KEY POINTS:
When your father's a baker, you just know there's something in the saying that the proof is in the pudding.
That's why Jackie Rogers and her husband Phil were confident their horse The Fuzz had an edge even before he ran away with the Dunstan Feeds Championship Final at Ellerslie yesterday.
The Fuzz was reared on the horse feed after which the staying series is named and his owners weren't shy about giving the sponsor's product a free plug as they celebrated their big win. "He had to win," said Phil Rogers with mock seriousness. "Apart from grass, that's all he's ever been fed back home on the farm. If he hadn't won, there would have been some explaining to do."
The Fuzz is named after Rogers, who was given the nickname by his mother when still a boy.
"I had tight curly hair then and the name has stuck. One day, the family threatened to name one of our horses after me and I said go for it. I'm just happy they chose a decent one."
The baker in the equation is Gerald Shand, who purchased The Fuzz's dam Drama Queen from his daughter and son-in-law as a yearling. After winning several races as well as finishing third in the Dunstan Final, Shand gave the mare to his grandchildren Brian and Jenna Rogers.
The Fuzz is the first horse they have bred from Drama Queen and while their parents race him, there's a strong chance they will be involved with a half-sister by Keeper, who just happens to be at home in the paddock eating you know what.
Co-trainer Wayne Hillis has tentatively ruled out following in the footsteps of last year's Dunstan Final winner Pentane to the Auckland Cup
"He wasn't entered and I don't think we'll be tempted to make a late entry even though he's now an automatic qualifier," said Hillis.
"We might take him to Trentham for a race down there and I like the idea of races like the Ipswich and Caloundra Cups in Queensland during the winter."
The Fuzz had the race in safe keeping once rider Grant Cooksley worked him into the clear soon after straightening.
That move was to later cost Cooksley when he pleaded guilty to a careless riding charge and copped a five-day suspension.
Central district visitors Far Away Places and Majolica put in strong late runs for second and third, ahead of Darringdo The favourite Power Cut was next after being forced over ground.
