WHEN Sir Covet's racing days ended, Newcastle trainer Alan Scorse thought he would never find another horse like him.
He was wrong. What Sir Covet did for Scorse was begin a dynasty of successful gallopers that have come from the broodmare Silent Dawn.
Sir Covet was pony-sized but had a big heart and he showed that by racing for six seasons and scoring seven wins from 61 starts.
He was a marvellous advertisement for Scorse's training ability and the trainer has carried on the success with the family.
He has trained Sir Covet's little brother Prince Covet, which had three wins from 20 starts, and Viking Warrior, which recorded five wins in a career limited to 11 starts by injuries.
The mare has also thrown winners such as Normandy Air and Our Paternoster.
And to Scorse's delight Angerona is continuing the family tradition.
At Newcastle on Saturday, the filly out of Silent Dawn scored a good win in a three-year-old maiden over 900 metres.
She looked like one to follow when she stormed home from ninth on the home turn down the centre of the track to win running away.
"It has been a fantastic family to me," Scorse said.
"Sir Covet was a family favourite for us, because of the courage he showed, and that has flowed through the family. Every time one leaves the stable another of the mare's progeny comes along and turns out to be a winner for us.
"The filly that won on Saturday has just needed a bit of time but she can go on with the job and do the family proud."
Scorse said there is another yearling colt, a brother to Angerona, that he will train next season.
"The old mare also has a weanling and that will be the last to race from her," he said.
"So I can only hope we still have at least a couple more nice horses to come into the stable."
Newcastle solicitor Paul O'Sullivan has hit the headlines this week as the legal representative for Melbourne jockey Danny Nikolic.
Nikolic is at the centre of an investigation by Racing Victoria stewards on his riding in nine races and has called on O'Sullivan, who is well-known in racing circles as well as the legal world.
O'Sullivan was a member of the Newcastle Jockey Club board of directors for five years in the 1990s.
He was appointed to the board in October 1992 but did not seek re-election in 1997.
O'Sullivan was chairman of the NJC's finance committee during his tenure.
"I have been handling racing matters for over 20 years and had two cases with NSW jockeys that were investigated in the past 12 months," he said.
O'Sullivan flew to Melbourne on Monday night and was on hand when Nikolic appeared on Tuesday.
"We have decided not to make any statements on the matter until Danny is told of the findings of the investigation," O'Sullivan said.
"The ball is now in the stewards' court."
A meeting of trainers throughout NSW last week voted to seek the return of the class racing system in country and provincial areas.
The NSW Trainers Association meeting in Sydney voted to present Racing NSW with the idea to replace the present Benchmark system with the old class one, two, three racing in the bush and on the five-track provincial circuit.
"Those at the meeting were convinced the present system just does not work for country trainers or in the provincial areas," said Newcastle trainer Peter Eggleston, who is on the board of the NSW Trainers Association.
"The trainers voted to put a proposal to Peter V'Landys that the old class system replace the Benchmark racing as right now all it seems to do is siphon horses to Sydney.
"Some say it is going well down there but all it is doing is bringing horses to Sydney who can't win but can't find a suitable race in the country or on a provincial track."
One of the most interesting points to come out of the meeting was delivered by a Sydney trainer who is having success at the elite level in Sydney and Melbourne.
He produced figures that showed he was losing $4.90 a horse a day in training fees.
Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Corey Brown will ride top-class Newcastle mare Madame Pedrille in her first Adelaide run on March 6.
"Corey has said he will be back from Dubai to ride in Adelaide and he quickly accepted the ride on my mare," trainer Darren Smith said.
Madame Pedrille is in Melbourne at the stables of John Hawkes.
She heads for a weight-for-age event over 1100m in Adelaide a day before the race and will then be set for the group 1 Robert Sangster Stakes at Morphettville on March 20.
Sydney jockey Nash Rawiller is the frontrunner to ride promising Newcastle filly Elimbari in the Kindergarten Stakes at Warwick Farm on March 6.
A jockey for the filly will be selected at the weekend.
Hugh Bowman, who rode Elimbari to her first win, has committed to the John O'Shea filly Solar Charged.
Elimbari has improved greatly after her exhibition gallop between races at Newcastle last Saturday and will have another run on her home track tomorrow morning.
Rockhampton-based race caller Tony McMahon is heading back to Newcastle to take part in the feature Newmarket meeting at Broadmeadow on Wednesday, March 17.
McMahon, who was a steward in Newcastle in the 1970s, gained nationwide coverage for his call of the Craiglea horses at McKay on January 16.
His call of the seven horses, all with the Craiglea moniker in their names, in a field of eight was played around the land when they finished one to seven.
McMahon will be part of a team of Sydney and interstate callers who will broadcast during the meeting that features the $140,000 1400m group 3 Newmarket.
Maybe the NJC could organise a race for prominent Hunter owner Bruce MacKenzie's Oakfield horses for McMahon to call.
Champion Newcastle jockeys Allan Robinson and Robert Thompson were out rounding up a herd of cattle last week on a property in the Hunter Valley.
"We were trying to catch 20 cattle to get them ready for the saleyards," Robinson said.
"We got 10 of them without any trouble but then a few took off like Luskin Star.
"Robbie and I were doing our best but a few of those cows looked like they would break 34 seconds for three furlongs and had us chasing for a long, long while."
Newcastle trainer Steve Hodge has an interesting team of new horses to prepare.
Hodge has been asked to prepare three horses that have been leased by a syndicate of 10 people including rugby league identities Billy Slater, from the Melbourne Storm, and North Queensland Cowboys forwards Carl Webb and Aaron Payne.
At Newcastle last Saturday, two of the syndicate's horses, Inter Stargaze and Inter Atlas, had their first runs for Hodge and both finished second.
"Both did a good job first-up and it looks like the footy players who race them are going to have a bit of fun with their horses," Hodge said.
It is a long way from a race at Wyong to winning the group 1 AJC Derby but that could be the goal of highly promising galloper Zabrasive.
Zabrasive won the Lawrie McKinna Handicap over 1350m at Wyong last Sunday.
The John O'Shea-trained youngster was first-up and will take steps that may lead him to the 2400m Derby in Sydney.
Zabrasive, an $80,000 yearling purchase for Prime Thoroughbreds, has won two of three starts.
"He is very promising and we will definitely work towards the Derby with him," O'Shea said.
Newcastle's group 1-winning international star Choisir has been replaced on the Irish roster of Coolmore stud with another Novocastrian.
It has been decided not to shuttle Choisir to Ireland this year but Paul Perry's other former star sprinter Fastnet Rock will head over for the first time for a season of fun and games in the stud barn.
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