Hawtin adds new base
Brendon Hawtin has confirmed he will be keeping his Te Awamutu stable open following his shift to Cambridge.
He said his father Keith will oversee the pre-training side of the operation there while he focuses on the new yard he will shortly take over from the Melbournebound pair of Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young.
‘‘Some might say I should be doing the pre-training and the old man the training!’’ Hawtin said.
‘‘Seriously, there’s no reason why it shouldn’t work well and we’re confident it will.
‘‘I’ve picked up quite a few horses from Trent and Natalie and the majority of them are earmarked to go to Melbourne, but they will be given their early education and trials here.
‘‘I’ve got 20 boxes at Cambridge and with the overflow, it made sense to keep Te Awamutu.’’
Among the permanent residents is the former Busuttin and Young-trained multiple winner Animator.
‘‘He’ll trial at Te Teko next week,’’ Hawtin said.
‘‘He’s got a few tricks, but stacks of ability and if we can get him right he can go through to open class.’’
Hawtin will make the move to Cambridge in a week’s time – ‘‘I’ll have horses working at Cambridge on August 4,’’ he said.
In the meantime, Hawtin is hoping for success at his last home meeting at Te Awamutu on Wednesday, with last-start winner Shebang in the Tony Fabish Panelbeater 1150 and The Secret’s Out in the Quinlan Electrical 1580.
‘‘Shebang’s just as well now as she was when she won at Avondale,’’ Hawtin said.
‘‘She always goes well here and I just hope it’s not too heavy for her, but she is in good form and she’s well-seasoned.’’
The Secret’s Out will drop back in distance after failing to cope with 2100 metres at her last two starts.
‘‘She’s freshened and back to the mile, I think she can run one heck of a race,’’ Hawtin said.