FULL RELATIONS TO GREAT HORSES
1……How many of you readers have a copy of Australian Author
Peter Pring’s book ANALYSIS OF CHAMPION RACEHORSES?
He lists full racing records for 100 Champion racehorses that raced
in New Zealand or Australia.
He also includes details on their breeding, including foals of the dam
and grand-dam, and a good statistical analysis section at the back.
2…He details that the 100 Champions had 188 full relations that raced.
7 were OUTSTANDING, 34 were VERY GOOD, 32 were GOOD,
45 were MODERATE, 30 were MEDIOCRE and 40 were POOR.
He concludes that the figures show that full relations to outstanding
racehorses are likely to possess ABOVE AVERAGE racing ability,
and many of them are likely to be very good racehorses…
NB.(118 of 188 showed good winning form)
3…One of the biggest headaches for breeders, yearling buyers and
owners is the VARIETY OF CHARACTERISTICS shown by foals,
yearlings and racehorses, because the Thoroughbred is a HYBRID.
4….A small sprinter like PAKISTAN II can throw giant horses like
OUNT KERERU-(24w) and TRITON-(13wins) that were just
under and just over 17 hands high and had ability to win top class
middle distance races.
And conversely, a stayer like PENTIRE can throw one of NZ’s
best sprinters like Mufhasa-14w5G1$2,004,987
I’ve given several hundred examples elsewhere where 1st and 2nd
dams showing almost none or very limited ability have produced
outstanding gallopers in New Zealand and Australia.
5…..The problem with sorting out a MATING, or buying a
YEARLING, or buying a BROODMARE, selecting or buying a
STALLION….is the wide range of characteristics shown by the
animal itself, and the even greater range in its genetic background
that it will pass on to its progeny.
6…..Its like a card shuffle where you have small chances of high
numbers combining for really superior traits and ability for your
horse, 3 or 4 times the chance for all those low numbers combining
for undistinquished racing ability and the biggest chance of middle
and low numbers combining for average and good racing ability
closer to the average of the breed.
7…..That is why PERFORMANCE of ancestors and SELECTION
of parents which have superior ability in the background can eliminate
some mediocre traits and double up many superior genes to give the
“card shuffle” at mating time more chance for good racing traits to
combine more often.
8……There are the possibilities of getting Bay, Chestnut, Brown,
Black, Grey or in rare cases even White colours for your foal,
although there are Natural laws for outcomes for Chestnut parents,
dominant Bay/Brown parents, or if one parent is Grey for
transmission of that trait.
9……As students of colour of Thoroughbred coats know, there are
shades from dark to light as well as modifiers which dilute or give
flaxen effects or dark markings, Bend Or spots, Birdcatcher ticks,
The Tetrarch patches, or white blazes, snips on the face or white
leg markings etc.
10…Besides COLOUR, there is an unpredictable chance element
in the sex department where your mating can result in either a colt
or filly and further complications can arise with rig, ridgling or
cryptochid conditions.
There are traits attached to the sex of the foal such as greater
size for males on average over females, and a 3 to 1 ratio for
performance over thousands of cases in favour of the male.
As well, there are the testosterone /aggression and temperament
issues in some males.
A number of researchers are also convinced on other sex linked
aptitudes including stamina or muscling and type.
11……Some traits are opposing and follow Natural rules .
Because both can’t be expressed at the same time, one trait gets
MASKED by the opposing trait. One is expressed so you can
see that trait physically, but the other hidden one can still be passed
on to the next generation.
12……This is shown by Chestnut/Bay coat colour where Bay
dominates the recessive Chestnut coat, but the horse is able to
pass on the Chestnut factor to its progeny.
HYPERION is a classic example of two BAY parents
(Gainsborough and Selene) which passed on the recessive Chestnut
coat colouring to their famous offspring.
13…Another intriguing instance are the opposing traits of SPEED
and STAMINA come in.
I’ve instanced the case of the sprinting stallion PAKISTAN throwing
both size and a measure of stamina to some of his progeny.
14…..The dams factors and contribution and the breeding methods
can enhance speed, or maintain the status Quo or when at least 3
factors are present, increase the stamina components.
There are dozens of constant factors discernable in top class
edigrees for the very observant, nd these lessons dramatically aid
good decision making.
15…There are cases where high class staying parents can leave a
very fast horse, and obviously there are fortuitous combinations of
speedy elements at work here, plus at least 3 breeding methods.
Some sprinting parents have been known to leave good middle
distance progeny, but only in small proportions. The pedigree
and conformation can reveal lots of reasons.
16….Of course we have to realize that if a horse is the product of
two middle distance horses, it has LESS chance of becoming a
winner than middle/miler, miler/middle, speed/miler,
miler/speed, sprinter/speed bred horses.
17…The reason is that SPEED is the main requirement for
winning races over the more common flat race distances,
not STAMINA.
Speed allows a horse to be competitive. A faster horse will beat
a slower horse, if all other factors of feeding, conformation,
training, action, will to win, track preference, and jockeyship
aree equal.
18…Stamina horses will win races once a certain long distance is
reached, and then the winter conditions, jockeyship and stamina
can be a major factor, and the very fast, short distance horse that
usually prefer better going will probably tire and fade.
(Picture a 100m Olympic sprinting human male trying to compete
in a marathon)
19….However, on the flat, over the 1400m to 2000m most
common race distances, a good measure of SPEED would
be a desirable ingredient in your mating plans.
Because ALL THOROUGHBRED HORSES ARE HYBRIDS,
and have dozens of opposing traits in their makeup, the breeder
or buyer has to look very carefully at the ways to ensure getting
good speed into a mainly stamina based pedigree, and getting
sufficient stamina into a mainly speed orientated pedigree.
20….However, it is very clear in several sire lines that SPEED
mated to SPEED seems to increase the precocity or early
maturing of the foals, and that the effective racing distance
seems to get shortened by a furlong or so with each passing
generation. You need to be aware of this fact.
21…..Check the sire line sequence from HYPERION to BISCAY .
Years ago I wrote a comprehensive article showing how EXTRA
SPRINTING OR SPEED ANCESTORS were added at each
new generation, and the effective winning distance reduced
systematically from HYPERION’s StLeger(14fur) and Derby (12fur)
to BISCAY’s 6fur and 4fur wins in record speed time.
22….Over 30 years ago, I made a huge list of all horses bred on a
SPEED x SPEED cross and was struck with the large percentage
of the resulting offspring that only placed or won a minor race in
very modest company. It could be expected that adding or selecting
more speed would result in faster, classier and bigger winners,
but that is not the case because of several reversal principles.
23…..That led to an investigation of the few top liners each season
that were bred on SPEED x SPEED crosses and that showed at
least 3 consistent methods which allowed them to race successfully
in the best company.
24.….Another problem with this sort of mating is the resulting
increase of alike traits which seems to have an increase in
weaknesses being doubled up when the same faults appear in the
backgrounds of both parents when they have very similar ancestry.
25….There are quite a few common outcomes from an increase in
pedigree consanguinity.
…….a….Usually an increase in pre-potency (Both good and bad)
because of the doubling up of similar highly selected traits,-
(dozens of examples here).
……..b…..A reduction in size, (Hundreds of CHAMPION Sires
fit this pattern),
……..c……INBREEDING depression and lack of vigour, or
lack of constitution, or proneness to bone brittleness or
susceptibility to injury and breaking down.
26…..The wide range of factors in individuals makes the job of the
breeder or buyer very difficult. If you double up speed, you can
get a speedy squib that will fade or stop before reaching basic
1200m distances. If you double up stamina, then you can get a
plodding stayer with not enough speed to win a good race.
If you inbreed too close, then you run the risk of compromising
your horse’s constitution.
If you outcross too much, you run the risk of losing competitive speed.
If you INBREED too close, you can double up mitigating faults.
If you intensify your pedigree too much, you can polarize your
results and widely expand the possible outcomes from the most
brilliant results all the way down to mediocre or need to cull.
27…..This might help to explain why many FULL RELATIONS
to outstanding gallopers fail to emulate their esteemed siblings.
28…..Many of these 100 outstanding Champions are STAMINA
ORIENTATED. That means they have MANY STAYING
ANCESTORS, and the problem is that the SPEED element is
very small but SO CRITICAL that a small variation can mean two
or 3 lengths and that would mean the difference between great and
just good.
29….These CHAMPIONS are the BEST and have DOZENS or
HUNDREDS of traits, genes, temperament, training, conformation
alignments that make up into one of these 1 in a thousand chance
combinations for an outstanding individual.
30….Therefore it is thousands to one that the same pedigree of a
differing sire and dam with huge ancestor and trait differences will
combine to produce another superior athlete.
31….The INTENSIFICATION seen in most of these
CHAMPIONS pedigrees actually segregate the genes and
recombine them in widely differing groupings and tend to
concentrate large numbers of superior genes which have resulted
in these Champions, but also have a tendency to combine all the
FAULTS and NEGATIVE traits in the parents backgrounds
and this can more often than not result in Leg faults,
temperament problems, lack of constitution, etc.
