Ralph didn’t have bet on longshot
Te Awamutu trainer Stephen Ralph experienced the biggest day in his racing career on New Year’s Day after winning the Gr.1 Sistema Railway (1200m) with Santa Monica, but it was the wave of support he received after the race that meant more to the Waikato horseman.
‘‘For us, the reality is probably sinking in now,’’ Ralph said.
‘‘The amount of kudos that we have received from so many people has been amazing, my phone is running out of power. They just want to be part of that moment.’’
The day was made even better for Ralph when he picked up a training double after Marissa took out the next and last race, the Barfoot & Thompson 1600.
‘‘That was the cream on the cake (that second win),’’ he said. ‘‘We knew we had both horses ready to win. It is one of those days that you dream about and it was just our day.’’
Some of those followers literally bought into the win, taking the lucrative odds on offer for both stable runners, with Santa Monica paying $77 for the win, while Marissa paid $18.
‘‘There are a number of our stable followers who had taken multi bets on the two horses and they really had a good day,’’ Ralph said. ‘‘For instance, if you took a $10 multi on the two of them, it gave a return of $24,000.
‘‘A person just told me they picked up $56,000 on a multi bet and I know an Australian picked up $44,000 and there have been a few other very good multi bets.’’
Ralph said he unfortunately didn’t have the time to have a bet himself. ‘‘We missed out ourselves. Just how the day went, we didn’t get the opportunity to have a bet. But we are not big punters.’’
NZ Racing Desk