Wow!
That was the comment heard around Central Southland Raceway at Winton and in living rooms and TABs across New Zealand after One Two Menny’s stunning trotting performance on Saturday.
In just his fourth start for Balfour trainer Robert Wilson, the 4yr-old strung out a quality feature-trot field, leading by as much 15 lengths in the middle stages before he kept on charging to the line to record a brilliant victory.
During the running it was not clear whether it was driver Kirk Larsen or the headstrong One Two Menny who was more responsible for the horse’s daring tactics which left classy horses like Andy Hall (25m) with little mathematical chance of running them down.
As it turned out, neither one of them was pressing the issue.
“He was on the job, but he wasn’t really pulling. I was just sitting there,” Larsen said.
“They went 3min 05sec [for the 2400m race], which isn’t too fast and he was doing it pretty comfortably.”
“He was going pretty easy around the turn and once the second horse come up to him that was all he needed; he was away.”
One Two Menny’s win brought back memories of Larsen driving a trotter who had something of a cult-hero status in the South Island in the first decade of the new millennium.
“He is a bit like a horse I used to drive, Raymauwarrhen Sun. He is a lot like him.”
A look at the two trotters’ pedigrees shows there is good reason for their similarities.
Raymauwarrhen Sun, a 22-race winner, is a half-brother to Frances Jay Bee, the foundation mare that built a dynasty of brilliant trotters carrying the name ‘‘Kenny’’.
One Two Menny is a descendant of Frances Jay Bee, by Majestic Son from One Two Kenny.
The Winton winner is raced by the K Club Syndicate, managed by George Emond, a former owner of Frances Jay Bee, who bred stars such as One Over Kenny from her.
One Two Menny was one from 13 in Canterbury before coming south and transforming his form under Wilson’s care.
“I knew he had a few problems but I didn’t realise how bad he was until I first drove him,” Larsen said.
“But he is getting better. He was a lot better today.”
“Robert is doing a great job with him. He works him on the big grass track at Balfour and on the farm and the horse is thriving off it.”
Saturday’s Wairio Cup was won by Plutonium Lady who burst out of the pack to score for trainer Mark Jones and driver Samantha Ottley.
In winning, the mare is likely to have made the foal she is carrying even more valuable for her owners Grant Hatton, Michael Jones and Jim Haines.
Plutonium Lady is bound for the broodmare paddock, after returnning a positive pregnancy test to Always B Miki.
