Ex-Kiwi Kyle Marshall is low-flying in Oz

Former New Zealand horseman Kyle Marshall and his partner Sophie Jeffries made the jump “across the ditch” earlier this year to carve out their future in harness racing – and it’s fair to say they haven’t looked back.

Since getting the first of their team to the track six weeks ago, Marshall has notched up seven wins and two placings from just 13 starts – 54 percent wins and 69 percent placings to starters strike rate.

“Things are going fantastic at the moment – there’s a couple of nice horses that we brought over here, and they’re showing their ability.  We’ve been able to find the right races and they are progressing nicely,” Marshall said.

Son of Mac (American Ideal) ran second in the Gr 1 Northern Derby at his last start in New Zealand earlier this year, and since he returned to the track has recorded three wins from three Australian starts.  Likewise, two-year-old Smoken Ace (Sportswriter) who was unraced in New Zealand has recorded three wins at his only three starts.

“Son of Mac had quite a few hard runs back home, but he came over here on a good rating and we’ve been able to pick out some easier races for him to build his confidence as a colt,” Marshall said.

“It’s done him the world of good. He thinks he is King Kong at the moment!  And I have a lot of time for Smoken Ace – he will get better and better as he matures, I think. We’re having a nice run, but we all know the industry is a great leveller, so you enjoy things while they’re rolling along!”

In making the transition from Cambridge to the Cranbourne Harness Racing Centre, southeast of Melbourne, the couple took the opportunity for a break.

“We really haven’t had a holiday in six years, basically since I’ve been in the game so when we finished up racing at home in March, we decided to give the horses a month out and have a bit of downtime before we made the move,” Marshall said.

“We brought six with us, and once we came over here in April it’s been a matter of getting them fit and ready to race again.  That worked out really well, because it meant while we were bringing them up, we could get organised, and full credit goes to Sophie.

“We’ve got a good routine going so we’ve started upping our team and hopefully we’ll eventually get to a big number to make the move worthwhile.”

Marshall said the stable had started to get support from Australian clients.

“We’re very grateful for that and we’ll have two or three ready to trial for new owners from Australia and New Zealand over the next few weeks.  We’ve got about 15 in work now, and it’s still early days but hopefully we can build a successful relationship with those clients and grow from there.

“The yearling we bought from the sales (American Ideal – My Double Dream) broke in really well, and another yearling we have, a half-sister to Smoken Ace by Captain Crunch, is a lovely filly. We’ve got quite a few yearlings that have ended up in our stables from Australia and New Zealand, so we’re hoping next year or the year after should be exciting.”

Marshall said the facilities at the Cranbourne complex were second to none.

“As a herd animal the horses are happy in themselves because there are plenty of other horses around. There’s good big yards and nice paddocks, and everything we need to keep them fit with the treadmill and the swimming pool – we can work them the way we want to and still keep their legs fresh,” he said.

“The other thing is the great environment here. The Cranbourne CEO David Scott, who got us here has been fantastic. The Jamieson boys Tony and Craig (also from New Zealand) have been great too – Tony does my shoeing and is a really good farrier.  All of the team helping out at the stables, Trent Busselton, Zeke Slater and Natalie, have also helped us get settled.

“And we’re sharing a barn with Scotty Ewen. You wouldn’t meet a better bloke.  We work our teams together and he and Kylie help out with rides to the races when we need.  Scotty’s put me on to drive a couple and I’ve got a few wins for him, so it was good to repay the favor when he won on Smoken Ace for us at Geelong the other night.”

by Terry Gange, for Harnesslink