Simon celebrates memorable double

[Wandering Eyes]

Last week will live long in the memory of northern race caller George Simon.

On New Zealand Trotting Cup Day at Addington Raceway, he became a Group One-winning standardbred breeder when Marketplace took out the Woodlands Stud Sires’ Stakes Series Final (1980m), and four days later he called Talentoso, who he bred and part-owns with his wife Maryanne, to victory at Tauranga.

“It was an unbelievable week,” Simon said. “I was calling Te Aroha last Tuesday and I just sat in the commentary box and watched the race from Addington and cheered him (Marketplace) home.”

With Marketplace’s victory, Simon has become a dual code Group One-winning breeder, having bred three-time elite-level thoroughbred victor and now stallion Turn Me Loose in partnership with his wife Maryanne.

While known as the northern voice of thoroughbred racing in New Zealand, Simon also has a passion for harness racing, having called the code for a number of years at Alexandra Park following Alby Gains’ retirement, and also enjoyed competing in the sulky himself in the amateur ranks.

“I have raced a lot of harness horses over the years, and I really enjoy the harness racing side of things too. I was an amateur driver for a few years before it got too busy, I love it,” he said.

Marketplace is out of five-win Christian Cullen mare Cullen Who, who has been Simon’s first foray into standardbred breeding.

“We bought the dam, Cullen Who, after she had won her first start at Forbury Park. She won five races and over $50,000 on the track,” he said.

“There are four mates involved with her – Gordon McKenzie, Tony Barron, Tony Clark, and I.

“She is the first one we have bred from. She was probably the best-bred horse that we have raced.”

The now 11-year-old mare has had five foals to date, all by champion standardbred sire Bettor’s Delight, with the ownership group electing to sell each of the resulting progeny at New Zealand Bloodstock Standardbred’s National Yearling Sales.

“We have sold three for about $100,000 each on average, and Marketplace was the latest one,” Simon said.

“Who’s Bettor was the first one and then Who’s Delight, who has been flying, and then Marketplace, who has been the standout.”

“Maryanne, my wife, and I went to watch him go through the ring down at Christchurch the year he sold, and he was a lovely yearling.

“Tony Barron had prepped him for the sale, as he does with all of our horses (standardbreds). He sold for $100,000 and went to some good judges (Philip and Glenys Kennard), and we have been following his progress all the way through.

“Early reports that we got back from the stable (trainer Regan Todd) were that he was a very promising horse.

“What he has done in his last five starts, culminating with the Group One win the other day, is just incredible to watch, it was a great thrill.”

They say good things come in threes, and that is definitely the case for Simon, with both Marketplace and Turn Me Loose being third foals out of their respective dams.

Like Cullen Who, Turn Me Loose’s dam Indomitable was Simon’s first foray into breeding in the thoroughbred code, and he and Maryanne struck the jackpot at just their second mating, with Indomitable already having had one foal prior to the couple leasing her.

“We decided that we would get into the breeding side of things and we leased a mare off Sir Peter Vela and his late brother Philip,” Simon said.

“She was a Danehill mare called Indomitable and they very kindly allowed us to lease her. We started breeding from her and her third foal turned out to be Turn Me Loose.

“We sold him as a ready to run sale horse. We put a reserve of $25,000, we got $52,500 for him and we thought we were geniuses. He won $1.7 million in stakes and we have sent two mares back to him at Windsor Park Stud and that has cost us $20,000 a pop.”

Turn Me Loose has been the standout graduate of the Simons’ Mana Park, with the three-time Group One winner holding pride of place at the couple’s home.

“I always talk about there is going to be a big night at Iggy’s,” Simon said. “Iggy was our nickname for Turn Me Loose when he was a young horse here. He was the very first horse that we put our Mana Park brand on.

“Maryanne wanted a swimming pool and I wanted a man cave, so my man cave is called Iggy’s as a nod to Turn Me Loose. So, everyone that is watching (trackside) and is thinking ‘what is he going on about with Iggy’s?’, that is my man cave.”

There have been many a celebration at Iggy’s, and it experienced another on Saturday night following Talentoso’s win at Tauranga.

The Simons bred the now four-year-old gelding and race him with a group of friends out of trainer Shelley Hale’s barn.

