WELLINGTON - Palmerston North owner Lloyd Clark hopes to emulate his grandmother Elsie McMillan at Riccarton next month.
Clark's unbeaten jumper Rand tackles the Grand National Hurdles at Riccarton, a race McMillan won in 1948 with Tremello.
"I have still got the record and my grandmother's photos of the race at home," Clark recalled after watching Rand's stunning win in the $30,000 Wellington Hurdles at Trentham on Saturday.
"I would love to win the race myself."
Clark, who races Rand in partnership with Manawatu dairy farmer John Creaven, also has a family association with Trentham.
His grandfather Lloyd McMillan raced the 1944 Wellington Cup winner Don Quex and Clark was himself a part-owner of Hirelm who was the runner-up in the 1982 Parliamentary Handicap.
Clark and Creaven originally raced Rand on lease but exercised a $20,000 right of purchase last week. It was an outlay Rand quickly recovered by winning twice in the week for earnings of $30,000.
Rand has yet to be seriously threatened in four starts over fences and broke the 3400m track record at Trentham by nine seconds when winning easing down on Saturday.
"He won under a hold and could have broken the record by 15 seconds," rider Eddie Lamb said.
Lamb, a vastly experienced jumping rider, rates Rand as the best hurdler he has ridden.
"He's improving with every race and is still untapped. He's an economical jumper but clever with it."
Rand is trained by Mark Oulaghan who will have a good team at the Grand National meeting. Winter Cup contender Jolly Rodger and jumpers Aragorn, Crown Range and Westasia are likely to join Rand at Riccarton for Oulaghan.
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Hamilton apprentice Craig Franklin had the distinction of being the only rider to land a winner on all three days of the winter meeting.
The 17-year-old teamed up with Goldbrearne and Forty to win on the first two days and then landed a career best victory aboard Real Class Act in the $27,000 Parliamentary on Saturday.
His previous best win was also at Trentham aboard Bonnie Blue in a premier quality event at the same meeting last year.
Franklin, who transferred north to the Tuhikaramea stable of Graeme Rogerson and Keith Hawtin seven months ago, has now chalked up 39 career wins with 25 this season He was having just his second ride on Real Class Act - the first being at Taranaki last September. On that occasion, Real Class Act ran second behind Ron in New Zealand's longest flat race over 3210m.
The Big Spender mare had shown little form since and was the outsider of the nine-horse Parliamentary field to return a win dividend of $24.85.
Levin trainer Errol Skelton said the mare probably wouldn't have started except for the fact that the field had been declared before Real Class Act ran a modest sixth of nine runners in a class three event last Wednesday.
- NZPA
Racing: Rand owner looks to continue Riccarton tradition
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