Racing: Sphenophyta finds focus for big time

Lee Freedman summed it up best for Mark Goodwin.

Sphenophyta suffers from attention deficit disorder, the champion Victorian trainer told him.

"I have to agree. His concentration span was zip in those early days and it's still not great," Goodwin said.

If Freedman, who now prepares Sphenophyta, the $3.40 favourite for today's A$2.5 million ($2.8 million) Caulfield Cup, has had his problems with the 6-year-old's focus in the past two months, they pale into insignificance with those that Goodwin, his wife Jill and Waikato trainer Richard Otto had over the past six years.

It's not that Sphenophyta was a mean-spirited horse, it's just that he had a mind of his own, said Goodwin, a Levin civil engineering contractor.

That led to Goodwin's crowning him the Australasian champion for dumping riders.

One minute they are on, or almost on, and the next they are off. Or rather Sphenophyta is off.

"It's happened to me plenty of times too," Goodwin said.

"I've cantered him down the beach and just started to relax and then all of a sudden there's nothing under you but sand. He just takes off."

Slowly but steadily, the acceleration Sphenophyta showed in leaving jockeys flailing in his wake has been harnessed into a racehorse, culminating in a great year of 2006 for the Goodwins and Otto.

His rise through the ranks in the past 10 months is phenomenal - he was a maiden at the start of the year and won the group one Turnbull Stakes in Melbourne a fortnight ago, just his fifth win from 12 starts, taking his stake earnings to A$607,000.

Not bad for a horse whom Goodwin could not sell as a youngster.

He and Jill bred Sphenophyta from their mare Ballermoss.

"We bred him to sell him, but he was a lightly framed horse and buyers in New Zealand and Australia prefer stronger, heavier-boned types."

He was passed in at $12,000 at the National Yearling Sales at Karaka and the Goodwins took him home to break him in.

That proved challenging.

"He was really difficult horse because of that concentration span."

The Goodwins sent him to friend Otto for six months for an education, with another horse by the same sire, Groom Dancer. Otto took a half-share in them. The idea was to sell both of them.

At the end of the six-month stint with Otto, Goodwin watched the pair in a track gallop and couldn't believe what he saw.

"Sphenophyta did not concentrate. He would stop to look at a blade of grass and have a gawk around, but then would start up again and catch the other horse quite easily.

"He galloped like an idiot but had the ability to keep up even though he had no concentration."

The other horse, Two Dancers, was sold to Queensland and the Goodwins kept Sphenophyta.

"We could see we might have something, if we could channel it."

The pattern continued with the horse going back to Otto for his racing education and finally he had his first start at Otaki, north of Wellington, just before Christmas.

He finished second, which was a good effort considering he dumped jockey Sean Collins before the start.

While most owners can recite where their horse was at the 800m mark, Goodwin can regale friends with what happened with Sphenophyta before the start of each race.

There was the rodeo exhibition at Awapuni and then his first trip to Auckland.

"The huge crowds at Ellerslie really rocked his brain.

"He dropped the jockey two or three times in the parade ring and kicked the facade out of the viewing chamber on the way through the tunnel.

"The jockey got back on - and he duly won."

Despite his rebellions, Sphenophyta was showing great potential in his races.

Jockey Michael Coleman said the gelding never got out of second gear in winning a race at Tauranga and Otto and the Goodwins decided to take him to Queensland for the winter.

He won the Ipswich Cup and finished second in the Caloundra Cup after being ridden on the pace, with fellow New Zealander Empyreal sneaking up on his inside to win the Caloundra Cup.

"Richard done a great job teaching him to run and relax," Goodwin said of Otto.

The offers started to come in, but Goodwin and Otto were keen to keep their potential champion.

It wasn't until a big-money offer from clients of Lee Freedman was modified so that Otto and Goodwin could keep 20 per cent each that they finally acquiesced.

There are differing accounts of how much the deal was worth - Freedman has said it was a "ridiculous amount", but Goodwin says it is fair to say it values the horse over A$1 million.

It was a "big plus" that the horse was going to Freedman's stable, despite Otto's excellent job with him, Goodwin said.

"We both realised he had to be in Australia and at that stage Richard was not set up in Victoria."

Freedman is rated the best trainer in Australasia by Goodwin.

"He's a really good horseman, who understands the psyche of horses."

In Sphenophyta's case that's a relief.

"He would be the most challenging horse I have ever had anything to do with. He has taken the word patience to another dimension, but it's paying off now."

The Levin man loved the atmosphere at Flemington when he won the Turnbull and revelled in the performance of his horse.

"He came from New Zealand and stacked up against Australia's best. The way he did it, he showed ability, guts, stamina and speed.

"That's everything you want in a horse," Goodwin said.

He thinks the best of Sphenophyta is still a year away, but he'll be happy to take a Caulfield Cup win if it comes today.

But you can bet his fingers will be crossed when the horses walk into the birdcage before the start.

- NZPA