Brisbane trainer Barry Baldwin can thank his stint in Macau for getting My Good Friend in the winning groove.
My Good Friend (5g King Of Prussia – Snowline by Ivory’s Irish) went from Victoria to Hong Kong and back to Victoria before finally finding his niche with Baldwin in Brisbane.
The lightly-raced gelding won the Channel 7 Hcp (1040m) at Doomben on September 28 at his fourth run back in Australia. “He came back here mud fat,” Baldwin said. “He was just like a big bull.”
Baldwin took more than three months to trim the gelding down to match fitness but there was an important element still missing.
“He wasn’t sweating. It’s no wonder he didn’t fire in Hong Kong,” Baldwin said. “I trained up in Macau and it’s a battle if they don’t sweat up there.
“Anyway, he broke out in a lather before last week’s win and I couldn’t have been happier.”
My Good Friend passed another milestone for his sire King Of Prussia at Doomben. He became the 100th individual winner for the Greta West resident and they have won a total of 257 races at a 60% strike-rate.
My Good Friend was bred by former Adelaide full forward Peter McIntyre. He created history by kicking four goals for the Crows in their first ever AFL game against Hawthorn in 1991.
After being educated by Tal Nolen at Benalla, the gelding won a Bendigo barrier trial and that’s when the agents came calling.
My Good Friend was soon on his way to David Hall in Hong Kong but he didn’t acclimatize and was sent back to Australia after four failures last year.
“He didn’t cost me much at all,” Baldwin revealed. “But I couldn’t get anyone interested. No one wanted a Hong Kong cast-off. That suits me now. The King Of Prussia horses improve with racing there’s more wins in this horse.”
King Of Prussia (Anabaa) stands for a $3,300 (inc gst) service fee at Greta West. His 101th winner arrived when King Of Desire broke the ice at Colac on Sunday.