Mike Berger – a life in harness racing

The curtain is coming down on the wonderful harness racing career of Cambridge trainer Mike Berger.

Over a span of forty three years he’s won more than 700 races including a New Zealand Cup, a Taylor Mile, two Easter Cups and a New Zealand Standardbred Breeders Stakes.

His exit is partly due to the current rating system which he’s not a great fan of and rather than carry a bitterness towards an industry he loves, he feels it’s time to do other things.

“I absolutely hate the system, it just doesn’t work up here. It’s like snakes and ladders. You win one, then your money’s all gone running round the track to get competitive again. The whole system is clogged up. If you win a maiden, all of a sudden you’re higher rated than a horse that’s won six races,” he said.

Berger who’s been based at Cambridge Raceway for over twenty five years, says he couldn’t have stayed in the sport as long as he has without the support of his family.

“I’m hopeless at book work and my wife Brenda has done that all the way through. She’s been a big part of the business and I couldn’t have run it without her. I’m pretty proud of my two girls, Melanie and Monique. They both went to Uni and got their degrees. They missed out growing up, because you’re working all the time.”

Mike got into the sport as a young lad. He lived close to Ardmore where there were a number of stables.

“I used to get on my bike and go down there in the weekends and school holidays doing boxes, and as a kid you were always going to the races.”

One stable was Graham Reeks. “I was just mucking out there and he got me in the cart a few times at the end.”

He left school when he was sixteen.

“My parents weren’t keen on me going into a stable and I had to do an apprenticeship, so I did car upholstery and canvasing for a year. But the urge was too strong so I packed my bag and went down to Normandy just out of Hawera and worked for Doug Grantham.”

At that time Grantham trained Marie Gibbins (Emory Hanover) which won eleven races including a New Zealand Standardbred Breeders Stakes, Thames Pacing Cup and Northern Oaks.

He worked for Grantham for twelve months.

“I then looked after thoroughbreds on the boat which went from Auckland to Sydney which took three and a half days. They gave me an air ticket to get home which was valid for twelve months. I loved it over there and only came back because I had to use the ticket.”

Berger moved around stables when he had his junior driver’s licence and said he didn’t drive a lot. His first winner was Dan Que (Out To Win) for Roy and Barry Purdon at the Franklin meeting in April 1978.

After a stint at Kumeu, Berger worked for Mike Stormont before heading off to Canada where he worked in various stables for fourteen months.

On returning home he had a short stint in the wine and spirits industry before harness racing came calling again and he took up a job at the Purdon stable.

“I went to work of Roy and while I was there Barry came into partnership. They were so great to work for. Just a great atmosphere.”

Mike gained his training licence in 1980 and trained privately for Graeme Mackie.

“One of my first training winners was for him – Trade Direct. I liked the driving but I thought do I want to get the experience of driving or the ten percent as a trainer. The decision was pretty easy.”

Trade Direct won five races for Berger.

After sharing stable space with a number of other trainers Berger was offered a stable block at the Morrinsville track where he took out his open licence.

“I did a lot of breaking in and pre-training. I was pretty lucky starting off, Roy Purdon and Peter Wolfenden sent me horses.”

In 1988 he and Simon Pavlovich formed a training partnership.

“He was working for me. We had a young team, he was working really hard, and I thought we would have a reasonable season so I asked him if he wanted to go into partnership.”

Between 1988 and 1990 the partnership trained thirty five winners.

“Simon’s father passed away and his mother wanted him to return home and help with the family holiday camp in Queenstown. That was the finish of the partnership but we stayed pretty good mates until he passed away.”

Berger then went into partnership with Warren Rich and the pair ran two stables between 2000 and 2003.

“We had a few Asian clients who had come out from Hong Kong when things were changing. They bought a property at Pukekohe. I didn’t want to have all my eggs in one basket so Warren looked after the Pukekohe base and I stayed at Morrinsville.”

In that time they trained 109 winners including a New Zealand Cup with Gracious Knight in 2002, Easter Cups with Facta Non Verba (2000) and Gracious Knight (2002) and a City of Auckland FFA in 2002 with Facta Non Verba.

Facta Non Verba turned out to be Berger’s best horse, winning twenty seven races. He  remembers the day he bought the gelding’s mother Saieda Girl (Surmo Hanover).

“My brother and three of his mates wanted to buy one so I went to the Claudelands sales. They had a budget of $3,000. I looked at her pedigree and it was good on the mare’s side, but I thought I wouldn’t have enough money to buy her. I didn’t even look at her. I was out the back eating a pottle of chips thinking I wasn’t going to get anything decent for three grand. There was hardly a bid on this filly, so I put my hand up at three grand and got her. I went round the back to have a look at her and thought’ what the hell have I done.’ She was lanky and you could hardly get your fist between her knees.”

