Former Port Chalmers man Ross Harland hopes the luck of breeding his first winner after nine years carries over to give David Butt his 1000th driving win tonight at Addington.
Harland and his wife, Karen, bred Takeiteasyonme.
The 3yr-old filly gave Butt win number 999 when she came from the rear on the home turn to win her first start last Saturday at Rangiora.
Butt drives her again in the first race tonight.
Harland first became interested in harness racing as a youngster in the late 1950s when his father took him to the Oamaru property of Stan Easton to see the champion pacer Sun Chief.
Harland has his first success as an owner when a member of a Dunedin syndicate who raced Berwick from the stable of Dick Prendergast.
The daughter of Lord Butler and Hi Kham, bred by Roger Kingsland, was the outsider of a 15-horse field, she won her first race in 1981 at Hororata at odds of 49-to-one.
By his own recollection Harland has had a share in six individual winners including the talented Atoll Bomber, the winner of nine races.
Atoll Bomber won three races in 11 starts from the David and Catherine Butt stable including the 2002 Amberley Cup.
Diana May won fives races for Harland from the Kevin Fairbairn stable.
Harland, an ACC consultant, moved to Christchurch 19 years ago and ventured into standardbred breeding when he purchased the Soky's Atom mare Believe In Me, the granddam of Takeiteasyonme, and began breeding from her nine years ago.
Her first foal, Come Away With Me (by Presidential Ball) was unplaced in 11 starts.
Her first foal is Takeiteasyonme (by Elsu).
Harland races Takeiteasyonme with a friend Gaby Maghzal, whose son-in-law Eli Sawma has a share in the filly along with Patrick Molly, the London-based son-in-law of the Harlands.
Believe In Me died in 2007 and the Harlands are breeding from only one mare, Come Away With Me, who is based at Wai Eyre Farm.
Karen Harland's mother is married to Ray Anicich, who bred and raced horses when farming at Lawrence including Vita Man (nine wins) and Matthew Lee (15 wins).
Anicich now lives in Rangiora.
The Anicich-owned Tara Toplady was fourth behind Takeiteasyonme at Rangiora.
If Harland did not hold a strong affinity with standardbreds he may well have been coerced into the greyhound industry.
Harland explained that he had asked a friend, successful greyhound owner John Roberts, to take a share in one of the Harland horses.
That did not have a happy conclusion when the horse was injured and was put down.
"John said that if he took a share in a horse I had to take a share in a greyhound," Harland related.
Harland was duly given a share in his first greyhound.
The dog turned out to be Rasmah, who has won 25 races and $90,000 in stakes, since he began racing 17 months ago.
"It's taken me nine years to breed a harness winner and I get a top greyhound at my first attempt. That tends to sum up racing," Harland concluded.
David Butt also has a leading chance tonight behind Prince Lee.
Prince Lee was a dashing first-start winner for the Butt stable last week in the hands of the Butts' son, Robert (Bob).
Drivers to have surpassed 1000 wins are: Tony Herlihy (2949), Maurice McKendry (2807), Ricky May (2106), Colin De Filippi (1794), Peter Wolfenden (1762), Maurice Holmes (1666), David Butcher (1609), Peter Ferguson (1581), Anthony Butt (1429), Jim Curtin (1271), Mark Jones (1180), Mike De Filippi (1158), Brent Mangos (1129), Mark Purdon (1106), Jack Smolenski (1059), Robert Cameron (1056), James Stormont (1022) and John Hay (1019).
