By KATELYN PINAL
FOR the racing purist Derby day is the biggest and best of the Spring Racing carnival and one man who is sure to be celebrating is champion jockey turned horse trainer Pat Hyland.
The Cranbourne-based trainer saw his six-year-old mare Bonaria storm home to take out the Myer Classic, a Group One race worth $500,000 at Flemington on Saturday.
Hyland has had a decorated career. His crowning achievement as a jockey was winning the 1985 Melbourne Cup on New Zealand horse What a Nuisance. He saw the way these New Zealand trainers trained their horses and applied the philosophy to his own endeavours when he retired as a jockey in 1990.
When asked how the outcome of a trainer compared to that of a jockey, he was pretty straight forward.
“Giving up riding to train horses was like giving up work to carry bricks… but I enjoy it,” he said.
Now he boasts six Group One winners, 12 Group Two winners and more than 10 Group Three winners in his stable located in Clyde North.
And he can’t really pick a favourite, although Bonaria is very close to his heart. Hyland was very happy with the result at Flemington, particularly because of his relationship with owners Robert and Deb Anderson.
“It was very pleasing because the owner has been with the stables since 1990. They’re great clients that I have a good working partnership with. If they’ve been with me for 20 years it’s got to be something good.” he said.
Bonaria had not been placed in previous Group One races and had not finished in the top three since winning the Schweppervescence Trophy at Flemington, on Super Saturday, Australian Cup day back in March.
Hyland said her recent results were not indicative of her form and was confident she could run a place.
“Her form was better than it appeared on paper,” he said.
“She’s had two good runs this time in but just didn’t get the results. We went into the race thinking we had a chance, but then drew a bad barrier but Michael Rodd rode her perfectly.” he said.
Next for the horse is a spell out in the paddock. Hyland wants her rested up and ready for the Coolmore Classic in Sydney next autumn. But he could not speak more highly of the mare that’s brought in almost $1 million dollars in prize money.
“She’s very special to us – she keeps winning and doing really well.
“It takes a bit of work to get her that far, but she does it really well.” he said.
