A betting windfall from the 2004 Wellington Cup continues to reap dividends for Craig McNeill.
The former Feilding Jockey Club president is a part-owner of Fercertain, who led all the way to win the group three $80,000 Thompson Handicap (1600m) at Trentham on Saturday.
McNeill afterwards recalled the
story of how he became involved.
It started when a South Island part-owner of 2004 Wellington Cup winner Cluden Creek stayed with McNeill when the horse raced before the Wellington Cup.
He performed well on the occasion which prompted McNeill to back Cluden Creek, who at that stage was at odds of 35-1 on the fixed-odds market, for the Cup .
He would not reveal the amount other than to say it was sizeable and more than paid for a half-share in Fer-certain, who cost $38,000 as a yearling.
Fercertain is trained by Lisa Latta, and was ridden by her partner, Bruce Herd, who spotted McNeill making his Wellington Cup collect.
"Lisa and Bruce actually saw me collecting after the last race of the day," McNeill said. "Lisa said we had better get you a share in a horse."
McNeill, who is also an accountant for Latta and Herd, shares ownership of Fercertain with his wife, Marie, along with Ron Rosenburg and Graham Mander, of Wellington.
Fercertain, a $5.30 second favourite on Saturday, went several lengths clear during the running and never looked like being run down over the concluding stages to score by 1 3/4 lengths. Herd said he didn't look back as he concentrated at keeping his mount going at a good clip.
"I didn't know how far in front I was. He's a horse who likes to roll along - he's got good pace.
"He's always competitive at a (one minute) 35-36 seconds pace (over 1600m)," Herd said.
Latta was unsure of plans for the Centaine gelding. She had been considering the Awapuni Gold Cup (2000m) on March 29 but was now looking at the Easter Handicap (1600m) at Ellerslie on April 12.
- NZPA
