Poutama looking to build upon impressive 2024 season

Pukekohe horseman, Andre Poutama, will be hoping for a belated birthday present when harness racing returns to Alexandra Park tomorrow night (Feb 14).

Poutama turns 33 today (Feb 13), and like most involved in the industry, is spending the day working tirelessly at his craft with little room for sentiment when it comes to special occasions and the like.

Dating back to 2011 when he drove his first winner aboard Red Styx at Manawatu, Poutama has now driven 354 winners in his 15 seasons in the sulky, a great achievement for somebody without any family ties to the sport.

As his career continues to evolve, Poutama has steadily began ramping up his activity as a trainer, having first taken his license out in 2017. To date he has trained 43 winners, with last season seeing Poutama achieve a personal record with 14 horses saluting the judge in his colours, with Lucky Mum also securing a Group Three placing in the North Island Trotting Oaks a highlight and his first bit of black type as a trainer.

Poutama is philosophical about his evolution in the training ranks and the reasons behind his growing team.

“As you know, it’s tough to pick up drives, so if you can train your own horses and have some nice ones, you’ll naturally get more opportunities to drive. That’s how I’ve always looked at it,” he said.

“I’ve got about eight horses in the barn right now, but at the moment, I just don’t have the space or an extra worker to handle them all. I’ve always had around four or five racehorses in work, with the rest being young ones that I’m breaking in,” he said.

On tomorrow night’s eight race programme underneath the ‘ribbon of light’, Poutama will see three of his charges get their opportunity for prize money with the first coming in the form of a newcomer to his team.

St John Eight (Always B Miki) is a lightly tried four-year-old, who has been brought north by breeder/owner, Lew Driver. The well related gelding is a half to four six figure earners with his dam, Zenardle (McArdle) the producer of eight winners from 11 foals, with St John Eight being her last.

He had shown good form at the trials and workouts (winner of 3 from 4) for former trainer Geoof Dunn, prior to his two unplaced runs on race day, and hadn’t been sighted in public until Poutama took him to Franklin for a workout on the 31st of January.

ST JOHN EIGHT WORKOUT REPLAY

“I was quite happy with his workout. It was his first run back—his last start was in February last year before we turned him out. He’s only had the one trial, but it was a solid hit-out for his first time back. I really couldn’t have asked for much more.

“I don’t think racing right-handed will bother him too much. He’s a big boy, and while he has his quirks—especially movement-wise—he’s been coming out of his shell. His work’s been good lately, so whatever he does tomorrow night will bring him on,” he said.

St John Eight is well drawn in barrier two for tomorrow night’s assignment in race two, which after a scratching now equates to just a seven horse field of maiden pacers. The bookies have kept him safe at around the $6 mark.

In race six on the programme, Poutama has a pair of chances. He takes the reins behind the honest but well tried, Louie V Tonne (Well Said), who is looking to try and secure an elusive second win in his 41st start from barrier five.

“He’s just one of those horses that’s always there. He wanders around the stables like a pet, loves his life, and enjoys being out in front. I thought he might have picked up another win by now, but I thought tomorrow night would be a good chance to earn a cheque.”

The rising star of the junior driver ranks, Harrison Orange, will take the reins behind the other Poutama charge, Sister Love (Terror To Love), who has unfortunately drawn the outside of the gate in the seven horse field. She is another who began her career in the South Island before making the trek north to Poutama’s barn at Lincoln Farms during the Winter of last year.

“I used to help out Simon Adlam back in my younger days, and his son Oliver trained her. When Oliver was heading to America, they were looking to move her on. My wife Amy, her sister Erin, and Nancy were looking for a horse at the time, and I think the name resonated with them—so they jumped in. That’s how we ended up with her.”

“Tomorrow night, she should go well. She actually trialed really well before heading to Cambridge, but we’ve had a few little issues with her. It would be great to get a win for the girls in the ownership. I don’t think racing right-handed will worry her—it’s not a particularly strong field.

“Her trial was good—she did it easily—but we’ve had some issues with her feet. We had pads on her, but we’ve taken them off and gone back to normal shoes. We’ll see how she goes, but she definitely has ability. It’s just a matter of whether she decides to show up on the day—she’s one of those mares with a mind of her own,” he laughed.

Poutama will also take the reins behind the Ray Green and Nathan Delany trained Lincoln Lou (Sweet Lou) in the seventh on the programme. The three-year-old son of Sweet Lou is a well related colt being out of a full sister to Gold Ace, and has shown a lot of the family ability in his young career to date, with a slasher in his resuming run a fortnight ago.

“He’s got good gate speed and should be able to cross early and find the fence straight away. From there, he’s pretty versatile—he can either trail or lead, depending on what comes around. He put in a huge run in the Golden Gate, running second from a long way back. That was probably his best effort in a while, as we’d had some trouble with his gait. He was going a bit rough at times, but if he brings his best, he’s definitely capable of winning,” he said.

Safely through tomorrow night, and hopefully with some stake-money lining his pockets, Poutama will head to Karaka where he will be looking to raise his hand and secure a couple of promising types that have caught his eye at the NZB Standardbred Yearling Sales.

“I’ve gone a few times but missed out on some horses because the prices were too high or I couldn’t find owners. My wife and I have a good relationship with Nancy Peni—she’s been buying a few horses, and we’ve been training them. We were lucky to get Lucky Mum when she owned her, and we ended up selling her to America. We’ve got a few racing now and bought one at the sales last year for $25,000—a What The Hill filly. She’s nice, so we’ll go back this year and take a look at her full brother.”

With nearly a third of Poutama’s driving successes coming from behind squaregaiters, I put to him whether he had a soft spot for the trotters given his uncanny ability at getting them home at long odds, particularly from well rated front running drives.

“There’s nothing quite like sitting behind a good trotter. I remember when Sundee’s Son was a three-year-old—RJ left him up here for one more start because they couldn’t get a truck home. I drove him at Alexandra Park one night when he was the hot favourite, but he had trouble with his gait and hadn’t been trotting cleanly. He actually galloped twice, but even then, you could just feel how much ability he had. When a trotter gets into their stride and trots solidly, you can really sense their potential—it’s such a great feeling.”

“For me, I just like to keep them happy. It’s easy to fire a trotter up, and they’re a bit more sensitive than pacers. I prefer to let them settle, begin well, and go with the flow. If they want to roll to the front, that’s good for their confidence. It doesn’t matter to me what odds they’re paying—$20 or $3—it’s all about giving them the right trip. I’ve always believed it’s better to be in front rolling along than to be sitting parked. That’s just the way I like to drive,” he said.

For complete Alexandra Park fields, click here.

by Brad Reid, for Harnesslink