Hastings-born Robert Wellwood is living a dream as a successful racehorse trainer. Photo / Supplied
Hastings-born Robert Wellwood achieved a life-long dream at Ellerslie last Saturday when Concert Hall took out the Group 1 $200,000 Cambridge Stud Zabeel Classic.
The 26-year-old, in his third year of training in partnership with Roger James at Cambridge, was credited with his first victory at the elite level after several minor placings, , including a second with Concert Hall in the Captain Cook Stakes at Trentham on December 5.
The Savabeel 6-year-old came from a seemingly hopeless position when last on the home turn in last Saturday's 2000m feature, powering down the outside of the track to snatch a long-neck victory over Supera and In A Twinkling.
For Wellwood it was a dream come true and one that took a while to sink in.
"You put in a lot of hard yards with all the team behind Roger and me, so when you get a result like we did, it is pretty special," Wellwood said.
"We had had a frustrating day up until the Zabeel Classic, with wide draws putting paid to most of our chances even though the team went well.
"It was a case of close but no cigar until then, with Concert Hall being our last throw at the stumps and thankfully, it was a good one."
Robert Wellwood is a son of Anna & Gary Wellwood, who live in Havelock North. He attended Twyford Primary School and then Lindisfarne College before going on to Waikato University where he completed a Bachelor of Business Analysis, majoring in Finance.
He started riding horses when he was 4 and went on to be a successful equestrian competitor, first at pony club and then at Grand Prix level.
His interest in thoroughbreds was also sparked at an early age, watching races with his grandfather, and then later through the deeds of an equine superstar across the Tasman.
"As a kid I had huge aspirations of being a top jockey, but my dream was shattered pretty early on when I passed the six-foot mark as an early teen," he said.
"There wasn't much of a career path as a showjumper unless you are based in Europe and it was around then that I really fell in love with racing through watching Black Caviar in Australia.
"Watching her go unbeaten in 25 starts as an athlete that was so much superior to her opposition got me thinking about chasing my own Black Caviar.
"It's true what they say, in that once you have racing in your blood, it never goes away."
Wellwood started his racing journey working for the then Hawke's Bay-based Lime Country Thoroughbreds and also Windsor Park Stud at Cambridge. While studying at Waikato University he also rode trackwork for Cambridge trainer Tony Pike and did some work as a barrier attendant and as a bid spotter at auction time for New Zealand Bloodstock.
A chance meeting with Roger James at a Karaka sale soon had him on track to fulfilling a new ambition of becoming a fully-fledged trainer.
"I always knew I wanted to train and was lucky enough to strike up a conversation with Roger during a Ready To Run sale at Karaka," Wellwood recalled.
"One thing led to another and he developed a plan that, if everything went right, then it could end up in a partnership."
That was about four and a half years ago and Wellwood built himself up to be racing manager at James' Kingsclere Stables before they officially went into partnership at the beginning of the 2018-19 season.
Since then the pair have produced 70 winners together, 12 in black-type races and now a Group 1 success.
James, who has trained more than 1100 winners and nearly 30 Group 1 winners across Australasia, has been very supportive of Wellwood throughout their association and was full of praise for his young colleague after Concert Hall's Group 1 triumph.
"Robert deserves this as he has done the hard yards and I'm proud to have him on my shoulder," he said.
"It's a good partnership and he brings a lot of colour and flair to it.
"He is prepared to put in the hard work and is dedicated to the industry, so we need more like him."
Wellwood appreciates the skills he is learning from James as he looks forward to a bright future in racing.
"We work well together and who better to learn off than Roger," he said.
"He's been doing this for a lot of years and is so forthcoming with his knowledge. I'm just thankful and grateful to be taken into the role I have with someone like him.
"We have a small team and intend to keep it that way, so we're just going to keep building on that and I'm pretty excited about where it could all lead to."
Connors name back to the fore
Dannevirke's Neil Connors was back in the winning groove at Awapuni last Saturday when he produced Hartley to lead practically all the way in the day's feature race, the $32,500 Manawatū Standard Summer Cup.
