Just Teazing

Ohaupo harness racing trainer Jason Teaz trained two winners at Cambridge last night and he was happy to give Sailash Abernethy his 300^th driving winner.

Ultimate Moment (Quite Easy) went to the lead when the strands were released and he held on to beat Ordained (Father Patrick) by a length, providing Abernethy with his milestone.

Sailesh’s first winner was Daniela Hantuchova (Christian Cullen) at Cambridge in April 2010 for his brother Jay. The win was special because she was bred and owned by members of the family.

To date his biggest wins have been in the G1 Northern Oaks driving Best Western (Bettor’s Delight) for Jeremy Young and the G3 Northern Trotting Oaks with Monaro Mia (Imperial Count) for Nicky Chilcott.

“He doesn’t talk to the media and he didn’t mention the 300. He calls himself a digger driver and does harness racing for fun,” Teaz said.

Abernethy drove 53 of his winners as a junior and in his last season in the junior ranks he finished second to Sam Ottley in the New Zealand Junior Driver Premiership.

His biggest supporters have been his older brother Jay (33 winners), Doug Gale (26), Jeremy Young (23), Jason and Megan Teaz (19), Nicky Chilcott (13) and Adrienne Matthews (12).

“We’ve had a good association. My horses tend not to have high speed so they’re better in front and Sailesh is a brilliant front running driver.”

Sailesh comes from a family that’s been in horses for a long time. His father Kevin trained for a number of years and Jay has carved out a successful driving and training career.

“He was never interested in driving. They were giving him s..t one day in the pub and he said ‘nah stuff ya, I’m going to show you anyone can do this.”

Ultimate Moment is out of Juverna (Gee Whiz II) which is the family of Take A Moment (Armbro Invasion) who’s thirty nine wins include Interdominion, a Rowe Cup and Dominion Handicap.

“I bought him (Ultimate Moment) at a mixed sale in Christchurch. Warren (Latham) wanted to buy Emily (Imperial Count) and I looked at her in the box and wasn’t overly impressed. She was a weanling and Ultimate Moment was in the box next door and he was a yearling.”

Latham and Teaz paid $15,000 for the young trotter. Teaz broke him in and qualified him as a two year old before Latham took over the training.

The gelding was returned to Teaz in March this year and since being back at the Ohaupo stable has won three races and recorded six second placings.

“I offered to take the horse back and syndicate him and Warren kept a half share. Working him in company has agreed with the horse.”

Teaz’s second win came later in the programme when war horse Brookies Jaffa (Auckland Reactor) won his twelfth race at start number one hundred and four.

In form driver Peter Ferguson got the eight year old away perfectly from the unruly and soon had him in the one one. The pace was clapped on with just over a lap to run which suited the stayer. Ferguson got him out and rolling just before the home straight and he let down nicely to win by two lengths from dead heaters Whooska (Sportswriter) and Bet West (Bettor’s Delight).

“He was bred by Tony Armstrong who provides me with most of my horses. We took a few out of the paddock and left this tall, lanky horse (Brookies Jaffa). He ended up going over to Ross Paynter’s. Ross gave him his first start and he ran last. Tony rang me and told me to pick him up and try him for a month. Here we are 104 starts later and he’s still here.”

Teaz says Brookies Jaffa is no superstar but sits in the second tier of pacers in this country. He was in the original nominations for the IRT New Zealand Cup.

“It was going to cost another $1,000 to keep him in the Cup and with the cost of going down there it didn’t weight up. We’ll aim him for something like the Franklin Cup at the end of the year. I’d love to line him up in an Auckland Cup because I think he’s good enough.”

Teaz says the syndicate that races the gelding has changed over the years, but he’s been a great money spinner.

“He’s run in the first five something like sixty three times. Tony gave a heap of people a share after he qualified. The syndicate is now down to about ten and they race him today.

Brookies Jaffa was bred by Armstrong and is out of American bred mare Brookmaker (Artsplace).

“Tony is a great breeder. He doesn’t breed champions but without people like him there wouldn’t be harness racing. He lines up every year and just keeps breeding. We need guys like him and without him I wouldn’t be in the game. He bought in about two or three mares from America through John Curtin, and I think all up he’s probably bred the winners of about 300 races over New Zealand, Aussie and America.”

by Bruce Stewart, for Harnesslink