Horses personalities

[karrotsishere]

Right last post of today,

Now @Mike dont think I haven't forgotten. Def own me a story here 😃 Hola - Haere mai over here. When you get a moment.

👉 Even if it is something - horse likes grass, horse eats grass, horse wants more grass.

Story time 😀

[Field Commander]

I thought it was great how Speeding Spur really stuck his neck out when urged on.

[karrotsishere]

Me too Speedy he was 1 of my favs too due to sticking the NECK out 😀

Welcome newbie Field Commander 👋

Righto logging off for nite for me. 

[karrotsishere]

Saw this on a stables Facebook page, about the Personality of a horse that won on Sunday at Cambridge. Thought it was worth a share for those like myself that enjoy the horse personality stories.

*There’s quite a tale behind how class clown Yogi, aka Del Shannon, found the winner’s circle at Cambridge on Sunday.

For a time it looked like Yogi’s playful antics would prevent Pete and Di McDermott and a group of their Cambridge friends from ever seeing him run on the racetrack.

You see, Yogi didn’t confine his daytime activities to his own paddock, regularly escaping by getting under hot wires. Once he even took on numerous gates and absconded with his paddock mate Tess on a joy ride to the next door neighbour’s property.

The McDermotts, who can monitor Yogi from their lounge window, delighted in his rare character, and dreamed of the day he’d show off his good genes on the track.

They bought him as a weanling from breeders Lyn Chilcott and Grant and Di Beckett, attracted by the fact he was by world champion stallion Muscle Hill out of Hot Chocolate Tart who won nine races for Nicky Chilcott.

But after taking in a whole bunch of friends, several of which had followed them down from Auckland when they set up home in Cambridge, the wheels fell off.

Yogi kept going lame for no apparent reason, then coming right, before going lame again.

“We didn’t know for ages what was wrong with him,” Chilcott said.

“Eventually we had scintigraphy done on him and discovered he’d fractured a shoulder.

“It was lucky he hadn’t done any more damage in all that time as he’s a really active horse.

“He was locked up in a box for a least four months then spent two more months in a tiny yard. We wanted to be extra careful because one wrong move and it could have turned into a catastrophic injury, he would have been toast.”

Yogi missed all his two-year-old season which, in hindsight, Chilcott says was a blessing in disguise.

“He was a December foal, so time was always going to be his friend, but he’s developed so much in the last year.”

Chilcott says while Yogi won at only his second start, he still has no real idea what he’s doing out there.

“Everything comes that easy to him so he doesn’t know how to race, he strolled up alongside them on Sunday and thought his job was done. He doesn’t know how to pin his ears back and race but he feels like he’s got more gears.”

Punters made Yogi favourite on Sunday after his unlucky debut run on the course 10 days earlier when, despite having to manouevre round early breakers, being checked before the home turn and badly held up in the run home, he still ran a close fourth.

“That effort was so professional and even on Sunday he was push button, when I had to take hold of him he came back to me straight away and I could have dropped the reins in the dust sheet.”

Sadly, the McDermotts and all bar one of their partners, track support staffer Nes Turan, couldn’t be there to see Yogi’s maiden triumph, Noel and Jan Burnside, Rex and Jan Hooton, Christine and Graeme Gillanders, Roger Carroll, Cliff Thomas, Judy Bowen, Steve and Karen Hollander, Kelvin and Cherry Neville, Jo Turan and breeders Lyn Chilcott and Grant and Di Beckett looking forward to the dropping of Covid restrictions.

The ease of Yogi’s win on Sunday confirmed Chilcott’s pre-race tip that he was White Star’s four star bet of the day and a good horse to follow, with plenty more wins in store.

And, don’t worry, when Yogi has a freshener at Chilcott’s spelling block now he goes into a paddock with solid fences all round so he can’t repeat his Houdini act.*

[karrotsishere]

The making of a Cup winner - how Copy That nearly sent Ray around the bend

If you knew what trainer Ray Green went through turning Copy That into a racehorse, you’d understand why all hell broke loose at Lincoln Farms when he ran away with Tuesday’s IRT New Zealand Trotting Cup.

First there were the screams as the entire stable staff cheered him home, then the champagne flowed as freely as Green’s emotions.

But it wasn’t until well into the night, long after the TV cameras had gone, that the ‘remember when’ stories started about Copy That’s remarkable transformation.

“I hated him at times in those early days,” Green said. “He was so frustrating I could have cut his head off.”

It didn’t matter whether it was before or after running in his early workouts, Copy That proved a “challenge.”

If he wasn’t escaping his bridle and running off down the farm, sparking a chase by all and sundry, he’d be walking round his box, scraping against the wall, attempting to rip off some new piece of head gear Green was trying.

And out on the track “he’d jump out of his gear for no apparent reason” at exactly the same spot on the track each time.

Green got an early hint of what was to come the day his wife Debbie bought the American Ideal colt for $7000 at a Karaka weanling sale.

“We went back to his box after the bidding and found he’d been barricaded in. If you opened the door six inches he’d try to get out. That’s probably why we got him so cheaply.

“And when he got back to Lincoln Farms he jumped a couple of gates.”

The fun and games went on for months.

“But he always had sharp speed, a glimpse of brilliance, so we put up with him. You knew it was there, you just had to wait for it.”

Green modestly declares he did nothing special - “He would have excelled in any stable eventually,” he said.

“It was just immaturity. He’s actually a very smart horse. He still does that trick getting out of his bridle. If you leave him, he’ll be gone in a heartbeat.

“There’s nothing sinister or nasty about it. He doesn’t go far, he probably wants to go and say hello to someone, he’s a very social sort.”

Copy That might have tested everyone but Green says he was never a nasty colt who needed gelding.

“He screams and shrieks before a race, and puffs himself up, but at home he’s like an old boot, and you wouldn’t know he’s a colt. I can lead other horses off him.

“We’ve had some challenges with him for sure but the raw ability was always there. It was just a matter of harnessing it.

“That’s the beautiful thing about this game. You never know what’s around the corner and what you’ve got on your hands.”

Green is hoping Copy That’s big win helps inspire the youngsters who work for Lincoln Farms to pursue buying young horses themselves.

“You don’t have to pay a lot of money for them. We’ve proved that with Hard Copy (a $4000 weanling who went on to win $1.27 million) and Copy That.

“Rather than buying old horses, who are like second hand cars, they should be going to the sales and buying weanlings or yearlings. I think they’re starting to see that.”

Green says he can’t understand why such a fuss has been made of winning the cup at his age.

‘I’m 76 going on 45. There’s no substitute for experience but I don’t need accolades at my age.

“I picked up a bit of money today (the trainer’s cut was $33,000) but that’s an after thought. I just wish it had come 40 years ago when I needed it.

“Forty years ago I was driving in races in England. I was a good driver, one of the top ones, and would go to the races, drive six or eight horses, get some money and go to the pub and have a good time.”

Green was surprised at how emotional he got when being interviewed by Trackside after the cup.

“I was quite moved by the whole thing and, yes, I lost the plot a bit and had a good cry.

“Not many people get a cup runner let alone win one. I’ve got over 100 text messages I haven’t been able to answer yet and as many calls and missed calls.

“The horse has been a big part of our lives and it was a huge relief for me. I’d been talking him up, all gung ho about his chances, and you don’t like to end up with egg on your face.

“The win vindicated my faith in the horse and the preparation he had for the race. All the old traditionalists have been brought to heel.”

https://www.lincolnfarms.co.nz/stories/the-making-of-a-cup-winner-how-copy-that-nearly-sent-ray-around-the-bend/