Part-owner Sarah Gregory-Hunt (left) and co-trainer Sue Thompson discuss the win by Rekohu Diva at Otaki last week with successful jockey Johnathan Parkes.
Hawke's Bay owned and trained horses have enjoyed another successful run with five winners and a Listed stakes placegetter in the space of two race days.
Hastings couple Mick and Sue Thompson chalked up their first winning double when Rekohu Diva and Le Cailloux were victorious at Otaki on Wednesday of last week.
At the same meeting Hawke's Bay-owned Myrtle resumed from a spell with a game win while two Hastings-trained horses, Satu Lagi and Glimpse, were successful at last Saturday's Hawke's Bay premier meeting.
The Hastings stable of Guy Lowry and Grant Cullen also picked up a second with Mohaka in the Listed $50,000 Warstep Stakes (2000m) at Riccarton last Saturday.
Mick and Sue Thompson definitely had a day to remember at Otaki on April 10. The couple took just the two horses to the meeting and won race four with Rekohu Diva and the final event with Le Cailloux. Both horses were overlooked by punters, with Rekohu Diva returning a win dividend of $12.30 while Le Cailloux was at odds of 40 to one.
It was a welcome change of fortune for the Thompson/Brown stable, being their first wins since the start of the season last August. The couple only have six horses in work but also have five unraced youngsters coming on.
They have recorded 26 wins since embarking in a training partnership in the 2009-10 season, with their best season being in 2014-15 when they produced six winners and picked up second placings with Designated Driver in both the Group 1 Telegraph Sprint (1200m) and Listed Levin Stakes (1200m) at Trentham.
"It hasn't been a good season so far but hopefully this is the start of better things," Sue Thompson said.
"Rekohu Diva had been knocking on the door with two fourths from her last three starts and Le Cailloux had the blinkers on for the first time and had been working the house down in trackwork with blinkers on."
Rekohu Diva began well in last week's 1200m event and jockey Johnathan Parkes quickly had her positioned up outside the leader. The mare looked to be travelling easily when she took a slender lead coming to the home turn and kept finding in the run to the line to win by three-quarters of a length from the fast finishing Booty Lara, with Enduring Love a further two lengths back in third.
Rekohu Diva was bred by Hawke's Bay's Sarah Gregory-Hunt, who races the mare in partnership with her mother Diana Clough. Both women were on course to help celebrate the win.
Le Cailloux now looks a bargain buy for her American-based owners Butch and Lu Thomas after her decisive 3-1/4 length win in a maiden 2200m event.
The Thomas's reside in California but also spend several months of the year in New Zealand. They bought Le Cailloux for $1000 off the thoroughbred auction site Gavelhouse and the mare's win last week followed a last start fifth over 2100m at Waipukurau.
Le Cailloux's win was mainly due to a rail hugging ride from experienced jockey Chris Johnson. The horse wanted to over-race in the early stages but Johnson was able to restrain him back to fourth last and bided his time.
As the field rolled away from the inside coming to the home turn Johnson was able to secure a perfect rails run to have Le Cailloux in a challenging position in a matter of strides and the horse maintained a strong run to the line.
Le Cailloux is by Cape Blanco out of the Zabeel mare Lithe, who was the winner of three races from 1400m to 2200m in Australia and was also placed at Randwick and Eagle Farm.
First winner for HB-based stallion
Little known Hawke's Bay-based thoroughbred stallion Playmaker was represented with his first winner when Rekohu Diva scored a three-quarter length victory over 1200m at Otaki last week.
Rekohu Diva is owned by her breeder Sarah Gregory-Hunt who races the five-year-old mare in partnership with her mother Diana Clough.
Gregory-Hunt stands Playmaker, a son of highly successful sire Pins, at her Rekohu Equestrian facility on the outskirts of Napier. The 12-year-old was unraced after being injured in a paddock accident and commenced stud duties in 2009.
He has covered a very limited number of mares and has only had two race starters to date, the other being Mystic Bay who has been unplaced in three starts.
"There hasn't been much interest in him but there are some other progeny by him coming along," Gregory-Hunt said.
"I have a three-year-old filly and a yearling gelding out of Rekohu Delight, who is a Colombia mare. And there are another couple of young horses owned locally by him."
