Majestic Man’s win in the Group One Trotters Mile at Menangle last night capped off a remarkable six race run for not only the horse, but for trainer Phil Williamson and his son Brad who drove in his Australian campaign.
“It was great for Brad. He’s put a fair bit into getting over there and looking after the horse. He’s done a great job. We didn’t want to go to all the hassle of going over there for no result. Fourth was his worst (placing) so the trip was a great success” said Phil Williamson.
In that time Majestic Man won three Group One races, won $152.750 in stakes and trotted a mile in 1-53.5. He’s now won eighteen of his fifty five starts and banked $559,162 for his owners the Griffins Syndicate.
Williamson says with Covid disrupting everything worldwide it was a major logistical nightmare to get both horse and driver across the Tasman.
“The horse’s flights were cancelled twice. Brad had flown over a couple of days before the third flight was due to leave. I thought if we didnt get the horse over there Brad would be stuck in Australia with a quarantine time that he can’t change. It was a wee bit stressful I will admit.”
The travel for Majestic Man wasn’t helped by blood tests having to be analysed in both New Zealand and Australia.
“Because of the high demand in Australia they ran out of test kits. It was tough on IRT (horse Transport Company). I’m so thankful to them for getting us there. Without them we wouldn’t have made it for all those early races. They had to get the horses that were more urgent across first.”
Williamson says once there it’s just been a matter of keeping the horse happy.
“He’s had a whole season of racing here so he was fit. Because he’s been racing nearly every week over there he hasn’t needed a whole lot of hard work. Brad’s been able to train him lightly and just work on keeping his health great.”
Of the six races Majestic Man in which Williamson raced, the most satisfying win was his first, the Dullard Trotters Cup.
“There was a fair bit of pressure on the horse to get there, Brad had to sacrifice a fair bit with his own stable put on hold so it was great to win this time honoured race and smash the Melton track record.”
The six race plan was; Group One TAB VL Dullard Trotters Cup (1st), What The Hill Great Southern Star Heat (2nd), Group One What The Hill Great Southern Star Final (3rd), Group One Alderbaran Park The Knight Pistol (4th), Group One TAB Australian Trotting Championship (1st) and Group One Aquagait Equine Centre Trotters Mile (1st).
It was trainer Phil Williamson’s ninth Group One win in Australia. Springbank Richard won the New South Wales Trotting Derby, One Over Kenny the Australasian Trotting Championship, Allegro Agitato the Grand Prix in 2005, Liberty Stride – Father Patrick @ Nevele R Stud Breeders Crown Series and Ultimate Stride won both the Volstead Redwood Classic and Alderbaran Park Breeders Crown.
Williamson has now won twenty Group One races on both sides of the Tasman with Allegro Agitato winning five of these.
While the Majestic Man returns to New Zealand on Tuesday Brad has to wait out his time in Australia to fit into his pre-booked quarantine in Auckland. He’s expected to be back in Oamaru on Tuesday 6th April.
“I think Brad is going to look after Anthony Butt,s team in Sydney for a while, while Ants goes back to Melbourne. After that he’s going to have a bit of a look round and go to one or two of the stables. Like New Zealand, Australia is full of good trotting people and they’re more than happy to say, hey come out and have a day with us.”
Williamson says Majestic Man has the all-round trotting game.
“He never breaks, he’s fast and he can stay. He’s been a very good horse from day dot. At his very first start at Forbury he went from last to first so he looked a wee bit special. He’s a bit of a pin up boy and at the peak of his powers at the moment. If he stays sound and healthy hopefully we’ll have another couple of seasons in him.”
Once safely back in New Zealand Williamson says Majestic Man will be prepared for the Anzac and Rowe Cups before being spelled.
“There’s nothing to stop us going back to Australia next year and have another crack at it.”
The result was a good one for the Griffins Syndicate who race Majestic Man.
During the years the syndicate has operated they’ve owned Majestic Man (18), Monty Python (14), Dark Horse (14), Sol Invictus (7) Sarah Palin (6), Rugged Cross (3), Lord Roydon (2), Bet Pray Love (2), Westerly Wind (2) Arc De Triomphe (1) Rugged Peak (1), Shutterup (1) and Mega Pixels (1).
The syndicate also has shares in the Seafield Trotting Syndicate and the Griffins Number Two Syndicate whose winners have been Father Christmas (17), Cuddly Jess (5) and Daiquiri (4) and hope they can continue their winning run at the Northern Southland Trotting Clubs meeting at Ascot Park on Saturday when Dark Horse lines up in the Great Southern Star. They’ve won the race twice with Monty Python in 2017 and Majestic Man in 2019.
If Dark Horse wins she will be the syndicate’s 100th winner.
by Bruce Stewart