Although it was 74-year-old's first success this season, Hartley is the only horse he is racing at the moment and the Azamour 6-year-old was having his fourth start for the season, following two fifths and a second.
Connors, a semi-retired dairy farmer, took out an owner-trainer's licence in the mid-1990s and has regularly had one or two horses in work ever since. He is one of only a few trainers who still work their horses on the Woodville track, once one of the biggest and most successful thoroughbred training centres in the country.
The modest and reserved Connors has been a quiet achiever, boasting an Auckland Cup success among his 57 wins from only 391 starters. Horses he has owned and trained have won in excess of $1.2million in stake money, although he is quick to point out that he has poured all that money back into the industry over the years.
Bodie stands out as the best horse Connors has had anything to do with, the son of Stark South recording seven wins, seven seconds and nine thirds from only 54 starts and topping $442,000 in stakes.
Connors bought Bodie for just $15,000 at a 2-year-old Ready To Run sale, using some of the money he received from the sale of a horse called Maguire, whom he had also purchased from an earlier sale.
Coincidentally, Maguire and Bodie won consecutive Auckland Cups in 2002 and 2002.
"I sold Maguire and he was owned by Eric Watson and trained by Ken Collins when he won the Auckland Cup in 2002 and then I won it the year after with Bodie," Connors recalled.
Bodie also recorded wins in the Group 3 Rotorua Cup (2300m) and Listed Trident Tavern Classic (2400m) at Ellerslie in 2002 and, the following year, he finished a close third in the Group 1 The Metropolitan (2400m) in Sydney, beaten a long neck and a neck. He ended his racing career in 2008 but not before he had three hurdle starts, recording a third over 2400 metres at Te Rapa and a fourth over 2500 metres at Hastings.
Other horses Connors and his wife, Erin, have enjoyed good success with include the top sprinter/miler Samurai, Oakley, Tyne Cot and Durham.
Samurai won eight races including the Group 3 Tauranga Stakes while Oakley brought up Connors' first training success when leading all the way in a 1200m maiden at Waverley in 1999 and went on to win another six races after that.
Tyne Cot won six races including the Listed Matamata Cup (1600m) while the latest stable star Hartley has now chalked up six wins and took his stake earnings to more than $135,000 with last Saturday's success.
Hartley, who has furnished into a big strong horse, was ridden to victory by apprentice jockey Ashvin Mudhoo whose 4kg allowance brought the weight the horse had to carry down to just 50kg.
Mudhoo jumped Hartley out well from an outside draw and then gradually moved him across the field to take a clear at the end of the first 200m.
The gelding kept up a strong gallop in front from then on and had enough in reserve to hold out the fast-finishing Guillada to score by a long neck.
Connors said this week Hartley would now return to Awapuni next Saturday for another $32,500 open sprint over 1400m at the Marton Jockey Club's meeting.
Penny Royal a Taupo specialist
Hastings-trained Penny Royal added to her outstanding record on the Taupo track with another decisive win there on Wednesday.
The 5-year-old mare came from last on the home turn in a six-horse field to take out a Rating 74 race over 1100m by 1-3/4 lengths.
It was the daughter of Per Incanto's fourth win and all of her victories have come on the Taupo track.
Penny Royal is officially trained by the training partnership of Guy Lowry and Grant Cullen but spends the majority of her time at Mary Darby's beach property in Pōrangahau.
The mare is a lot more settled in a small stabling environment and also thrives on being able to be worked on the beach.
Penny Royal hadn't raced since finishing 10th of 14 over 1600m on the third day of the Hawke's Bay spring carnival, on October 17, but had the benefit of a couple of recent jumpouts to help fit her for Wednesday's fresh-up run.
Jockey Shaun McKay was content to let the mare settle at the back of the field until the home turn, where he angled her into the clear and she powered home for a comfortable win.
Penny Royal is out of the Perfectly Royal mare Mint, who was also the winner of four races and filled a first four placing 14 times from 28 starts.
Feilding farming couple Neil and Yvonne Managh bred Penny Royal and they race her in partnership with their son, Andrew, and daughter, Geraldine.