Trainer’s faith pays dividends
Levin-based mare Hinepara races to victory in Avondale Cup
Alittle mare with a big heart gave her Levin trainer the biggest win of his career to date in winning the $120,000 Wallen Concreting Avondale Cup (2400m) at Ellerslie last weekend.
Josh Shaw was in just his fifth season as a trainer and the Group 2 win was reward for the patience and faith he had shown since Hinepara arrived at his stable four years ago.
It was a popular victory, too, as his cellphone wouldn’t stop blinging from well-wishers, well into the night.
The 37-year-old horseman had worn many hats since joining the industry as a youngster including stints working for other trainers, working on studfarms, on the starting gates on raceday, and had always worked breaking in horses for other trainers.
Somewhere in between he managed to play both senior rugby and cricket as a loose forward for the Athletic club in Levin and a middle order batsman and medium pace bowler for Weraroa, although in recent times training racehorses had taken precedence.
Shaw cut his teeth working for veteran trainer Jack Scott at O¯ hau, and also Grant Searle in Levin, before taking a job with Cambridge trainer Chris Wood.
Working with Wood and being close to top trainers and horses based at Cambridge was a huge eye-opener and settled his resolve to pursue a dream.
“It was a good grounding, those years working at Cambridge on the ground and on the gates . . . good horses and good trainers,” Shaw said.
An opportunity came to return home and join up with established trainer Paul Shailer in Levin, eventually taking the reins of the stables nearby the Mako Mako Rd training centre outright.
He has had to do the hard yards. Not blessed with a bottomless cheque book or the pick of the paddock at yearling sales, he was always on the lookout for a horse with potential at the right price, or to lease.
“You do it because you love it,” he said.
The first horse he took to the races, Rayas, was a winner. He currently had a dozen horses in work at Levin, some young horses with similar back stories to that of his current stable star.
Hinepara was leased from her owner, successful breeder Christopher Grace, after showing little as a young filly, and Shaw put together a group of five owners to form a syndicate.
He was grateful for the opportunity to train a filly from the Grace breed and believed Hinepara would get better with maturity and distance, taking her steadily through the grades.
Hinepara was by Darci Brahma from the Generous mare Harinui, and was half-sister to group performer Waikaha and promising Foxton stayer Rangitata, who won the Wairoa Cup at Hastings on Sunday.
At 16-to-one odds, Hinepara was not favoured as punters installed Concert Hall ($3.40) and Our Hail Mary ($3.60) as favourites for the Avondale Cup.
Hinepara overhauled topweight Concert Hall in the final few strides, jockey Ashvin Goindasamy making full use of a 7kg swing in the weights.
Full of faith in Hinepara’s future as a stayer, Shaw had targeted the Avondale Cup more than a year ago in preference to the tough 3200m of the Wellington Cup.
He is now toying whether to pay the late $10,000 nomination fee for the $500,000 Auckland Cup at Ellerslie on March 12, with the full backing of the syndicate of owners. But he has until March 8 to decide and wanted to make sure the mare had come through the Avondale run unharmed.
He has given the mare a few days rest in the paddock and will assess the situation when he is in a better position to make a call.
“She came home and ate up well, but we’ll see how she is in a week or two. The owners are up for it, but we don’t have to make the decision right now,” he said.
Shaw was full of praise for the ride by Goindasamy after initially thinking she was locked away on the rails with 800m to run. For a moment it looked as though Levin would come away with an Avondale Cup quinella, too, with the Chris Rauhihi-trained He No Opilio just pipped on the post and having to settle for fourth.
Hinepara has won six races from 46 starts, and $168,865 in stakemoney.