Photo: Peter Rubery (Race Images)
Harry Parslow bred Who Knows (Redwood) with the Gr.1 Livamol Classic (2040m) in mind, and his plan came to fruition when she placed behind Waitak and Tuxedo in last Saturday’s Hawke’s Bay feature.
Who Knows’ family has a strong association with the race, with her granddam, Cinder Bella, having won it in 2001 when known as the Kelt Capital Stakes. Cinder Bella had a glittering career, which also included victory in the Gr. Captain Cook Stakes (1600m), a race that could also be in the crosshairs for Who Knows.
Cinder Bella had six foals, with her best performer being stakes winner Almost Court, and while her daughter Bello Capello failed to win on raceday, she is leaving her mark as a broodmare through the deeds of Who Knows.
Who Knows was a rambunctious youngster and Parslow decided to send her to a smaller stable in a rural environment. He tapped Wanganui trainer Niall Quinn on the shoulder, with the expat Irishman happy to oblige.
“We have had her for quite a long time,” Quinn said. “Harry bred her and got her broken in. Being by Redwood, she was quite highly strung, so he wanted her to go to more of a farm environment and thought the quieter lifestyle of a smaller stable would suit her, and that is why she came here.
“We are on quite a big farm and have quite a range of paddocks and boxes. They do a lot of farm work, and it is a different environment for their work than a big stable.”
Who Knows was subsequently syndicated amongst a 10-strong group of owners, many of whom were fresh to racing. They race her as the Fast Horses Syndicate, and Who Knows is living up to their moniker.
“A friend of Harry’s set it up and he approached 10 people and said, ‘how would you like to waste $3,000 a year’, and they all jumped in,” Quinn said. “A lot of them are first time owners and they just think this is the easiest game in the world.
“They are a really neat group of owners who were looking for fun and she has given them a lot of that. They have really enjoyed the thrill of it and regardless of what the horse has done, they have had so much enjoyment going to the races and meeting all the different people.
“When they went to Christchurch last year, they made a weekend of it, and they have enjoyed following her around the country and meeting all the various people in racing.”
Prior to Saturday’s Group One placing, Who Knows had won six and placed in four of her 24 starts, including finishing runner-up behind Chase in last year’s Gr.3 Winter Cup (1600m).
Parslow had always held a desire to contest the Livamol Classic with Who Knows, and Quinn decided this season was the right time to have a crack.
“Her breeder, Harry Parslow, was always really keen for years that this was the race he wanted her to go to,” Quinn said. “We targeted the race quite a long time ago.”
Who Knows readied for her first tilt at elite-level with a seventh placed finish in the Gr.3 Metric Mile (1600m) at Trentham last month.
While punters weren’t overly enamoured with that run and gave her little chance in the Livamol, where she jumped a 51-1 outsider, Quinn was more upbeat about her prospects, and he was thrilled to see her storm home late to run third.
“We were confident of a pretty good run,” Quinn said. “She had done a lot of work at home and she had been in work for quite a while. We were pretty happy heading into Saturday.
“We were hoping to be a little more forward but all-in-all we were really happy with the run. She finished it off really strongly.
“She has always been a bit of a time job. We always thought she had a lot of ability, it has just been getting her there physically and mentally. She seems like she could carry on with it now.”
Saturday’s result has given Quinn the confidence to map out further stakes targets, although he has yet to decide what they will be.
“We are looking at possibly Riccarton or Auckland,” he said. “I tried the New Zealand Cup (Gr.3, 3200m) last year, but unfortunately the weather played against us. We were very happy with her going into that, but I don’t think we are going to look at the New Zealand Cup this year. We are looking at keeping her around the 2000m to 2500m races, there are quite a few of them coming up.”
Quinn was rapt with the weekend’s result, and he was quick to pass on kudos to the rest of his small team, including his wife, Emma, and Jade Murray.
Quinn was also pleased to be racing back at Hastings.
“It was really good to get back to Hawke’s Bay,” he said. “We were really pleased for the club and they put on a brilliant day and looked after everyone. It is very tough in the CD, so it is really good to have a bit of positivity there and to race back on a really good track. It is a credit to them.”
While Who Knows will continue to be the stable’s flagbearer, Quinn is looking forward to stepping out stable stalwart Rusty Lane over the summer months, and he said this season will likely be the nine-year-old’s last.
“We will race him through the summer and hopefully he pays my tax bill again, like he has for the last few years,” Quinn quipped.
“He has been a good, handy horse that we race with some really good friends. He is not a top horse, but he has been pretty consistent every year.
“He is nine and he works around like a three-year-old still. He is really sound and has good joints, but I would say this will be his last year.”
