Racing: Trotting devotee finds gallopers pay better

For years she has raced, trained and driven harness horses, her first love. But she has never owned a trotting winner.

Yet she has raced two gallopers, both more or less by accident, and both have won.

One of them is Moby who posted his most important win yet when taking out the Great Autumn Handicap at Riccarton on Saturday.

McCormick agreed to buy Moby from breeder Hugh Thomson, more confident she could develop him as an eventer - another string to her equestrian bow - than as a racehorse.

"It was virtually a hack price and I did like the look of him so I agreed," said McCormick, whose partner, Bevan Heron, developed the great trotter Nigel Craig, Australasia's first trotter to break two minutes for a mile (1609m).

After educating Moby she handed him over to Canterbury trainer Tarsha Stokes for some final polish.

McCormick's first thoroughbred winner, Ten Seconds, had been bred by Stokes' husband, Michael, and Chris Rowe.

"It was only going to be for three weeks or so while I was really busy with other horses but he stayed," she recalled

Moby, whose sire Tristaking stood at Sunny Brae Stud near Timaru, has been a revelation in recent weeks.

He did not emerge from the intermediate grade until the end of January, then won two races at Riccarton from his last three starts leading up to Saturday.

In the third of those race he was run down by First Wind, who he just beat on Saturday after the Shane Kennedy-trained entry looked to have the race in safe keeping.

Said Stokes: "He won because Kylie [Williams, jockey] knew him so well."

Williams agreed.

"I didn't think he was going to get up and I put the stick away. As soon as I did that he was into it again," said Williams who has struck a purple patch of form.

Stokes, whose stable is enjoying a vintage run, has another stable staying star, Cusack, headed for the Canterbury Gold Cup, and is unsure about Moby's immediate future.

- NZPA