“Iggy’s got a few victims on Saturday night after Talentoso’s win,” Simon quipped.

The son of Tarzino is out of a half-sister to Turn Me Loose, and Simon was rapt to call his horse home on Saturday to cap the memorable week in style.

“He was probably the easiest winner of the day, he was never going to get beaten – he put himself there and it was a lovely ride by Tayla Mitchell,” Simon said.

“We have always had an opinion of him, but he has just been unlucky throughout his career so far.

“He is by Tarzino out of a Rip Van Winkle mare, which we bred, Dormez Vous, she is a half-sister to Turn Me Loose. She is one of three in our broodmare band.

“We kept him back from the sales. I like racing horses, so we thought we would keep him back and just have a bit of fun with him ourselves and roped in some good friends of ours.

“One of them, Gary Thomas, it is his first horse he has ever had, so he thinks this game is easy.”

Simon said the colours Talentoso carried to victory hold great sentimental value.

“The colours that Maryanne and I race our horses in, the pink and mauve colours, are the colours of my late father-in-law Jim Mead,” Simon said.

“He was a wonderful man and when he died, Maryanne got the colours, and we registered and race all of our horses in his colours.

“They are very easy colours to see, especially when they are three lengths in front going for the line.

“We have had a fair bit of success in those colours too. We had our own stakes winner last year, Denby Road, who won the Cambridge Breeders’ (Gr.3, 1200m). He has been off with injury.

“We try and sell our horses, but through circumstances they are sometimes not ready for a sale or don’t make the grade, so we keep them back and we generally race them ourselves and have a bit of fun.”

The Simons started breeding just over 15 years ago and Simon said it didn’t take long for their breeding numbers to expand.

“It’s a vicious circle. We started with one mare, and we leased another off Sir Peter called Miranda Miss, she was a Reset mare and left a stakes winner we bred called The Soultaker,” he said.

“After several years we had about 18 horses that we owned 100 percent ourselves at one stage. Once it’s in your blood it is there. We enjoy it.

“We foal them down ourselves, so it is Maryanne and I out in the paddock at 3am in the morning, and we have done that for a number of years.

“They become a part of your family. You have your ups and downs, and it is not a game for the weak of heart, but when you have a win, we enjoy it.”

While he has enjoyed plenty of success as a breeder, Simon is quick to pass the accolades onto Maryanne with their thoroughbreds, and Gordon McKenzie and Tony Barron with their standardbreds.

“I don’t take any of the credit for it, it is all Maryanne’s work as far as the gallopers are concerned, she is the breeding guru,” he said.

“Gordon McKenzie and Tony Barron have always advised Tony Clark and I of what we are going to be doing with Cullen Who. We follow what we have been advised to do by the boys. They are good mates of ours and we listen to the experts.”

Simon is still basking in Group One glory after last week’s success, and said the win was comparable to his previous elite-level achievements with Turn Me Loose.

“It is the elite of the elite,” he said. “You dream about competing in a Group One race, whether that be as an owner, trainer, jockey, driver or breeder. For me it is quite a dream.

“We had experienced the thrill of a Group One race through the deeds of Turn Me Loose all those years ago and now to do it in the harness racing game was so unique, it gave me a real buzz, and to do it with good friends is even better.”

While unable to be trackside last week due to his northern calling commitments, Simon was able to head down a day later to spend some time with Marketplace at trainer Regan Todd’s property, and he is excited for what the future holds for the gelding following the visit.

“After the Te Aroha races, I flew from Auckland to Christchurch and I popped out to Regan Todd’s stable, who very kindly allowed me to go out and have a look at the horse,” Simon said.

“I spent the morning with Regan Todd and Craig Ferguson (driver) and saw Marketplace up close and personal. I hadn’t seen him since the day we sold him as a yearling, and gee he is a nice horse.

“Indications are that they believe he is going to be a nice three-year-old and time will be his friend, so what he is doing now is fantastic to see. To see him get a Group One was unbelievable.”

It was a timely win by Marketplace, with his breeders set to offer a full-sister to the exciting juvenile at next year’s yearling sales.

“The full-sister that is going to the sale next year, she really fills the eye,” Simon said. “Tony Barron has been very positive in his reports about her.

“The mare, Cullen Who, had another filly foal last week, so that was just great to see.”

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