32….Where SUPERIOR sires and dams are used with
exceptional ancestors, then more chances of producing a really
good FULL RELATION can happen, and the examples given
throughout this article will give you the posiblechances of that
happening.
Remember, a SAMPLE HALF of the sire's genetic material and
a SAMPLE HALF of the dam's genetic material is combined to
form each individual. EVERY CHAMPION AND ITS FULL
RELATION WILL GET A DIFFERENT SAMPLE HALF.
It is probably the merit of the sire and dam, the linebreeding
methods, the speed and stamina factors, the intensity and
pre-potency which are major factors in many FULL RELATIONS
also having a good measure of racing ability.
33….Fortunately, there can be huge benefits by studying pedigrees
of the many CHAMPIONS around the world, finding the consistent
and positive breeding principles and applying them, and by exercising
the best possible SELECTION of ancestors that we have mentioned
above, that have great racing or breeding ability, and also incorporate
SPEED into the equation, then some really good REPEATABLE
matings with high success could be envisioned.
34..Also, a detailed study of a horse’s conformation can bring to
light many factors about its action, its possible speed, its possible
constitution, the way it moves, heart efficiency, temperament, and
leg alignment which would either suggest a big advantage or
disadvantage to a horse’s future racing career.
Many factors can be cited to cull or quickly eliminate a horse as
a future racing prospect. Used in combinations, this could have
a culling success rate of over 90%.
There are over 30 positive and negative points that can be checked
off a list that could put your selection into the top 10 percent before
looking for the really critical pedigree principles that appear in the
CHAMPION pedigrees.
Unfortunately, when you have piles of superior traits, good breeding
and good conformation, there is still no guarantee for sucess, but its
the best method to increase your chances of getting a good racehorse.
35…There are dozens of SPEED factors discernable in a horse’s
shape or make and also dozens of STAMINA factors . Over 20
years ago, we listed about 33 observable physical traits and it was
possible to tick either SPEED, UNDECIDED, or STAMINA
beside each trait. The result was quite interesting and most times
very accurate. It got quite fine tuned when hundreds of great
sprinters and great staying photos were also checked.
Having listened to many people and questioned many people,
I’m very surprised at how poorly known some of these obvious
guides are to many people in the industry.
36….However, there are some outstanding judges that are
exceptionally knowledgeable, and if you do need advice or a
second opinion, utilize the absolute best trainers in the country
that have long years of success at the top of their profession.
These people have picked up huge amounts of invaluable
knowledge (they may not explain it to you), but by utilizing these
people, their knowledge could be used to your benefit.
37…BELOW ARE DETAILS OF 76 GREAT CHAMPIONS OF
THE PAST THAT RACED IN NEW ZEALAND / AUSTRALIA.
I’ve abbreviated a list of a few of their main wins to show they
were indeed great gallopers.
Have also included an approximate number of STAKES WINS
AT THE END of their entry to further impress with just how good
they were.
BELOW EACH ENTRY IS SHOWN THE COLOUR AND
SEX OF THE FULL RELATION TO THE CHAMPION,
AND ITS COMPARISON RACING RECORD
38….We have a list of over 1100 other horses that were very
good performers and had full relations with race records…so there
is plenty of opportunity and examples out there for researchers to
study all the similarities and differences between full siblings.
There are hundreds of standout gallopers like BEN LOMOND,
BONECRUSHER , CADIZ and SUNLINE with full relations,
but we’ll confine this article to Peter Pring’s list.
39….Below is the list of 76 of New Zealand’s and Australia’s
best CHAMPIONS from Peter Pring’s Book and their FULL
RELATIONS for you to ponder on.
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1…CRUCIFORM-1898
19wins-NZOaks, RailwayH, WellS, StL, -(17SW)..
Chc..won 6 races..ChampS, NIChallS, 2xSP-20starts
Bf…Unraced
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2....MENSCHIKOFF-1898
15wins..GNFoalS,WelS,ChamS,NIChallS,NZDerby,CantCup,GNDerby-(14SW)
br colt..Won 3 races-WanganuiS-54starts
Chf……9wins..DunedinCupx2…64starts
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3…ACHILLES-1899
25wins-WangG,WellS,JackSx3,NIChallSx2,WellingtonC-(21SW)
Brc..Won 2 races…29starts
Chc….Won 3 races..2ndWanganui Guineas…25starts
Bf…Placed1x-from 6 starts
Chf…Won 6 races including Kings H from 52 starts
Br c…Won 5 country races from 18 starts
Ch c…Won 8 country races from 38 starts
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4… GLADSOME—1900
27wins-Oaks,GNDerby,WellC,AllAgedx2,CaulS,FutSx2,CravenP-((20SW)
Bf..Won 4 races including Calliope H from 22 starts
Chc..Won 7 races including GNDerby, AvondaleG, AvondaleCup.
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5… SWEET NELL-1900
11wins-SProdS,CaulG,CaulC,Oaks,AutS,FishP-(9SW)
Brf..Won 3 races, including VRCOaks, ChampagneS from 13 starts
Br f..Won 3 races including 3rd ChampagnesS from 30 starts
Br c.. Won 8 races and 3 jumps in Perth from 63 starts
B f..Non winner in 18 starts
Br f..Non winner in 4 starts
Br c ..Unraced
Br f…Unplaced in 10 starts
Br c…Unplaced in 1 start
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6…POSEIDON-1903
19wins-AJCDerby,VRCDerby, CaulCx2,MelbourneC,StLx2,RawsonS-(16SW)
Br f…Non winner in 9 starts
B c…2 wins and 2 places from 14 starts
B f..Unraced
Bc…Won 12 races including GranvilleS from 44 starts
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7… BOBRIKOFF-1904
24wins-MemCx2,RawsonS,AllAgedS,AuckC,-(15SW)
Bf…..Unraced
Chf….Won 1 race from 14 starts
Blk c…Unraced
Chc….4 wins including FlyingH, 2ndGNGuineas from 59 starts
Bc……4 wins including Welter from 53 starts
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8… TRAFALGAR-1905
24wins-SydC,RandPx4,ChampSx2,AutS,AJCPlatex2-(22SW)
Ch f …Unraced
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9… LADY MEDALLIST-1906
21wins-TarC,CravenP,CaulC,EclipseS,WangS,WellH,WangG-(8SW)
Br f…Won 7 races including Sydney Cup, Rosehill Cup
B f…Non Winner in 17 starts
Dead twins
Ch f…Placed once from 5 starts
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10…WARSTEP-1910
13wins-StewH, MemC, NZCup, TrenGC, CantC, AuckC- (11SW)
Bf…4 wins including StewH, 2nd NZOaks from 15 starts
Bc…3 wins..DunedinG, from 28 starts
Bf…5 wins including NZOaks, 2nd Dunedin Cup from 30 starts
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11…CARLITA-1911
13wins-RosehillG,VRCDerby,VRCOaks,ChampS,KingsP,CravenP,-(12SW)
Br f…Won 9 races including Wairarapa Cup from 67 starts
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12…DESERT GOLD-1912
36wins-GNFoal,NIChallSx2,NZDerby,Oaks,GNDerby,GNO,StL-(34SW)
Ch c.. won 6 races including EgmontC, HaweraS, FeildingS, 2ndNZDerby from 29 starts
Blk f…Unraced
Ch f …unraced
Bf…..Won 3 races including Dannevirke Cup from 17 starts
Bc…..Won 4 races including GNChampS, 2ndAJCDerby from 13 starts
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13… SASANOF-1913
20wins-ChelmS,MelbourneC,GNDerby,NZCup,ManC,AwaGCx2,-(14SW)
Brf Won 3 races, ncluding BurnsideH from 27 starts
B f….Won 6 races including ManchesterH, 3rd ManawatuC from 57 starts.
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14…POITREL-1914
17wins-SpringSx2,AutSx2,AJCStakes,RandPx2,MelbourneC-(14SW)
Br c….1win from 12 starts
Bf……….Unraced
B c……..Unraced
Br c ……Unraced
Bc……..Non winner in 12 starts
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15…GLOAMING-1915
57wins-AJCDerby,NZDerby,GNDerby,NIChallSx3,CravPx2,MelS,ChampP-(50SW)
B c …….unraced
Bc………2wins from 45 starts
Bc………12 wins..(7 in Perth, 5 in country) from 129 starts
B f ………2wins..(2nd AdelaideG, 3rd VRC Oaks) from 8 starts
Bc………..2win from 27 starts
Bf ……….1win-(FederalS) from 4 starts
Bf………..2wins-(Sydney)..KirkhamS from 16 starts
Ch c …….Unplaced in 2 starts
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16…EURYTHMIC-1916
31wins-WADerby,StL,PerthC,CaulSx3,CaulC,SydC,MelS,MemsieSx3,-(27SW)
B f…………..7 wins from 30 starts
Ch c…………7 wins from 52 starts
Ch f …………placed 2x from 8 starts
B f……………placed 1x from 4 starts
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17…BEAUFORD-1916
17wins- RailwayH, EpsomH, AllAgedS, ChelmsfordS, HillS, RawsonS-(11SW)
Br c…………5 wins in country from 11 starts
Br f………….4 wins from 18 starts
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18… AMYTHAS-1916
22wins-InverC,ChallS,StL,TrenGCx2,AwaGC,ChampPx2, CantC,-(14SW).
