Paul Nelson chalks up sixth Great Northern Hurdles victory

Hastings trainer Paul Nelson further enhanced his record as an astute conditioner of jumpers when he chalked up his sixth Great Northern Hurdles success at Te Rapa last Saturday.

Nelson, who nowadays trains in partnershipwith Corrina McDougal, produced Nedwin to take out the 4120m feature to give him a sixth win in the race and the third since he took McDougal into partnership four years ago.

The Great Northern Hurdles was formerly run on the Ellerslie track and Nelson first won the event with Chibuli in 2002. He then produced Just Not Cricket to record back-to-back wins in 2006 and 2007, and he and McDougal also picked up a double in the race with The Cossack in 2002 and 2021.

Nelson has also chalked up several minor placings in the event, with Ho Down runner-up in 2009; Solid Steel finishing second in 2010 and third in 2011; King’s Deep second in 2013; Second Innings second in 2018; No Tip third in 2019; and a fourth with Nedwin last year.

Nedwin’s victory last Saturday was also attributed to another masterful ride by Hastings-born jumps jockey Aaron Kuru.

Kuru, who is now plying his trade successfully in Australia, has had a long association with the Nelson stable and made another special trip across the Tasman to not only team up with Nedwin in the $150,000 Great Northern Hurdles, but stablemate The Cossack in the $150,000 Great Northern Steeplechase (6500m).

As predicted, exuberant jumper English Gambler and jockey Hamish McNeill set a cracking pace on the first lap around the Te Rapa course, with Kuru patiently settling the $2.70 favourite Nedwin third and one off the fence.

The race rapidly changed complexion when Nedwin’s stablemate, Taika, misjudged the fence at the 1000m and dislodged jockey Jack Power.

Kuru, sensing the carnage left behind him, decided to put the pressure on the remaining rivals and shot Nedwin to a three-length lead.

They still had a handy advantage coming to the home turn, with Tahuroa Height the only danger as he started to loom ominously into contention.

The two horses jumped the second-to-last fence in unison, but Kuru never looked to be under pressure and, despite Tahuroa Height carrying 5½kg less than his mount, he drove a gallant Nedwin to the last jump and the high-class combination pulled away over the closing stages for a 2½-length win.

Kuru was full of praise for the 9-year-old, who carried a lofty 71.5kg topweight.

“It’s well noted that he doesn’t like the firmer tracks, but there’s much more positives than negatives when it comes to this horse,” Kuru said.

“He stepped up last year when running fourth and was looking for the trip this year, more well-seasoned, older jumper, in the right stable and the right hands, and I saw a lot of positives and rode him accordingly.”

Nedwin is raced by Paul Nelson and his wife Carol in partnership with the horse’s Gisborne owner-breeders Mick and Suze Gardner. He now has a record of 12 wins from 32 starts, with five of those victories coming since May, and stake earnings of more than $327,000.

Nelson said this week that Nedwin will now be turned out for a well-earned spell, as will both Taika and The Cossack.

The Cossack finished a game third in Saturday’s Great Northern Steeplechase, with both Nelson and Kuru saying the horse was at a distinct disadvantage in having to lump equal topweight of 73kg with eventual race winner West Coast.

“The handicapping was bad and Aaron said he couldn’t win under that weight,” Nelson said.

“How could we be on the same weight as West Coast when he has won two Grand Nationals as well as a Wellington Steeples and a Hawke’s Bay Steeples,” Nelson said.

“Our horse has only won two prestige steeplechase races, the Waikato and the Pakuranga Hunt Cup. He did finish second in the Australian Grand National Steeples, but they have a different handicapping system over there and our handicapper seems to be working off that.”

Deserved maiden win by Karehana Bay

Hastings-owned-and-trained Karehana Bay capped off several minor placings with a deserved win in an $18,500 maiden race at Awapuni on Thursday last week.

The five-year-old Telperion gelding was having his 18th start and had previously recorded two seconds, a third and four fourths.

He is prepared on the Hastings track by his breeder, Patrick Campbell, who races him in partnership with Canterbury Jockey Club CEO Tim Mills and three of his brothers, Dan, Jonty and Matthew.

