Te Akau Owner of the Month

Once again we shine the spotlight on one of our highly valued owners - Carol Marshall of Cambridge  -

Carol was the owner/trainer of million dollar earner Giovana (Blues Traveller) and with Nessie Paykel has talented filly Special Memories (Fastnet Rock), purchased for them by David Ellis, primed for the Armadillo Stakes (Listed, 1600m) on 24 October at Riccarton. Having won the Guineas' Trial (3YO, 1400m) on 3 October at Riccarton, Special Memories (main picture) gained automatic entry to the 1000 Guineas (Gr. 1, 1600m) on 14 November at Riccarton.

I was born in New Plymouth, and spent the rest of my life with mum & dad on a dairy farm in Te Puke. I now have 17 acres in Cambridge, on Peake Road, not far from the track.

I was a very good runner, over 100 and 200 metres, and played a lot of basketball & netball. If I wasn't so involved in horses I would have concentrated on athletics. I was approached to be trained over longer distances for the Olympics, after winning competitions in the Waikato, but the horses took over instead.

One of my favourite holidays was going on a stud tour to Kentucky, but overall I think we're all very lucky to live in New Zealand. I think it's the best place in the world.

I have fond memories of travelling in Australia. When I took Giovana over there to race in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane, I just loved the travelling with her.

I used to save pocket money; working morning and night milking cows and got my first pony when I was 13. Dad started going to the races at Tauranga, and I went along and just couldn't believe these beautiful thoroughbred horses and how gorgeous they all looked. So, that and doing a lot of show jumping was how I got into it.

I got my training licence when I was 21 and we bought a yearling, with mum & dad, and I was an owner/trainer. I trained the fourth dam (Passionella) of the Super Easy/Terravista family and I watch that Parfore family with great interest.

I worked for Bob Morris for 40 years and it was my first job after coming back from working in Australia, where I worked for Angus Armanasco. Sequita [grand-dam of O'Darci] was one of our first good race mares and we'd ride through the back paddock to the Cambridge Jockey Club. It was a nice fifteen minute walk for the horses and very simple.

Bob had 50 acres and he was a stock agent (cattle & sheep), and he got me in to do the horses.

David (Ellis) actually bought a couple of yearlings from us at the sales and O'Darci (Darci Brahma) [winner of all three races before an unfortunate accident] was the first horse we had with Te Akau, as we mostly trained our own, but I gave up riding and felt it was better to have them trained elsewhere.

David bought Special Memories for us and she'll be a valuable broodmare. The Fastnet Rock/Galileo cross it's a magic cross and although we bought her as a broodmare we can have some thrills on the way and hopefully she can get a stakes win or place.

I breed from three mares and sell yearlings at the sales and I'm lucky that I've got two daughters of Giovana, an O'Reilly and a Zabeel daughter.

Nothing would ever replace Giovana; she was such a special mare. I couldn't sell her at the sales, as everyone said she was too small and that's how I ended up racing her. Her win in the Thorndon Mile was my biggest thrill, really. It was her second last start and I actually lost her only three months before I lost O'Darci, so it was a very hard few months.

Giovana (below) was very tough and not that easy to train. It was not until she went over to Brisbane that she sort of grew up. She used to jam on the brakes and try and dump me, and I said to the boss (Bob) I'm not going to carry on with her - which I said about four times - she's a bit dangerous. And look how she ended up, when she could have just about been an unraced broodmare. And, gosh, I was nearly giving up on her. She was just so naughty.

We only ever had a couple of horses in work. The boss had about seven mares, so we were always busy with them and doing our own yearlings for the sales. But, we were very lucky over the years with what we did train. Pacific Star won 10 of his 23 starts. He was very unsound but we still had a lot of fun with him.

People used to say to us ‘you under work your horses'. We didn't work them hard and bought them up very slowly. We'd give them two and half months slow work before we increased their pace, so we were very patient.

I really think that the spread of stake money should increase at the Maiden and Rating 65 level, rather than go into the higher stakes races. It's expensive enough getting a horse up to win a race or two and then quite a few of them struggle to get into the next class. So, I'd like to see more money into the lesser races and horses. More spread there, rather than the bigger races.

My favourite pet is my cat called Sox.

Usually I get the most enjoyment out of reading autobiographies/biographies and my favourite was Usain Bolt, I suppose because I was a good runner myself and I really enjoyed reading his book.

My favourite restaurant experience was at Baguette, in Brisbane, when Giovana won the Oaks. There was only a small team of us, and it would have been nice if she had won the Oaks in New Zealand - I would have had a big group - but there was my boss, Bob Morris, Roger James and Danny Rolston and we had a really good night out. I was tired for a few days after.

Danny Rolston:

“We had a right party that night and I promise I didn't spike Carol's drink!!!

“Giovana had her final gallop on the course proper with the Brisbane Cup favourite Bluebirdstheword and on that work was never ever going to be beaten in The Oaks. Carol led her up herself on race day and it was beautiful to see the pride and affection she had for her. A deserved owner and accomplished breeder, it would be great to see Special Memories win a 1000Gns in the Tangerine!