At an age when most racehorses are considered over the hill, 13-year-old Oamaru trotter Raymauwarrhen Sun is showing no signs of slowing down.
Despite his advancing years - in human years, he would be "on the pension", his trainer Warren Bartlett says - there are no plans for retiring the sprightly veteran he's dubbed "Donny".
"The day he goes out and goes no good, or has any leg issues or anything like that, he'll be finished. At the moment, he's looking absolutely magnificent," Mr Bartlett said.
After Donny does trot his last lap, he will move on to the next phase of his life - as a hack.
The man getting him reckoned he had "worn out" two motorbikes waiting for him, Mr Bartlett joked.
Raymauwarrhen Sun won at Oamaru last Sunday, much to the delight of the home crowd, bringing earnings from his long career to about $110,000.
He will line up again at the Banks Peninsula meeting at Motukarara tomorrow.
Described by Mr Bartlett as a "good old bugger", Donny had "always been a handful".
But while he was definitely not slowing down, he had mellowed over the years.
He went through a phase where he would not trot, and then started bolting.
Once, after Donny had bolted around the track, Mr Bartlett decided to finish with him.
But then, he got thinking about the time and work he had put into the horse and decided to have another crack the next day.
Donny has not bolted since, but he did pull hard and was not easy to drive, sometimes lifting the driver off the seat of the cart.
"Put it this way, he's a funny bugger. He's got his funny wee ways. He either likes you or he doesn't. If he doesn't like you, look out," Mr Bartlett said.
Donny had been known to butt and then bite him when he got "browned off", but it was just part of his character and there was no dirt in him, Mr Bartlett said.
Donny was bred by Maurice Wharton and Mr Wharton's uncle Bert Currie.
Mr Bartlett, Ray Paterson and Brendan "Henry" Ford lease Mr Wharton's share, and Donny's racing name is a combination of their names.
Donny's first win was as a 3-year-old at Oamaru, and he had since had 19 wins, nine seconds and five thirds, from 93 starts.
While it was a "huge effort" to still be racing at his age, Donny got no special treatment, and there was no secret remedy to keeping him going, Mr Bartlett said.
"Don't mention the word 13 - he might hear you," he warned, as he groomed the veteran after a work-out.
Old timers - the facts
> Some notable feats by older trotters from yesteryear.- Bush Ranger won a saddle trot at Addington in January, 1923, aged 18.
> Trampfast won twice as a 14-year-old in the 1934-35 season including the 1934 Dominion Handicap, the top race for trotters in New Zealand. He raced until 16 and finished fourth in his last start in 1936.
> Mighty Hanover won the New Zealand National Trot at Auckland in 1969 as a 14-year-old.
> Easton Light won the Benson and Hedges Challenge Trot at Auckland in 1977 as a 13-year-old.
