The night belonged to Chelsea Faithful at the Forbury Park meeting on Thursday, when the 18-year-old had her first official win as an owner, trainer and driver.
The Winton-based Faithful had her big moment with Understudy, who led over the last 1800 of 2200m and paid $104.80 to win and $18.50 for a place. He was the outsider in an 11-horse field.
“She (Chelsea) tried to sell Understudy as a hack six weeks ago," said her mother, Louise Cox, who was on hand for the win.
The five-year-old Live Or Die gelding had only managed a third in nine starts, since he was leased by Faithful and her grandparents Norm and Bev Cox four months ago. Understudy had been used more recently as a galloping pacemaker for another horse Faithful had in work, Tartan Trilogy, who was sidelined with a strained suspensory ligament.
Tartan Trilogy won a race for the Coxs at Gore in March last year when trained at Winton by Trevor Proctor. Faithful had done most of the work with Tartan Trilogy but she was not eligible for a licence until 18.
She also had a hand in training Tactical VC, a winner for Proctor.
Faithful was granted a junior drivers licence this season and she was having her 97th drive.
She works for Ryal Bush trainer Hamish Hunter, who won a race with Understudy at Winton in December, 2015 for breeder Graham Cooney.
Faithful is the daughter of Ray Faithful, who has won 122 races, including the 1999 New Zealand Standardbred Breeders’ Stakes with Tartan Lady, in 27 years as a trainer.
Dexter Dunn clocked 219 wins for the season at Forbury, after driving Some Legend and Lindali.
Some Legend was a runaway winner at her first start. The two-year-old filly is a half-sister by Somebeachsomewhere to Bit Of A Legend, a dual Breeders Crown winner and big winner since being sold to the United States. Some Legend was a $70,000 purchase by trainer Cran Dalgety at the Premier Yearling Sale in Christchurch when offered by Studholme Bloodstock. She is raced by Chrissie Dalgety, Daryl Brown, Ross Stanbury and Charlton Park Enterprises.
Murray Brown moved to 499 wins as a trainer and appropriately it was with Triple VC owned by Invercargill lawyer Cleland Murdoch.
Brown had his first win with Mike Adios, part-owned by Murdoch, at Invercargill in September, 1984.
“I have won a lot of races for Cleland,” said Brown. The winners include Highview Jude and Onedin Sapreme.
Highview Judge won nine. Onedin Sapreme won four before he was sold to Australia, where he won his first eight starts in 1993.
Murdoch races Triple VC with the Fanny Allen family trust. They bred Triple VC, a three-year-old by Washington VC – C J Galleon and thus a brother to James Galleon, who has won nine races in Western Australia.
Macador, a last start winner at Forbury Park for the Brown stable, has been bought by New South Wales trainer Kevin Pizutto.
Terry and Adrienne Taylor, of South Canterbury who raced the 2010 Easter Cup winner Sleepy Tripp, are the owner-breeders of She Aint No Angel, a three-year-old trotting filly, who led over the last 1600m. She Aint No Angel, who joined the Oamaru stable of Phil Williamson six months ago, was having her sixth start. She is by Love You and the first foal of the unraced Surfin Sunsation, by Sundon from Minuetto, a half-sister by Armbro Invasion to Allegro Agitato, who won a National Trot, NZ Trotting Championship, the Lyell Creek Stakes and good races at Cambridge when trained by Williamson a decade ago.
Tayler Strong