Few more experienced than Sinnamon and Forty Wives

Forty Wives (Bettor’s Delight) is not the sort of horse to feature in many harness racing montages for his prolific sire, but the 59-start maiden is the perfect advertisement for the honest battlers in the sport.

For while he is no superstar, the Central Otago pacer heads up the road to Oamaru Racecourse today looking to get his elusive first win on the board at start number 60 in the fourth on the card at this afternoon’s twilight meeting.

Out of the 12 horses, he meets in today’s Phillips Horse Transport Mobile Pace, the seven-year-old son of Bettor’s Delight has had more races than 11 of the opposition combined!

Race day experience counts for a lot at the end of the day, and it’s a trait Forty Wives shares quite adequately with his Oamakau trainer, Lionel Sinnamon.

Sinnamon has been renewing his training license since 1959, with some reports he began working horses even earlier. And while it has only ever been a hobby for the Central Otago farmer, you can tell that his hobby gives him a real sense of purpose in his twilight years.

“I was a farmer by trade and have mostly had secondhand horses to fit around the farming,” said Sinnamon.

“We’ve had a few good moments in the sport, and it gives me something to do and at the moment. I do it because I can and I enjoy it, and rather than plan what I am going to do in the next five years, I am just planning around what we are going to do up until Christmas,” he laughed.

Sinnamon experienced his career best training season in 2020 posting five wins thanks to the deeds of Allandale (Gotta Go Cullect) and Gabby’s Star (Elsu) with the former managing to secure a victory at Addington Raceway making for one of his career highlights. Robbie Holmes was the driver that day and was ultimately the link between providing Sinnamon with Forty Wives.

“He started to get out of form for Robbie Holmes and we were looking for another horse to keep ticking over after the other two wound up,” said Sinnamon.

“He was a big overgrown horse and we thought time would be on his side. Of course, getting a Bettor’s Delight, we thought well they win all the races, but it doesn’t always work out like that does it.

“He had a wind problem which was getting worse and worse. When we had him scoped, we realised he needed an operation which Peter Gillespie did for us. He’s been a bit in and out since then, he shows a bit of form and then tapers off. Perhaps he has grown into himself a wee bit this season, I dont know, but he is certainly finishing off his races well of late,” he said.

Forty Wives has just the eight career placings heading into today’s assignment, with two of those coming in each of his last two starts. His most recent was a third at the Forbury Park meeting on the grass track surface at Wingatui where he came from a long way back in the field to get within less than a length of the winner.

“He is happier in himself this year. When I work him on his own, he is the most useless animal out, I could run quicker myself. He needs a bit of company but at the moment getting a race a week into him is keeping him sharp. He does seem to have matured mentally a bit, but he is very lucky to still be here I suppose because I didn’t need a paddock or track mate,” he laughed.

Sinnamon could be forgiven for having some confidence as he takes the float on the two-hour journey north today, but the wise campaigner knows better than to get ahead of himself regardless of how well his charge might be finding the line.

“I’m never confident, you can’t be. It doesn’t matter how bad the form around him looks, you still have to beat them on the day. Draws haven’t always helped him as he really needs to be covered up for one run at them. If you draw seven or eight you have to work pretty hard, especially on the smaller tracks. He does seem to be quite happy on the grass as he showed last start and has placed at Oamaru before.

“We hope he will go a good race; he is running on better than he has at the moment, and it all depends on how the race is run but I would be disappointed if he couldn’t make the call. We would certainly be grateful to grab a win after the number of pops he has had. Having said that, place money is pretty good, but you start to wonder whether it’s ever going to happen,” he said.

With some fresh legs in the field today, including the odds-on favoruite and debutant, Franco Humbie (Gold Ace) from the Steven McRae barn, winning won’t come easy for the duo.

But few, if any, would be more deserving of a maiden success then Forty Wives and Sinnamon.

For complete Oamaru fields, click here.

by Brad Reid, for Harnesslink