Br c………….1 win from 3 starts
Br c………….2 wins..(CalliopeH, 3rd AvondaleG) from 25 starts
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19…TAMATETE-1918
24wins-GNChamS, WangG, ManSx2, TelegraphH, JacksonS,FeildingSx3-(17SW)
B f………….Won 10 races, WelcomeS, GNFoalS, RoyalS, ManSprS from 51 starts
Ch c…………won 1 race from 12 starts
Bf……………won 2 races from 16 starts
Ch c………….won 9 races..2ndAvonS, 3rdGrChampS from 69 starts
B f …………..Unraced
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20… REREMOANA-1920
23wins- EasterHx2, RailwayH, JacksonSx2, NIChallS,-(12SW)
Ch f…………Won 5 races(FlyingH) from 10 starts
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21…HEROIC-1921
21wins- BreedP,ChampS,AJCDerby,CaulG,AutS,MemsieSx2,CoxP,KingsP-(18SW)
Ch c………….Won 2 races-2nd VRC Derby,CaulG, 3rdStL from 47 starts
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22.. AMOUNIS-1922
33wins-RosehillG, ChippNS, CoxP, CravP, EpsomH, CantS, FisherP,CaulC-(30SW)
Br c…………..Died….Unraced
Br f……………4 wins in country..from 23 wins
Br f……………non winner from 18 starts
Br f ……………Unraced
Br f……………Unplaced in 10 starts
Br c……………8 wins…One Welter from 75 starts
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23… RAPINE-1919
23wins- GNChampS, AvonG, WellCupx2, AuckStL, NZStL, CumS,AuckCup-(18SW)
B c…………..Won 3 races from 41 starts
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24… WHITTIER-1919
17wins- CaulC,VRCDerby, RawsonS, DonS, CaulC, OrrS, OctSx2 -(12SW)
B c…………..Won 8 races, Australian cup, 2 WFA races from 17 starts
Br f ………….Won HopefulS from 11 starts
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25… WINDBAG-1921
18wins- AJCStL, CumbS, AJCPlate,ChelmsfordS, MelbourneC, WarwickS,CravP-(13SW)
b f ……….Unraced
B c………..Unraced
.b c……….Won 2 races, including HothamH, from 11 starts
Br f………..Won 7 races including AdrianKnoxS, MetropolitanH from 62 starts
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26… MANFRED-1922
11wins-ChampS, AJCDerby, CoxP,VicDerby,CaulS,CaulC,MelS-(9SW)
Ch f………….Died…Unraced
B f……………Non winner in 15 starts
B c……………Won 5 races from 26 starts
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27…VALICARE-1922
9wins- AKnoxS, CarrS, RawsonS, DoncasterH, AllAgedS, LloydS- (8SW)
Ch c…………Won 6 races-3NZ/3Sydney including RailwayH, 3rd NewmH from 47 starts
Br c………….Won 2 races, CaulfG, 2nfCoxS, 3rd VRCDerby, FutS from 41 starts
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28… HIGH SYCE-1924
24wins-SPrS, QuGuin, Derby, StL, CaulS, CaulS, MelS-(14SW)
Ch g…………Unraced
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29…ROGILLA-1927
26wins-CaulC, SydC, RandwickP, CoxP, RawsonS, ChipNS, WarwickS-(15SW)
B f……………Won 3 races, from 17 starts
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30…LOUGH NEAGH-1928
32w- SPrS, QuGuin, QuDerby, RandwickPx2, RawsonSx3,ChipNSx3, CantS,-(18SW)
B f……………..10 wins from 86 starts
Ch f…………….1 win from 5 starts
Ch f…………….12 wins, including July H from 42 starts
Ch f……………..6 wins including TrialS, from 32 starts
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31…CUDDLE-1929
23wins-NZCup,AuckCupx2,DonH,KingsPx2,CliffPx2,CantC-(13SW)
Br f…………….Won 2 races from 30 starts
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32…LIMERICK-1923
29wins-ChampS,ManSPrS,ChelmsS,StL,AJCPlate,HillSx2,CravP,CantC,RawSx2-(26SW)
B c…………Won 3 races from 36 starts
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33....PHAR LAP-1926
37wins-AJCDerby,VRCDerby,StL,CoxPx2,MelCup,HillSx2,CravenPx3,MelSx2-(35SW)
Ch f…………..Unplaced 3 times
B f…………….Won 5 races, QueensP; JanuaryH, from 34 starts
Bg……………..Won 9 races from 62 starts
Br c……………Unplaced one start
B c…………….Placed one time from 8 starts
Bf……………..Unraced
Br f……………Unraced
Three progeny by Champion NIGHTMARCH, Son of NIGHT RAID)
Bf………………1 win in 13 starts
Brg……………..5 hurdle/.steeple wins from 30 starts
B f………………Unraced
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34… PETER PAN-1929
23wins-AJCDerby, MelSx2, MelbourneCx2, StL, CumP, RandS,RawsonS-(20SW)
Br f……………..Won 2 races from 14 starts
Ch f……………..Won 1 race from 9 starts
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35…HALL MARK-1930
18wins- SPrS, AJCDerby, VRCDerby, MelbourneC, StL,CaulS, MemsieS,-(16SW)
B c……………….won 6 races from 39 starts
B f ……………….Unraced
Ch f……………….Won 2 races from 20 starts
B f…………………Unplaced four times
Ch c……………….Won 8 races, MooneeValleyS, AClarkS from 44 starts
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36...ROYAL CHIEF-1934
23wins- NIChallS, WangG, AvonG, NZDerby, StL, ChelmsfordS, MetHx2,CantCx2,-(20SW)
bc………….Died…….Unraced
B c…………Died…….Unraced
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37....HIGH CASTE-1936
35wins-SPrSx2, CaulG, OrrS, EpsomH, CaulS, WarwickS, GeorgeS, LinlithgowSx2-(30SW)
Br c………….Won 3 races, WellS, ManSProS, 2dChampS, Derby, StL,,3GNG,EasterH
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38...TRANQUIL STAR-1937
23wins-StGeorgeSx2, ChippingNS ,StL, CaulS, CaulC, CoxPx2, LloydSx2, MackinnonSx3-(20SW)
Ch c…………….Won 4 races, from 28 starts
Ch c……………..Won 2 races from 12 starts
Ch f…………Unplaced in 3 starts
Ch c………….Won 6 races from 44 starts
Ch c………….Destroyed
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39....SHANNON-1941
20wins-SPrS, EpsomH, GeorgeMainx2, KingsC, CantS, HollywoodGC,-(12SW)
B f…………….placed 3 times from 6 starts
B c……………5 wins-TattersalsCup, from 31 starts
B c……………6 wins-DoncasterCup,ChelmsfordCup from 18 starts
B c……………1win from 27 starts
Ch f …………..3 wins-EasterH, 3rd1000G, from 17 starts
Ch c …………..2 wins from 34 starts
Ch f……………1win from 26 starts
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40....BEAU VITE-1936
31wins-NIChallS, GNDerby, NZStL, HillS, Met, Craven, CoxPx2,AuckC, RawsonS,-(27SW)
br c…………..Won 3 races, including TrialS from 17 starts
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41....KINDERGARTEN-1937
25wins-GNDerby,WellC,EasterHx2, StL, NIChallSx2, AuckCup,cantCx2, HarcourtSx2-(20SW)
Br c……………Won 17 races(5 hurdles) from 55 starts
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42....FLIGHT-1940
24wins-ChampS, CravenPx2, CoxPx2, StGeorgeS, MackinnonS, AJCPlate-(16SW)
Ch f……………Unplaced 4 times
Ch c ……………Won 19 races in country from 81 starts
Br c……………..Won 4 races from 12 starts
Br c …………….Won 4 races from 30 starts
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43....ROYAL GEM-1942
23wins- CaulG, ToorakH, FutS, UnderwoodS, GoodwoodH,
Br c …………….10 wins-BirthdayC, BMooreS from 58 starts
Ch f …………….2 wins-SprodS, MimosaS, from 13 starts
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44.....COMIC COURT-1945
28wins-SPrS, VRCDerby, StL, MemsieSx2, TurnbullSx2, Mackinnonsx2,MelC-(20SW)
Ch c……………..Non winner in 19 starts
B f……………….Won 4 races-LodgeH from 32 starts
Br c ………………Won 20 races-SProdS, AdelaideG, from 95 starts
Ch c……………….Won 22 races-GoodwoodH, AvaleS, AdelaideG, from 100 starts
Chc ……………….Won 7 races in Adelaide from 128 starts
B f………………….Won 10 races-SAJCOaks, StLeger from 61 starts
-----------------------------------------------------------
45.....SWEET SPRAY-1946
9wins-StewH, NZOaks, GNDerby, NIChallS, GNOaks-(5SW)
Br f ……………….Won 5 races-Oaks, GNDerby, GloamingS from 22 starts
----------------------------------------------------------
46.....BEAUMARIS-1946
14wins- NZDerby, ChurchillS, WellingtonC, AwaGC, CantC, AucklandC-(10SW)
Br c……………….Won 3 races-WhangareiCup from 95 starts
Br f………………..Unplaced in 2 starts
Br f ……………….Won 7 races-TelegraphH from 107 starts
---------------------------------------------------------
47....MAINBRACE-1947
23wins-(GNFoal, GNG, WellG, GNDerby, NIChallS, StL, GNStL,AwaGC-(21SW)
Br c ……………..Unraced
Br c ………………2wins from 29 starts
---------------------------------------------------------
48....DELTA-1946
22wins-CantG, CoxP, VRCDerby, StL, MetH, Mackinnon, MelbourneC, ChelmsfordS-(20SW)
