CLEVERLY-NAMED PACER SALUTES AT ADDINGTON
Court On The Edge, who upstaged his more fancied Kentuckiana Lodge stablemate Sezana, to win at Addington on Thursday, December 6, is bred to win more races.
The son of top sire Bettor’s Delight is the first to race and now the first winner from the useful Courage Under Fire mare, Courageous Jay (1:58.7), a winner of four in NZ and another three in New South Wales.
Courageous Jay is a half-sister to an even faster mare in New Year’s Jay (1:54.6), who won eight, while their dam Jay’s Glen, is a race-winning Roydon Glen half-sister to Nero’s Jay (1:52.2, US), who won 86 races (68 in the US) and 12 in Australia including the 1989 Queensland Derby.
Court On The Edge, shown warming up for Anthony Butt prior to his unplaced run in the $25,000 maiden on NZ Cup day last month.
She (Courageous Jay) was raced by Lesley Court, and Lesley’s mother, Kathleen Edge, who bred and race the cleverly-named Court On The Edge.
The Edge and Court names have both been etched into New Zealand Cup pacing history.
Kathleen’s late husband, Steve, trained and drove upset 1961 cup winner Invicta.
Steve, then training at Rakaia, later moved to Waikoko, near Motukarara, where he trained and drove a smart Lordship pacer of the early 1980s in Light Lord, who won seven.
He was also on the executive of Harness Racing New Zealand in his latter years.
Lesley’s husband Brian Court is a brother of Graham Court, who with his son Paul, co-trained Terror To Love for three consecutive NZ Cup wins in 2011-13.
Brian, a former harness trainer-driver who had a stint in Macau in the 1980s, switched codes to the thoroughbred world a decade ago.
He currently trains a couple of gallopers which Cran and Chrissie Dalgety co-own, including the capable lightly-raced winner, Upperhand, and maiden Grand Express, who was unplaced in his debut at Riccarton on Friday for the Courtco company, the Dalgetys’, and the Te Taina Partnership.
However, it was time for the Courtco Racing Ltd colours to shine at the harness on Thursday with Court On The Edge driven positively from the four gate by Blair Orange.
Court On The Edge, who hadn’t paid a dividend in his previous six starts, was given every chance, being sent to the front, then trailing Sezana (Nathan Purdon), who was back early from the outside gate, then tried to lead over the final lap.
With a sprint lane finish, Court On The Edge had the final say, getting through to win by a head in a 2:01.5 rate for the 1980m, the leaders last 800m in 57.7s and final 400m in 27.5s.
Sezana’s first race for over a month, having last racing at Kaikoura on October 29, may have been the difference over the final 50 metres.
Court On The Edge had been solid in three appearances in February-March, with a fourth and two fifths.
With a stepped up on Thursday after three unplaced starts last month, the last two from second row draws.
