Horse racing is a breeding ground for wonderful stories and the Wanganui meeting on Tuesday yielded one of the best.
When Wanganui owner/trainer Kevin Rohloff saddled up the aptly-named Itsa True Story to win the Paul Belsham Rating 65 1200-metre event, it was his first win on his own account in 50 years. But even more fascinating is that his Handsome Ransom four-year-old was a $200 purchase at a dispersal sale in the River City last year.
When bidding started the "dog tucker man" was first to raise his hand with a $100 offer. Rohloff thought there was more of a future with the horse than the glue factory, so countered with a $200 bid and fortunately the hammer fell in his favour.
"Looking at the horse at the sales I could see he was better than just a dog tucker horse even though he was paper thin, so I put my hand up and ended up getting him for just $200," Rohloff said.
Rohloff has been around horses most of his life and as a youthful 13-year-old he was given a thoroughbred mare to train up for a crack at the now defunct Raetihi Cup run at a picnic meeting in Ruapehu. Now 63, Rohloff still has vivid memories of that day 50 years ago when Wonder Weave saluted the judge.
The former jockey had wanted to ride the mare himself in the Raetihi Cup but couldn't make the weight - he was too light.
"She had to carry nine-and-a-half stone. I was only a wee fella back then so strapped two huge bags of dirt to myself and staggered to the scales to find I was still two stone light, so I had to get another rider. But she won and that was the first winner I trained under my name," Rohloff said.
"A few years later I started with Mick Preston in Levin as an apprentice jockey and finished my time with the late Kevin Thomsen in Wanganui. Since then I've pre-trained horses, broken horses in and had a hand in winners in New Zealand and Australia, but all under other people's names, not mine. That includes with my twin brother Tony who still lives in Australia and my younger brother Warren."
On Tuesday, though, Rohloff was confident of a good run from Itsa True Story after a debut second at Trentham a few weeks earlier and a solid final gallop at the weekend.
"He was a real rogue when I first got him and everyone that knew the horse kept telling me he couldn't be ridden and would end up killing someone. I got help from the starting gate boys down in Foxton. The Rauhihi boys basically got him right for me. Back home Malcolm Wall and girls from Stephen Crutchley's stable - Heta Wiki and Crutchley's apprentice rider Mereana Hudson - helped with track gallops.
"Mereana had just returned to race riding after having a baby, so I was happy to put her on at Trentham and again at Wanganui and she rode him a treat."
Rohloff races the rising five-year-old with his wife Jill and both had grins from ear to ear after the win on Tuesday.
"What a buzz and what a ride from Mereana. She's a real talent and trainers need to see that and give her more rides. Kevin and I both have faith in the horse and we think there will be a few more stories to come yet," Jill Rohloff said.