Saieda Girl went on to win seven races for Berger and was successful at stud – leaving Fact Non Verba, Barries Chev (1), Westshore Lad (2) and Saieda Bint (7).

Berger has no hesitation in labelling Facta Non Verba as his favourite.

“He was very highly strung and he lacked high speed but he was tough.”

By his career end he’d achieved twenty seven wins, sixteen seconds, fourteen thirds and had won $532,035 in stakes. He won a Group One Easter Cup, Group One City Of Auckland FFA and Group Two Franklin Cup. The horse also campaigned in Australia where he won six races.

“When he was finished you couldn’t really rehome him because he didn’t have the right nature to be a riding horse. A guy tried him as a cart horse for weddings but that didn’t work out. A good friend of ours Scott Eagleton at Seaton Park near Matamata took him, and they used him to run with the weanlings. He looked fantastic, got feed and rugged in the winter and lived to a good age. That was pretty cool.”

Berger’s favourite moment with Facta Non Verba was his winning of the City Of Auckland FFA.

“He sat parked for the last bit and just dished it up to them. He was so tough.”

His other open class horse Gracious Knight, (Tuapeka Knight) was owned by The Happy Valley Syndicate which was made up of a group of businessmen from Hong Kong. They bought his dam, Kind Hearted (Rashad – Big Softie).

“She had a Tuapeka Knight foal at foot and was in foal to Soky’s Atom. I think they paid two and a half thousand for the package. It turned out the mare wasn’t in foal, so they got a free return to Soky’s Atom. The foal at foot turned out to be Gracious Knight.”

Gracious Knight won twelve of his forty nine starts and was placed twelve times, winning $383,155. His wins included the 2002 New Zealand Trotting Cup in which he beat Facta Non Verba by a neck and the 2002 Group One Easter Cup.

“He had lameness issues and Warren and his partner did a lot of work on him.”

The 2002 New Zealand Cup was the pinnacle of Berger’s career.

“It was really cool. Addington is the holy grail of racing with such a great atmosphere, and it was just great to have a horse in the Cup let alone quinella it. I love it in the South Island, the people are so good. I don’t like the limelight and like to stay down in the public part because that’s where the real hype is.”

Berger’s training success continued with the likes of Hot Shoe Shuffle, Coburg and V For.

Of V For he said “He had a bit of speed and he was one of the first crop of Christian Cullen. He ran a few placings against some real good horses. He got a lovely trip behind the Aussie horse (Romeo’s Legend) in the Taylor Mile. He was a nice horse because I had a half share in him (laughter).”

V For’s other owner was Selwyn Taylor who Berger still trains for.

“The first horse I trained for him was Blue Twirl. He’s bred from her all the way through. There haven’t been any super stars, but it’s been a consistent winning family.”

Blue Twirl was a Vance Hanover mare which won five races. She left Sahara Storm which won six and at stud left V For. One of Sahara Storm’s daughters Sahara Starlight left ten win mare Saharazona which is the dam of Barbarossa which won four races for Taylor and Berger.

Over the forty three years other good winners in Mike’s colours have been Bettor Spirits (14), Supreme Ruler (10), Max Factor (9), Lusty Mac (9), Stand Sure (9), Kevs Choice (8), Spirit Of Anzac (8), Skipper’s Reign (8), Lucky John (8) and Suidelike Meisie (8).

Philip Butcher has had a great association with the stable, driving 148 winners.

“His driving complimented my training. I rate him as good an all-round horseman as anyone I know. He was a very patient driver and he drove a horse to its ability. He probably got wins out of horses that wouldn’t have won for other drivers.”

Todd Mitchell (94) also reined plenty of winners for Berger.

“We had a run with The Wizard but then he became too popular. He’s a terrific horseman.”

Other successful reinsmen for the stable have been Tony Herlihy (62), David Butcher (41), Maurice McKendry (35) and Aaron Vallender (25).

Mike is proud that he’s been able to mentor young people in the sport who have gone on to carve out their own careers – the likes of Kyle Marshall, Philippa Wakelin, Stevie Noble and Scott Iremonger.

“I’ve been fortunate because I’ve had a lot of good people work for me. Some of them get out of the industry but they’ve done well in other walks of life. I get a kick out of that. Scotty moved down to Leeston. I taught him a wee bit of shoeing and he’s cut out a niche down there. It makes me quite proud.”

Berger’s last training partnership was with Matthew White, over two seasons and eleven wins.

Mike says retirement isn’t too far away now. Instead of carting horses south to the Manawatu he says he’ll be heading south to see his grandchildren at Marton. He’s excited about that.

by Bruce Stewart, for Harnesslink