Swain excited for $90,000 Country Championship tilt

Canterbury harness racing trainer, Megan Swain, will experience the biggest thrill in her aspiring career to date with a runner in tomorrow night’s (May 12) $90,000 Listed Hydroflow NZ Country Championship Final at Addington Raceway.

Swain lines up Jimmy Arma, the six-year-old son of Changeover in the 3200m staying test which concludes another epic season for the best Country Cups horses in what is sure to be an amazing spectacle.

The $90,000 feature enters its second installment having been devised by the architect group responsible for wholesale changes to the feature race programming in New Zealand. The idea being that rewarding the horses who make up such an integral part of the industry through the spring, summer and autumn with an opportunity to race for a significant stake has been franked yet again with a capacity field of 17 runners.

For Swain who has held a training license going on five years, the magnitude of tomorrow night is not lost on the young horsewoman who isn’t accustomed to seeing her colours at headquarters on the biggest of stages.

“It’s the biggest race I’ve had a runner in, I don’t normally even have a horse for premiere night so it’s a massive thrill to have two runners on the night and one in a race of that magnitude,” said Swain.

“I think I will be a bit nervous tomorrow but I’m probably more excited. I just hope the horse goes a good race. I am happy with him but there are some real nice horses in there as well,” she said.

Jimmy Arma has only recently arrived at Swain’s Dunsandel property having raced for most of his 53 start career out of the Diamond Racing Stables where he had accumulated 6 wins and close to $76,911 in stakes.

In just his second start for Swain since joining her team, Jimmy Arma was an excellent third last week behind Here’s Herbie in the Rangiora Winter Cup. He belied his rank outsider status and ran into the place money, paying a whopping $13.20 on the tote.

“He is a cool horse to have around the stable, but he can be a bit headstrong when he wants to be,” she said.

“John (Dunn) and the owners decided that after Blenheim the horse should come here for a spell and they both agreed that a change of scenery might just put some spark back into him because they felt he had sort of plateaud a but in his racing.

“I thought he would go a good race last week, but he doesn’t have the real high speed for those better horses. I thought they would overrun him up the straight, but he actually stuck on really well.

“I’m hoping that he will go in a similar vein to Rangiora and ping away and get down to the pegs and be nice and handy. He has great manners nine times out of ten and I’m hoping he will bring that good behaviour tomorrow night,” she said.

It should come as little surprise to those who know Swain well that she is making such a great fist of things having recently ramped up her operation.

The former Southlander has harness racing running through her veins with a pedigree to back up the expertise she has picked up from a glittering apprenticeship so to speak.

“I originate from Southland formerly being a Macintyre and have relatives who own and operate Macca Lodge. So, harness racing is in the family and have been training and working with horses as long as I can remember.

“From about the last year I have gone out on my own as a trainer. I was working mornings for Michael House in the mornings and working about three or four of my own. It ended up getting too busy, so I made the decision to increase my numbers and make a bigger go of it for myself.

Macintyre now trains ten horses on a 25-acre (10-hectare) property at Dunsandel, a half-hour drive from Christchurch with a mixture of horses in work ranging from half a dozen yearlings to tomorrow night’s Country Cup Finalist, Jimmy Arma.

“Previously I worked for Murray Brown down south. When I moved up here when I was 16, I was the foreman for Nigel McGrath for five years and learned a lot there. I worked for Mark Jones, and Michael House, and have had a really good education from some good trainers I guess you could say.

“I have probably taken a bit from all of them as I’ve learned the ropes and then adapted it to my own methods. As you are learning you are always trying new things through trial and error I suppose,” she said.

Swain’s talent and application is easily seen when looking at her other runner at tomorrow night’s premiere meeting in the son of Gold Ace, Piece Of Gold.

He arrived at Swain’s barn a 17-start maiden and has won three times since being in her care along with five of his six placings.

While no superstar, he is more then capable of getting into the thick end of things should things fall his way.

“He isn’t a premiere horse necessarily, but he has great manners and its a $20,000 race and he wouldn’t be the worst chance tomorrow night,” she said.

Despite Swain joking with the owners about pulling a ‘Ray Green’ on the eve of a feature race, common sense has prevailed, and she will spend the night in the comfort of her own bed and not brave the cold Canterbury weather.

“I said I would sleep outside his barn as a joke and the owners offered to set the bed up themselves when Jimmy made the field,” she laughed.

For complete Addington race fields, click here.

by Brad Reid, for Harnesslink