Wairarapa represented at Royal Ascot

New Zealand racing history is about to be made at Royal Ascot in Britain and regardless of the result Wairarapa will have an historic connection to it.
Champion mare Seachange will be the first Kiwi galloper to line up at the world-famous venue, regarded as a second home to the royal family, and there right alongside the mare will be Jayne Ivil, a young woman with strong ties to both Carterton and South Wairarapa.
Jayne a former jockey is devoted to Seachange and has been her fulltime attendant on her racing forays to Dubai and now England.
Both Jayne and Seachange have been in the celebrity spotlight in England at Breakfast with the Stars and in front of a battery of cameras as they prepare for the prestigious Golden Jubilee Stakes to be run early Sunday morning (NZT).
Jayne, 24, is the granddaughter of the late Garth Ivil, a highly-successful trainer and Wairarapa publican and Lola Ivil (nee Parker), now living back in Carterton.
She is the daughter of Craig Ivil, who trains in Levin, and Lesley, and the niece of Greytown real estate saleswoman Jo Loe.
Mrs Loe said the family is hugely proud of their "gorgeous girl" and will be clustered around television sets to see if Seachange can do more than simply line up in the $974,000 sprint.
Seachange and Jayne are inseparable, with the track worker and equine caregiver already being likened to the legendary Tommy Woodcock who cared for the mighty Phar Lap.
Craig Ivil said Jayne had been very happy with the way Seachange has been working in preparation for the 1200m feature.
The mare had worked alongside National Colour, the South African galloper who finished sixth in the group 1 King's Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot on June 17.
"Jayne said she worked every bit as well as the other horse."
Jayne Ivil is two-thirds through a degree at Massey University but put it on hold to follow the family tradition of horse racing.
She signed up with northern trainer Frank Ritchie, of Bonecrusher fame, but was on loan to trainer Ralph Manning when she first became acquainted with Seachange.
Jayne rode nine winners before flagging away a career as a jockey, something she always said she would do if she couldn't make it to the very top.
A battle with weight also played a role in giving the game away.
She is a former Miss Horowhenua and on her return to New Zealand intends to complete her degree and work in the social welfare field.
Her grandfather Garth was once publican at the old Blairlogie pub that later burned down and was also Mine Host at the Foresters Arms in Greytown that later became The Green Man.
He had a formidable reputation as a trainer who rarely had a horse in his stable, firstly at Tauherenikau then at Awapuni and later at Levin, that he did not win with.
These included gallopers of the calibre of Honda and Bompa.