Br c………………Won 6 races-VRCStL, 2dVRCDerby fro, 34 starts
Br c ………………Won 3 races-AJCDerby from 14 starts
Br f ……………….Unraced
Br f ………………..Unplaced in one start
Br c ……………….Won 2 races-CriterionH, 3rdListonS, from 4 starts
Br f…………………Unplaced in 2 starts
B f ………………….Non Winner from 16 starts
---------------------------------------------------------
49...CHICQUITA-1946
16wins-(EManifoldS, 1000G, WakefulS, Oaks, CraigleeS,x2, ListonS-(11SW)
Br c……………….Won 7 races-Adelaide Cup from 49 starts
Bc………………….Unraced
Br c........................ 1 win from 27 starts
Blk c ……………..Won 13 races-Summer Cup, 2ndSydneyC, 3rdMelbourneC-87Starts
----------------------------------------------------------
50.... CARIOCA-1947
20wins-VilliersS, ChippNortonSx2, SydneyC, MetropolitanH, -(8SW)
Twins…………….Died…unraced
B f………………..2wins from 26 starts
B f………………..Unraced
----------------------------------------------------------
51....DALRAY-1948
14wins- NZDerby, GNDerby, TrenthamS, NZStL, MetH, MackinnonS, MelbourneC-(12SW)
Br f……………..Died…….unraced
Br c……………..Unraced
B c ……………..Won 2 races-SouthlandH from 58 starts
Bc……………….1 win from 26 starts
----------------------------------------------------------
52...HYDROGEN-1948
26wins-CravenPx2, CaulG, VRCDerby, VRCStL, AJCStL, CoxPx2, BrisC,HillSx2-(23SW)
Br c………………Unplaced 7 times
Br c……………….Won 2 races from 20 starts
Br c………………..Won 22 races from 121 starts
-----------------------------------------------------------
53.....RISING FAST-1949
24wins- CaulfieldCx3, CoxP, MelbourneC, MackinnonSx2, FisherPx2, -(18SW)
B c…………………Won 2 races- KauriH from 22 starts
---------------------------------------------------------
54....REDCRAZE-1950
32wins-OrmMGC, TurnbullS, NolanHx2, BrisC, MetH, CaulC, HillSx2, RawsonS,CoxP-(24SW)
B f………………….Unraced
Half sister left top horse to his sire RED MARS…RED Siren-MetropolitanHx2
----------------------------------------------------------
55.....SOMERSET FAIR-1951
28wins-AvG, GNG, WellG, GNDerby, NIChallS, ChippNS, TrenthamS, QuElizS-(23SW)
B f …………………Unraced
-----------------------------------------------------------
56...GREAT SENSATION-1952
20wins-JHazletGC, InverGC, TrenthamSx2, CantC, WellingtonCupx3, DunedinCx2-(11SW)
Ch g…………………Non winner in 53 starts
----------------------------------------------------------
57....SAILOR’S GUIDE-1952
18wins-VRCDerby, VRCStL, AJCStL, FisherP, CraigleySx2, MackinnonS, SydneyC-(15SW)
Bc………………….Non winner in 3 starts
---------------------------------------------------------
58...EVENING PEEL-1952
11wins-WakefulS, VRCOaks, QLOaks, AKnoxS, MelbourneC,-(9SW)
B f………………..Unraced
Br g………………..Won 7 races in Sydney from 65 starts
B c…………………Won 10 races-GrNational Hurdle from 61 starts
Br g………………Won 1 race from 40 starts
B g……………….Placed in country from 4 starts
Br c………………Won 5 races in the country from 34 starts
----------------------------------------------------------
59....TODMAN-1954
10wins-GoldenSlipperS, ChampS, CantG, LightningS, FutS-(7SW)
Br c ……………..Unplaced in 2 starts
Ch c………………10 wins-EpsomH, ChampagS, CoxP, from 17 starts
B f………………..Unplaced in 2 starts
Br c………………..Non winner in 23 starts
Ch c………………4 wins I Mel-WhittierS from 8 starts
Br f ……………….Unraced
----------------------------------------------------------
60.....WIGGLE-1955
20wins-ChampS, StradbrokeH, EManifoldS, CaulG, LloydS, AClarkS-(13SW)
Br c……………….9 wins in Sydney-PaddingtonH from 81 starts
-----------------------------------------------------------
61.....CADIZ-1956
22wins-ChampS, StewH, WellS, RailwayH, HollywoodGC, CalifornianS-(10SW)
Ch c……………..7 wins –ChampS, ChallengeS, Manawatu Cup from 35 starts
----------------------------------------------------------
62.....SKY HIGH-1957
29wins-GoldenSlipS, VicDerby, LightningSx2, AllAgedS, EpsomH, CantSx2,Rawsonx2-(26SW)
B c………………..5wins-GoldenSlipperS, AJCDerby from 28 starts
----------------------------------------------------------
63.....WENONA GIRL-1957
27wins-SPrS, RosehillG, RawsonS, OrrS, LightningSx2, WakefulS, AKnoxS-(21SW)
Ch f……………….6wins-VRCSiresProdS from 22 starts
Ch c……………….11wins-ClissoldH,2SprodS,ChampagS from 56 starts
Ch f………………..Unplaced in 3 starts
Ch c………………..died
Ch f…………………died
Ch f………………..Unraced
----------------------------------------------------------
64....EVEN STEVENS-1957-(FairsFair-GoldNib-Broiefort)
11wins-AvonCup, CaulC, WerribeeGC, MelbourneC, FisherP-(7SW)
Ch f………………Unplaced in 5 starts
--------------------------------------------------------
65.....LIGHT FINGERS-1961-(LeFilou-RedMars-Leighton)
15wins- EManifoldS, WakefulS, VRCOaks, AJCOaks, CraigleeS, MelbourneCup-(10SW)
Br c……………..10wins-Metropolitan, LagerH, 2ndSydCup,AdelaideC from 55 starts
B f……………….1win from 26 starts
Br f……………….5 wins-AutumnH from 33 starts
----------------------------------------------------------
66....WINFREUX-1961-(Affreux-Macarthur-Lorrain)
27wins-StradbrokeH, 10,000, CaulSx2, TattsCup, DoombenC, Hills,MackinnonS-(21SW)
Ch c…………….Died-Unraced
Ch c…………….Unplaced in 1 start
Ch f……………..Unplaced in 1 start
----------------------------------------------------------
67.....GALILEE-1962-(Alcimedes-Balloch-Neptune)
18wins-Toorak, CaulC, MackinnonS, SydneyCup, MemsieS, TurnbullS, MelbourneC-(11SW)
Br c…………….1win-TransitionH from 12 starts
Ch f …………….Unraced
Ch c……………..Unraced
Br f………………Unplaced in 14 starts
Br c………………1 win in Sydney-RandwickS from 24 starts
----------------------------------------------------------
68....IL TEMPO-1962-(TimeAndAgain-Timanova-Limond)
9wins- AucklandCupx2, QuElizH, WellingtonC, TrenthamS, ChalmersH-(7SW)
Ch f………………Unplaced in 3 starts
Br c……………….4wins-BertramH from 46 starts
-----------------------------------------------------------
69.....TOBIN BRONZE-1962-(ArcticExplorer-Masthead-Ronsard)
24wins-VicDerby, ListonS, UnderwoodS, CoxPx2, OrrS, BlameySx2, DonH,Toorak,CaulC-(20SW)
Ch f……………….Unplaced in 3 starts
Ch c……………….6wins-StoneyfellGrad, 2ndStLeger, from 44 starts
Br f………………..2wins-2G11,4L
------------------------------------------------------------
70....RAIN LOVER-1964-(LatinLover-Valognes-Epigram)
17wins-AdelaideC, MackinnonS, MelbourneCx2, ChippNS, StGeorgeSx2, -(14SW)
B f……………..3 wins-SAJCOaks, AurariaS from 18starts
B c…………….Unplaced in 8 starts
--------------------------------------------------------
71....VAIN-1966-(Wilkes-Orgoglio-Helios)
12wins- MCooperS, GoldenSlipperS, SPrS, ChampS, AValeS, CaulS, GAdamsH-(12SW)
Ch g………….Unplaced 1 start
Twins…………Died…Unraced
B f…………….Unraced
---------------------------------------------------------
72.....GUNSYND-1967-(SunsetHue-NewtonWonder-MrStandfast)
29wins- ChelmsfordS, RawsonSx2, Epsom, Toorak, DoncasterH, HillS, CaulS, CoxP-(23SW)
Gr f………….2wins-QTCMcDougallS from 22 starts
Gr c………….5 wins-McKellCup from 29 starts
----------------------------------------------------------
73....BAGUETTE-1967-(Rego-StarKingdom-Excitement)
15wins- GoldenSlipperS, SPrS, NewmS, CantS, HillS, GMainS-(12SW)
B f…………..9 wins-VATC1000G, MaribyrnongS from 30 starts
B f…………..8 wins-MaribyrnongP from 42 starts
---------------------------------------------------------
74...DUAL CHOICE-1967
16wins- SPrS, EManifoldS, CaulG, CravenS, LightningS, OakleighPx2-(14SW)
B f………….Placed twice from 4 starts
Ch f…………Unraced
Br f………….died…unraced
---------------------------------------------------------
75....SHOW GATE-1969
30wins- (StewHx2, TelegraphH, NIChallS, CantGCx2, TrenthamS-(15SW)
br c………….1 win from 62 starts
b c……………1win, 2nd Dunedin Guineas, 2nd Reid Cup from 7 starts
B c……………9 wins-NthCantCup, 3rdBenson&HedgesColdCup from 32 starts
B c…………….3 wins-CanterburyS from 24 starts
--------------------------------------------------------
76....LELANI-1970
14wins- AJCOaks, TurnbullS, ToorakS, CaulCup, MackinnonS, AustCup, -(12SW)
br g…………….5 wins-HighweightH from 55 starts
br g…………….6 wins-G33LL-CanterburyCup
B f……………..Placed
-----------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY….
