Racing: When deep gloom turns to glee

The happy syndicate that owns Four Day High at the Christmas at the Races meeting.

Heard the one about the retired motel owner, two small business owners, a decorator, a forklift operator, a stevedore, a long-retired US serviceman, a line company manager, someone's brother and a trainer's daughter?

Chances are, if you haven't had a pint or a punt at the Judea Tavern, you haven't, though the aforementioned 10-person syndicate hopes to change all that.

The tale begins with John Haigh and Jay Alley 18 months ago. Both men had previously been part of racing syndicates without much success.

A mutual friend put the pair in touch with Waikato Stud, leading to an invitation for the men to visit the Matamata property.

"Being no expert in the selection of thoroughbreds, I called my brother, Noel, who is the right-hand man for Matangi trainer John Bell," Haigh said.

"It was arranged that Jay and myself would join Noel and his boss in having a look at the couple of fillies available for lease."

The decision was made to lease a 2-year-old filly by Fast N Famous to be trained by John Bell.

The men had almost everything they needed - aside from partners for the syndicate to share the costs.

Enter a group of racing fans that congregate at the Judea Tavern on a Saturday to chase the punt and have a drink or two.

A bar leaner board room was in session and a syndicate was duly formed.

Hopes were high - the filly, Onesey, had been spelled and was on the way back for her first racing preparation.

Then tragedy, delivered by phone by John Bell, struck.

"It was a hard phone call to make, when I rang John (Haigh) to tell him that Onesey had broken down," he said.

"The filly was never offered at the yearling sales as she had a few small issues which ultimately led to her breaking down.

"I said to bring the guys over to the stables so I could tell them in person what happened to their pride and joy. The boys were extremely disappointed, so I offered them the lease of a High Chaparral mare called Four Day High that I had bred and was just a few weeks from racing."

All involved hope the rest is history.

"Our stable team struck it off with the guys from the start," said Bell.

In just a few short weeks the future of the syndicate has gone from gloom to expectation again, with Four Day High having had two race day starts.

A first up fourth at Te Aroha was followed by a start at Tauranga's Christmas at the Races last Friday. The horse stormed from second last on the turn to finish a gallant third in race six.