Racing: First time at Trentham brings Cup success

Magic Chai, ridden by Michael McNab, surges past Sampson and Alinko Prince to snatch a long neck win in last Saturday's Wellington Cup at Trentham.

Hastings-born Shelley Treweek will forever savour the memory of her first ever trip to the Trentham racecourse.

Treweek (nee Wells) and husband Mark have been involved in the thoroughbred industry for almost their entire working lives and both were clearly overjoyed after achieving their biggest moment in racing when their horse Magic Chai won last Saturday's Group 3 $250,000 Wallaceville Estate Castletown Wellington Cup (3200m).

"This is a huge thrill for both of us, especially for Shelley as it is the first time she has ever been to Trentham," an elated Mark Treweek said.

The Treweeks are best known as the owner-operators of Lyndhurst Farm in Cambridge, a property that specialises in preparing yearlings and two-year-olds for the sales.

Their farm sold 13 yearlings at last year's Karaka yearling sales for an aggregate of $1.4million and an average of $108,000. They will be offering a 13-strong draft during the Book 1 sale at Karaka this year, which begins this Sunday.

"We've sold some high priced yearlings over the years and raced a few good horses but this beats all of that," Mark Treweek added.

"To win the Wellington Cup on this track, where my father rode many winners over fences as a jockey and my brother Kim also had a lot of success and is now head of the track management here, is something else."

Neil Treweek, the father of Mark and Kim, won the 1975 Wellington Steeplechase on Even Terms while Kim was twice successful in the Wellington Hurdles as a jockey, aboard Gun For Fun in 1985 and Kerry Son in 1997.

Although last Saturday was the first time Shelley Treweek had stepped foot on the Trentham racecourse she does have a previous connection with the Wellington Cup.

Her grandfather trained Old Bill to win the iconic event in 1940 while she and Mark were the co-breeders of Zabeat, who won the race in 2005 for trainer Donna Logan.

Mark and Shelley Treweek have dabbled at training racehorses in the past and originally prepared Magic Chai, after they bought him as a youngster from an Australian sale.

"We bought him to sell back in New Zealand but that didn't work out so we decided to train him ourselves.

"He won a trial for us but then he didn't do much and so we decided to give him to Tony Pike to train about 18 months ago," Mark said.

Pike, regarded as one of the best conditioners of horses in the country, has certainly turned the Magic Albert five-year-old's form around. After winning two races in a row in March last year, over 2100m and 2200m, he has now added another three victories from his last four starts. The first of those was over 2100m at Te Rapa in November and the second over 2200m at Ellerslie last month. Now he has won at the ultimate staying test of 3200m.

The winning stake from last Saturday's Wellington Cup was $146,875 and took Magic Chai's earnings to $212,255.

Pike said he has always had a big opinion of the horse, saying his form has improved as he has got older and stronger.

"He is not the easiest horse to ride because he falls out of the gates and doesn't help himself there. But he's a genuine stayer with a nice action and there are plenty of nice staying races coming up for him."

Magic Chai is now likely to be aimed at the Group 1 $500,000 Auckland Cup (3200m) on March 10, with his odds on the fixed odds win market for that race now slashed from $51 to $10.

Magic Chai was ridden to victory last Saturday by rejuvenated Cambridge jockey Michael McNab, who improved two places from his third aboard Perfect Start in last year's Cup.

He also got one up on his father Chris, who was one of the best jockeys of his time and managed only a third placing in the Wellington Cup, aboard Caruba in 1978.

Chris McNab did win two Auckland Cups however, aboard Stylemaster in 1978 and Drum in 1981.

Coincidentally Drum, who was trained at Hastings by Don Sellwood, was owned by Wayne and Vicki Pike who are the parents of Tony Pike.

The Pikes owned the former Heretaunga Hotel in Hastings for a number of years and their son Tony is also Hastings-born.

Last Saturday's Wellington Cup was run at a dawdling pace in the early stages and Magic Chai was back in the rear division with a round to go.

However, once the pace increased going the back straight, McNab said he was confident his mount would be hard to beat.

"When they cranked it up I got a lovely drag into it," he said.

"He was travelling well near the turn and the more I asked of him the more I got. He was really strong at the line, it was a big buzz."

