All Stars have dominated quite a few major races at Addington in the results column but few can match its reign of terror (for the opposition) in the Welcome Stakes in which it holds a strong hand on Friday. The stable has won the Group 2 race in eight of the last 10 years!
In the last four of them it has also added two trifectas, a first 4 and a quinella and the domination looks set to continue in 2018.
Mark and Natalie have targeted the race with their youngsters though quite a few of the stable's best known horses have missed it for various reasons. The best known of recent winners is WAIKIKI BEACH who headed the first 4 of 2015, Motu Premier, Chase the Dream and MacKenzie-now a major winner in the US and a half-sister to Vincent.
Neil Pilcher has one unusual record in the race. He was won it as an owner (four times) more often than Mark has won as a driver in the last decade. Mark has driven only three of the last eight winners though he has six winners in all.
One of his most memorable was way back in 1989 when MARK HANOVER won. Generally regarded as the horse who took Mark into the big time as a driver, Mark Hanover's win was one of his first big wins at Addington, a few months after Tax Credit had caused a huge upset in the NZ Free for All.
Upsets are not unknown in the Welcome either. Most notable was ZACHARIA raced by Neil and Trevor Casey ( co-owner with Neil of Waikiki Beach) who won at 25/1 in 2013 driven by Blair Orange. Isaiah was the stable elect and Regulus and Tiger Tara the favourites but Zacharia-who is still racing successfully in Perth-came with the last run and downed the stars.
HIGHVIEW TOMMY, ALTA ORLANDO and KOTARE MACH have been the other winners in the last decade while earlier winners for Mark were ADVANCE ATTACK, LIGHT AND SOUND and the first BOGAN FELLA in 1996
Courtesy of All Stars Racing stables
http://www.allstarsracingstables.com/