Win special for trainer
Group race wins are important to stakeholders in harness racing, especially for young trainers like Southland’s Craig Ferguson.
The fulltime Wyndham trainer gained his greatest moment in the sport when winning Saturday’s Group III Caduceus Club of Southland/ Alabar Fillies’ Classic in Invercargill.
‘‘There’s no better advertisement [for the stable] than winning races,’’ Ferguson, 27, said.
He is forever mindful of getting results for the owners of the 15 horses in his care.
‘‘There is a pressure to deliver results but with horses, there’re no guarantees. The main thing is you’ve got to have the horsepower. If horses aren’t good enough, you can’t change that.’’
When Ferguson took out a trainer’s licence in 2016 he started with mostly young stock to build his brand.
In among training winners, he has continued a successful race driving career, with his own horses and those of other trainers.
But he and other trainers had to close their stables temporarily when the Covid-19 pandemic forced the country into lockdown last autumn.
‘‘I was a bit worried after the lockdown thinking I might find it a bit tough [to get horses to train],’’ Ferguson said.
He knew people had lost jobs and businesses or were on reduced work hours through the pandemic and discretionary cash for owning racehorses could have been lost.
Ferguson’s clients returned, and it didn’t take long for the stable to be in full swing.
The horseman said having access to the equine pool at the Wyndham racecourse helped him to train horses with leg issues which had helped him attract new owners.
Ferguson’s career win tallies stand at 32 (training) and 193 (driving).
Ferguson will take four of his team to the Winton race meeting on Saturday. R K Finn and Carrera Belle are in race five and New York Man and Chuckles are rivals in race six. The horseman drives Robyns Playboy in the Winton Businesses Cup.
Asked if he had thoughts of moving north, Ferguson said no.
‘‘I’m not into making big plans. At the moment we’re ticking along, so we’ll keep going and see what the future brings.’’