More the merrier for thrill-seekers

Pinzaara, ridden by jockey Sam Spratt, enters the winners circle after clinching victory at Ellerslie with Auckland Racing Club Winners Circle Syndicate No1 watching them. Photo / Richard Robinson

Syndicate rides its luck to bask in well-deserved Cup Day glory.

There's a touch of Rod Stewart about the blue-suited, spiky-haired Brent Cooper as he skips along the Ellerslie Racecourse grandstand, fist pumping wildly in celebration.

Pinzaara, a 5-year-old mare has just crossed the line to win the Lindauer 1200 by a neck. Cooper is ecstatic. Not just for himself, but for the 90 members of Auckland Racing Club Winners Circle Syndicate No 1 that he manages.

The horse has just won $18,000 for the syndicate's coffers. Coming on Cup Day at Ellerslie, it's one of their biggest wins.

"When she flattens those ears you know she's in for the fight," a giddy syndicate member gushes. "She had them flattened today, by golly she did."

Auckland Cup Week continued yesterday with Auckland Cup Day as hundreds of Aucklanders took a half-day off work to watch the race.

The group one $500,000 cup is a gruelling handicap race for any age horse, run over 3200m and dating back to its first running in 1874.

The cup itself is a Victorian trophy that Queen Victoria commissioned her Crown Jeweller to make in 1889.

Other feature races included the group three $70,000 McKee Family Sunline Vase and the group three $70,000 Westbury Classic.

Pinzaara is trained by Ardmore-based Stephen McKee, the son of Trevor McKee, who trained Sunline, the greatest mare New Zealand has seen, according to people who know these things. At rest in a plot behind the grandstand and with the race mentioned above named after her, Sunline's legacy remains strong around here almost five years after her death. A mind-boggling 32 wins from 48 starts and more than $11.7 million in prize money tends to etch itself fairly strongly in the memory.

Leaning on a rail in the corporate area, Trevor McKee watched approvingly as Pinzaara came in. He's got a good runner in the race that carries his name, and is hopeful it will round out a good day for the family.

Meanwhile, Cooper and a good portion of the syndicate members are crammed into the winners circle, a small bar area near the birdcage where, as the name would suggest, the connections of race winners gather to celebrate.

For $75 a month the syndicate owners have got their money's worth today.

"In terms of excitement, a win on Cup day would rank up there," said Cooper, a board member of the Auckland Racing Club who has owned horses for 25 years.

The victory was Pinzaara's fourth in 30 starts in modest money races, so she isn't about to match Sunline's winnings any time soon - not that the syndicate members gave a hoot.

"They're not in it for the money," Cooper said.

"They're in it for the thrill. They got the total ownership experience - they are in the winners circle on Auckland Cup Day. I'd say most of these people couldn't afford that otherwise. It's just a dream come true for them."