By Jonny Turner
Bargain buy Oh No Nana banked several times his purchase price for Invercargill owners Scott and Sam Leader with his victory at Ascot Park on Thursday.
The four-year-old charged late to finally break his maiden in his 32nd start with driver Rory McIlwrick.
Oh No Nana was in just his fifth run for the Leaders following his purchase through trainer Tyler Dewe.
Dewe sourced the horse for the Invercargill owners and Thursday’s win returned them several times the horse’s purchase price. The winning stake was $5500.
“Scott and Sam had Gronkowski with me, and they were looking for another horse,” Dewe said.
“Kerryn Tomlinson offered him to me for $1000, so I talked to Scott and Sam, and we took him.”
“Amanda (Tomlinson) told me the horse just hadn’t had regular racing recently.”
“They were keen to line him up on the grass, but he got balloted out a few times.”
Some tinkering with Oh No Nana’s gear proved a key factor in Oh No Nana finally breaking through for victory on his new home track.
“I tried a Cornell Collar on him, just to help with his breathing,” Dewe said.
“I don’t think he has a wind issue, but he would get out there and he’d be nervous, and he wasn’t breathing properly.”
“The Cornell Collar seems to have done the trick because on his first run for me he looked like he had the ability to win at short notice.”
Oh No Nana is the second winner for the Leaders in their own right, though they have had plenty of success in syndicates.
“I have got to know Scott and Sam through Aaron Swain who is a mutual friend,” Dewe said.
“Aaron has always been a good supporter of mine, and it has been great to be able to have horses for Scott and Sam.”
“Gronkowski did well for them right through the winter, and it hasn’t taken Oh No Nana too long to get one either.”
Dewe started his career with a bang, churning out winners at a very strong strike rate.
This season the trainer hasn’t had the numbers to make the same impact, but the trainer is building a nice team of young horses, with several to hit the track soon, he said.
