Ness we forget last 7 Years at Kranji: Logan

Elliot Ness took Donna Logan one step closer to the 200-win milestone at Kranji on Sept 21.

But the Kiwi trainer is well aware that 188th win could only do just that – get closer, but still too far off to reach it.

With only two meetings left before Singapore horse racing is consigned to history on Oct 5, that win has come up too little too late for the double-century landmark.

To statistics buffs, a dozen wins over 20 races is mathematically possible but in the real racing world in the current context, Logan’s chances are as good as nil.

The 63-year-old trainer has only 13 horses left in her yard, a significant drop from her peak strength of around 40 horses, even during the Covid-19 years. She saddles only three to four runners a week these days.

But to see one of those few left standing winning a race probably gave her an even bigger thrill.

It was no doubt one of the last high points to a roller-coaster ride that will soon come to a stop.

“That was a great win. He was my best chance of the day,” said Logan, who missed the last Kranji meeting to attend her son Robert’s wedding in New Zealand.

“I had only three runners and had another good chance with Charminton, but unfortunately, he could only finish fourth.

“We are in the last 200m of the home stretch now. With only a handful of horses left, we haven’t had many runners, as you would imagine.

“Today, itself, Elliot Ness ran in the third and Charminton was next in the ninth. So, I had some chicken wings and a glass of wine upstairs.”

The mood for a toast will probably not be there on Oct 5, but that does not mean it will be a long time between drinks for Logan afterwards.

She is moving back to New Zealand to continue her training career, but not to her former Ruakaka base, which was 130km north of Auckland.

Her new stables will be located at Byerley Park, which is a lot closer – only around 30km from Auckland.

On one hand, she is still keen to test her mettle against peers she left behind in 2017 when she moved to Singapore, as well as the new generation of trainers, like her own daughter Samantha.

Logistically, accessibility to the best training facilities was uppermost on her mind if she wanted to make a fist of her return to her roots.

But, having enjoyed the city life in Singapore and its convenience for seven years, she and husband Peter Woods aspired to a similar urbane lifestyle – and Byerley Park offered the best of both worlds.

“Byerley Park’s owner told me he had kept boxes for me. It’s a beautiful facility with 20 boxes and 20 day paddocks,” said Logan.

“We also have a training track next door and Ellerslie racecourse is only around half an hour away. There’s less travelling and we are also close to the city, which will make us feel a little like in Singapore on the weekends.”

That touch of nostalgia will not be felt from her next stock, though.

“None of my horses are coming with me to New Zealand. But I’m glad that they have all already found new homes, mostly in Malaysia,” she said.

“Only Artillery is going to Hong Kong. We sold him through a Magic Millions online auction to a Hong Kong buyer.

“He’s already in quarantine and flies out together with Jerome Tan’s Big Return on Sept 27. The last batch will be gone by Oct 24.

“But we’ve also still got a lot of things to wind up here, like packing all the gears, the head collars, the feed bins, not to mention the mucking out.

“Back home, there’s also still a lot of things to get organised like buying a house and a car. So we won’t be overindulging with the horses instantly, it will come in due course.

“I’ve got a few new horses and Samantha is helping me with their pre-training at her Cambridge stables. I’m lucky to have a good group of owners behind me.”

Elliot Ness’ owner John Galvin of Fortuna NZ Racing is at this stage not one them, but can still toast to another win with Logan at Kranji.

After the Written Tycoon seven-year-old romped in by five lengths in the $50,000 Class 4 Division 2 (1,100m) race – albeit almost one second slower than his own record of 1min 3.65sec – he will be on the quick back-up in the Class 4 (1,100m) on Sept 28.

The $35,000 hike in prize money to $85,000 beckons, but Logan said that race was always meant to be.

“We had a few discussions with Manoel Nunes about this,” said Logan.

“We first targeted that Class 4 race on the second last day, but he said on 55 points, he may not get in and there wouldn’t be any race for him any more.

“He said we should run him in the Class 4 Division 2 on Saturday (Sept 21) instead. We were sure he’d get a run.

“From the way he won, his knee chip surgery is clearly behind him. He’s picked up eight points and provided he pulls up well, he’ll now get to run in that Class 4 1,100m.

“After that, he’ll be going either to Nick Selvan or Simon Dunderdale in Kuala Lumpur.”

manyan@sph.com.sg