Tumut trainer Kerry Weir is happy to admit that his success ebbs and flows more than most but that he enjoys the good times when they roll around.
“You go through them lean patches, and most of the time, those lean patches last longer than the good ones,” Weir laughed.
“We just try and make the most of those good runs.”
After Crocodile Cod landed the Tumut Boxing Day and New Year’s Day Adelong Cup double, Weir’s stable didn’t have many runners for six months, with Cracker Dance his next galloper to breakthrough at Wagga on June 2.
The striking grey mare won a 1600m Maiden Plate that day and won two more at Wagga (1800m) in July and Gundagai (1800m) in August.
Add in there an excellent win by Red Hill at Narrandera in June, which backed up and won a picnic race at Young on Saturday, and the tide has definitely turned for Weir and his team.
“It’s all down to hard work,” Weir said.
“At the moment, we’ve got a lot of horses and a lot of babies, and we’re working our arses off.
“I worked 18 horses before we left this morning, and five of them have been to the races, and the rest are babies.”
Weir has always had a good old stager in his yard, enjoying Country Cup success with the likes of Universal Pack, Sand Dune and Bondo, but he admitted that times have changed and that purchasing only tried horses was a thing of the past.
“Those horses all won two or three cups, but these days, you need those young ones to find a champion,” Weir said.
Weir, who’s in Sydney for The Everest carnival, will send his team to Wagga on Saturday with two more up-and-comers to strut their stuff.
With Emma Ly in the saddle, they will have Gurty (gate 3) having just her second start in the 1000m Maiden Handicap, and the Bon Hoffa mare appears to be a work in progress.
“With her, it’s still about education,” Weir said.
“The other day when Kayla (Nisbet) rode her, she said she was a bit field shy, so we’ve put the blinkers on.
“Her work on Tuesday was good, and Kayla couldn’t ride her, so we’ve put Emma Ly on for the two kilos off, and she should improve.”
Ly will also ride the last-start runner-up Box Of Crackers (gate 9) in the 1300m Maiden Plate stable.
The four-year-old is only new to the stable, having previously raced with Mick Price and Michael Kent, and last time out, she put in a reasonable effort, finishing second to the promising Miss Hades in the 1100m Maiden Handicap at Cootamundra over the October long weekend.
“We’ve given her two runs since buying her, and she’s drawn the outside barrier both times, meaning we’ve had to try and lead,” Weir said.
“She’s been going well and found one better at Coota last start.
“Kayla told us she’ll get further, so we want to try and see where she is at. Emma will ride her quietly, and if she finishes off, she’ll be right in it.”
It’s a good seven-race card at Wagga on Saturday, with the meeting set to be headlined by the 1300m Benchmark 74 Handicap and the 2500m Benchmark 66 heat of the Wagga Stayers Series.
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