76 CHAMPIONS
228 FULL RELATIONS.(.not including 2 sets of dead twins)
68 Full relations WON a STAKES RACE or MAJOR RACE
7 were STAKES PLACED
31 were VERY GOOD WINNERS
18 WON 2 or 3 RACES
15 WON ONE RACE, quite a few had just a few starts
9 WERE PLACED in a race, usually had just a few starts
33 RACED, BUT DID NOT WIN
36 WERE UNRACED
11 were listed as DIED
----------------------------------------------------------
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
RED MAGIC wins his first race
Red Magic wins his first race
On Wednesday, April 20, our racehorse RED MAGIC-
(Istidaad-Catseeker) won his first race at Te Aroha.
It has been a very long wait, just a few weeks short of 2 years
of hands on, decision making and expenses. But the wait has
been really worthwhile, now that he has shown he can really gallop.
From equal bottom of over six thousand horses racing in New
Zealand, we now moves up into the top 29 to 31%
of horses that actually win a race during the season.
You can imagine how excited all the owners, family and supporters
were when he went to the front and galloped strongly right to the
line at the front of a full field of 16 horses..
Helen and I were at the race-course, along with our daughter
Karen-(Part owner) who came over from Hamilton with our
granddaughter Kasandra and they were exceptionally excited
with the win. Our other daughter Barabara- (Part owner)
was also excited and rang from Auckland where she was in
meetings, but Carl – (Part owner) was not well and was home
in Tauranga looking after the kids in the School Holidays.
He was very disappointed that he wasn’t there, but they all
watched the race on TV and were very excited as well.
My Mum and Dad rang from Levin, and son Andrew rang from
Wellington, and my sisters Carol and Jan sent e-mails
The Trainer Graeme Forbes from Cambridge was ecstatic and
on and off the phone for nearly an hour at the presentation, in the
birdcage and afterwards when cooling off the horse.
It was a mile race for horses that had not won a race and was
named The ECOLAB LTD 1600 by the sponsors who had
very kindly and generously supported the club. We notice a
majority of the races up here in the Northern Region are sponsored
and this is a vital ingredient in the success of racing for owners.
We got to thank them when our group was invited into the
WINNERS ROOM where the club provides refreshments
and drinks for the winning connections.
We were biting our fingernails because our horse had lightened up
in overall physical condition quite significantly between his first and
2nd race (and even more after his 2nd second) so we had to give
him 3 weeks to get over his last race and get him up to peak
fitness again to cope with this next effort.
RED MAGIC was quite well settled for his first race at Matamata
which was also over a mile. The trainer wanted to do another Trial
and then put him in a shorter1400m race.
But I noticed he had quite a few horses being overly sprinted and
going in and out of Trials and the stables. It had also happened to
us twice by other pre-trainers so we wanted him to do less fast
work on the track which was significantly lightening his condition ,
not to leave his races on the track by over-sprinting him, to get
him into races, and race into form.
The costs of training and feeding are horrendous with this very
high daily rate dictate, and the returns are so small for maiden wins.
A quick check shows that prize money over the last 30 years
or so HAS RISEN OVER 6 TIMES HIGHER, ($750 to $5000
for basic Maiden races) BUT TRAINING CHARGES HAVE
RISEN OVER SEVENTEEN TIMES HIGHER IN THE SAME
PERIOD. (Typical $28 week to daily $60 x 7 = $420 week)
We asked the apprentice Maija Vance to settle him back in 4th
or 5th place, in his first race over a mile at Matamata so as to
relax and settle him so he would have sufficient reserves to run
on at the finish.
However, the horse jumped too quickly into the lead, and by
pulling him back very hard and sharply, it caused his head to go
up in the air.
She did exactly as we asked, but the result was not the way we
wanted, as RED MAGIC went back too far to be over 7 lengths
behind the leaders. It would have been nice just to ease him
gently back in behind the leading three after they had gone a furlong.
He made good ground in the straight and finished about 3.7
lengths behind the winner. The time of 1m 35.29 was really good
for a maiden and would measure up against good fields in higher
grades, so we were really pleased with his effort.
In his 2nd trial over 1200m, we got Maiija to try and settle him,
and although he jumped first, she pulled him back to 2nd last
on the turn, then RED MAGIC made a very strong finish along
the rail up into 2nd place, but went a bit flat after the big run, and
was a close up 4th with the 2nd horses inching ahead and the third
finishing well to nab him on the line.
We were quite pleased with the run, but Graeme had sprinted him
quite a bit, and was a bit disappointed, and asked us if we wanted
to take him to a proper trainer.
We were happy with our arrangement for pre-training with
Graeme and wanted to complete his education with a race or two.
We had been watching ISTIDAAD progeny for several seasons
and found some consistent factors such as :
1……..they liked softer ground,
2…….when pushed beyond their comfort speed in front, most
........... tended to stop,
3……. they did not do well with being over sprinted or too
............much speed work because they were light framed,
4……. they liked slower pacework and had the stamina to
............cope with an extra round or two.
5……. if they were settled and relaxed in midfield, they had
............a good finish in the straight;
6……..& most of them had a good stamina component and
............did better when racing over a mile ………or further.
So we were marking time waiting for fitness to increase,
for the long dry summer to end, for the tracks to ease, and to
get to a mile in distance.
In his 2nd start in a Highweight, Graeme engaged a steeplechase
jockey for the 1670 metres journey. Unfortunately, the horse was
light in condition, slightly up-tight, and Malcolm was struggling out
in the paddock with holding him, so he turned him in little circles
all the time.
He arrived less than an hour before the race, was lathered in sweat,
and looked very lean and light. We walked him around in a
paddock to cool him off, then dry his coat. We saddled him out there,
but I was extremely concerned that Malcom turned him round and
round in a 4ft square and fought him all the time so he didn’t relax
in the birdcage. It actually agitated him rather than settled or
relaxed him. Malcolm did a great job at Matamata, and thinks a
great deal of RED MAGIC, which is his favourite.
He was held tightly all the way to the start, and unfortunately got
agitated down there as well. With all this happening, and Graeme
saying something about playing up in the stalls and the saddling in a
paddock in this and the next race, it seems that something must
have happened in training, and Malcolm always had him in a small
circle with strong, off balance control on his head.
This suggested to me that he was being taught to react adversely.
It would tend to get a horse unsettled and to fight any attempts
to put a mutually responsive handling routine into place.
It's always better to give a horse nothing to fight about, and to
encourage passive obedience.
Graeme said RED MAGIC was a real thinker, and now and
again was stubborn and dug his toes in.
Because he drew the No 1 barrier, the Jockey Shelley Houston
was required to get him away well, then settle him 4th or 5th.
Graeme said he preferred 5th or 6th, then move up and put him
into the race on the turn.
However, she missed the start badly, got quite a way behind, and
angled out to be wide on the turn.
Then she got in too close and veered out turning for home, but
passed several horses coming wide down the straight
They finished quite a good 8th. Shelly had finished over 37 lengths
behind in her other race, and unfortunately, was not able to give
our horse any chance in this race as well.
A few days later, she told Graeme that she had blown the race.
Helen and I were quite disappointed with all these developments,
so we asked Graeme to stop sprinting the horse as he was too light,
to do long slow work to settle him down, and get a top 10 jockey,
to organize a float to get him to the races a lot sooner, so he had a
much greater chance of relaxing before he raced. Graeme was
also concerned over his losing weight and we both thought he
needed an extra week, this meant three weeks before his next race.
When we trained over 30 years ago, we tried to get our horses to
the races either the night before, or many hours before the race.