The Mills brothers were originally from the Wellington region and Karehana Bay is named after a bay and residential area at the western end of Plimmerton.

Campbell bred Karehana Bay out of the Danasinga mare La Singa, who was the winner of only one race but is a half-sister to the 11-race winner Likeapins.

La Singa also left the good galloper Satu Lagi (four wins) and In Another Life (two wins) and has produced two more foals since Karehana Bay.

One is a year-younger full sister to him called Shez Oohlahlah, who finished fourth in an 850m barrier trial at Foxton last month, and the other is an unnamed 2-year-old filly by Wrote.

Karehana Bay was ridden to victory last week by Johnathan Parkes who bounced him out well from the inside barrier to sit second in the early running. He moved the horse up to challenge for the lead coming to the home turn and then drove him to the front early in the straight.

Karehana Bay kept up a strong run to the line to win by a long neck from Schuski, with third-placed Pradasphere a further length back.

Campbell said this week Karehana Bay had come through the race well and he will now aim him for the $65,000 Special Conditions race over 1400m on the third day of the Colliers Hawke’s Bay Spring Carnival, on October 1.

Mixed results for Hastings stable

The Hastings husband-and-wife training partnership of Mick Brown and Sue Thompson and their loyal stable client, Margaret Harkema, have certainly experienced racing’s highs and lows of late, going from euphoria to despair.

Brown and Thompson saddled up the Harkema-owned Fancy Like Lass to take out a $60,000 special conditions race on the first day of the Colliers Hawke’s Bay Spring Carnival, on September 9.

Then the same combination picked up another success when Khan’s Clown took out an $18,500 maiden race over 2140m on the Awapuni synthetic track on Thursday last week. However, the excitement surrounding that win was short-lived because Khan’s Clown was noticeably lame on pulling up, with jockey Kate Hercock immediately dismounting. The horse was found to have severely fractured a sesamoid bone on the left foreleg, and that necessitated in him having to be humanely euthanised.

Khan’s Clown was purchased by Hastings-based Margaret Harkema as a yearling for $3100 off the Gavelhouse online auction site, and the 4-year-old was having only his sixth race start. He was sent out a hot favourite following a close second over 1700m on the same synthetic track last month.

Three notable wins for HB owner

Waipukurau’s Michael Ormsby has enjoyed a successful past fortnight, sharing in the ownership of two black-type winners and an impressive return by one of last season’s stars.

Ormsby has shares in several Te Akau Racing syndicates and has celebrated a large number of wins in recent years.

He is part of the Te Akau Award Racing Partnership that races Quintessa, winner of the Gr.3 Gold Trail Stakes (1200m) at Hastings on September 9. He also has a small share in the Te Akau Empress Of Austria Racing Partnership that races Via Vienna, winner of last Saturday’s listed $80,000 Canterbury Belle Stakes (1200m) at Riccarton.

Ormsby is also a shareholder in the Te Akau Moonstruck Racing Partnership, which races Romancing The Moon.

The El Roca mare included the Gr.1 $350,000 Levin Classic (1600m) at Trentham among her four wins last season and resumed from a spell with a super-impressive all-the-way victory in an $18,500 rating 75 race over 1100m at Taupo on Friday last week.

Quality 3-year-old filly Via Vienna confirmed she will be a major contender for the Gr.1 Barneswood Farm New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) in November with another fighting victory in the feature event at Riccarton last Saturday.

Arch-rival Illicit Dreams was expected to provide the main opposition to the Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson-trained daughter of All Too Hard after the pair had waged a home-straight war at their previous encounter at the venue last month.

On that occasion Via Vienna had led up with Illicit Dreams on her outer, but this time Illicit Dreams crossed to the lead from a wide barrier early on with Viva Vienna and Sam Weatherley stalking her from the trail.

Illicit Dreams kicked hard to establish a break at the 300m while Viva Vienna was clearing traffic. But once in the clear she unwound powerfully to nab her nemesis in the final few bounds and remain unbeaten in two runs this campaign.

TAB bookmakers reacted quickly as they tightened the fixed-odds price on Viva Vienna into $12 for the $500,000 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m), to be run on November 18.

Purchased by Te Akau Racing boss David Ellis for $100,000, Viva Vienna has now won three of her six career starts.