Racing: Accidental trainer has Cup claim

Jakki Good

If Pretorius wins Sunday's $200,000 City Of Auckland Cup a small part of trainer Jakki Good will feel like an imposter.

She never intended becoming involved in horse racing.

As a teenager Good answered an ad for a position in what she thought was a showjumping stable.

It turned out to be a racing stable and now, 30 years on and only "about 20" winners to her name, she produces the stylish Pretorius as second favourite for the Cup.

Good goes into the race as the definite rookie - Jim Gibbs, who trains the favourite Kerry O'Reilly, has probably lost more races in the inquiry room during a long career as Good has won in total.

"I fell into this game by accident," says Good.

"The showjumping stable turned out to be oldtime trainer Jack Clements at Hawera, who only ever had two or three horses."

Good decided she liked the thoroughbred game and after only a short time in Taranaki moved to Auckland where her parents lived and started riding trackwork at Ellerslie for the Ritchies and the Wadhams.

She was with Bob and the late Mawson Fulton for seven years and on Mawson's death she decided to pre-train a couple of horses from her small South Auckland property.

That she has a horse like Pretorius that went through the Karaka yearling sales for $500,000 is startling - most of the horses she has prepared in the last decade or so would be lucky to have a book value.

"I was basically just pre-training and I'd end up keeping the odd one that was too crippled to go home.

"The owners liked the fact that I beach trained their horses."

She came by Pretorius through Auckland owner Robin Peel-Walker, who races the horse with his breeder Nelson Schick.

Pretorius had been send back to New Zealand by astute Australian trainer Brian Mayfield Smith, who felt the horse has become soured by the confinement of Australian commercial stables.

"This horse is totally sound and he was at my place only to freshen up.

"Robin was keen for him to stay with me because he likes horses beach trained and he convinced Nelson to leave him with me."

That was towards the end of the winter, at which point $500 to $1 looked about right for his odds in the City Of Auckland Cup.

Yesterday Pretorius was the $5 second favourite to Kerry O'Reilly after three dashing wins on end.

On suitable firm footing he won the first two legs of that treble with ridiculous ease, being more extended last time only because of a very unsuitable rain-affected track.

Jakki Good admits she was ready to give up training after her first attempt.

"Oh my God, what a disaster that was.

"The horse was hideously slow - I could beat him around the track."

Pharoma in the early 1990s was her first winner and more recently she has done well with above-average sprinter Mr Roberts.

"Mr Roberts has been my dear old faithful, but even he is steadily being pushed aside by this horse."

Good says Pretorius will parade on Sunday in the best condition since he has been with her.

"He's in excellent heart.

"I haven't had to do a lot with him lately because that win on the wet track at Te Rapa was all he needed."

Good would like to see Pretorius trailing the speed.

"Ideally I'd like to see him just behind those that want to lead early, maybe a horse like Gorgeous George."

Outside that factor, she wants what every trainer wants.

"I'd like to see him hitting the front halfway down the home straight."