Riverton fisherman Neville Cleaver can't get enough of the progeny of top harness racing sire Sundon despite the stallion not being around anymore.
Sundon was put down in April 2015 but still has stored semen available, and Cleaver says the champion stallion just seems to nick with the family he's breeding from.
Cleaver's association with his latest winner, Sundons Wish (Sundon – Yule Ana) began when he was jogging a few horses on the north beach at Riverton over a decade ago.
"I was working horses along the Riverton beach with Bert Wohlers and Alex Jenkins and at the time they had Sun Watch. Murray Darnill (who owned Sun Watch) was there as well and he decided that he would sell the mare (Little Miss Watch dam of Sun Watch). He put her in a mixed aged sale in Christchurch but she didn't sell so I approached him and he sold her to me. She was in foal when I bought her to Continentalman and we sold the filly (Miss Continental) for $10,000 to Adrian Wohlers and Kevin Strong. I then used the money to breed a Sundon out of her which was Sunrise Delight. One thing led to another and I got the Armbro Invasion mare (Yule Ana) which was one of Little Miss Watch's daughters off Murray," said Cleaver.
Sundons Wish was Yule Ana's second foal. Her first Yelande won one race for Alister Kyle and was sold to the Butterworth Racing Syndicate. She won a further two races for Tony Herlihy before heading to Australia where she won another two races.
Since leaving Sundons Wish, Cleaver has lent Yule Ana to Pauline Pattullo but she hasn't had too much luck in breeding from the Armbro Invasion mare.
"One was born with a bent leg and the other had it's face ripped off. She's just foaled to Pegasus Spur and I've just served her with Sundon."
Sundons Wish was until recently trained by Ian Jamieson who qualified the horse as a four year old in November 2015, but he has recently joined Nathan Williamson's barn.
Trainer driver Nathan Williamson and Neville Cleaver – Photo Bruce Stewart.
"Ian's done a really good job. The horse's manners are impeccable but he was just having trouble rounding the horse off so he suggested that I get someone else to train him. Nathan's changed a few thing around with shoeing and diet and given him different work. He's just grown another leg. He hasn't had half hopples on but Nathan thought he wasn't using the muscles he should have been so he's put them on to make him use those muscles. He's ready to take them off but today he didn't want to change anything around."
In yesterdays race Sundons Wish trotted soundly the whole way while some of his rivals made mistakes and Cleaver is hopeful that he can develop into a good mid-grade trotter in the province.
"He's got a lot of speed. He can run a quarter in 27. I would say he'd advance a few more classes yet."
And as for the colours Williamson wears when driving horses owned by Cleaver?
"I got them off Paul Hillis about ten years ago. They're the Bonecrusher colours."
Little Miss Watch which was bred by Clarrie Woodward started her racing career off with Shane Mathieson winning once. She was then bought by the Tick Tock Syndicate and send to Graham Bond before Dick Prendergast trained her to win at Forbury Park. She ended her racing career winning once for Ray Jenkins.
As a broodmare she has left a stack of winners including Musgrove (16) Hardwick (22), Aleana (6), Carnley (3) and Sunrise Delight (3).
Murray Darnill is still breeding from Aleana and has a yearling filly by Pegasus Spur out of the mare while Cleaver has a two year old filly out of Sunrise Delight and a colt by Love You stallion Quatre Juillet (one of nine foals born in this country by that stallion).
Later in the programme yesterday Grace O'Malley capped off her solid trotting formline with a well deserved win in the Grinaldi Lodge/Gordon Sutherland Memorial Trot.
Grace O'Malley winning at Ascot Park photo Bruce Stewart
Driver Peter Hunter took the eight year old Sundon mare straight to the lead and held on easily to beat Moa Bones who ran home well after an early break.
Bred by the late Bill Keast, Grace O'Malley is trained by Curly Thomas at Ascot Park. It was the mare's first win since April last year. Three of her four career wins have been at Ascot Park.
Bruce Stewart
Southland Harness Racing