CHRISTCHURCH - It was a dream come true for a part-owner when hot favourite Rand won the $40,000 Grand National Hurdles at Riccarton yesterday.
Rand was all the rage in the betting and paid $1.70 to win. It was understood to be the shortest dividend in the Grand National since the introduction of decimal currency, less than the $1.80 paid by Mr Divinsky in 1990.
Rand, however, had to work harder for the win than his short odds would suggest.
Rider Eddie Lamb had him handily placed throughout and he appeared to be cruising when he loomed up to the leader Stacey Jones with about 700m to run.
Lamb had a cheeky look around with 600m to run to see if there was anything that was going to provide him with any opposition.
But Rand hit the following fence, the second-last, which took some steam out of him and the second favourite Stacey Jones was still travelling well in the lead.
Rand and Stacey Jones jumped the last together in the run, but Rand had more stamina and went on to score by two lengths.
Lamb said his only concern came after the second-last.
"Going into it I had the other horse covered," Lamb said.
"I still had a handful of horse. I was going to win by 10-15 lengths until that happened."
That he was able to fight back to win showed the horse's gameness, Lamb said.
"He just showed how much heart he's got. He's picked himself up and I think ended up going away again."
Rand is owned in Manawatu by the partnership of Lloyd Clark and John Creaven, and it was the former who had a sense of mission accomplished.
Clark said his grandmother was the owner of Tremello, winner of the 1948 Grand National Hurdles.
"I have always been in envy of that," Clark said.
"I've still got the photo up on the wall at home."
Clark, the owner of a vegetable, fish and bakery outlet in Palmerston North, said the win was the all the more remarkable in that it came at his first attempt at the race.
"This is the first hurdler we have had. To get through to this has been a bit of a mission for us. It's a fairytale."
Rand was first trained by Chris Waller but after winning one race on the flat it was decided last year to try the horse as a jumper.
Rand was transferred to the Manawatu stable of Mark Oulaghan at Awapuni because of his good reputation with jumpers.
Oulaghan has since produced Rand to win twice on the flat and yesterday's success took his unbeaten record as a hurdler to five.
The fourth of the hurdle wins was in the $30,000 Wellington Hurdles (3400m) at Trentham on July 15 which was also a satisfying win for Clark and Creaven. In the week leading up to the race they exercised a $20,000 right of purchase to become the outright owners.
The Trentham win also sparked interest in the horse from America, according to Clark.
He said a six-figure sum was talked about but nothing came to fruition. An indication of the sum being bandied about was made when Clark said they remained open to a sale.
"If it was $100,000 I don't think we would. But if it was a little bit higher than that, then we would look at it."
The third favourite Bodle was seventh after being in the firing line most of the way.
- NZPA
Racing: Stunning rise to top by Rand
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