Marc Conners felt sick in the stomach when he saw Brenton Avdulla ease Winning Verse right out of the race to finish a distant last in a BM72 at Randwick on April 23rd. “I was convinced it had to be either a bleeding attack or heart arrhythmia,” said the trainer. “The filly had handled Soft 5 and Soft 6 tracks previously so I couldn’t believe a Heavy 10 would pull her up to that extent. Brenton Avdulla said she couldn’t pick her feet up from the moment she left the barrier. He wisely looked after her and left us with a horse to go on with.”
With the long range forecast predicting continued rain, Marc immediately hatched a plan to look for a firmer track in Melbourne with Winning Verse. Sixteen days after the Randwick disaster the filly easily won an 800m Warwick Farm trial, albeit on a H8 track but treated very kindly by jockey Jess Taylor. It was then a nineteen day gap to a BM72 fillies and mares event over the Caulfield 1100m, hopefully on a decent track. Marc’s next problem was to get the quirky filly onto a horse transport.
Marc doesn't look this composed when he's trying to get Winning Verse onto a horse float - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
“You couldn’t believe the struggle we have to get her onto a truck or trailer,” said Marc. “She just jacks up and flatly refuses to load. Just when you think you’ve got her, she’ll whip around and pull back. It’s crucial to stay calm and wait until she’s good and ready. When she thinks she’s had a victory, she’ll suddenly walk onto the float as though nothing has happened. It sometimes takes five of us to get her into the Warwick Farm swimming pool. She’s very frustrating.”
“When it was time to leave for Melbourne on Wednesday night, we took her around to the local horse transport depot where they were able to get her onto the truck from an enclosed loading ramp. She was on board before she could work it out. My son Mitchell took delivery of her in Melbourne. He’s working as a foreman for Maher and Eustace but had Saturday off and was able to take her to the races. He said they tricked her when it was time to go to Caulfield by loading her straight off a treadmill onto the truck. Then of course we all saw the antics behind the barrier. She’s normally OK at the gates, but had to pick Saturday to be a prima donna.”
All was forgiven when the quirky filly led from gate 15 and raced three horses off the fence throughout before attacking the line to win the Rod Griffiths Memorial Trophy by three lengths. Runner up Authentic Jewel and third placegetter Coco Rox are both NSW trained fillies who like Winning Verse, were in Melbourne seeking firmer tracks. They’ve won seven races between them and are both metropolitan winners. Winning jockey Michael Dee was impressed and expressed his hope that the flying filly will return to Melbourne.
The flying filly gave Michael Dee an armchair ride in the Rod Griffiths Memorial. She was airborne on the line - courtesy Racing Photos.
With yearling prices at undreamed of levels, buyers with limited purchasing power will be greatly buoyed by the Winning Verse story. It all began when Marc Conners and son Mitchell treated themselves to a brief Auckland holiday in 2020. Their plan was to attend the NZ Bloodstock Sale in search of a yearling or two with sprinting pedigrees. They dared to dream that they might be able to return the following year for the Karaka Millions. “Like most buyers I’ve got likes and dislikes when it comes to pedigrees,” said Marc. “Quite often you’re attracted to a yearling because of a previous connection with a particular bloodline. I liked Winning Verse for a few reasons.”
“To begin with she’s by Winning Rupert who was trained at Warwick Farm by Bjorn Baker and I saw a lot of him. He won five from six including three stakes races in Queensland by huge margins. He’s one of the fastest horses I’ve ever seen. I liked the fact the filly was out of a mare by Dylan Thomas. I’ve trained two very handy horses out of Dylan Thomas mares, namely Dylan’s Romance and Celtic Love who won nineteen races between them. Coincidentally her grand dam is by Victory Prince who was a Group 1 winner for my father. Thirdly the filly wasn’t tall but very strongly built. I was stunned to get her for $10,000 NZ and I’m sure mine was the only bid. She’s now won almost $150,000.”
Marc was delighted to syndicate the Winning Rupert filly among existing and new clients. Unfortunately his Karaka Millions dream didn’t materialise, and it was April of 2021 before the chestnut filly debuted in a maiden two year old at Kembla Grange. With Jess Taylor up, Winning Verse raced greenly and didn’t win by any fancy margin, but it was a good start for her large ownership group. She jumped straight to stakes level next run and wasn’t disgraced in finishing fourth only 2.4 lengths behind Xtremetime in the listed Woodlands Stakes at Rosehill. The benefit gained from those two runs was evident two weeks later, when the filly went under by only half a head to Park Avenue in an open 2YO at Randwick. The paddock beckoned.
Winning Verse's maiden win at Kembla in April 2021. Jess Taylor was the jockey - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Winning Verse resumed as a three year old in a Warwick Farm barrier trial over 804m with veteran trackwork rider, and former jockey Brian Wood in the saddle. A good win in that trial, and the engagement of Hugh Bowman saw her start a $2.50 favourite in a Cl 1 at Gosford just over three weeks later. Although wide throughout she disappointed her trainer in finishing fourth 1.4 lengths from the winner Head On Up. Marc had her vetted the following day and was relieved when X/rays revealed a small bone chip in a front fetlock joint. Minor surgery was followed by a long spell.
It was thirty four weeks before Winning Verse resumed with a soft second in a Warwick farm barrier trial, and then came her worrying failure on the H10 track at Randwick. Subsequent events have confirmed that she can handle soft ground, but refuses to stretch out in the heavy range. Local knowledge paid off when Michael Dee found the best lane for the filly at Caulfield on Saturday. She was nothing short of explosive.
The powerfully made chestnut filly is one of sixteen horses in the Marc Conners stables at Warwick Farm. He shares the premises with his legendary dad Clarry who’s always available for that valuable second opinion. Apart from Winning Verse, Marc is confident horses like Danish Prince, Rebel Rama and Starstruck Barbie can follow up on recent wins. Rebel Rama is on her way to Brisbane while Winning Verse will return to Victoria for the listed A.R. Creswick Stakes at Flemington on June 18th. “It’s a big step up because she’ll strike colts and geldings this time, but she deserves a throw at the stumps,” said Marc.
Marc and wife Michelle made a quick trip to Melbourne for Winning Verse's race. They were glad they took the trouble - courtesy Racing Photos.
The trainer was the prime mover in the organisation of a farewell dinner last Sunday night for retiring veteran Brian Wood. Both Marc and Clarry Conners have greatly valued Wood’s input as their chief trackwork rider over the last twenty years. Look for a report on Brian’s farewell on this week’s website content.
(Banner image - Sydney fillies filled the placings in the Rod Griffiths Memorial. Winning Verse was dominant in winning by 3 lengths - courtesy Racing Photos.)