Ken Casellas | Photo: Hamilton Content Creators
Karl Deiley, a newcomer to the sport of harness racing, lavished praise on trainer Nathan Turvey and young driver Emily Suvaljko after they had combined to score a dazzling victory in the $125,000 Westral Mares Classic at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Savvy Bromac, a New Zealand-bred four-year-old, is only the second pacer owned by Deiley, a successful businessman in Broome in the far north of Western Australia, and she gave a superb frontrunning performance to win the group 1 feature event by two lengths from Born To Boogie and Balcatherine.
“Nathan is second to none as a trainer,” said Deiley. “The two horses (Simba Bromac and Savvy Bromac) I have sent to him were just average horses, and he has transformed them into star performers.
“Pacing is a fantastic hobby for my wife Michelle and I, and we are Emily’s No. 1 fans. We call her the pocket rocket, like Savvy. She’s very calm, methodical and never seems to panic.”
Deiley is not motivated by the opportunity to make substantial profits from his pacers. He and his wife simply enjoy their involvement in the sport.
It was through Deiley’s late mother’s friendship in New Zealand with the late Bob McArdle, a legendary breeder of standardbreds, that Deiley became interested in harness racing about five years ago. He purchased the McArdle-bred Simba Bromac for $30,000 and paid a similar amount for Savvy Bromac.
Both pacers have developed into outstanding performers, with Simba Bromac earning $228,732 from 23 wins and 19 placings from 72 starts, and Savvy Bromac’s brilliant win on Friday night boosting her stakes to $204,511 from 11 wins, nine seconds and two thirds from 29 starts.
Savvy Bromac, the second favourite at $3.10, started from the prized No. 1 barrier in Friday night’s 2536m event, and the 21-year-old Suvaljko made every post a winner, getting Savvy Bromac away brilliantly and then rating her to perfection.
Balcatherine, the $2.90 favourite from barrier seven, settled down in tenth position before Gary Hall jnr sent her forward, three wide, about 700m after the start. Balcatherine then raced in the breeze, with the third favourite Born To Boogie ($3.40) enjoying a perfect sit behind the pacemaker.
After opening quarters of the final mile in 30.2sec. and 29.8sec. Savvy Bromac dashed over the final two 400m sections in 28.4sec. and 27sec. to win comfortably at a 1.57.5 rate.
“Obviously, barrier one is good, but I wasn’t too concerned where she drew,” said Turvey. “I just wanted a genuine contest. When Savvy Bromac drew No. 1, it probably put us in a situation where we hadn’t been before, by leading.
“Everything worked out good. One thing I knew was that I had never had her better, so I had a lot of confidence about how she was going to perform.
“I haven’t thought ahead as far as The Fremantle and WA Pacing Cups early next year. We will discuss her plans as time goes by. It’s not impossible to consider her a chance of contesting the Cups. She can sit on speed and has a really quick quarter.”
Deiley said that he purchased Savvy Bromac as a two-year-old, before she had been broken in. “I was interested in breeding, and being a fan of her sire Mach Three, I wanted to breed from her even if she was unable to race, let alone be a winner.
“Her older full-sister Zeta Bromac (a winner at five of her nine starts) produced her first foal, Zeuss Bromac, who is a group 1 winner,” Deiley said.
Zeuss Bromac, who finished a short half-head second to Ignatius in a 2300m event at Menangle a fortnight ago, has had 27 starts for seven wins and 15 placings for stakes of $279,615. In March 2020 Zeuss Bromac finished third behind Line Up and Perfect Stride in the New South Wales Derby at Menangle, and eight months later was successful in the group 1 Australian Breeders Crown for three-year-old colts and geldings at Melton.
In February this year Zeuss Bromac won the group 2 Hondo Grattan Stakes at Menangle before finishing second to Expensive Ego in the group 1 Chariots Of Fire at his following start.
Savvy Bromac is the ninth and final foal out of Zante Beach, who had 84 starts in Australia for 16 wins, 27 placings and $124,447in prizemoney.