They never got lathered up, or got unsettled, or muscles all
trembling like this horse and quite a few others are doing with
this last minute rushing, which seems to unsettle them and
increase nervousness. (With holding a full time teaching job,
rearing a family, and having much difficulty getting apprentice kids
to ride our horses each morning, I had to ride them myself, and we
still managed under this pressure to average one win every 5 starts,
so I'm sure todays trainers could organize and manage it too.)
Outcome was, I had to organize the float and engage the jockey.
Helen and I went on the long drive over to Cambridge a couple
of times over the next 2 weeks to see the horse work, and we were
delighted, as Graeme had him extremely quiet and settled in the stall.
His pacework was very settled . He went evenly, was nicely
balanced with ears pricked as he paceworked around.. He seemed
so relaxed and he showed no signs of pressure, so that was great.
Then we saw there were 44 nominations for this race that he
eventually won, and as he was 23rd in order of re-entry, it seemed
that there was very little chance of RED MAGIC getting into the
race and that was very frustrating.
That meant we would need to start looking out for another
suitable race, and the high daily costs of a month of extra training
was really making a dent in the wallet.
Our horse was 23rd in order of entry for the race, but Graeme
still accepted, and Helen and I still went ahead and organized a
float and we rang around for a top Jockey because we wanted
a top liner after the trainer had organized an Apprentice and
Steeple jockey for the first 2 races which did not work very well
for the horse’s chance of winning either of those races.
Helen and I went through all the top jockeys that had been
successful at the last Te Aroha meeting and we rang the four
best ones up.
Noel Harris said he would ride our horse for us if he got into
the race. Noel had been Champion NZ Jockey, and was one of
a very small handful of great New Zealand riders who had won
over 2000 races in NZ, Australia and around the world.
.
He had a reputation for being a great judge of pace, and being
able to raise a tremendous finishing burst on a good horse that
was held up for a strong late run.
I was hoping the float would arrive several hours before the race
and give the horse time to get the benefit of the experience
and enable him to settle down as we did when I trained over
30 years ago, but like the last race, the horse got there less
than an hour before the race.
He was in a real lather, and all his muscles were shivering .
He was very unsettled, nervous and many of his muscles were
twitching. I don’t think any of us were very confident of a
success in this race, although Helen , Karen and Malcolm had
good collects.
Malcolm again was holding him too tight to stop him eating grass,
and he was taken in small circles, with handler and horse fighting
each other. Years ago, we made sure our horses were taken in
big circles. We got them to settle and relax on a loose rein.
I remember we went to great pains to cover the loins of a hot
horse with a blanket to protect the kidneys from getting a chill,
but over the last two years, I’ve constantly seen horses hosed
and tossed into stalls without any protection.
I wanted to take RED MAGIC in much bigger circles to settle,
relax and dry him, so I spelled Malcolm. I found he wasn’t so good
on the normal hand, but after 6 or 7 great big circles I got him to
relax, and then he responded to the voice and the patting on the
neck and shoulder that I used to do back in his paddock before
pre-training. He dried off, and then I got him walking on a loose rein.
Malcolm commented that he was going well, so he followed up
with the reverse way as well.
I went and had a talk with the jockey Noel Harris, and said
RED MAGIC usually jumped well, but ISTIDAAD progeny
usually liked to settle 4th or 5th, and finish on strongly and well in
the straight, and that Graeme would talk to him in more detail later
in the birdcage.
The Horse was a bundle of nerves in the birdcage. We had 3
owners there, Helen, Karen and myself all by the birdcage, and all
of us were concerned with his lightness of build. (I had spent 4
months of extensive feeding to have him in great condition to
come into Graeme's stable for pre-training.)
The horse was shaking and all his muscles in shoulder and
hindquarters were quivering quite badly with nerves.
Carl was home in Tauranga with the 4 kids and not well so didn’t
come over and Barbara was in a meeting up at Auckland, so was
she was very unhappy she couldn’t get down to see the race.
Both of them thought on the Television that he looked too fine in
his build., and very nervous.
However, RED MAGIC went down in his preliminary gallop very
nicely collected and smoothly. with ears pricked. His stride was
long and even, so Graeme’s change of method , conditioning and
his track rider’s skills were working well in this respect.
We heard the commentator say 4 or 5 times at the start that
RED MAGIC was still out of the barrier, had no rider on, and was
being held by an attendant, so we thought something must have
happened to the jockey. We found out later that RED MAGIC
had tossed his jockey Noel Harris off.
Kept until near last, he was finally loaded, and after the race,
Noel said he was a real thinker, and had caught him unawares.
Noel had grass marks on his riding pants and got hurt when he
was dumped. Someone said that Noel wouldn't have liked
being dumped, and expected the horse to be really disciplined.
The race started, and Noel said he was quite surprised at how
well he jumped, and within a few strides went to the front.
Then he was impressed at how well he came back to him
when he smoothly reined him in. Apprentices could really learn a
thing or two from such an outstanding, experienced and skillful rider.
RED MAGIC has a very long stride and nice action and led all
the way to the turn and into the straight where he was momentarily
headed by the horse outside him and immediately inside him.
Noel kept re-balancing him, and RED MAGIC pulled away by
a length as they galloped down the straight.
Half way down, Noel pulled the whip and he galloped strongly
right to the line, and won well.
After the race, Noel said he was a really good galloper and
had the potential to win some good races.
HOWEVER, he warned that RED MAGIC had wanted to duck
out through a gate going down in his preliminary, so the track rider
needed to go past all openings, not straight to them. Real basic stuff.
At the starting gates, he got a bit agitated, so needed to get very
settled in them. One Cambridge trainer has all his horses go through
them onto the track every day, so they were no trouble and
completely used to them. When Dad and I trained 30 years ago
at Levin, we got them settled, then banged the gates to simulate
actual starting noise, but only after they were reassured and settled.
If it was done in a way that promoted acceptance rather than
frightening them , it got them to accept the starting gate noise
without panic. As well we went in and out for ages to get a
routine into practice, and it ensured we had no trouble with
starting gates.
NOEL ALSO SAID HE WOULD MAKE A REALLY GOOD
GALLOPER if we were patient with him. Because RED MAGIC
was tending to get a bit worked up, he said not to rush him into
his next race. Give him time between races to settle him better.
I told him that was why we had allowed him 3 weeks between
his 2nd race and this race.
Following Noel’s advice, we have decided to not race
RED MAGIC in a fortnight’s time at the Te Rapa meeting,
as we had originally planned.
We worked out that because he is too light in condition, he is
likely to be still too light, (or even lighter after this race),
which would mitigate against him being able to race well in the
next grade up against better class horses.
It would take 2 to 3 weeks more expenses to race him,
($1700 to $1800), and we expected him to finish well down
the track and then have to come home for a spell.
That would cut across our going away to compete in the NZ
National Bowls Tournament. So we have now floated the horse
home, and are feeding him up well for 5 weeks, hoping to get
some condition back on him, and set him up for another 5
month campaign.
We hope he will make enough progress with the spell,
extra feeding and new training and extra time to run well in
the next grades. We notice he has been promoted from a
50 rating to a 69 rating due to his Te Aroha win.
If anyone would like to see how he ran, there is a site, which
shows a video. The quality is very low, but at least it is viewable.
(GOOGLE Results NZ Racing)
Wed 20th April, Te Aroha, Race9.
VICTORY ROOM
GRAEME has not had a winner for over 37 starts, which was
over a year ago. He was very pleased and very excited with the
win and it gave him a big boost. He had dozens of calls
congratulating him on his success.
He needed a break and decided to go fishing for 5 days after
Easter and left the boys to feed the horses. Unfortunately,
it seems to have spoilt his trip when we deciding to bring him
home in the best interests of the horse, as rider Noel Harris has
emphasized to us that it was the best plan to adopt.
Graeme now wants the next month’s training fees paid even though
the horse is home, and he wants a $10 a day increase because of
the win, and he didn’t make enough profit from the good deal we
had negotiated with him. As that price brings the daily charge up
to the rate of the best trainers, we need to have an owner meeting.
Our Partnership Group now has more decisions to make in the
near future, and we will probably now make a decision with one
of the 3 top in-form trainers we approached before pre-training.
The first 3 months pre-training with Graeme has extended into
5 months, and this first win was really exciting for pre-trainer
Graeme and especially to us owners.
We hope all you future owners of winners get as great a boost,
just the way all our group did from this exciting win by RED MAGIC.
Helen and I went straight to bowls after the race and everyone
knew the horse had won. A few had bet on him and he paid a
whopping $48.60 to win and $10.40 to place.
RED MAGIC is Home NOW…comments
The horse came off the float lathered and sweaty, so I gave him
a good cool off for over 15 minutes up and down the slope paddock,
all around the house paddock and all around the tree or hill paddock.
He has piles of grass up to his hocks everywhere.
He has still got his racing plates on, and I’ll take them off in a
couple of weeks. When he came back from pre-training the last
2 times, he took a few days from no-grass yards and paddocks
to different feed, and I notice he has done exactly the same this
third time. However, he is now eating about one and a half times
what he was previously eating at Graeme's, as well as having lots
of extras and paddocks of grass.
