Well bred Delson surprisingly paid $8.00 when he won easily at Wyndham on Sunday.
Trained by Nathan Williamson he boasted a good workout and trial grounding and he certainly has pedigree on his side.
From a second row draw Williamson had little option but to settle Delson back on the inside. With 1600 metres to run he was able to move the gelding off the running line. At the 1000 metres he was still at least twelve lengths off the leader Star Dude but started to make up ground. In the home straight trotting out in the centre of the track Delson went to the lead with 200 metres to run, travelling so easy he had time to prick up his ears.
It was a performance that might remind us of the easy wins Dark Horse recorded when she was trotting through the grades.
“He wasn’t trotting real smoothly for the first lap of the race,” said Williamson. “Once I got him out and moving he was a lot better. He evened up and went nice.”
Prior to Sunday’s debut Delson had been to five workouts and a qualifying trial so he was well schooled for his debut.
“He’s been a work in progress. I’ve just been concentrating on his manners but he’s got a lot of ability.”
He was bred by and is owned by Ian Hunter who’s on the committee of the Wyndham Trotting Club. “We’re just going to take our time with him. It’ll be three or four weeks before he starts again. Nathan says he takes a bit of teaching but he’s got a motor. We’ll keep him to the big tracks for now,” he said.
Williamson was quick to confirm the horse’s potential.
“I’ve never really opened him up yet but he feels like a nice horse and he’s very willing.”
Delson is a full brother to Delestic and a half to Splash Cola. Both started their careers with Williamson, and Splash Cola is now trained at Woodend Beach by Regan Todd.
“She’s seems to be thriving up there. Her feet are good. She got gifted a fourth on Show Day (promoted). We were quite happy with that run,” said Hunter.
Delson is out of Delcola. Hunter bought Aran Del the dam of Delcola in foal to Chiola Cola in 2000.
“We got a bonus off her. The first five two and three year old winners by Chiola Cola got a bonus of five thousand dollars. There weren’t many two year old winners but we just squeezed in and got the three year old bonus.”
Delcola’s last three foals have been via embryo transplant.
“The last foal we bred was by Andover Hall which she carried herself. She had a big rupture and we weren’t too sure if we were going to get a foal or not. She foaled okay and we got a colt (Andy Hall). He’s a three year old and is in work now. He’d be sixteen plus hands and I doubt whether he will race as a three year old. Nathan likes him, he could be the best one.”
The other ET foals are by Pegasus Spur and Creatine.
“I’ve sent her back to Andover Hall. There’s a bit of a risk in that because they don’t like frozen semen when they’re doing embryo transplants.”
Hunter is also breeding from another branch of the family; Aron Del’s half-sister Delivion (Oblivion II) which was bought by Hunter in the early 1990s.
Her Son Of Afella foal Delamaid is still being bred from by Hunter with her best foal to date being Gotta Del – the winner of four races.
Bruce Stewart