Sampson and Alinko Prince were fighting out the finish inside the last 50 metres but then Magic Chai descended on them and got up to win by a long neck.

Sampson finished second, to go with his third placing in the race two years ago, while Alinko Prince was a short neck back in third.

Te Rapa feature next for HB mare

Hastings-trained mare Savvy Dreams will now contest the Group 1 $400,000 Herbie Dyke Stakes at Te Rapa on February 10 following her game run for fourth in last Saturday's Thorndon Mile at Trentham.

The Savabeel mare was taking on some of the country's elite metric milers for the first time in the 1600m feature and did well to finish less than 4 lengths from the winner.

Trainers Guy Lowry and Grant Cullen thought the distance would be too short for Savvy Dreams and just wanted to see her finishing the race off strongly, which she did.

The mare got well back in the early running and only had a couple of horses behind her coming to the home turn.

Jockey Samantha Collett then angled her to the outside and she produced a sustained finishing burst to close on the placegetters late.

Collett was impressed with the performance and is keen to stick with her when she heads to the 2000m feature at Te Rapa.

"The plan was to settle her back from the draw and we got a bit of a check just before the home turn which didn't help. But once I got her out into the open she really finished the race off well and was doing her best work at the finish," Collett said.

"Get her up to 2000m and she'll win."

Savvy Dreams is one of two horses the Lowry/Cullen stable are looking to line up in the Herbie Dyke Stakes with impressive last start winner Wait A Sec also heading to the race.

Wait A Sec resumed from a spell with a gutsy win in the Group 3 Anniversary Handicap (1600m) at Trentham a fortnight ago and will have his next start in the Group 3 $80,000 Taranaki Cup (1800m) at New Plymouth on February 3 before backing up a week later in the Herbie Dyke.

Lizzie L'Amour, from the powerful Baker/Forsman stable, is currently the favourite for the Herbie Dyke on the fixed odds win market with Savvy Dreams at $10 and Wait A Sec at $12.

The weight-for-age Herbie Dyke Stakes has traditionally drawn a top field but the expected line up in this year's event is starting to fall away. Stolen Dance, who beat Savvy Dreams when winning last Saturday's Thorndon Mile, is confirmed in foal and has now been retired.

Savile Row, who raced erratically in the Thorndon before finishing fifth, is a doubtful starter along with the three-year-olds Age Of Fire and Embellish.

Age Of Fire injured

A fall back plan is in place for the Group One winner Age Of Fire following an injury.

"He got cast in his box and gave his tendon a whack," Te Akau principal David Ellis said.

"After four days at the vet clinic he's now 100 per cent so it's onwards and upwards with him, but whether we get to the New Zealand Derby we're not 100 per cent certain.

"We think if we can get him to the Avondale Guineas we can make the Derby, otherwise there's the Group 1 mile at Otaki (Haunui Farm WFA Classic), the Rosehill Guineas and then the ATC Derby."

The Stephen Autridge and Jamie Richards-trained Age Of Fire enhanced his future stallion value at his last appearance when the Fastnet Rock colt triumphed in the Group 1 Levin Classic (1600m), his third win from six appearances.

Future plans undecided

Trainer Roger James is pondering his next move with his highly-regarded filly Rondinella after she suffered a cardiac arrhythmia when tailing the field home in last Saturday's Group 3 Desert Gold Stakes (1600m) at Trentham.

"She did fibrillate and it hadn't converted back when she left the races, but she was vetted at six o'clock the next morning at Otaki and it was back to normal," the Cambridge trainer said.

"I'm not sure if she will run in the Sir Tristram next, we're working through that process."

Another Aussie raider

Michael Moroney and Pam Gerard are to add further Australian flavour to their Matamata stable.

Jake Bayliss is currently enjoying a successful riding stint with them and now another Victorian-based jockey in apprentice Jordan Grob, 22, is to join the operation.

He'll be here by the end of the month," Gerard said. "He can ride light (52kg) and he'll gain more confidence here. He's a good young rider."

A native Queenslander, Grob has been attached to the leading Caulfield stable of Mick Price and has ridden 44 winners, two of those at metropolitan level.