Race for leadership heats up
Thompson never won an Invercargill Cup.
‘‘When Kelly was in the hospice, I told him, I’ll get you that Invercargill Cup,’’ Curran said.
Thompson and Don McFarlane-bred Taniwha and raced many horses together.
Ascot Park was also the track for Taniwha’s first win – February 8, 2017, a day after Don McFarlane died.
‘‘I kept telling Don, I was going to win a cup race with him [Taniwha],’’ Curran said.
Curran used to break in Thompson’s horses and send them back to him, but Taniwha was not returning.
‘‘I said to Kelly, you’re not getting him back, I’m training this one,’’ Curran said.
Taniwha was in winning form for the cup. He won a rating 75 race (2000m) at Gore on January 31 and was a lightweight on Saturday.
Curran’s only concern in the build-up was when he had to call in a veterinarian to treat a boil on Taniwha’s wither.
When jockey Jillian Morris booted Taniwha to a clear lead on the home turn on Saturday, Curran’s cheering got louder. ‘‘I was roaring.’’ Meanwhile, Christchurch jockey Kylie Williams wouldn’t normally travel to Invercargill for only two rides but she believed her Southland Guineas’s mount, Global Thinking, was a winning chance.
Her judgment was spot on with Global Thinking galloping clear for an easy win at Ascot Park on Saturday.
The victory gave Williams wins in two of the three southern guineas races this season, her other winner being Excelleration in the Gore Guineas on January 20. However, the taste of success dulled slightly for Williams when she was fined $300 for making a victory salute before the winning post.
Southland Racing Club president Sean Bellew and Ascot Park trainer Anna Hewitson have been looking after Global Thinking for Cambridge trainer Shaune Ritchie.
Bellew said Hewitson did a lot of the work because he was in hospital for 12 days recently. The race for National Party leader is heating up with Mark Mitchell expected to make an announcement today and Steven Joyce still not ruling himself out of contention.
The official leadership candidates so far are senior National MPs Judith Collins, Amy Adams and Simon Bridges but with another nine days until the caucus votes the contenders could increase to five.
Mitchell, the former Defence Minister, ex-police officer and hostage negotiator, has been in Australia since Thursday supporting his daughter in a surf lifesaving competition.
He was due back in the country today but it’s understood he returned a day early and is likely to announce whether he’s in or out of the race.
While Mitchell might be seen as the underdog, he’s not a career politician like Collins, Adams and Bridges and would consider himself as having less to lose if he was unsuccessful.
Joyce, the former Finance Minister, is still working through his options and assessing the level of interest from his colleagues if he was to enter the race.
Regardless of whether it’s three, four, five or more candidates, the vote looks set to take place on February 27 and not before.
National’s 56 MPs seem to be enjoying having a real leadership race on their hands and for some of the newer MPs who have had little to do with the contenders, they’re enjoying being in demand.
National deputy leader Paula Bennett’s role isn’t up for grabs at the moment but Collins said whoever the new leader is, they’re entitled to have their say about the deputy.
As for her preference for deputy, she says she has ‘‘several’’.
None of the candidates have 29 votes locked in at this stage - the minimum number needed to win the vote - but Bridges and Adams appear to be out in front.