Ford produces an amazing trotting history double
Clint Ford’s greatest moment in the sulky might also be his last on raceday.
Because the Canterbury parttimer suggested he might give up driving after Marcoola’s magical win in yesterday’s $300,000 Dominion at Addington.
The magnificent squaregaiter came from third last with a sustained burst of brilliance to smash our best trotters, clearing out before the top of the straight and winning effortlessly.
Marcoola is officially trained by Ford’s father Ken, giving him one of the most unlikely doubles in trotting history after he won the Dominion last season with 90-1 chance Amaretto Sun. But it is Clint who does most of the training and all of the driving of the former age group star, even against his better judgment sometimes.
Ford rarely drives other horses and has been his own harshest critic at times during Marcoola’s career.
So after his beautifully-timed surge to victory yesterday he suggested he might give up the driving game.
“That might be it for me, I am only a part-timer and I might not drive anymore,” he said.
Yesterday’s win in our biggest trotting race was only the 29th of Ford’s driving career and having climbed the mountain it wouldn’t surprise to see him keep his word and hand the reins on Marcoola to niece and high-class reinswoman Sheree Tomlinson.
But for now the Ford and Tomlinson family can enjoy having back-to-back winners in their version of the New Zealand Cup because to trotting people the Dominion is the ultimate goal.
They won’t be chasing the other great trotting prize, the Inter Dominion in Melbourne next month, though as Marcoola was not nominated for the series.
That would suggest he is likely to come north to contest the rich trots at Alexandra Park and Cambridge and finally live up to his enormous potential.
When Marcoola emerged as a 3-year-old and then challenged Monbet as a 4-year-old he looked a superstar in the making but the next 18 months of his career had more lows than highs.
But a long spell last season has seen him return bigger and stronger and yesterday’s run suggests at his best he is the premier trotter in Australasia.
While Marcoola’s dominance was so complete there was no point making any excuses for the others, there was plenty to admire about the booming late run from Aussie raider Kyvalley Blur for second while Lemond was vastly improved on his first-day performance to hold third.
But favourite Speeding Spur might have been feeling his first-day win in the Free-For-All as he performed slightly below his best in fourth place.