Racing: TV star Ellis gets taste of racetrack glory

Mark Chittick's response to winning the opening race at Matamata yesterday with Liquorice was to order half a dozen pair of gumboots.

For the co-proprietor of Waikato Stud it was payback for the tweed jacket he was forced to wear by his co-owners in the filly.

Those owners include rugby icon and these days television personality Mark Ellis.

"If it was good enough for me to wear a tweed jacket, this lot can wear gumboots," said Chittick after Jim Collett extracted the absolute last out of Licorice to win the Jo Anne Prevett Travel 2000.

Chittick was happy to serve it up to the syndicate when none of the other members showed up at Matamata for the victory.

"They're a good bunch. They got a tough introduction to racing when their first horse Jemima Khan broke a leg coming around the home turn in a race at Te Aroha.

"Mind you, the last time this team showed up we partied until 5am - and that was a beaten performance. It might have been a good thing they didn't show today."

Stephen Autridge and Australian-based partner Graeme Rogerson had late cause to similarly celebrate when they won the last race to share the $12,000 trainers' bonus on offer.

Mark Walker looked to have a great chance of taking it away when he produced the winners of races three, seven and nine, but the Autridge/Rogerson stable levelled in the last race with Frilly Milly, thanks to a lovely ride by Lisa Cropp.

It was an emotional moment for Autridge, whose uncle Gil died on Monday.

One of the great moments of Stephen Autridge's high-profile riding career was riding the Gil Autridge-trained Blue Rula in a desperate finish with Lester Piggott and Arbre Cheyne in the group one Air New Zealand Stakes at Ellerslie.

"Uncle played in a pool tournament on Monday, kicked their butts, hung up his cue and died.

"We hoped he'd pull us through today and he did."

* The $30,000 New Zealand Bloodstock Stakes, sidelined from Tuesday's abandoned Avondale meeting, will be be run on the Te Rapa programme on Saturday, but without the presence of class act Imananabaa.

The Matamata filly picked up a virus after the Ford Manawatu Sires and is in the spelling paddock. She won't race again until next season.