Racing: Stormont makes his mark on Shez Bella’s rising fortunes

Harness race horse Shez Bella in action. Photo / Trish Dunell

James Stormont’s name may not officially be alongside Shez Bella if she wins at Alexandra Park tonight, but his fingerprints will be all over it.

The talented trotting mare contests one of the four $25,000 Winter Rewards Finals at Alexandra Park, the boosted stakes races being of the key reasons the Auckland track has larger fields than usual.

That, coupled with five Winter Rewards races at Addington, should provide the code with a good turnover boost as harness racing puts all its eggs in the Friday night basket, albeit they are slightly unlucky tonight’s two meetings clash with a Warriors home game, which will distract a few eyeballs.

Shez Bella looks one of the better bets at Alexandra Park after she stormed home for third in a similar race last start, with Zachary Butcher returning to drive the mare for trainer Graeme Rogerson.

But while Stormont will be watching from the driver’s room, he is very much the main man behind Shez Bella and Rogerson’s harness team these days.

Stormont has taken the role of training Rogerson’s harness team after former partner Dylan Ferguson left the business to go out on his own.

The winner of 1290 races in the sulky, including a 107-win driving season way back in 1990, Stormont tried his luck in the south for much of the last year before moving back to his native North Island.

“It is a good job and Graeme has anywhere between 15 and 25 harness horses in work,” explains Stormont.

“He has some nice going horses like Shez Bella, Seaclusion [also racing tonight] and Wicked Wanda, while he has some beautifully-bred young trotting stock.”

Stormont is happy to hand the reins to Butcher tonight as he won on Shez Bella two starts ago and he thinks she is well-placed off the 20m tonight as the handicap is somewhat negated by the smallish field.

At her best, Shez Bella is a pretty good mare who will edge her way toward open class, so she looks the one to beat.

Stormont will pilot Seaclusion himself in Race Six and she has been brave all campaign and finds herself in the right race with a handy draw.

“She has been racing really well and finding the line well. There are a couple inside her with gate speed but I think she will go close.”

While both Alexandra Park and Addington will provide excellent betting races tonight, the highlight of the harness racing weekend comes in Brisbane tomorrow night, when champion pacer Leap To Fame will start red hot in the Group 1 Blacks A Fake at Albion Park.

There is no doubt he is the best pacer in Australasia and his connections are keen to bring him to the $1 million New Zealand Cup at Addington in November.

There is a lot of water to go under the bridge before that becomes a reality but his possible appearance at Addington would be a huge win for the carnival and his shadow hangs heavy over the market for the great race, because if he does come, it is hard to make a case to bet against him.

Whether he makes the trip may eventually come down to the ease of getting him from his native Queensland to Christchurch and then back to Sydney for the Inter Dominions a few weeks later.

But he will also need to keep winning, which he should do tomorrow night, even though he is not perfectly suited by drawing barrier one, meaning trainer-driver Grant Dixon will need to be aggressive early to stay in clear air as he looks certain to be crossed at the start.

If, as looks likely, he can stay in front of those horses punching through from the second line, he should be guaranteed the lead by his inferior rivals on the front line and if he rolls to the lead, he should avenge his defeat in this race last year by subsequent New Zealand Cup winner Swayzee.

Michael Guerin wrote his first nationally published racing articles while still in school and started writing about horse racing and the gambling industry for the Herald as a 20-year-old in 1990. He became the Herald’s Racing Editor in 1995 and covers the world’s biggest horse racing carnivals.