Trainer Darren Weatherley was struggling manfully against the weight of some self-inflicted wounds on Sunday morning after celebrating a special day at Te Rapa just 24 hours earlier.
Weatherley and jockey son Sam combined to win three of the nine races on offer on Counties Cup Day with Champagne Princess (NZ) (Bachelor Duke), Bea A Roca (NZ) (El Roca) and exciting prospect Mali Ston (NZ) (El Roca), while the fourth of the Weatherley runners, La Velocita (NZ) (Proisir) finished midfield in a strong rating 65 1600m contest.
Weatherley had been hoping they could snag one victory on the day, so to finish with three from four was well beyond his expectations.
“That was an amazing day and it feels great as we are just a small family operation,” Weatherley said.
“My wife Lou does all the administrative work, my daughter Briar is boots on the ground, helping me out every day and then Sam rides them in trackwork and on raceday, so I am a very lucky man.
“I think the only negative is dealing with a Sunday morning hangover and I can assure you it is a big one today.
“I have a small bar installed at home and when we got back from the track there were cars everywhere and it was standing room only, so we certainly celebrated in style.”
Weatherley had gone into the day with confidence each of his horses was ready to acquit themselves well but was trying to downplay that optimism as he knows just how hard it is to win even one race on a premier day.
“I was playing golf with some mates on Thursday and I said we had four in, who were all a chance, but I just didn’t want to get ahead of myself,” he said.
“I was really pleased with them all, especially Mali Ston as I know how good he is.
“The pressure is on with a horse like him as his owners are a great bunch and have turned down big money offers for him.
“He is the worst track worker you can get and his regular rider Sean Dowling has been away, so I’ve been riding him.
“He gives you nothing at trackwork and saves it all for raceday, which is pretty nerve wracking, although when he does get to the race, he is a competitive little bugger.”
Relief at winning first up with Champagne Princess on the day turned to elation as Bea A Roca repeated the dose two races later before Mali Ston downed a top field in the rating 74 1600m event, carrying 60kgs, to make it three wins in a row and four from 6 in his career so far.
“I said to Briar when Champagne Princess won that it was a hell of a relief as if we had got to the last race without any success, I would have been a nervous wreck,” Weatherley said.
“Sam rode her perfectly and repeated the dose on Bea A Roca. She had been flying at home as well and I thought she was a smokey if she could get a start.
“She is a right little cow to do anything with but when she’s right she has a ton of ability.
“I was pretty calm for Mali Ston although with my eyesight not being so good, I was a little worried when he went from being near the fence to out three wide at the 800m.
“I then saw he was following the favourite Solid Impact, which made me a little calmer.
“That was the winning of the race as he got a drag into contention and let down powerfully to get the win.
“He even had the audacity to put his shoulder into the favourite when he went around him, as he likes to dominate the other horses where he can.”
Weatherley is eyeing up a bigger target for the El Roca four-year-old, with the Gr.2 Rich Hill Mile (1600m) at Ellerslie on New Year’s Day a potential target.
“He is going to be weighted out of grade racing pretty much now, so we need to lift our sights with him,” he said.
“He does have a nomination for the Stella Artois series, where the final is at Ellerslie on Boxing Day, but I think if he can get into a race like the Rich Hill Mile with a light weight, then he is going to be very competitive.”
Bred and raced by the Matijasevich family under their Markwood Lodge banner, Mali Ston is out of the Black Minnaloushe mare Loviste and is the younger half-brother of six race winner Nasha Riva.