Besides being a son of multiple Group 1 winning sire Pins, Playmaker also boasts good bloodlines on his maternal side. He is out of the O'Reilly mare My Irish Rose, who won two races and has also left the nine race winner Tristan's Choice.
Playmaker's second dam is Sounds Exciting, a daughter of Sound Reason who was a winner at 1200m and was a full-sister to the Auckland Cup winner Senator.
Playmaker, who stands at a fee of just $1500 plus GST, served only two mares last season and both are in foal.
Game fresh up win by Myrtle
Hawke's Bay-owned Myrtle brought up her third win from 13 starts when she got a nose decision over Lodi in a Rating 65 race over 1400m at Otaki last week.
The Keeper mare, prepared at Awapuni by David Goldsbury, was having her first start since finishing last of 12 runners over 1200m at Hastings in October last year but showed she was ready for a big fresh up performance by winning an open 1000m trial at Foxton at the end of last month.
Jockey Johnathan Parkes bounced Myrtle out quickly from the barrier to be vying for the lead at the end of the first 200m but then took a hold and settled the mare back fifth on the rails. He got her off the fence coming to the home turn and she dashed through a gap at the top of the home straight to hit the lead.
Race favourite Lodi went with Myrtle and the two horses had a head to head tussle over the final stages, with the latter just managing to get her nose in front on the line.
It was Myrtle's first win since she took out a Rating 65 race over 1400m at Woodville in May of last year while her debut win was recorded over 1200m at Awapuni in April 2017.
"She has had some niggling problems that have held her up," said Napier's Tony Aldridge, who bred and owns the mare in partnership with Hastings-based Gerard Moughan.
"She had bruised feet for sometime and then she struck herself when she raced on the last day of the Hawke's Bay spring carnival, which put her out for some time."
Aldridge and Moughan are members of a big syndicate that races Myrtle with Moughan's wife Vera and Aldridge's Wellington-based brother Pat also among the members. The others are Ken Lynch and Morrie Belle from Napier, Alan Hunt, Bevan Bramley and Alistair Poulgrain from Hastings, Terry Coffey and John and Stephen Dine from Taradale and Peter Wilkins from Havelock North.
Satu Lagi dominated rivals
It might have been only a Rating 72 race but Satu Lagi's victory over 1300m at Hastings last Saturday was undoubtedly one of the most impressive performances on the day.
The three-year-old Per Incanto gelding scored by 3-1/4 lengths and it could have been more had apprentice jockey Danielle Hirini really asked him to extend in the final stages. He sat outside the leader Barcelo until the home turn before cruising to the front and then showed a tremendous turn of foot to quickly race clear of the opposition.
That was Satu Lagi's third success and he has not finished further back than sixth in seven starts. He is owned by his trainer Patrick Campbell, who bred the horse out of the Danasinga mare La Singa.
Campbell said Satu Lagi will probably now be stepped up to 1400m at the Hawke's Bay meeting on April 27.
A glimpse of her true ability
Hastings-trained Glimpse returned to her best form with a gusty win in a Rating 65 race over 1600m at last Saturday's Hawke's Bay meeting.
The Rip Van Winkle mare, prepared by John Bary, won two races in the space of three starts last year but her form then dropped away. She was then given a spell and resumed with a sixth over 1400m at Woodville last month as a lead up to last Saturday.
In-form jockey Johnathan Parkes produced a perfect ride on Glimpse, settling the horse in second place behind stablemate The Cossack to the home turn before taking the lead.
Glimpse was headed soon after by Harbourside and looked likely to only finish second but Parkes managed to extract a bit more out of the mare and she fought back to put her nose in front right on the line.
Glimpse races in the colours of prominent Hunterville owner-breeder Christopher Grace and is out of the Kingdom Bay mare Taitanium, who was the winner of five faces and was stakes placed.
Owners & Breeders Function
The Hawke's Bay Racehorse Owners & Breeders Associations will stage their annual race day function at the Hastings racecourse on Saturday, April 27.
This will be the day of the Hawke's Bay Racing's feature race meeting and the function will be held in the Karamu/Estella Lounge, situated in the top floor of the Members Stand.
The room will be available from 11.30am and there will be a $10 surcharge for financial members and partners with a luncheon served at approximately 1pm. There will be a charge of $35/head for the meal for additional guests.