Racing: Philamor's luck may finally be turning

You would think that leasing Sunline out then selling her cheaply would be all the bad luck you'd need in horse racing.

About the time Sunline was putting the finishing touches to her magnificent $13 million career, Susan and Michael Archer looked to be over their woes when they won the Avondale and Waikato Guineas with Philamor.

Only a touch short of three years later they won their next race with Philamor and even had to share that with Tom Tom Cat in a dead-heat result in Saturday's $18,000 Woottons Auto Accessories 1400.

When Philamor's form dropped away he was found to have a respiratory restriction in his throat, which had to be corrected with surgery.

When fully recovered from that he banged a tendon playing in his paddock.

The net result is that Philamor was making just his 14th raceday appearance at Avondale on Saturday, which says a lot about the patience of the Archers and trainer Tony Cole.

True to his breeding, Philamor is a stayer and Saturday's 1400m victory suggests the horse may yet reap his owners the stakemoney levels his talent deserves.

"That's the first time he's given me the feeling that he's coming back," said regular rider Reese Jones.

If Philamor's luck holds he should be a real star in the major summer staying races.

The dead-heat came as a shock - most thought Tom Tom Cat had held Philamor out.

"I wasn't sure, but Cooky [Grant Cooksley on Tom Tom Cat] thought he'd won it," said Jones.

Five years ago to the day after Ethereal carried Peter and Philip Vela's blue and white colours to victory in the Caulfield Cup, the brothers had a winner at Avondale and Wanganui on Saturday.

Three-year-old filly Eclectic Heights downed the raging favourite Whodat Cugat at Wanganui and at Avondale Inniskillen got the best of a battle with the Lance O'Sullivan-trained debut runner Goal Keeper.

Although beaten, Whodat Cutat lost no caste.

She was off the track the entire race from a wide barrier and never stopped trying hard.