We’ve seen an amazing sequence of Sydney metropolitan wins lately by horses of humble origins. $7000 online purchase Willaidow recently made it four straight with a Midway win at Rosehill. Terra Mater, a $1750 online “steal” notched consecutive wins at Randwick, while a $6000 Inglis HTBA Sale graduate Bomarea was a brilliant winner at headquarters just before Christmas. Let’s not forget TAB Highway winner Possibly So who was a $2000 purchase from a 2020 Gold Coast yearling sale.
If you think those four examples are good for the morale of racing’s smaller players, let me steal the words made famous by Hollywood legend Al Jolson in the very first “talkie” movie The Jazz Singer in 1927- “You Ain’t Heard Nothin’ Yet”. Highly promising sprinter Our Kobison hits the others clean out of the ballpark. He’s a touch on the small side and bordering on plain to look at, but there’s a small turbocharger under the bonnet. In winning Saturday’s BM88 at Rosehill Gardens Our Kobison made it five wins from only eight starts with a couple of placings thrown in. In fact the only time he’s missed a place was in a Gosford maiden almost a year ago when he missed the start badly. Admittedly he railed through to join the leaders, but the damage had been done. Even then he was only two lengths behind Gayleben in fourth place.
Aaron Bullock was the jockey when the gelding won his maiden at Newcastle a year ago while Andrew Gibbons had the mount when he won a BM64 at Newcastle last July. Both jockeys were impressed. Equally impressed was James McDonald after winning a WF BM72 on Our Kobison in August. Trainer Angela Davies heeded his words and wasted no time in whisking the improving sprinter to the paddock.
Our Kobison's third win and his first with James McDonald - Warwick Farm August 2023 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
On resuming he covered plenty of extra ground in finishing a close second to Tintookie at Randwick on Jan 6th with Tommy Berry in the saddle. McDonald was back on for a BM78 at Rosehill on the 20th of last month, and literally heaped praise on the horse as he unsaddled. He couldn’t wait to ride him again in Saturday’s BM88 but was robbed of the opportunity by the ATC medico after a barrier mishap earlier in the day. Kerrin McEvoy needed no persuasion to take the reins and was effusive in his praise of the four year old after a record breaking win. The gelding took the field up to the tearaway leader Dipsy Doodle before posting a 3.5 length win in a breathtaking 1.08.30. He took a whisker off the previous track record established by multiple Gr 1 winner All Our Mob almost twenty seven years ago. He followed a frenetic pace with comfort, before producing a big “kick” to put the opposition away.
Our Kobison attacked the line with relish in running course record time at Rosehill - courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.
The background story to this horse’s very existence deserves highlighting. Our Kobison’s sire Kobayashi showed any amount of talent as a two year old when trained in Victoria by father-son team Leon and Troy Corstens. He raced only seven times for two dominant wins at Caulfield in 2017, one of them at stakes level. Three starts later he pulled up lame after an unplaced effort at Moonee Valley and time was called on his brief career.
Kobayashi was raced by a huge syndicate which included a small group known as “the Soccer Mums”. This little syndicate within a syndicate was managed by the ever enthusiastic Jodie Fessopoulos who just happens to be the mother of two Victorian jockeys - James Riordan who rode more than thirty winners before increasing weight ended his career, and Liam Riordan who has more than 300 wins on the board and continues to ride regular winners in Victoria. Kobayashi’s stakes win and the fact that he was a commanding looking son of super sire I Am Invincible, attracted the attention of the Aquis operation who identified him as a likely type for a smaller Queensland Stud. The colt was placed at Tony Gorring’s Hazelwood Stud on the Darling Downs. Part of the deal done between Aquis and the Kobayashi syndicate was the provision of ten free stallion services.