Carl and Barbara came over yesterday, and helped to fix the ride-on
mower to top the paddocks, and clear all the electric tapes of weed,
sort out the electric system and clean out the water supply for the
horse so he has nice clean water.
Both Barbara and Carl said he had put on weight since the race
with the high level of feeding I’ve been doing, but I wasn’t sure.
So I checked all the photos/videos of his race day success, and it
was clearly obvious that he has made very good progress on
weight gain over the last week or so.
I’ll write another report after he goes back into training in about
3 or 4 weeks time, when I hope there will be more news to report
as we head on hopefully to another exciting win.
I am going to see if I can add some photos, and a replay of the
race on my BLOG, so check next week to see if that was
possible to do. Yesterday, we went over to Tauranga and had
a birthday party for 3 of our grandchildren. Nico turned 2yrs old,
Brooke turned 1yrs old, and so did Kya- all birthdays within a week.
While we were there, we put a replay of RED MAGIC’s win on
all computers, and at a press of the button on the Desktop, any
viewer can see a replay of the race. Looks good every time.
Regards,
Les.
On Wednesday, April 20, our racehorse RED MAGIC-
(Istidaad-Catseeker) won his first race at Te Aroha.
It has been a very long wait, just a few weeks short of 2 years
of hands on, decision making and expenses. But the wait has
been really worthwhile, now that he has shown he can really gallop.
From equal bottom of over six thousand horses racing in New
Zealand, we now moves up into the top 29 to 31%
of horses that actually win a race during the season.
You can imagine how excited all the owners, family and supporters
were when he went to the front and galloped strongly right to the
line at the front of a full field of 16 horses..
Helen and I were at the race-course, along with our daughter
Karen-(Part owner) who came over from Hamilton with our
granddaughter Kasandra and they were exceptionally excited
with the win. Our other daughter Barabara- (Part owner)
was also excited and rang from Auckland where she was in
meetings, but Carl – (Part owner) was not well and was home
in Tauranga looking after the kids in the School Holidays.
He was very disappointed that he wasn’t there, but they all
watched the race on TV and were very excited as well.
My Mum and Dad rang from Levin, and son Andrew rang from
Wellington, and my sisters Carol and Jan sent e-mails
The Trainer Graeme Forbes from Cambridge was ecstatic and
on and off the phone for nearly an hour at the presentation, in the
birdcage and afterwards when cooling off the horse.
It was a mile race for horses that had not won a race and was
named The ECOLAB LTD 1600 by the sponsors who had
very kindly and generously supported the club. We notice a
majority of the races up here in the Northern Region are sponsored
and this is a vital ingredient in the success of racing for owners.
We got to thank them when our group was invited into the
WINNERS ROOM where the club provides refreshments
and drinks for the winning connections.
We were biting our fingernails because our horse had lightened up
in overall physical condition quite significantly between his first and
2nd race (and even more after his 2nd second) so we had to give
him 3 weeks to get over his last race and get him up to peak
fitness again to cope with this next effort.
RED MAGIC was quite well settled for his first race at Matamata
which was also over a mile. The trainer wanted to do another Trial
and then put him in a shorter1400m race.
But I noticed he had quite a few horses being overly sprinted and
going in and out of Trials and the stables. It had also happened to
us twice by other pre-trainers so we wanted him to do less fast
work on the track which was significantly lightening his condition ,
not to leave his races on the track by over-sprinting him, to get
him into races, and race into form.
The costs of training and feeding are horrendous with this very
high daily rate dictate, and the returns are so small for maiden wins.
A quick check shows that prize money over the last 30 years
or so HAS RISEN OVER 6 TIMES HIGHER, ($750 to $5000
for basic Maiden races) BUT TRAINING CHARGES HAVE
RISEN OVER SEVENTEEN TIMES HIGHER IN THE SAME
PERIOD. (Typical $28 week to daily $60 x 7 = $420 week)
We asked the apprentice Maija Vance to settle him back in 4th
or 5th place, in his first race over a mile at Matamata so as to
relax and settle him so he would have sufficient reserves to run
on at the finish.
However, the horse jumped too quickly into the lead, and by
pulling him back very hard and sharply, it caused his head to go
up in the air.
She did exactly as we asked, but the result was not the way we
wanted, as RED MAGIC went back too far to be over 7 lengths
behind the leaders. It would have been nice just to ease him
gently back in behind the leading three after they had gone a furlong.
He made good ground in the straight and finished about 3.7
lengths behind the winner. The time of 1m 35.29 was really good
for a maiden and would measure up against good fields in higher
grades, so we were really pleased with his effort.
In his 2nd trial over 1200m, we got Maiija to try and settle him,
and although he jumped first, she pulled him back to 2nd last
on the turn, then RED MAGIC made a very strong finish along
the rail up into 2nd place, but went a bit flat after the big run, and
was a close up 4th with the 2nd horses inching ahead and the third
finishing well to nab him on the line.
We were quite pleased with the run, but Graeme had sprinted him
quite a bit, and was a bit disappointed, and asked us if we wanted
to take him to a proper trainer.
We were happy with our arrangement for pre-training with
Graeme and wanted to complete his education with a race or two.
We had been watching ISTIDAAD progeny for several seasons
and found some consistent factors such as :
1……..they liked softer ground,
2…….when pushed beyond their comfort speed in front, most
........... tended to stop,
3……. they did not do well with being over sprinted or too
............much speed work because they were light framed,
4……. they liked slower pacework and had the stamina to
............cope with an extra round or two.
5……. if they were settled and relaxed in midfield, they had
............a good finish in the straight;
6……..& most of them had a good stamina component and
............did better when racing over a mile ………or further.
So we were marking time waiting for fitness to increase,
for the long dry summer to end, for the tracks to ease, and to
get to a mile in distance.
In his 2nd start in a Highweight, Graeme engaged a steeplechase
jockey for the 1670 metres journey. Unfortunately, the horse was
light in condition, slightly up-tight, and Malcolm was struggling out
in the paddock with holding him, so he turned him in little circles
all the time.
He arrived less than an hour before the race, was lathered in sweat,
and looked very lean and light. We walked him around in a
paddock to cool him off, then dry his coat. We saddled him out there,
but I was extremely concerned that Malcom turned him round and
round in a 4ft square and fought him all the time so he didn’t relax
in the birdcage. It actually agitated him rather than settled or
relaxed him. Malcolm did a great job at Matamata, and thinks a
great deal of RED MAGIC, which is his favourite.
He was held tightly all the way to the start, and unfortunately got
agitated down there as well. With all this happening, and Graeme
saying something about playing up in the stalls and the saddling in a
paddock in this and the next race, it seems that something must
have happened in training, and Malcolm always had him in a small
circle with strong, off balance control on his head.
This suggested to me that he was being taught to react adversely.
It would tend to get a horse unsettled and to fight any attempts
to put a mutually responsive handling routine into place.
It's always better to give a horse nothing to fight about, and to
encourage passive obedience.
Graeme said RED MAGIC was a real thinker, and now and
again was stubborn and dug his toes in.
Because he drew the No 1 barrier, the Jockey Shelley Houston
was required to get him away well, then settle him 4th or 5th.
Graeme said he preferred 5th or 6th, then move up and put him
into the race on the turn.
However, she missed the start badly, got quite a way behind, and
angled out to be wide on the turn.
Then she got in too close and veered out turning for home, but
passed several horses coming wide down the straight
They finished quite a good 8th. Shelly had finished over 37 lengths
behind in her other race, and unfortunately, was not able to give
our horse any chance in this race as well.
A few days later, she told Graeme that she had blown the race.
Helen and I were quite disappointed with all these developments,
so we asked Graeme to stop sprinting the horse as he was too light,
to do long slow work to settle him down, and get a top 10 jockey,
to organize a float to get him to the races a lot sooner, so he had a
much greater chance of relaxing before he raced. Graeme was
also concerned over his losing weight and we both thought he
needed an extra week, this meant three weeks before his next race.
When we trained over 30 years ago, we tried to get our horses to
the races either the night before, or many hours before the race.
They never got lathered up, or got unsettled, or muscles all
trembling like this horse and quite a few others are doing with
this last minute rushing, which seems to unsettle them and
increase nervousness. (With holding a full time teaching job,
rearing a family, and having much difficulty getting apprentice kids
to ride our horses each morning, I had to ride them myself, and we
still managed under this pressure to average one win every 5 starts,
so I'm sure todays trainers could organize and manage it too.)
Outcome was, I had to organize the float and engage the jockey.
Helen and I went on the long drive over to Cambridge a couple
of times over the next 2 weeks to see the horse work, and we were
delighted, as Graeme had him extremely quiet and settled in the stall.
His pacework was very settled . He went evenly, was nicely
balanced with ears pricked as he paceworked around.. He seemed
so relaxed and he showed no signs of pressure, so that was great.
Then we saw there were 44 nominations for this race that he
eventually won, and as he was 23rd in order of re-entry, it seemed
that there was very little chance of RED MAGIC getting into the
race and that was very frustrating.
That meant we would need to start looking out for another
suitable race, and the high daily costs of a month of extra training
was really making a dent in the wallet.
