Carinya quells critics
STEEPLECHASING FIND Carinya was once so slow, Dan O’Leary’s family used to tease him about why he was still persevering with her.
Yesterday she won her fourth ’chase from only five attempts, sealing favouritism for not only the $50,000 Waikato Steeplechase in a fortnight but for all the upcoming features.
O’Leary races top stayer Who Shot The Barman with his brothers Michael, Shaun and Humphrey, but while their families are always vocal about him, there was no fondness for Carinya who managed just one win, most often finishing with the tailenders.
‘‘ I never lost faith in her but my friends and family did. They used to wind me up and say: ‘Why don’t you retire her, she’s no good.’ ’’
Worse, as well as being a slug, Carinya was a snarly one. Even now O’Leary has to muzzle her while saddling up to stop her biting him.
‘‘But while she had no pace she could always keep going. I used to think she might make a stayer. Then one day I jumped her and thought, ‘Hello, this feels good. There’s hope for you yet.’ ’’
Carinya didn’t show much improvement when tried in a hurdle race last June but just a month later, at Awapuni, she startled everyone, O’Leary included, when she beat classy jumper Roodyvoo in her chasing debut.
She went on to run second at Hawera then win another race at Awapuni plus the Waikato Hunt Cup at Te Rapa, giving O’Leary hope that he had unearthed another top jumper.
Two years ago O’Leary won the Waikato Steeples with the talented but unsound Rioch, and Carinya, a Golan five-year-old, will be given her chance to emulate that feat in a fortnight.
The mare was dominant yesterday in the Ken and Roger Browne Memorial, regular rider Charlie Studd riding a copybook race to down Racquetor.
‘‘The beauty of her is the bigger the fences, the better she goes.
‘‘She really enjoys the bigger And she’s really only a baby might get better next year.’’
O’Leary’s family was a lot quieter watching the race yesterday, as the horse they potted for so long won her fourth chase from only five starts.
But O’Leary, who stayed home in Marton to work horses, and watch his son Rory, 8, earn player of the match in his first rugby game, didn’t rub their noses in it – too much.
Talented jumper Morpheus disputed the pace before weakening right out and being pulled up in the straight.
Trainer Graeme Rogerson said Morpheus, who had had tendon surgery previously, would be retired. fences. so she