Apprentice Brown an easy fit for Spencer

[Wandering Eyes]

Opting for Cambridge apprentice Sienna Brown as Spencer’s rider at Wanganui on Saturday wasn’t a difficult decision for the talented gelding’s connections.

Brown was already familiar with Spencer from his time with Waverley trainer Erin Hocquard, having ridden him twice for a win and a third placing earlier in the season.

Topweight of 62kg for the Manawatu ITM 1340m meant an apprentice claim was again called for the Derryn gelding in his first start for new trainers Peter and Shaun McKay.

Brown’s four-kilo claim reduced Spencer’s impost to a still clear topweight, but it was sufficient for him to race to the lead at the top of the straight and win with his ears pricked by three-quarters of a length over the favourite Bedtime Story.

Brown’s employer Chris Wood also trains for Spencer’s Taranaki owner-breeders Aidan and Kieran Schumacher, their best horse currently with him being last-start Gr.3 New Zealand Cup (3200m) placegetter Canheroc.

Brown’s parents Tony and Nikki owned her career-first winner, the Hanna Orting-trained Hadid, who she rode to an all-the-way win at Tauranga in March.

Adding further depth to her racing background, her late grandfather Barry Brown was a part-owner of the renowned iron horse Sir Slick, the winner of six Group One races amongst 22 wins during the mid to late-2000s.

“I’m too young to remember Sir Slick when he was racing, but I’ve heard lots of stories about him and there’s heaps of photos of him at home winning all those races,” 19-year-old Brown said.

“Mum and Dad also have a video when they put the camera on me after one of his wins and I was crying – I would have been two or three and with all the excitement it must have been too much for me.

“Slick must have been such a good horse – imagine riding one like him?”

Brown, who has now ridden seven winners from limited opportunities, including five of her 59 raceday mounts this season, is more than happy to settle for the likes of Spencer, who she understandably rates the best she has been associated with.

“He’s such a cool horse, he literally knows his job,” she said. “He chills when he jumps out of the gates and then when you get to the 800 he just goes and does his own thing.

“I went across to Matamata to ride him on Thursday morning and the way he felt I knew he was going to be hard to beat.

“I’m really happy with how my career has been going; my new boss Chris Wood has been a big help. I just need to get braver ringing up for rides, but I’m sure that will come.”

Meanwhile, plans for Spencer may include the Gr. 1 TAB Mufhasa Mile (1600m) at Trentham on December 7, the same day as his originally intended target, the Gr. 3 Spring Sprint (1400m).

“It was good to see him perform so well on top of the ground after all his earlier wins had been on soft or heavy tracks,” Peter McKay said. “We’re still leaning towards the Spring Sprint, which he won when it was at Te Rapa last season, but we’d also be keen to see how strong the Group One mile might be.

“He was rated 100 before winning on Saturday and I’ll have to talk to the handicapper about where he might have ended up, but he’s pushed himself up there and we might just have to look at weight-for-age racing.”

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