43 start maiden breaks his duck

When 60 year-old Caboolture harness racing trainer John Kerr took Thunder Spirit to his local Show on Sunday he wasn’t expecting to bag a win in a $1500 race series final.

And you couldn’t blame him, after all his five-year-old gelding  had gone to the races 43 times before last weekend without success and had combined losing margins of more than 2000 metres, that’s an average of being beaten 46.5 metres  every time he went around.

Kerr admits to getting a bit of a shock when Thunder Spirit took off to win his heat and an even bigger surprise when he was announced the winner of the R0 Final.

“That surprised me, firstly the way he went around them in the heat so quickly, then when it came to the Final, I wasn’t sure whether I won or lost, I didn’t have a clue it was so close, who would have thought he’d come up the winner,” Kerr said.

It was close alright, Thunder Spirit won the final by a nose in a thrilling and hard fought finish and Kerr drove like a man inspired.

The veteran hunted Thunder Spirit around every turn to make Clint Snedden’s mare Our Baby Jewel, the runner up, work every step of the way.

The win was a great reward for Kerr and Thunder Spirit, the horse that nobody really wanted.

“I bred the horse and to win at start number 40 something, all I can say is that it has been a very long road,” Kerr said.

“Nobody really wanted this horse – well they did before he started racing, he was such a lovely looking young horse and had a great attitude, but after leasing him out for a while and then getting him back because they couldn’t do anything with him, I just kept him because my daughter loves him and well he was a good travelling companion for my other horse Weasel.”  “You wouldn’t be keeping him to win races, that’s for sure.”

But win he did and Kerr’s 17yo daughter Gabrielle can hold on to her mate a little longer.

 “When you have a teenager daughter, you have to listen and really, she was right, this horse is no trouble to have around, I have often said that if he could hold a hammer he would even shoe himself, he is really lovely and easy to do anything with,” Kerr said.

In all, seven heats and three $1500 finals were raced at the Caboolture Show with the field scooting around the tight circle four times in each race.

In the other two Finals Wecanonlyhope, driven by Ricky Gordon scored  the R1 victory and the R2 Discretionary Final went to Lonesome Mach driven by Stacey Weidemann.

There was only a nose separating first and second, Wecanonlyhope and runner up Bull Dust (Stacey Weidemann), in the R1 final and a neck was the winning margin deciding the R2 Discretionary Final where Lonesome Mach defeated Its You Not Me (Noel Parrish).

Show racing continues this week at the Sunshine Coast Show at Nambour, the Show will be held on Friday, Saturday and Sunday with harness racing each day.
 

David Aldred