By MICHAEL GUERIN
A lot has happened since Homin Hosed last won a race.
It may have been only 14 months since the Waikato stayer nosed out Holmes D G in the New Zealand Trotting Cup but things have changed.
Back then we were preparing for the millennium bug. Jenny Shipley was Prime Minister.
Christian Cullen was still racing, Courage Under Fire was still a New Zealand citizen and Lyell Creek had never won a major race.
Things have changed. And Homin Hosed has changed too.
The six-year-old took his first race-speed steps back to the top at the Pukekohe workouts last Saturday and looked bigger if not better than ever.
The pacer who restored the Waikato's battered harness racing pride has packed on 25kgs of muscle during a lengthy build-up after missing a year of his career because of damage to a suspensory ligament.
The injury could not have come at a worse time - the eve of the $A2million Interdominions in Melbourne.
It may have only been a workout on Saturday but Homin Hosed showed he still deserves to be rated among New Zealand's best.
He came off a long handicap to run second to exciting intermediate grade pacer Lord Kennington, pacing his last 2400m in 3:4, his final 800m in under 58 seconds.
It was an effort that had regular driver Todd Mitchell beaming and owner-trainer Bryan Macey hopeful his pride and joy will return to his place among the elite.
"He felt great and steered straight. It was a big effort first-up considering he hadn't worked faster than 3:17 for 2400m this preparation," said Mitchell.
Macey has been careful to not put too much pressure in Homin Hosed, starting his comeback with a month of walking in August before two months of long jogging sessions.
That peeled off the fat and restored the muscle to the gelding's already chunky frame.
"He is stronger than he was last season,"says Macey, sounding more like a proud father talking about an athlete son than a horse trainer.
The all-important speed work for Homin Hosed has been kept to a minimum. Until now.
Because the gloves come off Homin Hosed on Friday when he heads to Melbourne chasing the riches of the Nights Of Glory carnival at Moonee Valley next month.
He will resume in the Ballarat Cup on January 27 as his lead-up to a return to the big time in the Victoria Cup on February 10.
That will mean taking on Shakamaker, Courage Under Fire, Atitagain and Kiwi heroes Yulestar and Holmes D G with just one start under his belt in the last year.
Macey knows that is a mission impossible, even for a horse who won the New Zealand Cup after throwing his two front shoes in the last 400m.
"He comes to his peak quickly once he gets race fit but we are really aiming him at the Hunter Cup," said Macey of the $A400,000 February 24 thriller.
"He should be not too badly handicapped in that because he hasn't won a race since the cup and I think with two tough runs under his belt he will be ready by Hunter Cup time."
A cloud hangs over any horse returning to racing after a leg injury, particularly an open class pacer like Homin Hosed who needs hundreds of kilometres of work to compete with the stamina freaks that dominate the Grand Circuit.
But Macey seems unpeturbed - "The damage to his suspensory was gone by October and I am not worried about it."
Safely through the rigours of his Victorian campaign Homin Hosed could head to the scene of his greatest triumph for the Easter Cup in April before the Interdominions in April.
But that is all in the future.
For now Macey and his wife Marilyn are just enjoying the start of a new chapter in the Homin Hosed story.
A story about a horse once thrashed in a maiden race at Manawatu who went on to win the New Zealand Cup, Easter Cup and Messenger Pace.
"It was just great to see him back on the track at Pukekohe."
Racing: Forgotten hero back on track
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