The team behind Eljaykay Phoenix.
Avenel trainer David Aiken and his staff have enjoyed a remarkable season.
The master horseman capped a brilliant year on Sunday with dual Group 1 success on Breeders Crown finals day at Tabcorp Park Melton, preparing Eljaykay Phoenix and Spidergirl to win the two-year-old boys trot and four-year-old open trot finals, son Josh driving the former and Chris Alford piloting the latter.
“It was a really good way to finish the season,” Aiken said.
“It’s been a dream season, really. The ones who have been favourites and meant to win have won and we haven’t had any being sick, so it’s been a really good season.”
The two Breeders Crown finals triumphs follow Aiken’s Vicbred Super Series Group 1 hat-trick last month, the stable currently 20 wins ahead of its nearest rivals on the metropolitan trainers’ premiership with 40 wins from 223 starters for prizemoney of over $1.1million.
Sunday’s winners were two of Aiken’s stable stars this season, Eljaykay Phoenix far and away the dominant two-year-old trotter of the year, while the same can be said for Spidergirl in the four-year-olds division.
“The owners of Eljaykay Phoenix have just had a dream ride,” Aiken said.
“They bred the horse and they’re really good for the industry. They had a busload down from Finley there at the weekend and they’ve really enjoyed the whole ride.”
Eljaykay Phoenix, a gelded son of Sundon out of a Malabar Maple mare named Maple Eve Phoenix, has won eight of his 10 starts this season with his only defeats coming on debut when second to Elegant Angus and in a Breeders Crown heat when passed late by Shared Interest.
For Aiken, the Eljaykay Phoenix experience has been made all the sweeter by the fact his son, Josh, has been driving the horse.
“On the big occasions he’s always made the right moves. He’s driven with some aggression when he’s had to. I’m very proud of the way he’s gone about it,” he said.
Spidergirl has taken down all who have come before her, the four-year-old daughter of Yankee Spider out of Lunar Landing boasting a 19-wins-from-31-starts record.
“This year after we gave her a really good spell she’s come back bigger and stronger and she’s just been enormous,” Aiken said.
“She ran two really big races against Keystone Del and came out of those really well, then to rate 57 (1:57.8) for 2200m sitting outside Maori Time, that’s when we knew we were headed on to bigger and better things.”
Aiken is understandably excited about seeing what Eljaykay Phoenix and Spidergirl can do next season.
And on Spidergirl, the scariest proposition is that Aiken believes she will improve further.
