By Joshua Smith, Harness News Desk
Amongst the young thoroughbred stock being prepared for the yearling sales at Carlaw Park, two standardbreds take pride of place.
The farm was founded by Peter and his wife Roslyn, with their daughter Nicole and her fiancé Nick Fairweather operating the main arm of the business – preparing yearling thoroughbreds for the sales.
“They have got their business up to a place they are happy with and things are going great,” Peter Brown said.
While thoroughbreds take up much of the farm, harness racing has always been in Brown’s blood, with the Waikato horseman training standardbreds since the eighties.
“I have been in harness racing from a very young age,” he said. “We help out around the farm, I am the fix it man, I get the call ‘Dad, you have got something to fix’.
“My wife and I just do the two (standardbreds), it is our hobby and we love it.”
Brown is looking forward to heading to his local track of Cambridge Raceway on Thursday with their two horses, who will make their respective debuts.
Skylou will make his first race night appearance in the Christmas @ The Raceway, Tickets On Sale Mobile Pace (2200m), while fellow juvenile Irish Whispers will make his debut in the Hidden Lake Hotel & Apartments Mobile Pace (2200m).
“Skylou is a lovely horse and has been a mature horse right through,” Brown said.
“Anything we have set a task for he has handled it really well. He is just that type of horse, he is very adaptable.
“He qualified nicely and hopefully everything goes his way on Thursday, and he should be right in it.
“He has worked well since his trial, I am very pleased with him.”
Irish Whispers finished second to his stablemate in their qualifying trial and Brown said the Art Major gelding has been the surprise package of the pair.
“He has surprised me. I was going to put him aside because he is a bigger horse. He has only had two trials and every time he has trialled he has improved,” Brown said.
“They ran home in a real quick half the other night in the trial and he pulled out at about the 700m mark and went up to make his move and stuck on right to the line very well.”
