Yesterday’s win by the son of Super Easy was one of my biggest thrills in racing. As many readers will know, when you are convinced that you’ve got a really good horse the anxiety levels go through the roof. You worry about his inexperience, his ability to handle the Ellerslie noise and the sheer bad luck that can defeat any animal. You think about his previous start when he bumped the smart Spring Bouquet just short of the line and got himself relegated. Would he find another way to lose a race he really should win?
Thank goodness all went well. After being tightened for room at the 1200 and losing his position, he was steadied by Cameron Lammas and encouraged to relax and keep rolling along. In the straight he had to move sideways to take advantage of a gap – and looked more than a little awkward in doing so – but when through the gap off he went to the winning post in the style of a horse who is clearly looking for more ground.
Chris Gibbs, Michelle Bradley and their staff have done an outstanding job educating Ed. In his early days he showed a marked preference for doing things his way and he’s still very much a work in progress. However, their patience and persistence has paid off and I’m sure all my fellow owners are equally grateful.
Super Gee’s win was Cloughmore’s eighth success from just twenty starters over the last eighteen days. Also noteworthy was All In Mana’s explosive victory at Awapuni. The son of Rip Van Winkle and All In Black showed too much class for his R65 rivals and appears to have a bright future. Our homebred Riviera Rock also showed improvement with a four-length win over 2000 at Gore. Trained by Graham and Michael Eade, he cruised away from his opponents over the concluding stages and gave the impression that going over more ground was not going to concern him.
Best wishes to all readers for a happy and successful New Year
