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Headlined by the phenomenal comeback performance of Aardies Express (Always B Miki) in the G3 $50,000 Sibelia Stakes at Menangle on Saturday night, Canadian harness racing enthusiast and horse owner, Mike Tanev, had a weekend to remember down under.
The used car salesman they called ‘Aardie’ harking back to his days on the baseball diamond has experienced plenty of success with his racing stock in both hemispheres, but even he admits to being pleasantly surprised by the weekend’s events.
“Up here in North America I may have had a couple of horses win over the space of a weekend, but nothing like the weekend I have just had down under when you think about the calibre of horses and the level they were racing at,” said Tanev.
“I guess when you think about it, for a guy halfway around the world it is pretty incredible to be that fortunate to have five horses perform like that. We won three races, ran second with one and third with another,” he said.
It started on Friday night at Gloucester Park with another of his expat New Zealand bred mares having her first start across the ditch, with G1 winner and dual G1 placegetter, Aardiebytheseaside (Downbytheseaside) winning the G2 $75,000 Empress Stakes on Nullarbor night.
The four-year-old mare now in the care of Greg & Skye Bond upset the odd-on favourite Steno in her first race since December 10th on Grand Prix Day at Addington Raceway suggesting she will be a force to be reckoned with in the West Australia mares ranks.
AARDIEBYTHESEASIDE REPLAY
“I sold 50% of the ownership in him to Greg Bond in Perth. Her winning the other night for a horse who hadn’t run in four months, she raced very well so hopefully the arrow is pointing up on her,” he said.
On Saturday night it was the full siblings Aardies Flash (Always B Miki) and Aardies Express with the former running a creditable 3rd at Albion Park, with the nine win four-year-old adding to his $125,000 in stake money since escaping elite three-year-old company back in New Zealand.
An hour later, it was his older sister dropping jaws with an incredible first-up performance for ex-pat kiwi trainer/driver, Jack Trainor, winning her 14th race from just 20 attempts in a manner that had to be seen to be believed.
AARDIES EXPRESS REPLAY
Having not raced since her Queen Of Hearts failure at Alexandra Park in December where the daughter of Always B Miki was feeling the effects of a recurring leg injury, many felt the immense potential of the now five-year-old mare may never be fulfilled.
“I was hoping that she wasn’t going to get hurt last year because the plan for her was to hopefully get a slot in the Race by Grins. That didn’t eventuate, she got injured and we put the wheels in motion for a plan together.
“Myself, Steve Telfer and Dr Tim Montgomery decided the best place to race her was over in Australia because she had so much trauma done to her leg that she needed water. Jack Trainor and I have a good relationship so I decided to send her to Sydney because it is well situated in the middle of the major racing.
“If the races are in Melbourne she can go to the left, if they are in Queensland she can go to the right and Jack has access to all the facilities she needs to be at her best and manage her health in the right way,” he said.
Having a plan is one thing, delivering on it is another and with Trainor at the helm, the pair sent a warning shot to every Open Class mare in Australia with a mind boggling 1:48.9 performance after being forced to sit three-wide and parked for the majority of the G3 Menangle feature.
Aardies Express ripped home in 53.9 and 26.6sec to easily stave-off another former Kiwi, Illavabubbles, by 2.6m.
“Talking to Jack yesterday, I told him that when he found himself out in the carpark I was thinking where are you going to go now? You know, three wide, she had every reason to stop and finish dead last after that trip and the time off. I was looking for a high bridge and a short rope,” he laughed.
“She has a big heart and that to me is more than half of the battle and she just kept plugging away. She is a special horse to me obviously and I think she is a pretty special horse for people down there to enjoy and watch.
“She came through the race well and her management schedule between races leaves few stones unturned and should give her every chance to continue to progress and show the best of her ability with a bit of luck. More water training than track training and that’s just to keep the pressure off of her legs.
