Photo: Peter Rubery (Race Images Palmerston North)
Brent Cooper’s band of syndication supporters enjoyed a weekend to remember with a winning double headed by star racemare Provence (Savabeel) in the Gr. 1 TAB Mufhasa Classic (1600m).
More than a decade and half since dipping his toe in the water by establishing the Auckland Racing Club’s Winners Circle Syndicate, Cooper takes special pleasure that the same group of enthusiasts is still in the winning groove.
“When I was a director of the Auckland Racing Club, I came up with the idea of providing people with low-cost entry into racehorse ownership,” Cooper said.
“The club supported the idea and we got lucky when Waikato Stud provided a filly for lease that was named Masquerade. She was trained by Stephen McKee and became our first feature winner when she won the Soliloquy Stakes (Listed, 1400m) at Ellerslie in 2009.
“It’s quite incredible to think that the same syndicate is still operating with many of the same people involved and they’re now having a ball with Provence.
“I’m proud of the fact that the model of a manageable number of syndicate members has worked so well that 40 of the original 55 Winners Circle Syndicate members are involved with Provence.”
The Savabeel mare, raced in partnership under a lease arrangement with her breeder Tony Rider and trained by Stephen Marsh, is now a triple Group One winner after her successes last season in the Gr.1 Thorndon Mile (1600m) and Gr.1 New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1600m).
Saturday’s nail-biting Trentham win was Provence’s seventh from 19 starts and took her stake-earnings past $1 million. It was also the 30th win for syndicates managed by Cooper.
“It’s all about relationships, and it’s definitely made easier when you’re working with good people like Stephen Marsh and Tony Rider,” Cooper said.
“I said recently that racing’s full of dreams as well as the occasional nightmare, and that’s something I was reminded of on the weekend.
“Our Social Racing Starting Gates Syndicate won a race at Te Aroha on Sunday with Cosmopolitan, who we also race in partnership with Tony, who bred her, and is trained by another good trainer mate, Graham Richardson.
“On the other side of the equation, our runners on the weekend also included one that we thought was an absolute certainty but could manage only fifth, and another that ran last.
“Racing horses is something that certainly keeps your feet on the ground.”
Family commitments meant Cooper and his wife Wendy couldn’t make it down to Trentham on Saturday, which added to the tension surrounding Provence’s win.
“Saturday was also our daughter Shelby’s birthday party down in Tauranga, so that’s where we were, watching the race on our phones in a restaurant in Papamoa,” he said.
“It was a pretty stressful experience having to wait so long for the judge to confirm the result after a photo-finish malfunction, but the main thing is that we eventually got the result we were all hoping for.”
