Patience, they say, is a virtue.
In theory it is an easy enough philosophy to embrace … and cost free … but, in practise, particularly when you are dealing with a racehorse that you want to see in action, it is another matter all-together.
For owner-breeder Tamara Rickert though, patience is the only way to go, as evidenced by her and her fellow connections handling of She’sgottheboom, a Spirit Of Boom filly who, ten months ago, was unbeaten in three starts after carrying all before her when winning three times in a sizzling hot thirty-three day period of race action … a sequence which culminated with her victory in the $500,000 Aquis QTIS Two-Year-Old Jewel.
She’sgottheboom’s next experience, nearly five months later, when first-up in her first race away from home, wasn’t a happy one though, with the filly finishing last in a field of thirteen in the Group 3 Quezette Stakes at Caulfield.
That result was to impact the immediate path of She’sgottheboom’s future at the time.
“In the Quezette she had no luck whatsoever,” explained Rickert. “She got boxed in and it was the first time she had raced with cover and she didn’t appreciate it as a young horse.
“So, we decided just to tip her out. She was trained by Steven O’Dea and Matt Hoysted at the time and one option was to put her back on a truck for them to bring her back home, but, we said no.
“There was nothing major or untoward about that decision. She had reached the end of her prep and, instead of sending her home, we thought it might be best for her to stay down there for a while because there was no use in pushing on with a young horse at that stage.
“It was just time for a change for her mentally. So, we sent her to Peter Moody. She went to the beach and things like that … and just had a good ‘time out’ away from racing .. and we thought we would just see how that progresses.
“We thought that possibly we might have got her back to a two-year-old race during the Carnival, but she didn’t let down to our expectations and didn’t mature during that time in the way her body and mind needed to do.
“She did have a very small prep with Peter Moody,” continued Rickert. ‘She went to the beach for three weeks. Then she did a couple of weeks in his stables. then he put her under the microscope … and she still just wasn’t coming up to par.
“He said, we could spell her there … he was happy to keep her … or bring her home.
“This time we decided we would bring her home … and, if she still needed a good spell, we would give her a good one.
“She came back to Queensland, I’d say, in October. Instead of bringing her back to our place at Warwick, we sent her down to Letitia (Langbecker) at Embrook where she had, I think, twelve weeks in the paddock.
“All of our strategy was to give her time to mature mentally … to get her head right.
“And it has worked!
‘She had a jump-out today. I went down to Brisbane and watched I it … and she has matured. She went really nicely. She won. She wasn’t really trying.
“She has gone to trainer Desleigh Forster.
“One of the major shareholders in the ownership group … and one of our breeding partners … has other horses with Desleigh and he was keen to go there.
“We put it to the vote. All shareholders had a vote … no major shareholder overrules anybody, the 2.5 percent shareholders have their say as equals … and, in the end, the vote was unanimous and came down in favour of placing the horse with Desleigh.
“it’s good when you are all on the same page.
“We’ve always had the Three-Year-Old Jewel in the back of our minds for She’sgottheboom … looking to add to her Two-Year-old Jewel success and that’s our aim this prep … our mission.
“I think we should qualify with our prize-money for The Jewel (She’sgottheboom has earned $408 950 from her four career starts), so, after the jump-out today, I think we are going to skip the Prelude and run over the 1100m at Doomben on February 25. if something happens to change that, we will line her up in the Prelude on March 4 … and the head for the Jewel … then the Paddock … then Winter.
“It’s been a fairly long road back for She’sgottheboom, but she is back … and we are very satisfied with the route we have taken with her.
“We’ve also got the broodmare, so we’ll be bringing her half-brother, who is by Rothesay, down to the sales in March.
“With the Three-year-Old Jewel and the Magic Millions March Yearling Sales taking place in March … it is exciting times for us.”