“I am excited for the Queen Elizabeth when you have the best mare in Australia in Ladies In Red making the trip from Victoria. We are going to get a chance to test ourselves against her and I’m really looking forward to that,” he said.
Tanev has something else to look forward to in the imminent future with a foal of Aardies Express coming as an early Christmas present late last year.
“We have a foal on the ground out of her by Bettor’s Delight which was born by embryo transfer around Christmas time. People have asked me up here in Canada if I would sell her up here and I have said no. She deserves to stay down under and after her Australia campaign, she will head back to her country of origin for a broodmare career,” he said.
The weekend concluded with Diamonds Day at Ascot Park in Invercargill with Aardie B Miki (Always B Miki) producing a gallant performance in the G2 $60,000 Southland Oaks, narrowly beaten into second in her attempt to capture the race won by her full sister, Aardies Express two years earlier.
The three-year-old filly did all the donkey work in the race having lead throughout the 2700m journey, only to be beaten half a length by the Nathan Williamson trained Flying Ellie who had the cold shot on her having followed the Telfer-trained runner from the trail most of the way.
An hour later, Beach Flybye (Downbytheseaside) put the third win for Tanev on the board with an impressive win in the Southern Cups Final having won the Winton Cup just seven days earlier. It was the four-year-old geldings 7th win from just 15 starts against some hardened Open Class figures and suggests the best is yet to come for the big striding pacer.
“I thank God for all the great people and teams involved with all the horses, I was very fortunate,” said Tanev.
“I am down in Dallas visiting my son and his family, his NHL hockey playoffs are starting tomorrow night and I’ve come to catch some of that action. I brought my satellite box with me and I was able to watch the races.
“I think one race was at 3:30 am, another at 5:30 am. All races were in the middle of the night with the exception of Invercargill which was finished before midnight, so I got a little bit of a break there. But the ones in Australia were all well after midnight.
“For me it’s fun, I really enjoy it as an owner, I honestly have more pleasure watching my horses racing down under than I do here in North America. I don’t know why, it’s just one of those things. I’m not saying I don’t like the people here in North America, obviously I do. But I really enjoy the relationships I have forged with the people who have directed me with my passion in Australia and New Zealand.
“The calibre of horses that I have got down under are just different as well. They are all racing in stakes races and as an owner that is one of the things you are hoping for when you are investing a lot of money. I have had some bad luck along the way, but I have been very fortunate to have some good people train my horses and I’ve been fortunate to have horses who are good enough to be so competitive,” he said.
Having never visited New Zealand or physically met any of the figures responsible for training his stock, Tanev is in regular contact with a strong network which has been solidified by New Zealand bloodstock agent, John Curtin.
Since the early introductions, Tanev has taken the bull by the horns and has carved out an ownership resume as good as any currently in the industry and gives most of the credit to those who are guiding him and his stock.
“Honestly I really love talking to the people down there. Obviously not in person, but I have got to know a lot of drivers, trainers and owners throughout Australasia and I think everyone is awesome. Nobody has given me any bad advice or bad information. I have bought everything doing due diligence and some of the ones I have brought over here have done well also.
“Most of the stock we have selected out of the weanling or yearling sales and built them up through training programmes and we have had to make some decisions around some of them to maximise earning potential which is why some have ended up in Australia like ‘Seaside’.
“Some of them that I have had with Steve and Amanda just weren’t good enough to race against the better ones in New Zealand, and it’s less painful to try them across the ditch before making a decision to bring them to Canada when you factor in the cost of air travel,” he laughed.
Putting the cherry on top of an already unbelievable weekend would be a Game One playoff series win for his son Christopher and the Dallas Stars when the NHL Ice Hockey playoffs get underway tomorrow night versus last year’s Stanley Cup champions, the Las Vegas Knights.
The defensemen was acquired by Dallas in a three-team trade in February having previously been a member of the Calgary Flames who subsequently ended their season early after missing playoff contention.
by Brad Reid, for Harnesslink
