“It isn’t a bad field. You have got to respect Justaskme, he had another beautiful run last time too, and he grows another leg at New Plymouth as well.”
Chajaba is a particularly special horse for Egan, who she co-bred and part-owns and named him after her three children.
“He is lightly raced for a rising 8-year-old. He didn’t start until he was 5, you couldn’t catch him. He is named after my three kids – the twins are Chase and Jade, and Bailey – so that is how we got Chajaba, and if he wins, we charge to the bar. Before Bailey came along, because she is 10 years younger, we had Chaja. When Bailey came along, we thought we needed a Chajaba and we thought this (horse) might be the last horse we breed. He didn’t have his first proper gallop until he was a 5-year-old and I thought he went alright, so we thought we better use that name.”
Egan’s twins’ connection extends into this weekend’s jockey choice, with apprentice jockey Ciel Butler having a long association with the family.
“We are going to stay loyal to Ciel Butler. Ciel is the same age as my twins, and they all went to Stratford High School together. “She has won two (races) on him and she rides my other team. She has just come back from holiday, so I said to her ‘I hope you are feeling strong’.”
Egan said Chajaba is a quirky character who keeps her on her toes.
“Keanos (sire) have a reputation for being a bit naughty, and he can be a bit naughty. If he sees something that wasn’t there yesterday, he will do the old exit stage left. This week has been quite interesting.”
Chajaba is the only thoroughbred Egan bred out of his dam Hostage, who is now producing sport horses for a family friend after she became difficult to get in-foal for Egan. However, if Chajaba continues his winning ways, Hostage may find herself returning to a thoroughbred stallion.
“We thought we would go to Keano with something, and we decided to send her. We then decided to send her to Complacent and we couldn’t get her back in foal, so we gave her to a friend to breed sport horses. They walked her through the paddock with the Clydie stallion that served her there and then and she got a foal. She is still breeding and may be served by a thoroughbred stallion, they were talking about The Bold One.”
While a potential sibling could be in the works for Chajaba, Egan is concentrating on her pride and joy for now and is hoping she and her family can ‘charge to the bar’ following a victory this weekend.
