Jan's Giant, in the hands of apprentice jockey Faye Lazet, came from last at the 600m to surge past The Finnster for a half-length win in a maiden 2200m race at Otaki last week. Photo / Supplied
Jan's Giant provided well-known Hawke's Bay racing identity John Frizzell with a special sentimental win when the big gelding strode to victory in a maiden 2200m race at Otaki on Thursday of last week.
Frizzell bred the seven-year-old in partnership with his late wife Jan, who died this year, and he now races the horse with her estate.
Jan Frizzell had built a special bond with Jan's Giant from when he was a foal but unfortunately, did not get to see him show his best on the racetrack.
"Jan's Giant is one we bred and he was always going to be big. He was massive as a young horse," John Frizzell recalled this week.
"He needed time and we just kept him on the farm and he wasn't broken in until he was 4.
"Jan loved the horses, especially him, and she fed him for about four years.
"She nicknamed him Giant and we tried to get that as his racing name but couldn't get it. So we called him Jan's Giant instead."
Frizzell said the horse measured just over 17 hands high when put into work with Whanganui-based trainer Jo Rathbone, a former successful jumps jockey.
"He was big but was always an athlete, so we thought we had something there and Jo has done a great job with him."
Jan's Giant started racing in only May, but Frizzell said that was by design.
"We knew he would need time and I always say that pushing young horses when they are not ready is like pushing young kids into senior rugby when they are not up to it. You end up doing more harm than good," he said.
The horse was having his sixth career start when lining up at Otaki last week and the win followed two fourth placings, over 2100m at Hawera and 2200m at Waverley.
Frizzell said it was a great thrill to pick up a win on the flat with the horse, but it is as a jumper that he expects him to excel.
"He is a very good jumper and that's the long-range aim with him.
"Jo doesn't school too many horses nowadays, but she is always happy to school him and really rates him."
Jan's Giant was entered for a maiden hurdle race at Woodville last Sunday, but a lack of suitable jumps jockeys at the meeting meant he was scratched.
"We have brought him home and he is now out spelling. We'll now wait until next year to put him over the jumps," Frizzell added.
Jan's Giant is by Nom de Jeu and the fifth foal to race out of the Spectacular Love mare Swift Encounter, who won two races before a leg injury prematurely ended her racing career.
Swiftest was the first foal out of the mare and won one race while Ripdiddler was the second and recorded two wins.
Hunky Dory, by Ustinov, was the third foal and he recorded a win and several minor placings as a steeplechaser before suffering a career-ending tendon injury.
Dannevirke's Steve Prenter has raced horses with reasonable success, but he is now living the dream as a part-owner of Smokin' Romans.
The Ghibellines six-year-old scored a commanding win in last Saturday's Gr.1 A$1million Turnbull Stakes at Flemington and is now favourite for next Saturday's A$5 million Caulfield Cup (2400m). He is also rated one of the leading chances for the A$7.75m Melbourne Cup (3200m) on November 1.
Prenter is a former president and long-serving committee member of the Woodville-Pahiatua Racing Club. He owns a 15 per cent shareholding in Smokin' Romans, who now boasts a record of nine wins, six seconds and a third from only 23 starts, and has already amassed more than A$1.2m in prizemoney.
The horse is trained by the highly successful partnership of Ciaron Maher and David Eustace at Cranbourne and has won his last two starts, after also taking out the Gr.3 Naturalism Stakes (2000m) at Caulfield on September 17.
Steve Prenter has had shares in racehorses for many years, with the best of them until now being the good mare Dannevegas, whose seven races included the 1998 Waikato Cup (2400m).
Dannevegas was trained in Central Districts by Jeff Lynds and through that association, Prenter became good friends with Wellington's Don Frampton, a long-time client of the Lynds stable.
Prenter said this week he and Frampton and another couple of mates attended the 2018 Karaka yearling sales and decided to bid on a chestnut colt by Ghibellines out of the Yamanin Vital mare Inferno.
"We didn't realise that we were bidding against Australian trainer Darren Weir and he finally got the horse for $52,500," Prenter recalled.