“Very few of the original syndicate were interested in being involved with Kybayashi’s breeding future, so those remaining decided to give it a go with me as manager,” said Jodie Fessopoulos. “It suddenly dawned on me that we didn’t have a broodmare, a prime requisite if you’re looking at breeding a foal. I had the audacity to ring Tony Gorring and asked if he had a spare mare on the property he might consider lending us for the upcoming breeding season. You could have knocked me over with a feather when he offered me the pick of two empty mares he had at Hazelwood.
The talented Kobayashi (Ben Thompson) scores easily in the listed Thoroughbred Club Cup at Caulfield 30/04/2017 - courtesy Racing Photos.
“We fed their pedigrees through a computer mix programme which rated one of them a B minus and the other a C minus. Not surprisingly we opted for the B minus which happened to be a Fastnet Rock mare called Orne River whose only win in six starts had been a Lismore maiden over 1300m. When Our Kobison arrived a year later we obviously decided to agist him at Hazelwood until it was time to think about having him broken in. We were delighted to give Tony Gorring a twenty per cent share in the following Kobayashi-Orne River foal which is now a three year old gelding called I Am Sugoi a two time winner for Leon and Troy Corstens at Echuca and Corowa. Orne River is again safely in foal to Kobayashi. We’ll always be indebted to Tony Gorring for his initial generosity, and the ongoing interest he’s taken in our horses.”
Jodie Fessoupolos is the first to admit she knew little about Angela Davies when the name was thrown into the mix regarding Our Kobison’s future trainer. She wisely heeded the recommendation of syndicate members who’d previously had shares in horses trained by the vastly experienced Gosford horsewoman. Today Jodie and Angela enjoy a great working association and a highly valued friendship. The dedicated syndicate manager makes no secret of her conviction that the skills of Angela Davies are largely responsible for the achievements of Our Kobison.
Angela after a win with Salina Dreaming at Randwick 12/12/2020 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Angela was only four or five years old when she first became fascinated by the sight and sound of the racehorses trained just across the road from her family home in Faunce St at Gosford. Her mother Pam agreed to let her do odd jobs for local trainers only if she ate her breakfast first. The trainer insists she could polish off three Weet Bix in a neat twenty seconds before dashing across the road to clean out the feed bins at the stables of her first tutor Ron Brown.
She hasn’t strayed far in several decades. With rarely more than a dozen horses in work, Angela keeps the bulk of her team on her small property at nearby Narara, with the use of three extra boxes on the racecourse. She’s almost paranoid about horses being confined to stables. Even the Gosford stables incorporate a large yard, enabling the horses to walk in and out at will. She’s a long time devotee of the benefits of keeping horses as close to nature as possible.
After an early life dominated by pony club, dressage, show jumping and hacking, Angela gained her licence to train thoroughbreds in the mid 1980’s. After some unrewarding experiences with cheap “hand me downs” she decided to attend a Tamworth yearling sale where she shelled out the princely sum of $1250 for a colt destined to get her name on the board as a professional trainer. Bold Cutter took her to that euphoric state only an initial win can create when he won first up on Jungle Juice Cup day at Cessnock in 1989. “He was an arrogant thing and could buck his brand off when he decided to throw a tantrum,” recalled Angela. “Billy Denmark was the only jockey prepared to ride him work, even though he hit the deck a few times. He obviously had the ride at Cessnock and got him home in a 2YO maiden. It was one hell of a thrill.”
Angela with Blaike McDougall after a Rosehill win with Machinegun Jubs 2017 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
It was slow going for the budding trainer. She continued to train horses other trainers had given up on. There were some pleasant surprises but largely it was a formidable task. Hard work and her burgeoning reputation as a darn good horsewoman gradually started to bring the odd talented horse into her stables. If a new arrival had any ability at all, she would invariably win a race or two with it. She achieved some very satisfying results with rejects or cheap yearlings entrusted to her care. It was increasingly obvious this lady would come right into her own if and when a decent horse walked onto her Narara property.
