KEY POINTS:
Champion trainer Graeme Rogerson can't help himself.
He simply does not do things by halves so when he launches his new career as a harness racing trainer in a few weeks time it will be with one of the best pacing fillies in the country as his stable star.
Rogerson and his harness racing training partner Peter Simpson will take over the preparation of outstanding filly Top Tempo, previously trained by Mark Purdon.
The unluckiest filly in a superb crop this season, Top Tempo is part-owned by Rogerson and will embark on a typical Rogey campaign.
"We are going to set her for some of the best races, with the Ladyship Mile in Sydney in November her aim," says the charismatic galloping maestro.
Rogerson arrived back in New Zealand from his Sydney base last night to oversee the final stages in the development of the harness racing facilities on his Waikato thoroughbred property.
Just yesterday he announced the end of his three-time gallops premiership-winning partnership with Stephen Autridge (see sidebar).
But he says the two training operations - gallops and harness - on the same property will remain largely split.
"I will be announcing a new trainer to take over the thoroughbred side of my New Zealand operation in a few weeks," said Rogerson.
"That person won't be Peter [Simpson], even though he will help out with the gallopers as well as doing the harness horses."
Rogerson exploded on to the harness racing scene three years ago when he spent up large at the standardbred yearling sales, sending most of his horses to Purdon when the later was recovering from the rigours of the Blue Magic inquiry.
He enjoyed that participation and sees a bright future for harness racing. He and Simpson will start training officially from August 1.
"It is all going well. We have a 1400m training track and it is like nothing you have ever seen.
"We still have work to do but we have a lot of very smart young horses to go on with. And Top Tempo and a few racehorses as well."
Rogerson was the biggest spender at this year's standard bred yearling sales and has coerced many of his thoroughbred-oriented clients into harness racing ownership.
"It is not a matter of who I have got involved, it would be easier to list who isn't involved," he says.
Even allowing for typical Rogerson enthusiasm, the newcomers have to be good for the harness racing industry.
He will apply for a trials driving licence in the new season but says he won't start race driving for at least another year. And he will stick to trotters.
"It will be that long at least before I started spending a lot more time in New Zealand.
"I am just too busy in Australia to get away much."
Which means Simpson, who has been a major player in Rogerson's thoroughbred operations in Sydney in recent years, will shoulder most of the responsibility for the new harness stable.
Not that such a role is anything new to Simpson. He trained in partnership with Peter Blanchard in the early 1990s before a protracted fight with Harness Racing New Zealand over its bicarbonate rules ruined him financially.
That dark era has been left behind by harness racing. And Simpson.
"Sure, Peter had his problems in the past but so have a lot of people," said Rogerson. "One thing I can tell you, he is just about the best horseman I have ever worked with.
"I have total confidence in him."
Rogerson admits he thought long and hard about bringing the best pacer he shares in the ownership of, Classic Cullen, into the stable but decided to leave the Auckland Cup runner-up with Purdon.
"And I'll leave Strike Up The Band [top juvenile] with Tony Herlihy too.
"These guys have done great jobs with the horses and I also hope to have Tony as my number one driver, when he is available."
Rogerson says most of the stable runners will race in his famous blue, red and green colours although some will wear the lime green of owner Ian Dobson, who has shares in many of his horses.
"It is an exciting time. I went down to the paddock a few weeks ago and saw some beautiful fillies we bought at the sale and they were pacing around free-legged.
"And I bought a Sundon colt out of Pride Of Petite and we trotting around the paddock like a professional."
Different code, same old Rogey.
