Beware the first starter from the Balcairn stable of John and Karen Parsons.
Carpathia is the latest thoroughbred to emerge off the production line that has produced 43 winners after the win of Paraketo in the last race at the Waimate Racing Club's meeting at Oamaru yesterday.
Carpathia comes from a prolific family. Her dam, Drizzle, is a half-sister to 2007 White Robe Lodge winner Pins 'N' Needles (six wins, $185,163), along with the progressive mare Miss Alice, who has won five races from 21 starts.
The 3yr-old filly's co-trainer, John Parsons, said regular stable client Stan Jones gifted them the filly after Bev Jones' death.
''Karen just got a few people together to race it,'' Parsons said.
Those few people were members of the Guerin family, who had a dream start to combined ownership.
Michael Guerin, racing editor of The New Zealand Herald, races the filly with his father Bernard, brother Lyndon and sisters Monica Robbins and Nola Rochford.
''I'm thrilled, as it's the first time the five of us have owned one horse together,'' Guerin told the Otago Daily Times.
Carpathia's sire, Ruby's Jester, tends to produce sprinters, but Parsons sees no reason why the filly could not get another 200m.
''Those Ruby's Jesters are probably better short-course horses. But it's a little bit hard to know as she's just had the one run. Depending on what the tracks are like, maybe we'll have a couple more this time in then put her aside.''
Carpathia's race was not without drama, as Mystify Me was a late scratching after veteran jockey David Walsh refused to ride the 3yr-old.
Chief stipendiary steward for the day Jeff McLaughlin said the filly did not want to go around to the start, getting only as far as the crossing on the track before playing up.
Walsh dismounted and walked back to the birdcage while the horse was led back by the clerk of the course.
Stewards said a jockey had the right to refuse to ride a horse, especially if they were concerned about their safety.
The short time between Walsh's refusal and the start of the race meant there was not enough time to find a replacement.
