Memphis Tennessee showed today at Ascot Park that he’s likely to be a force in the province's major three year old races later in the season.
He showed a lot of tenacity in holding out a spirited Mighty Flying Art in the Rogerson’s Footwear Nuggets Final at the Invercargill HRC club meeting.
The Bettor’s Delight gelding is owned by Southland couple Robert and Sharon Symon and is trained at Leeston by Terry and Glenys Chmiel.
“He was owned by Wayne Higgs and trained by Mark Jones. He was actually sold but when the guy found out he wasn’t nominated for the Breeders Crown he wasn’t interested and that’s when we came on the scene. Terry trialed the horse and liked him and we purchased him as a two year old,” said Symon who gets a lot of satisfaction from racing his horses in his home province.
Some thought was given to starting Memphis Tennessee in The Harness Jewels at the end of his two year old season but time was always going to be the gelding’s best friend, and he was turned out for a good spell.
“He was close to getting into the Jewels but we decided being a small horse, he just needed time to bulk up which he had to do.”
The two major Southland targets this season are the $20,000 Super Nugget and the $50,000 Alabar Southern Supremacy Stakes in April.
“You probably won’t see him down here till later in the season I don’t think.”
Being the highest rated horse in today’s Nuggets Memphis Tennessee drew the outside of the front row.
“Even though we got a bad draw Terry wasn’t too concerned.”
The winning margin was a neck from the very promising Mighty Flying Art.
Memphis Tennessee is a full brother to Delightful Memphis, the winner of seven races.
The Symons trying to get their photo taken with their horse – Photo Bruce Stewart
Symon has been a very good investor in harness racing in the last twenty five years. The first horse he owned was the Son Of Afella gelding Sonny Brown which won nine races and was trained by his late father Russell.
“I’ve never been a breeder but I am this year. My good horse Nek Time has had a positive to Bettor’s Delight. With the breeding side too much can go wrong in my opinion and it’s painfully slow. I’d sooner pay a bit extra and have them running along.”
The Symons have been in the transport industry for 30 years and Symon’s Transport is now owned by Russell and Sharon’s son, making it a third generation business.
The Symons now farm deer on 200 acres at Waianawa.
For them the last year has been a bit of a roller-coaster having recently lost the services of Franco Tai which they'd sent to Australia for Amanda Turnbull to train.
“He was only there for two weeks, fell over and broke his pelvis and had to be put down. He was always my favourite and it was this time last year we were at Kaikoura winning the four year old race. So to be fair that was really upsetting.”
Fortunately racing has it's highs as well as lows.
Memphis Tennessee and Terry Chmiel beating Mighty Flying Art and Brent Barclay.
Other winners on the day included Better Galleon for Balfour trainer Robert Wilson, Pickett's Ridge for John Ryan, and Vin Scully for trainer Hamish Hunter.
Bruce Stewart