Peter McDonald all in to win

Stratford breeder and owner Peter McDonald is on the verge of something special.

He moved within a breath of a memorable century after All In Luck's recent victory at Hawera made it 99 wins for horses carrying the 'All In' name that he has owned or enjoyed a breeding association with.

"I hope I don't get 100 and then go out!" Peter says. "It all started when my wife Min and I were given a mare about 35 years ago called Bonnie's Delight and my father Tom had an owner-trainer licence and so when the ones we bred were ready to race they went to him."

The family's subsequent star was the top-class All In Fun, an outstanding weight-for-age and handicap performer through the 1990s. He won 17 races, including the Auckland Classic and the Waikato International Stakes at Group One level. He was also placed at the elite level in Australia in the Caulfield Stakes and The BMW and at home in the Auckland, Avondale, Wellington Cups, Japan Classic and the Kelt Capital Stakes.

"The hardest luck story was when we sent him over with John Wheeler's team for the Melbourne Cup and found he wasn't quite qualified," Peter says.

"We put him in the Caulfield Stakes and he got 59kg. John got Shane Scriven, a heavyweight jockey, to ride him and they were just beaten by Danewin after getting out late. He rode him in the Melbourne Cup and got down to 55.5kg - he was like a walking zombie.

"The plan was to get some cover and he was in front 1000 out and still ran eighth behind Doriemus."

All In Brawl, All In Black, All In Glory, All In Grey, All In Love, All In Tempo and All In Time have been others to add to the McDonald tally over the years and he continues to breed from the family. "They got the All In name after my sister came back from Ireland years ago and had seen a good equestrian horse there called All In Silver," he said.

"It's been a hobby for us and we've given a few horses away, but we've never sold one."