The Dark Horse at the Invercargill Harness Racing Club meeting at Ascot Park.

Galleons Ambassador (Love You) trained by Ashburton horseman John Morrison brings a good formline into Sunday’s feature. She scored a well-deserved win three starts ago.

“I’ve given her a light freshen since the Jasmyn’s Gift. She’s been worked all the time but is coming into the race fresh. She has gone well fresh or first up before, her winter coat is falling out and she’s starting to look good,” he said.

Galleons Ambassador has won five of her races from the stand and has been placed a further six times.

“She’s generally safe but not very fast away. I thought the race would be over 2700 metres and I didn’t realise it was 2200 until the week before. It’s good that they’re running a race like this as it just keeps us away from the better ones. If you get mares races you can dodge some of those better horses.”

The Ohoka trained Walkinonsunshine (Creatine) has a poor formline. Her last win was in the Southern Trotting Oaks on this course just over a year ago and she’s broken in two of her last three starts.

“She’s not the best stand start horse but I’m really happy with the way she’s been working. When she’s going away, she’s striking herself in behind. Those early touches seem to be quite hard to get away from. We’ve put a bar against the frog in both her front shoes and she’s been a bit more solid and has been trotting really well,” trainer Tom Bagrie said.

As a three year old Walkinonsunshine won the G3 Northern Oak and finished second in the Northern Derby. From six standing starts she won once.

While in the south Walkinonsunshine will be looked after by Jeremy Douglas.

Rush (Peak) has been a revelation since joining Mark Jones Burnham stable, winning four of her last five starts. She is now an eight win mare.

“She came to us after a wee freshen up. Probably a change for an old mare perks them up a bit. She looks a million dollars and is a happy horse,” Jones said.

Jones says Sunday’s Group Three will be the biggest test so far for Rush.

“Being over 2200 around Invercargill will be hard. There’re some nice horses from Phil and Nathan Williamsons’. It’s definitely a step up off 10 metres around that 1000 metre track.”

Rush has lined up fifty times from the stand, winning eight races and recording a further eleven placings.

“As a rule her manners are quite good and she does ping away, so that helps. It’s just the traffic in front of you afterwards. Every start this time in she’s had all favours so it’s going to be a bit different this time for her.”

Having run a good second in the DG Jones/Banks Peninsula Cup to Mr Love, Eurostyle (Orlando Vici) trained by Derek and Adele Jones was disappointing at Methven.

“We got her bloods done on the Monday and they weren’t flash. She’s just a horse that ties up all the time and just can’t be on the grass. This week we’ve left her off the grass and the improvement in her has just been unbelievable. She worked great this morning (Tuesday). Adele drove her this morning and she was real happy with her. It takes a lot to please my wife (laughter),” Derek said.

She’s started seventeen times from the stand for three wins and five minor placings.

“She’s usually a really good beginner. She’s going to have to do some work but so are all the backmarkers. She can do work and she’s sat parked a couple of times, but she just has to be a hundred percent right and we’re hoping that’s where she is now.”

The five year old mare is lightly raced, having won six of her twenty one starts. She starts off the 10 metre handicap in the 2200 metre feature.

“She’s reached that grade very quickly so that’s why we’ve been trying to target those mares races.”

Eurostyle will be staying at Craig Ferguson’s Wyndham barn.

Meanwhile the southern team of trotters will be led by Dark Horse’s full-sister Hidden Talent (Bacardi Lindy) trained by Nathan Williamson and Phil Williamson’s trio of Majestic Love (Majestic Love), Sheza Gift (Father Patrick) and Aroha Kenny (Love You).

With the amount of talent across Sunday’s field it’s likely the track and Southland record will be broke. The current record for mares over this distance of 2-48.8 was set in 2017 by Spotlight The Valley.

The race salutes Dark Horse, who was trained by Nathan Williamson for the Griffins Syndicate.

During her racing career she won fourteen races and was placed nine times in just thirty three starts. Unfortunately her career was curtailed by injury.

She won two races as a three year old, six as a four year old and five races at eight. She was restricted to just four starts as a five year old, three starts at seven and she completely missed her six year old season.

Dark Horse currently holds two Southland records: the 1609 metres at Winton for four year old and older mares (1-57.4) and the 2400 metre mobile at Winton for four year old and older mares (2-58.9).

She also jointly holds a New Zealand mares record of 2-24.7 for 1980 metres and was placed over 1609 metres at Ashburton in 1-56.1.

Her biggest black type win was the Listed Uncut Gems at Addington.

Dark Horse also ran third in the G1 Four Year Old Ruby and second in the G3 Southern Lights (twice). In the G3 Summer Trotting FFA she finished second to Muscle Mountain who beat her by half a length.

by Bruce Stewart, for Harnesslink