Racing: Delft reborn as top chance

Six months ago Michelle Wallis regretted having 17.2 hand equine monster Delft under her care.

The Waiuku-based trainer was starting to make a name for herself as a horsewoman who could get the best out of unsound and unwanted racehorses.

All runners in the Wallis stable see a racetrack only on race or trial day as they are trained in a straight line on a beach.

Wallis remembers when she first trained Delft on the beach.

"I trained him with an old work cart attached to him. With his long stride . . . his hind legs hit the foot rest areas and the noise fired him up and I couldn't control him," said Wallis.

"I also put an over-check on him and he hated that and fought that piece of racing equipment from the moment we started to stride out.

"When you've got 590 kilograms of horse flesh wanting to do one thing and you're trying to do another, you end up losing and I was purely a passenger.

"He threw a tantrum on the beach and I had to sit in the cart and hold on for my life. After that workout I rang Tony Herlihy [fellow trainer] who trained Delft before we got him and he told us not to train with an over-check on."

Delft began his racing career from the Herlihy stable before he was purchased by prominent New Jersey owner Joe Muscara and exported to the United States.

The Sundon-sired gelding failed to fire in nine starts and was then sent back to New Zealand to race and rejoined the Herlihy stable.

Herlihy then recommended to Muscara that Delft be transferred to the care of Wallis in an effort to get the long striding gelding trotting properly.

The turnaround in racing attitude and form of Delft has been staggering.

In eight starts for Wallis, Delft has scored six wins - the last five in a row - creating a massive following from the betting public.

The free-for-all trotter is ranked as one of the leading chances in the $250,000 First Sovereign-sponsored Inter Dominion Trotting Series which begins at Alexandra Park on March 4.

Three rounds of qualifying heats will be held on March 4, 8 and 11 with the top 13 points scorers clinching a starting berth in the $250,000 final on March 18.

"I just think that the straight line training down the beach has helped Delft get his confidence back to race and stride out properly on the racetrack.

"We've now had to make two alterations to the racing sulky we attach to Delft to handle the long stride he takes when racing.

"In his last start at Alexandra Park on February 3 he was striding out that aggressively and confidently his hind legs were hitting the foot rests on the racing sulky.

"Tony [Herlihy, regular driver] just gave the horse his head and let him run as opposed to fighting him and he trotted from the 1200 metre mark to the 400 metre when going around the field and leading in 57.6 seconds.

"He has the speed and stamina to be a top chance in the Inter Dominion Series but I'm still worried about his mental maturity. I hope that the three races within one week during the qualifying rounds doesn't get him fired up.

"He's a young and inexperienced horse and the format of this series may prove a little too much for him to handle. If he handles the three rounds of heats I'm certain he'll really test Take A Moment, Lyell Creek, Glenbogle, Allegro Agitato and Sammy Do Good."

- HERALD ON SUNDAY