Michael House celebrated almost a year as a Southland trainer by producing a winning treble at Ascot Park on Saturday.
House moved a team of horses to the Invercargill track on May 30 last year and Saturday’s meeting was the last before a full year ticks over and his Southland base celebrates its first birthday.
It was appropriate Zoned Scarlett brought up his winning treble in race 5 with Samantha Ottley in the sulky.
The trotter was House’s first winner from his Southland base, followed by 28 more in the next 12 months. Zoned Scarlett’s victory came after Santanna Mach (race 2) and Midnight In Memphis (race 4) scored for Blair Orange, who has been a key figure in House’s Southland set-up.
Although pleased with his success in the deep south, House admitted it was disappointing those wins have not resulted in him attracting new owners.
“I haven’t secured any new owners. I am funding it all and I am not making any money.
“I am wasting a great fortune and if I didn’t have another great business supporting it all I wouldn’t be doing it at all.
“But I enjoy racing. I started out at the top end desiring good horses and I got rid of all the poor ones.
“Then I used the system to sell hundreds and hundreds of horses. Then I went through the stud thing and now I have gone back to my roots over the last five years.
“You never get sick of winning races. No-one does, it doesn’t matter what sort of race. It is always uplifting, it is a lot of scheming and planning.”
“And I am just a small part of it. I have got wonderful staff and all the great drivers in Christchurch. They have all got a role in it and my one is only a small one.”
House modestly deflected praise for his southern success, but was not hesitant in commending Southland stable manager Tyler Dewe.
“Tyler has done a wonderful job. I can only thank him and he deserves all of the recognition he gets. He has been under pressure after losing some staff so he did a great job this week.”
Ultimate Stride’s win at Ascot Park on Saturday is set to have a major impact on the Harness Jewels.
The Phil Williamson-trained trotter effectively booked his ticket to Cambridge with a front-running victory in race 8 for driver Matthew Williamson.
The win took Ultimate Stride from outside the Harness Jewels 4yo Ruby’s top 12 qualifying spots to 10th position.
The 4yr-old’s win may not have looked brilliant in the last 100m as runner-up Boyz Invasion got within three-quarters of a length at the line.
However, Williamson said he let Ultimate Stride cruise to the line knowing the race was safely in hand.
