Jodi Quinlan drives My Kiwi Mate.
Racing and sport are laden with stories of unfulfilled potential and until Friday night at Bendigo My Kiwi Mate was looking more like becoming a cautionary tale than a luminary of the track.
Placed in three of his four Group 1 attempts and a top-four finisher without success at six runs this prep My Kiwi Mate was on the cusp of something special but seemed incapable of taking the next step.
That was until a beautiful Jodi Quinlan drive saw him stalk the speed and swallow up his rivals with the speed, class and arrogance he’s hinted at since his three-year-old days.
“I’m just so glad for everyone that he (My Kiwi Mate) has done it; people can say what they like but we know how much he deserves this,” trainer Craig Demmler said.
“We tried something last week in the Terang Cup when he led because we were sick of watching him run home in 54 (sec) halves and never win.
“At the end of the day he needs races like this where he can follow a good speed and come off their backs. He’s also thrived on week-in, week-out racing, he just gets better and better with the work.”
My Kiwi Mate, a five-year-old Bettors Delight out of Classic Nymph, enjoyed cover until the final turn when Quinlan guided him four-wide off advancing Guaranteed.
Soon it was a race in two and a repeat of the Terang Co-Op Pacing Cup, with breeze horse Flaming Flutter boxing on while others faded. This time it was My Kiwi Mate who loomed up on the outside of Flaming Flutter's driver, Greg Sugars, and ran on to salute by 4.5m in a 1:56.2 mile rate.
The result reaffirmed both My Kiwi Mate and Flaming Flutter as leading light's in this year's Trots Country Cups Championship, which for the first time carries a $25,000 prize, with $15,000 going to the winning owner and $10,000 to the winning trainer. The prize rewards the best performer during the country cups 2016-17 season.
With victory and a second placing in consecutive cups My Kiwi Mate advanced to six points, one point behind fourth-placed Flaming Flutter. Hectorjayjay (10 points), Major Secret (nine points) and Cruz Bromac (eight points) fill the podium.
The other headline victor from a quality night’s competition at Lords raceway was Aldebaran Park Maori Mile winner, Sunny Ruby.
Sadly for favourite punters, Pryde's Easifeed Great Southern Star champ Glenferrie Typhoon galloped when looking to have the race well in his keeping but few could begrudge Sunny Ruby’s success.
In three Aussie starts for Kiwi trainer Sam Smolenski and now Sonya Smith, the Jewels-winning mare has won the V. L. Dullard Cup and The Maori Mile and placed in the $300,000 Great Southern Star.
He won by 2.3m from Matt Craven's in-form trotter El Paco and third placed Illawong Helios, for Ross (trainer) and Greg Sugars (driver). El Paco moved within one point of Maori's Idol Trophy Points Tally leader The Boss Man.