She was hoping to get the colt by Wanted out of More Than Acracker for no more than $5000 at the 2016 Inglis Scone Sale and was almost traumatised when she had to go to $7500. His subsequent owners still marvel at their good fortune in being able to acquire a share for $750 in a horse who would go on to win $627,000 from seven wins and eight placings. When trainer and part owner Angela Davies realised she’d acquired a pretty good horse for such a small outlay, she recommended the name Through The Cracks as a pretty appropriate one. Her co owners were in accord, and the rest is history.
He was a late three year old and had been gelded by the time he made his debut in 2018, finishing fourth in a Muswellbrook maiden. He then politely reeled off four wins on the trot, all out of town. His first city win came over 1400m at Warwick Farm in January 2020 ridden by Jenny Duggan who retained the ride in a Newcastle Provincial Championship Qualifier several weeks later. After a slow start Through The Cracks hurtled home to run second to Asharani, earning a start in the $400,000 final at Randwick three weeks later.
The gelding needed to be everything Angela thought he was to win the Randwick feature, let alone win it the way he did. He raced three wide with cover throughout before producing a barnstorming run to emphatically defeat Moana Jewel and Oxford Tycoon. It was a thrilling career highlight for the Gosford kid who could once eat three Weet Bix in twenty seconds. By this stage of his career Angela was of the opinion Through the Cracks was feeling his joints. “He just wasn’t quite as good on a hard and fast track. He’d be on and off the bit in his races and you could see him having a think about it whenever he felt a twinge of pain. Sadly, my worst fears were realised. He won only one more race from eleven starts, and I’d pray for a little rain whenever he was due to run. By the time we called it quits in May of last year the cartilage in both joints was diminishing rapidly. It was a sad day when we had to call time on the career of a super little horse. I’m thrilled to report he’s in great order and enjoying life on the local show circuit.”
Angela's career highlight! A brilliant win by Through The Cracks in the Provincial Championship Final at Randwick 11/04/2020 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Angela also did a brilliant job with the talented but troubled Salina Dreaming. This Dream Ahead mare raced only sixteen times for five wins and six placings despite ongoing issues. “That mare was a work in progress from day one,” said the trainer. “She had problem knees and was very thin soled in one front foot. The farrier had to watch that foot very closely. On the few occasions she went to the races trouble free you could be confident she was going to run a blinder. Salina Dreaming had a brilliant turn of foot and loved to follow a fast pace. We never saw the best of her. She’s got a filly foal by Prague and is back in foal to Wild Ruler. I’d love to train one of her offspring down the track.”
Our Kobison can’t take all of the credit for the spring in Angela’s step currently. The trainer is quietly optimistic about the immediate future of four year old gelding Karedada, who’s back in work following a brief setback. Winner of four from just seven starts Karedada came down with a virus after impressively winning a BM72 at the Canterbury night meeting on December 8th. “I couldn’t believe how flat he was the following morning,” said Angela. “We stopped immediately and he responded quickly to treatment. He’s been back in work for a few weeks and has just started to gallop again. We’ll be aiming him for the Provincial Midway Championship Qualifier at Gosford on March 16th. Perhaps the most significant pointer to Karedada’s prospects going forward is the fact that Nash Rawiller was checking on his whereabouts the other day. Nash rode him in the Canterbury win and had some nice things to say about him after the race.”
Although not yet set in stone it appears that the Provincial Midway Championship isn’t on the agenda for Our Kobison. His record breaking win on Saturday suggests that he may be worthy of loftier goals over the forthcoming Sydney autumn carnival. Angela is planning a comprehensive discussion with the ownership group over the next week or so. In the meantime, she’ll simply keep the exciting sprinter ticking over until it’s time to raise the bar a little more. Our Kobison has two priceless commodities at his disposal. He has unknown reserves of natural talent, and with Angela Davies at the helm he’s in the right hands for that talent to be developed to the full.
(Banner image - You wouldn't think Our Kobison would notice Steve Hart's under the rail camera when he was running track record time in the BM88 at Rosehill - courtesy Steve Hart Photograpics.)