Veteran trainer wins with promising youngster

Veteran Leeston horseman Len Moseley doesn’t train many horses these days, but his latest recruit Taumutu Lad (Downbytheseaside) may have a few more wins in him judging from the way he won at the Timaru harness meeting on Saturday.

The three year old gelding was slow off the gate, settling second last on the outside in a small field. When Easy Art went to the top Taumutu Lad was left parked. With 900 metres to run some of the back runners started to push forward but driver Sam Thornley held his parked slot. At the 600 Taumutu Lad shared the lead but by the 450 he’d taken the outright lead. However he was under a drive. In the last 50 metres he came away to beat favourite Didjaseemiki by two and a half lengths with his ears pricked.

TAUMUTU LAD REPLAY

“He’s been a nice horse from day one. He had a couple of starts in the winter. He went beaut at Timaru but he brushed his knee a bit. I lined him up at Addington and he went super again but he brushed his knee again, so I had to back off him and turn him out. But he’s good now. He wears a one arm spreader and he doesn’t touch a knee now. He didn’t mark his boot yesterday and he had a fairly tough run,” Mosely said.

After Taumutu Lad crossed the finish line he ran off the track.

“He’s never done anything like that before. He wasn’t that tractable with his steering so we’ll have to make some gear changes. We might put blinkers on him and change his bit.”

Mosley is unsure of the next race for Taumutu Lad.

“I haven’t decided, but he does go good on grass so I might go to Methven and then to Geraldine. I still haven’t worked it out. I won’t mind giving him a fortnight between races because he is quite big horse.”

Taumutu Lad was bred by Mosely and is out of Kiwi Serento, an unraced Panspacificflight mare.

“I bought her at the yearling sales. She had plenty of ability but she broke down as a three year old. I didn’t try her again and put her to Downbytheseaside.”

The horse is named after Taumutu after a small area right at the edge of Lake Ellesmere where the lake goes into the sea – a place where Kiwi Serento has grazed all of her life.

“A good mate of mine Malcolm Ward owns a bit of land there with three or four paddocks. When Kiwi Serento went sore I was short of grazing so he suggested that I bring her down to his place. Both her foals were born and reared there.”

Mosely has been training for forty six years. His first winner was Alvalee at Ascot Park in January 1978 driven by junior driver Phil Williamson.

Avion de Combat (6) and Sea Legs (4) have been good winners for Mosely but his best horse was Ankorman which won ten races – two for Frank Bebbington and eight for Mosely.

Ankorman’s best win was in the 1988 NZ Junior FFA when driven by Robert Cameron. He also won both the Geraldine Cup and Waikouiati Cup in record breaking times. He ran second in the Forbury Park Four and Five Year Old Championship and fourth in the Taylor Mile.

“He turned up and I don’t know whether he needed me, or I needed him at the time. I’d just gone out training full-time. I had him and Avion de Combat. Ankorman could go on the grass just as well as he went on the grit and could stay or sprint.”

Mosely trains out of Chris McDowell’s Leeston barn, and trains just one or two horses these days. He had a bad accident in 2010 which caused him to be in and out of hospital for two years.

“I’ve had hip and knee trouble so I don’t have many horses now but I’m still active enough to work a horse. I’ve got a half-brother to Taumutu Lad (by Sky Major). I gave Chris a drive on him at home one day and he reckons he’d be one of the best horses I’ve had.”

Mosely started in the grocery trade in Palmerston from an early age and traded until he was forty. He sold up in 1987 to go full time training at Waikouiati.

“I lived at Palmerston but when I sold the shop I bought a house at Waikouaiti and trained on the beach. I got sick of the travelling. I had to go to Addington with Ankorman and Avion de Combat and I’d get home at two o’clock in the morning. Then whoever was working for me would be knocking on my door saying we had to be in Invercargill for the first maiden trot at 12.15. I did it for a while but threw my toys out, sold my stables and moved to Christchurch.”

For complete race results, click here.

by Bruce Stewart, for Harnesslink