TOMORROW'S raceday at Ruakaka will have a fair representation of locally trained and owned horses all hoping to share in the prizemoney.
Among the local trainers is Ruakaka's Alan Johnson, who has quite a record of not only training but breeding and owning many classy performers over several decades.
Johnson'sinterest in the industry goes back to his days as an apprentice jockey but with weight issues to contend with he soon turned his hand to training.
One of the most notable horses that he was involved with was the very useful mare Grey Invader. She amassed just short of half a million dollars in stake earnings from 42 starts. She was in the money on 28 occasions and after winning the Auckland Breeders Stakes in 1989 she went on to bigger opportunities which culminated in her winning the Hong Kong Cup later that year.
These days Johnson has a few charges in his stables who may not be Hong Kong Cup winners but certainly have paid their way. Included among these is the bay mare Princess Road who has been stakes placed on 40 occasions and when racing at Ruakaka is seldom out of the placings.
Tomorrow's Whangarei Racing Club's ITM/GIB sponsored raceday will have a starter from Alan Johnson's team raced by a group of racing enthusiasts from the Bream Bay Club. Their winning hope is Vonitsu, who won the Cowleys Hire Centre 2100m race back in June but was unable to get a place in the field in July.
This means she will come into tomorrows race fresh-up which Johnson explained was not ideal, as she hasn't been successful when fresh in the past.
The Bream Bay Club racing syndicate is expected to be on course to cheer her home at 4.10pm.
