Unfazed brings a flood of good luck

After their home was inundated by flood, harness racing horseman Charlie Pollicina and his wife Lisa were certainly due for a change of luck.

And 12 months on, it appears to have come, in the form of a horse Pollicina calls a “godsend” – five-year-old former Kiwi, Unfazed (Auckland Reactor).

“Horses like him don’t come along every day, that’s for sure.  He’s absolutely been a godsend to us,” Pollicina said, of the five-year-old pacer who last week notched up a fifth win in his past nine starts for his elated owner-trainer.

“He just goes out and does his job, a real little tradesman who pulls up a treat and looks around ready for the next one,” he said.

The third-generation participant, who caught the harness racing bug as a teenager, said the couple had changed direction after a tough 12 months on their semi-rural property.

“We used to have a place on seven acres with stables and a little bit of a track around it at Londonderry (60 km northwest of Sydney). We’d been there for 14 years and loved it,” Pollicina said.

“We’d never spent anything on it, but two years ago we decided to do a full renovation – and then last year we got flooded.  There was a metre and a half of water right through the house,” he said.

“So of course, in that area there’s really no flood insurance, so we had to start again.  We fixed everything up and rebuilt but it was pretty devastating. When somebody wanted to buy it, we really scampered out of there.”

Charlie, a facilities manager, and Lisa, an office manager, retreated back to ‘suburbia’, to Spring Farm.

“We’ve always had horses, and back in the day Lisa used to drive, but we’ve really only ever bought cheapies and hand-me-downs,” Pollicina said.

“Once we got settled and everything sorted we had a little bit of money left over and Lisa said, well why don’t you buy us a good horse?” Pollicina said.

“I found Unfazed that night!” he laughed. “I watched a few tapes of him and loved him, just the toughness about him, and that bit of speed.”

Unfazed is the sole Pollicina stable representative, and he’s domiciled at the property of Paul and Gavin Fitzpatrick, a short distance away at Cawdor.

“It’s my little oasis out here. Paul and Gavin have 60 acres and it’s just 10 or 15 minutes away. They’ve been wonderful to me because they don’t have to have anyone at all on their place, but they are good enough to let me have my horse there and I couldn’t be happier.”

The gelding hasn’t let the couple down.  He put in credible performances after arriving from New Zealand, but since June has missed a place only twice.

His victory in the Mates4Harness Young Stars International for promising junior driver Taylah Osmond was his fifth for the Pollicinas, including two Metropolitan class wins.  He’s now a NR 77 class, and Pollicina is hoping, with natural improvement, he might be suitable to take on some country cups.

“I’d given him a little freshen up and that run was his first for five weeks. I was almost going to trial him, then I thought he seemed ready to race so I put him in.  Taylah did a great job,” he said.

“It’s been a super ride with him and he’s just a lovely horse to go with it. We’ve had some nice horses over the years, but nothing like this one and I really think he’s just finding his legs. We don’t know how far he is going to go but he just keeps surprising us, so we’re just enjoying the ride!”

by Terry Gange, for Harnesslink