Photo: Angelique Bridson, Race Images
The excitement of Amaretto Delight’s win didn’t quite match that of Just Believe’s TAB Trot triumph but there were still plenty of Taylor Street Racing Syndicate members cheering home their little filly at Cambridge on Thursday night.
And now that the 40-strong team has enjoyed its first home grown win, Cambridge Raceway bosses are expecting numbers to swell when membership is opened up again later in the year.
The initiative, designed to attract new owners into harness racing for a small outlay, got off to a smoking start when the syndicate pocketed more than $70,000 as slot holders of the champion trotter Just Believe in April, 2024.
Syndicate manager Peter McDermott said while that was such a dream start, and the money had been paid out, some had dropped out in the interim unfamiliar with the time it took to mould a racehorse.
“A lot of people don’t understand what syndication is about, and the time it takes to educate the horses, they’re not all like Just Believe.
“But now that the horses are running, and going well, it will be more attractive, particularly for the newbies.”
Amaretto Delight, who is leased from Woodlands Stud, is raced by the Taylor Street Syndicate along with McDermott and his wife Dianne, as well as Murray and Susan Branch.
And, while the Bettor’s Delight filly showed very little for trainer Nicky Chilcott as a two-year-old last preparation, she’s never stopped improving this time in, capping three fine seconds with Thursday night’s win.
“When I brought her back she worked a little better but nothing to make you think she could go to the races and do what she’s done," Chilcott said.
“She’s just a typical Bettor’s Delight who shows nothing at home but turns up on race night.
“She’s only a tiny wee thing and in the early days you’d work her hard and she wouldn’t eat for a couple of days. So I’ve spaced her races and after every start she’s pulled through better.
“Last time she ran to the line really strongly and came home and licked the bowl, bright as. So I thought we’d roll the dice and back her up last night - that was the only way to find out. Admittedly I got a lovely trip but she won really easily.”
The race was an easy watch for her eager owners, Chilcott landing the trail behind stablemate Loveabull from the outset and sprinting clear up the passing lane to score by two and a half lengths.
“What I really like about her is not every horse can be good, but you just want them to give 110% and, man, does she try. I didn’t even have to ask her to run last night. She got the gap, pinned her ears back and ran right through the line at 100 miles an hour.”
Chilcott is training a second horse for the syndicate too - they lease 50% of the well bred Majestic Son four-year-old trotter Play Fast And Loose, who ran a promising fourth in her first start for White Star at Auckland two weeks ago.
The mare has since been troubled by muscle pain but has responded to pulsed electro-magnetic field therapy and will race either next Thursday at Cambridge or the following week.
Arna Donnelly has the syndicate’s third horse, Captain Hokey, a Captain Crunch filly who is a few weeks away from trialling, according to McDermott.
“Nicky and Arna are very owner-conscious, putting out regular reports on how the horses are going,” he said.
Shares in the syndicate can be taken for as little as 1%, with others holding 2.5% and 5%. - By BARRY LICHTER
Contact us for more info on joining the Taylor St Club Syndicate.
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