"We decided we wanted to take a share and so a group of us Kiwis have now got 50 per cent between us."
Darren Weir was disqualified from racing before Smokin' Romans started racing, so the horse was transferred to the Maher/Eustace stable and won his first two starts, both over 1500m on the Ballarat synthetic track.
He has steadily built into a top-class stayer, with three of his victories being at 2500m.
Smokin' Romans carried 55.5kg when winning at Flemington last Saturday and will drop to 51.5kg in the Caulfield Cup. He will be ridden by top Australian woman jockey Jamie Kah, who has won two races on him.
He is now the $4 favourite on the New Zealand TAB for the cup ahead of Inspirational Girl ($9), with Alegron and Benaud the next two in the betting at $11.
Prenter said he and his son are heading to Melbourne to watch Smokin' Romans contest the Caulfield Cup and he has promised his wife he will take her across the Tasman if the horse goes on to contest next month's famous Melbourne Cup.
Hastings trainer Guy Lowry was pleasantly surprised when Herself got up to score a narrow win in a rating 75 race over 2200m at Otaki on Thursday last week.
Lowry thought the Redwood mare would need the run in what was only her second middle-distance start this time in.
"We thought it would be a good race to get her tuned up for a $70,000 rating 65 race over 2200m at Hastings in a couple of weeks, but now she's won she won't be eligible for that race," Lowry said.
"She will probably now have to run in the rating 75 over 2000m on the same day, but it means dropping back in distance and she will be up against a top field."
Herself was having only her eighth start last week and had previously recorded a win, a second and a third.
She cleared maiden ranks with an easy 4-3/4-length win over 2100m at Hastings in January and followed that up with a close second over the same distance.
Lowry then turned her out for a lengthy spell and she has now had three starts back in a new campaign.
Herself is raced by her Hawke's Bay breeders Tim and Briar Macphee and Murray Green, and is out of the Howbaddouwantit mare Indiscretion.
She was ridden to her latest victory by promising Hastings apprentice Lily Sutherland, who settled her at the back of the field in the early stages before improving around the field in the middle stages.
Herself ranged up wide out on the home turn and kept up a sustained finishing burst to get up and snatch a long-head win over Smart Attire.
Hastings trainer-jockey Kate Hercock picked up a satisfying win when Matinee finally broke through for a maiden success over 1400m at Otaki last week.
Hercock not only rode the horse to victory, but is also part-owner and trainer.
The seven-year-old Niagara mare was having her 18th start after previously recording three seconds and four thirds.
Hercock took over the training of Matinee at the beginning of this year after her former Wairarapa trainer, Fred Stammers, suffered ill health and then died of cancer. She now races the mare with his estate.
Matinee drew one from the outside at Otaki so Hercock let the mare drift back before getting her across to the inside rail. They were able to pinch runs along the inside coming the home turn and Hercock then angled her mount off the rails to make her challenge.
First starter Devastate looked the likely winner halfway up the home straight, but Matinee managed to master that horse in the final 100m and went on to win by half a length.
Suliman stamped himself as potentially the next star jumper from the Hastings stable of Paul Nelson and Corrina McDougal when he rallied late to take out the $40,000 open hurdle race over 3200m at Woodville on Sunday.
It was the Redwood gelding's third hurdle start and followed a decisive maiden win over fences at Te Rapa on September 18. He was also third in his hurdle debut on the same track last month.
Jockey Shaun Phelan, who has built up a hugely successful association with the Nelson-McDougal stable in the past 12 months, has ridden Suliman in all three of his jumping starts.
Suliman was sent out a raging hot favourite in the five-horse field on Sunday, but his backers had some anxious moments before he finally got the job done.
Tweedledee, ridden by Portia Matthews, had led from the start and still had an advantage over Suliman as they jumped the last fence and set down to fight out the finish.
It was only a short run to the line, but a vigorous ride from Phelan had Suliman gradually overhaul the leader and go on to win by half a length.
Suliman is also the winner of six races on the flat, including last year's Taumarunui Gold Cup (2200m) at Rotorua, and is now owned by the I See Red Syndicate.