Our horse was 23rd in order of entry for the race, but Graeme
still accepted, and Helen and I still went ahead and organized a
float and we rang around for a top Jockey because we wanted
a top liner after the trainer had organized an Apprentice and
Steeple jockey for the first 2 races which did not work very well
for the horse’s chance of winning either of those races.
Helen and I went through all the top jockeys that had been
successful at the last Te Aroha meeting and we rang the four
best ones up.
Noel Harris said he would ride our horse for us if he got into
the race. Noel had been Champion NZ Jockey, and was one of
a very small handful of great New Zealand riders who had won
over 2000 races in NZ, Australia and around the world.
.
He had a reputation for being a great judge of pace, and being
able to raise a tremendous finishing burst on a good horse that
was held up for a strong late run.
I was hoping the float would arrive several hours before the race
and give the horse time to get the benefit of the experience
and enable him to settle down as we did when I trained over
30 years ago, but like the last race, the horse got there less
than an hour before the race.
He was in a real lather, and all his muscles were shivering .
He was very unsettled, nervous and many of his muscles were
twitching. I don’t think any of us were very confident of a
success in this race, although Helen , Karen and Malcolm had
good collects.
Malcolm again was holding him too tight to stop him eating grass,
and he was taken in small circles, with handler and horse fighting
each other. Years ago, we made sure our horses were taken in
big circles. We got them to settle and relax on a loose rein.
I remember we went to great pains to cover the loins of a hot
horse with a blanket to protect the kidneys from getting a chill,
but over the last two years, I’ve constantly seen horses hosed
and tossed into stalls without any protection.
I wanted to take RED MAGIC in much bigger circles to settle,
relax and dry him, so I spelled Malcolm. I found he wasn’t so good
on the normal hand, but after 6 or 7 great big circles I got him to
relax, and then he responded to the voice and the patting on the
neck and shoulder that I used to do back in his paddock before
pre-training. He dried off, and then I got him walking on a loose rein.
Malcolm commented that he was going well, so he followed up
with the reverse way as well.
I went and had a talk with the jockey Noel Harris, and said
RED MAGIC usually jumped well, but ISTIDAAD progeny
usually liked to settle 4th or 5th, and finish on strongly and well in
the straight, and that Graeme would talk to him in more detail later
in the birdcage.
The Horse was a bundle of nerves in the birdcage. We had 3
owners there, Helen, Karen and myself all by the birdcage, and all
of us were concerned with his lightness of build. (I had spent 4
months of extensive feeding to have him in great condition to
come into Graeme's stable for pre-training.)
The horse was shaking and all his muscles in shoulder and
hindquarters were quivering quite badly with nerves.
Carl was home in Tauranga with the 4 kids and not well so didn’t
come over and Barbara was in a meeting up at Auckland, so was
she was very unhappy she couldn’t get down to see the race.
Both of them thought on the Television that he looked too fine in
his build., and very nervous.
However, RED MAGIC went down in his preliminary gallop very
nicely collected and smoothly. with ears pricked. His stride was
long and even, so Graeme’s change of method , conditioning and
his track rider’s skills were working well in this respect.
We heard the commentator say 4 or 5 times at the start that
RED MAGIC was still out of the barrier, had no rider on, and was
being held by an attendant, so we thought something must have
happened to the jockey. We found out later that RED MAGIC
had tossed his jockey Noel Harris off.
Kept until near last, he was finally loaded, and after the race,
Noel said he was a real thinker, and had caught him unawares.
Noel had grass marks on his riding pants and got hurt when he
was dumped. Someone said that Noel wouldn't have liked
being dumped, and expected the horse to be really disciplined.
The race started, and Noel said he was quite surprised at how
well he jumped, and within a few strides went to the front.
Then he was impressed at how well he came back to him
when he smoothly reined him in. Apprentices could really learn a
thing or two from such an outstanding, experienced and skillful rider.
RED MAGIC has a very long stride and nice action and led all
the way to the turn and into the straight where he was momentarily
headed by the horse outside him and immediately inside him.
Noel kept re-balancing him, and RED MAGIC pulled away by
a length as they galloped down the straight.
Half way down, Noel pulled the whip and he galloped strongly
right to the line, and won well.
After the race, Noel said he was a really good galloper and
had the potential to win some good races.
HOWEVER, he warned that RED MAGIC had wanted to duck
out through a gate going down in his preliminary, so the track rider
needed to go past all openings, not straight to them. Real basic stuff.
At the starting gates, he got a bit agitated, so needed to get very
settled in them. One Cambridge trainer has all his horses go through
them onto the track every day, so they were no trouble and
completely used to them. When Dad and I trained 30 years ago
at Levin, we got them settled, then banged the gates to simulate
actual starting noise, but only after they were reassured and settled.
If it was done in a way that promoted acceptance rather than
frightening them , it got them to accept the starting gate noise
without panic. As well we went in and out for ages to get a
routine into practice, and it ensured we had no trouble with
starting gates.
NOEL ALSO SAID HE WOULD MAKE A REALLY GOOD
GALLOPER if we were patient with him. Because RED MAGIC
was tending to get a bit worked up, he said not to rush him into
his next race. Give him time between races to settle him better.
I told him that was why we had allowed him 3 weeks between
his 2nd race and this race.
Following Noel’s advice, we have decided to not race
RED MAGIC in a fortnight’s time at the Te Rapa meeting,
as we had originally planned.
We worked out that because he is too light in condition, he is
likely to be still too light, (or even lighter after this race),
which would mitigate against him being able to race well in the
next grade up against better class horses.
It would take 2 to 3 weeks more expenses to race him,
($1700 to $1800), and we expected him to finish well down
the track and then have to come home for a spell.
That would cut across our going away to compete in the NZ
National Bowls Tournament. So we have now floated the horse
home, and are feeding him up well for 5 weeks, hoping to get
some condition back on him, and set him up for another 5
month campaign.
We hope he will make enough progress with the spell,
extra feeding and new training and extra time to run well in
the next grades. We notice he has been promoted from a
50 rating to a 69 rating due to his Te Aroha win.
If anyone would like to see how he ran, there is a site, which
shows a video. The quality is very low, but at least it is viewable.
(GOOGLE Results NZ Racing)
Wed 20th April, Te Aroha, Race9.
VICTORY ROOM
GRAEME has not had a winner for over 37 starts, which was
over a year ago. He was very pleased and very excited with the
win and it gave him a big boost. He had dozens of calls
congratulating him on his success.
He needed a break and decided to go fishing for 5 days after
Easter and left the boys to feed the horses. Unfortunately,
it seems to have spoilt his trip when we deciding to bring him
home in the best interests of the horse, as rider Noel Harris has
emphasized to us that it was the best plan to adopt.
Graeme now wants the next month’s training fees paid even though
the horse is home, and he wants a $10 a day increase because of
the win, and he didn’t make enough profit from the good deal we
had negotiated with him. As that price brings the daily charge up
to the rate of the best trainers, we need to have an owner meeting.
Our Partnership Group now has more decisions to make in the
near future, and we will probably now make a decision with one
of the 3 top in-form trainers we approached before pre-training.
The first 3 months pre-training with Graeme has extended into
5 months, and this first win was really exciting for pre-trainer
Graeme and especially to us owners.
We hope all you future owners of winners get as great a boost,
just the way all our group did from this exciting win by RED MAGIC.
Helen and I went straight to bowls after the race and everyone
knew the horse had won. A few had bet on him and he paid a
whopping $48.60 to win and $10.40 to place.
RED MAGIC is Home NOW…comments
The horse came off the float lathered and sweaty, so I gave him
a good cool off for over 15 minutes up and down the slope paddock,
all around the house paddock and all around the tree or hill paddock.
He has piles of grass up to his hocks everywhere.
He has still got his racing plates on, and I’ll take them off in a
couple of weeks. When he came back from pre-training the last
2 times, he took a few days from no-grass yards and paddocks
to different feed, and I notice he has done exactly the same this
third time. However, he is now eating about one and a half times
what he was previously eating at Graeme's, as well as having lots
of extras and paddocks of grass.
Carl and Barbara came over yesterday, and helped to fix the ride-on
mower to top the paddocks, and clear all the electric tapes of weed,
sort out the electric system and clean out the water supply for the
horse so he has nice clean water.
Both Barbara and Carl said he had put on weight since the race
with the high level of feeding I’ve been doing, but I wasn’t sure.
So I checked all the photos/videos of his race day success, and it
was clearly obvious that he has made very good progress on
weight gain over the last week or so.
I’ll write another report after he goes back into training in about
3 or 4 weeks time, when I hope there will be more news to report
as we head on hopefully to another exciting win.
I am going to see if I can add some photos, and a replay of the
race on my BLOG, so check next week to see if that was
possible to do. Yesterday, we went over to Tauranga and had
a birthday party for 3 of our grandchildren. Nico turned 2yrs old,
Brooke turned 1yrs old, and so did Kya- all birthdays within a week.
While we were there, we put a replay of RED MAGIC’s win on
all computers, and at a press of the button on the Desktop, any
viewer can see a replay of the race. Looks good every time.
Regards,
Les.
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