It would be unwanted attention for him, but, away from the action on the track, owner Fred Noffke has become something of a celebrity in his own right … following on, not only the exploits of his Doncaster winner Sheza Abili, but also the facts behind a success story that turned Noffke’s $10,000 on-line purchase into a Group 1 winning ride and a $3,719,945 money tree … and counting.
For Noffke, it will be back to a more sedate setting of Rockhampton this Saturday … far away from the bright lights of Sydney and the crush of Day One of The Championships … where Ready Marea will carry the dark green and yellow maltese cross colours of Noffke into battle in the Capricornia Yearling Sale Classic QTIS 2YO Plate, a feature race which will be contested over 1200m.
The Noffke owned and bred Ready Marea is trained by Kris Hansen, who was the trainer of Sheza Alibi in the filly’s first four starts before she was sent south by Noffke to join the Peter Moody and Catherine Coleman training partnership.
Ready Marea will come into Saturday’s feature race with two starts behind her name … a fair debut win and then a not so flash third place in her second career start,
The daughter of Better Than Ready has been freshened since then.
Still, it might seem that she could be up against the odds here, but, then again, Noffke has beaten the odds before. What else would you call securing a horse of the highest quality and a return that nobody could ever have predicted for a $10 000 outlay.
Owners … the true enthusiasts amongst them … enjoy any win when they can get it and you can only imagine how satisfying a win it would be Noffke, back closer to home, taking care of core business, if apprentice McKenzie Apel could get Ready Marea across the line first.
It might not come with the fanfare of a Sheza Alibi victory, but, if it happens, it will still be cause for another Noffke celebration.
