Down A Hundy too good on debut

By Rob Courtney

“He doesn’t know much but the motor is there,” remarked Down A Hundy's co-trainer Greg Hope.

And the Downbytheseaside 3YO gelding showed glimpses of that motor when winning on debut at Addington last Friday night when a pronounced favourite. 

While not breaking at the start, he conservatively gave his rivals a 50m head start after being very slow to hit his stride but had the horsepower to come over the top to deal to his six rivals in the final 100m. 

While the overall time was nothing special, the manner of the win combined with what experiences the horse has accumulated along the way (not much), this result was very encouraging going forward.

Young driver Gemma Thornley certainly thinks so.

“I think he is very promising and as long as we keep him a happy settled horse, I think he will do a nice job,” she shared.

It remains to be seen if he stays in the same ownership because the potential buyers have already begun circling and the money on offer might be too good to turn down.

From the Jereme’s Jet mare Star In The Future (1 win), Down A Hundy is her third foal. First foal Slip A Hundy won three races here quite quickly before getting exported to Australia then America running up a final winning tally of 30 wins with $250k in the bank. He also went close to breaking the 1:50 barrier with a best MR of 1:50.8

Her second foal Two Jules has won three races this season since being sent north to the Purdon/Phelan training partnership.

Further investigation of the breed, gives even more weight to the thought that Down A Hundy could be a decent racehorse.

Second dam In The Future was the only foal of her dam In The Making (1 win from just 3 starts) but had ‘blue blood’ breeding to catch one's attention, being by In The Pocket from Tuapeka Kay. 

The latter, by Smooth Fella, was from Tuapeka Star, making her a full sister to a very smart youngster in Ermis (17 wins) and a half sister to former glamour pacer/NZ Cup winner Iraklis (22 wins). 

Acquired by the Whitelocks in the late 90s, Tuapeka Star produced a host of ‘Braeside’ horses that further enhanced the commercial appeal of this stud book family.

In modern times, the likes of Mo’unga, Treacherous Baby, O’Baby and Kayla Marie have all directly come from this breed, just to mention a few.

So if he stays in the country, Down A Hundy looks like a real prospect and certainly a horse to follow in the coming weeks.