Not many racehorse owners can say they have won five Grand Nationals but that is the record Waipukurau's Michael Ormsby has after Upper Cut's success in last Saturday's $75,000 Racecourse Hotel Grand National Steeplechase at Riccarton.
Ormsby shares in the ownership of Upper Cut with the horse's Awapuni trainer Mark Oulaghan and three others from the Manawatu region, Aroha Duncan, Jim Speedy and Warren Scott. The 11-year-old Yamanin Vital gelding completed back-to-back wins in the prestige jumping event after also taking out last year's feature.
Ormsby, Oulaghan, Duncan and Speedy also raced the top jumper Counter Punch together. He was also a son of Yamanin Vital and recorded back-to-back Grand National Steeplechase wins in 2010 and 2011 as well as a triumph in the 2007 running of the Grand National Hurdles.
"It's been a great involvement," Ormsby said this week as he recalled how he first came in contact with Oulaghan in 1996.
"My good friend Jim Speedy and I first went into a horse called Yaka that was trained by Mark," Ormsby said.
Yaka won two hurdle races, one at Foxton and one at Trentham and it whetted the appetite for both men in their passion for racing horses.
Oulaghan bought three yearlings at the Karaka sales in1999 and he, Ormsby and Duncan raced one of them, Miniskirt, together. The Kingdom Bay mare was the winner of five races, including two at the Grand National meeting at Riccarton in 2002.
"They used to have sales at Riccarton at that time of the year and we got Mark to go to the sales and buy another horse for us and that is when we got Counter Punch," Ormsby said.
Counter Punch was the winner of 13 races, six over hurdles and five over steeples.
Ormsby said that when Counter Punch was retired from racing after breaking down he instructed Oulaghan to find the group of owners a replacement.
"Mark rang and said there was an unraced 3-year-old by Yamanin Vital running in a paddock down in the South Island and I asked him what money they wanted for it.
"After some negotiating we got him for $5000 and that horse is now Upper Cut."
Upper Cut's outstanding performance last Saturday took his record to five wins from 17 starts and has now won more than $178,000 in stakemoney for his connections.
The reason he has been so lightly raced is because he has been plagued by injuries throughout his career and required a year off after a tendon injury in 2012.
Upper Cut's latest win brought up a record six Grand National Steeplechase victories for Oulaghan. The Awapuni trainer had previously won the Riccarton event with Counter Punch (2010, 2011) and Deecee Seven (1997, 1998) and he took Saturday's success in typically humble fashion.
"I've got to say we've been lucky and, as you know, luck goes a long way in racing," Oulaghan said.
"He's been a little behind all winter and the run on the first day did improve him."
Fourth in the Koral Steeplechase, Upper Cut was patiently handled behind the pace by Shaun Phelan and when the pressure went on 800m from home they began to get serious.
Upper Cut took the final fence on terms with Kina Win and he finished well to take the honours by a length and a quarter.
"I put a lot of it down to his sire Yamanin Vital, one of his progeny [Ready Eddie] won the National Hurdle on Wednesday and they can stay," Oulaghan said.
Yamanin Vital was a son of Sir Tristram and he has also sired other top-class jumpers such as Hypnotize, Climbing High and the Oulaghan pair of Yourtheman and Counter Punch.
Auckland Cup winner and Melbourne Cup placegetter Who Shot Thebarman has been his top flat representative.
Upper Cut's rider Shaun Phelan paid tribute to Oulaghan's conditioning skills after the event.
"He's a genius. I sat there and enjoyed the ride, the horse did it all. These are the races you live and dream for."
Phelan was recording his second win in the race after guiding Eric The Viking to victory in 2014. He stood high in the irons and gave a victory salute as Upper Cut crossed the finish line, earning the wrath of the judicial committee who fined him $300.
Ormsby said Upper Cut is now likely to be turned out for a well earned spell and will hopefully be brought back for another winter campaign next year, with a tilt at a third Grand National Steeplechase a possibility.
