Cournane still riding the waves

The win by Ride The Waves (Downbytheseaside) in the Woodlands Stud North Island Silk Road Series Final at Alexandra Park last Friday night further highlights the wonderful bloodline Southern breeder and horse hotelier Diane Cournane has developed over a long period of time.

“I think she’s a very good progressive filly by the looks of her. She was always a lovely big strong type. Steve is really looking after her because she went amiss as a two year old,” she said.

The Steve and Amanda Telfer trained filly had now won four of her five starts and is set to target the bigger three year old fillies races in the second part of the season.

Ride The Waves is out of Cournane’s good Art Major mare Fight For Glory, a daughter to Breath Of Life. Fight For Glory won fourteen races including the New Zealand, NSW, Gold Coast and Queensland Oaks, the NZ Yearling Sales Series Championship and the Queen Of Hearts – all Group Ones.

Stonewall Stud bought Ride The Waves for $55,000 at the 2024 NZB Standardbred Yearling Sales.

“Steve Stockman gave me a share in Ride The Waves and I like to have a share if I can. I bought a share in Rambo (Bettor’s Delight – Fight For Glory) that Cran Dalgety has. We went to his open day.”

Cournane has also retained ownership of Fight For Glory’s 2023 foal Sifting Sand, who’s a full-brother to Ride The Waves.

He was prepared by the Whites (SBSR) for the 2025 NZB Standardbred Yearling Sales and had a $100,000 reserve on him but didn’t make the mark.

“I brought him back. I’m one to put a price on them and if they don’t get it they come home. He’s rising three, a big boy at 16.1 hands and is up at Tim Trathen’s having his second prep.”

She has also retained ownership of a Downbytheseaside – Breath Of Life colt named Bondi which also did not reach it’s reserve of $50,000.

“He went to Tim’s too, to be broken in and then came home.”

Trathen also has in his care Deep Impact – a three year old Always B Miki daughter of Breath Of Life.

“I love Tim. He doesn’t have a big stable, he’s a great horseman, a great farrier and he’s got so much patience. You’re just not a number at Tims.”

Cournane is only breeding from one mare now, Fight For Glory, who will be put in foal again this spring. Bondi was Breath Of Life’s last foal.

“I’m not breeding off her. She’s twenty one and has done a good job for me. Brendan Bell (Vet) tells me that every time mares have a foal their uterus gets thinner. We foal them all here at home. I do not want to get up one day and find my mare dead.”

So at seventy four, Diane is still doing what she loves; breeding nice stock, selling or racing them and taking great care in managing spelling horses.

Diane and her husband Noel operate out of Diamond Head Lodge, a 150 acre property with ten acre paddocks at Grove Bush, twenty five minutes north of Invercargill.

Diane has been around horses for more than four decades now.

“I sold by first thoroughbred at the Yearling Sales at Karaka 42 years ago.”  

And although she has bred ninety one standardbred winners, she’s still had time to breed some gallopers. Her best is Heartbreaker which has had nine starts for a win and two thirds for trainer Lyn Prendergast.

Diane’s late father Don McRae Senior trained and drove standardbreds, working for Bob Townley at Nightcaps and Jim Flynn at Wairio before training in his own right. Her sister Wendy Blakie of Oturehua has bred a host of winners from Princess Della including Kyvalley Mac (12 wins) and Just A Cracker (11 wins).

Diane’s first venture into breeding and racing was with McWay, (Knowing Bret) trained by Doody and Kevin Townley. From a limited racing career she won two races before she was retired.

One of McWay’s first foals was My Name’s Good (Nero’s BB) who proved to be a real gem at stud, providing the Cournanes with their next generation of racing stock.

She left Anvil’s Top Gun (Christian Cullen) the winner of seven races and Breath Of Life (Village Jasper) also with seven wins.

Breath Of Life was Cournane’s first quality race mare.

After initially winning twice for Ben Waldron, she won a further five races for Mark Purdon and Grant Payne, including a five length win over Kiwi Ingenuity in the 2009 Breeders Stakes at Alexandra Park in Auckland.

She was the first mare in New Zealand to break the 2-40.0 mark for the 2200 metres mobile. Her winning time of 2-39.8 was a New Zealand record and she also provided Purdon with his 1000th training win when she won at Alexandra Park in September 2009 in the hands of Jordon Compain.

On the agistment side of the business Diamond Head Lodge has looked after some high-end bloodstock over the years, including millionaire pacers Smolda and Have Faith In Me.

A few years ago Diane’s main clients were Merv and Meg Butterworth and Mark Purdon. But these days most spellers come from local harness trainers like Brett Gray, Matt Saunders, Des Baynes and her niece Lauren Pearson. She also looks after thoroughbreds for Sabin Kirkland and Jo Dalton.

“B Gray rings me and says ‘I’m bring one and taking one’ but there are always two on board. We’re full up at the moment. I can take thirty outsiders and I’ve really got enough clients to be fair. We’ve got heaps of grass this year but they still look forward to bailage and having hard feed.”

This November Diane and Noel plan to have some time away from the farm to be in Christchurch for Cup Week where they hope to have runners in both codes.

“The galloper will be racing that week, so it’ll be nice to have one racing at one venue and one at the other.”

All things being equal, Ride The Wave should be there too.

by Bruce Stewart, for Harnesslink