A win in Saturday’s $350,000 Sir Patrick Hogan Karapiro Classic (1600m) at Te Rapa on Saturday would be a great tonic for trainer Lynda German, who is currently at her mother’s bedside at Gisborne Hospital.
While in Gisborne, Steely Man’s final preparations for the weekend are being overseen by German’s partner, Group One-winning harness racing trainer John Dickie, whose colours are carried by the four-year-old gelding.
“John is really happy with him, he has been sending me through reports,” German said. “I am not impressed at all by the draw (14), but aside from that we are really happy with him.”
It will be the second race in succession that Steely Man will be chasing a big purse, having finished fifth in the $1 million Aotearoa Classic (1600m) at Ellerslie last month, much to the satisfaction of German.
“We talked about that race (Aotearoa Classic) and I said to John there’s no way I am going to nominate for that,” she said. “It was really only because they had left the noms open (that we entered him). He didn’t disgrace himself in any way.
“It’s great to be racing for that level of prizemoney. What a good time to be involved in New Zealand racing.”
German has booked reigning New Zealand Champion Jockey Warren Kennedy for Saturday’s race, for which Steely Man is an $8 equal third favourite with TAB bookmakers, and she is looking forward to seeing how the pair gel this weekend.
“Warren is great at being able to rate a horse, just watching the way he rides. I am really pleased to have him on our horse,” she said.
German and Dickie have had a great ride with Steely Man to date, with the son of Embellish having won one and placed in four of his six starts, accruing nearly $60,000 in prizemoney, more than recouping the $20,000 Dickie outlaid for him as a weanling.
“John has always had a real love for thoroughbred racing. Going right back to the nineties he has had ownership in thoroughbreds,” German said.
German, a former apprentice jockey, dabbled in training over the last 15 years, but increased her involvement when the couple moved to Clevedon a few years ago.
“I used to ride work for Murray Baker and when we moved to Clevedon, from Cambridge, we started breeding (thoroughbreds). Three-and-a-half years ago we didn’t have anything, and John bought Steely Man at the weanling sale,” German said.
Steely Man is currently the only thoroughbred German has in work, and she enjoys varying the gelding’s routine with Dickie’s harness horses.
“He has been the thoroughbred amongst the standardbreds,” she said. “We jog him once or twice a week behind one of the standardbreds, which is his slow day, and apart from that I float him each day to Ardmore.”
While German won’t be on course on Saturday, she will be tuning into Trackside from Gisborne Hospital with her mother, who has gained a lot of satisfaction in watching her daughter’s pursuits on the track.
“I am sure it is helping to keep my mum perked up, she loves following them,” German said.