Aussie plans for 3-year-old
Getty's performance on the opening day of the Bostock New Zealand Hawke's Bay spring carnival will decide whether he makes another appearance at the carnival or if he heads to Melbourne.
Unbeaten in two appearances last season, he will make his 3-year-old debut in the Listed El Roca Sprint (1200m) at Hastings on September 2.
"Then it would be the Hawke's Bay Guineas, but if he won like a superstar then we could look at taking him over for the Prelude and the Caulfield Guineas," said trainer Andrew Campbell of the Excelebration gelding, who is also nominated for the Group One Cox Plate.
Stablemate and Listed Ryder Stakes winner Waldorf will make his next start in the Listed HS Dyke Wanganui Stakes on September 9.
Hoping for Tarzino start
Cambridge trainer Shaun Ritchie is keen to kick off his class mare Let Her Rip's fresh campaign in the Group One Tarzino Trophy at Hastings on September 2 but has a contingency plan if she doesn't make the field.
The daughter of Rip Van Winkle is a Group Three winner and sits on the fringe as 21st in order of entry for the 1400m feature on the first day of the Bostock New Zealand Hawke's Bay spring carnival.
"She's 40-1 for the race and that's probably fair as it will be a strong field of weight-for-age performers," Ritchie said.
"She is borderline to get in so we're thinking that if she doesn't, and as she is so effective fresh, then we might look at the Let's Elope Stakes at Flemington. It's a Group Two at set weights and penalties, and a race we won with Zurella.
"Our first preference though would be to stay closer to home and have a crack at the Hawke's Bay Group One race."
Ritchie is also hoping to have a few talented performers in action on the Hastings undercard.
"Bella Gioia and Cut Me Loose will be presented at Hawke's Bay at some point over the carnival," he said.
Bella Gioia, last season's Group One New Zealand 1000 Guineas runner-up, was taken to the Queensland winter carnival but her campaign was cut short after an unplaced run in the Group Three Fred Best Classic on a heavy Eagle Farm track that took its toll.
"She's doing great now and she's still got residual fitness," Ritchie said.
"Cut Me Loose is a smart horse and he's coming up nicely as well."
The Swiss Ace 4-year-old has won two of his four starts last season and finished third behind Saracino in the Group Two Wellington Guineas.
HB Guineas contender
Byerley Park trainer Steven Cole has Group One aspirations for his talented 3-year-old Ohceedee and intends using the Group Two $100,000 Sacred Falls Hawke's Bay Guineas at Hastings on October 7 as a stepping stone.
Cole said the plan is to get the rangy Power colt to the Group One New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton in November.
Cole was buoyed by Ohceedee's excellent performance for second in a 1000m open trial at Avondale last Friday and the horse will kick off a fresh campaign in the 3-year-old 1100m race at Te Rapa tomorrow and then possibly run again at Ruakaka a fortnight later.
"The Hawke's Bay Guineas would be his first big test if he is going as well as we think he can and then on to Riccarton after that," Cole said.
The trainer didn't think Ohceedee would be happy in the testing track conditions when he competed at last Friday's Avondale trials and would have been happy with just a tidy effort from the horse, where he did things under his own steam.
Ohceedee was placed twice from four starts as a juvenile including an eye-catching performance to finish third behind the highly rated Haussmann in the Listed Great Northern Foal Stakes.
Hastings plans for Nymph Monte
Nymph Monte made his mark at stakes level last season and the 6-year-old will be on the trail of higher honours this preparation.
The Listed Metropolitan Trophy Handicap winner took a step closer to a new campaign when he finished a tidy third in an open 1000m heat at last week's Waverley trials.
"It brought him on again and he did it all under his own steam," part-owner and trainer Grant Nicholson said.
"He'll trial again on August 22 at Foxton and then head to Hastings. At this stage, he will run on the first day in the open mile and then into the open 2000m handicap on the second day before the Livamol Classic.
"He's a pretty clean-winded horse and two runs should have him right for the Group One. We just hope the tracks will be good for him."
The son of Tavistock has a handy record at Hawke's Bay, having won there over 2100m and weighed in a further three times from five appearances.