Training racehorses keeps veteran Levin horseman Allen Baker young

Veteran Levin horse trainer Allen Baker and trackwork rider Megan Davies at the Levin Equine Training Facility yesterday morning.

Allen Baker reckons he’s getting too old for golf and white-baiting, but there’s one pastime that’s keeping him young - training racehorses.

The veteran Levin horseman has always combined his business interests in hotels and motels over the years with a horse or two since first taking out a trainer’s licence in 1968.

He had never trained horses fulltime, always as a sideline. Despite winding down some of those business interests recently, the racing side of things is looking up. He currently has a team of six horses in work each morning at Levin Equine Training Facility.

“All me golfing mates are gone. What else am I supposed to do,” he said.

Baker lines up Bodacious Kate in the $65,000 Phils Electrical and Gipsy Caravans Levin Ryder Stakes at Ōtaki tomorrow, a $6000 purchase at the New Zealand Bloodstock Yearling Sales at Karaka last year.

He had circled the Derryn filly in the sales catalogue and went out the back to inspect her before she entered the ring. He liked what he saw so much he followed her into the arena and entered a bid, which turned out to be the winning one.

Allen Baker purchased Bodacious Kate for $6000 as a yearling at the National Yearling Sales at Karaka.

“I knew that Roger James had paid decent money the year before for the half-sister. She’s from a five-times winning Pins mare, so I thought she might be able to run a bit early,” he said.

“She’s been a hard filly to handle. She’s not my blacksmith’s favourite horse. But she’s coming right,” he said.

Baker said his filly deserved a chance at a race like the $65,000 Phil’s Electrical and Gipsy Caravans Levin Ryder Stakes on the back of her last start second to handy horse Naval Anthem at Whanganui in June.

Naval Anthem had gone on to win his next start at Tauranga, last weekend.

“She’s been working all right and won’t disgrace herself,” he said.

New Zealand's oldest jockey Trevor Bau, 59, will ride Bodacious Kate.

Levin jockey Trevor Bau, who at 59 years old is the oldest rider in New Zealand at present, retains the mount on Bodacious Kate in the Phil’s Electrical and Gipsy Caravans Levin Ryder Stakes.

- Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ on Air.