Respected trainer almost bookends decorated career

[Wandering Eyes]

Karen Fursdon’s solo training career opened with a winning chapter and she went oh so close to a fairytale ending at the weekend.

Successful with her first runner in her own right when Blazing Boy opened her account at Te Aroha in 1998, the popular Matamata horsewoman’s final representative Vino Valentino (NZ) (Zacinto) finished a close second at Te Rapa on Saturday.

It signalled the end of a long and successful career highlighted by the 2004 victory of Upsetthym in the Gr.1 Auckland Cup (3200m) off the back of the Rhythm mare’s success in the Gr.2 Queen Elizabeth Handicap (2400m).

She initially trained with her father Norm and brother Kevin and another subsequent partnership followed with Gemma Sliz.

She was apprenticed to Fursdon, as was Waikato Clerk of the Course Anna Jones, and rode Upsetthym in her Ellerslie wins.

“Dad, Kevin and I trained in partnership from 1983 before Dad retired in 1992 and then Kevin retired in the middle of 1998,” Fursdon said.

“I went out on my own and later trained with Gemma before training on my own again,” Fursdon said.

“I’ve enjoyed every single moment of it, being with Mum and Dad first and then with brother Kevin and my husband Kevin, who’s known as K2 to avoid confusion, and our three kids Jason, Ben and Nicky.

“They all helped, everybody helped, and it’s always been a family orientated affair right to the last minute.”

Upsetthym’s success in the Ellerslie feature provided Fursdon with the high point of her training career that netted 286 winners.

“It was special for all my family and friends, it was unbelievable and everybody was so tickled pink when she won,” she said.

“I also had a lot of help from Peter Stanaway who sourced horses for me from Sir Patrick Hogan and Upsetthym was one of them.

“Without Peter I would never have got the mare and he did a wonderful job. Nearly every horse was syndicated and we won a lot of races and we were taking on the ride of a lifetime with Upsetthym.”

Another topliner through the stable was the gifted Savabeel mare Yearn (NZ) (Savabeel).

“She was a very special horse to me because we have a great friendship with (owners) Mark and Cath (Lupton) and he went on holiday and I looked after her,” Fursdon said.

“There was a lot of banter about people telling Mark you won’t get that horse back as I won three in a row with her while they were away and to Mark’s credit, he didn’t want to take her back.”

She prepared Yearn to win on seven occasions, including the Gr.2 Auckland Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1400m) and placed in the Gr.1 Thorndon Mile (1600m), Gr.2 Rich Hill Mile (1600m) and the Gr.3 Cuddle Stakes (1600m).

Onlyarose, Baby Guiness, Silk Chardonnay, Maz Quinn and Le Sablier were other flagship performers while the latter’s half-brother I’ll’ava’alf was a well-performed jumper.

“I had a lot of jumpers and just adore them. I would be really disappointed if we can’t get jockeys to come to ride our jumpers, to me that’s the main reason we haven’t got as many jumpers,” Fursdon said.

She was also a pioneering figure in paving the way for women jockeys to become established and was a two-time ladies’ point to point winning rider in the early days.

Fursdon spent her career training out of Willow Stables, which was originally purchased by her father in 1954.

“We will thoroughly enjoy retirement and I can please myself what I do,” said Fursdon, who prides herself on her glass half full approach to life and racing.

“The industry has had an unbelievable turnaround due to some very innovative people.

“I love what’s happening with the hierarchy, they are so passionate and to see money coming in across the board, it still has to come in more to the bottom as well.”

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