Ken Casellas | Race Replay
Hayley Moore was enchanted by the sparkling speed of Crown Bromac when the gelding won seven times and once at Bunbury between 2008 and 2010.
Eventually, she decided to take a trip to New Zealand in 2023 in a bid to purchase a pacer capable of revealing similar brilliance.
The 35-year-old Moore had also enjoyed the wonderful successes of Tricky Styx, a New Zealand-bred mare owned by her parents who raced 79 times for 22 wins, 16 placings and $460,548.
“Tricky Styx became the gift that kept on giving,” said Moore. “Here in WA, you need plenty of money to buy yearlings against the big owners, so I decided to go to New Zealand and buy something that had the same calibre of WA youngsters for a lot less money.
“So, I took the punt and travelled by myself to New Zealand where I bought Como El Viento for $45,000 at the 2023 standardbred yearling sale. His dam is Leanne Bromac, an unraced mare by Falcon Seelster, whose sixth foal was Crown Bromac (who retired with earnings of $139,878 from 15 wins and 15 placings from 55 starts).
“Como El Viento had a family with a lot of speed, and he is by American sire Downbytheseaside, which also influenced me to buy the yearling because Downbytheseaside had produced Waverider, who was racing very well in WA.”
Como El Viento is a Spanish phrase that translates to ‘like the wind’ and he is the second foal out of Leanne Bromac, the 16TH and final foal out of the prolific broodmare Classic Blue Jeans, the dam of seven winners, including her first foal Attorney General, who earned $434,952 from 20 wins (nine in New Zealand and 11 in America) and 18 placings from 70 starts.
Como El Viento, trained and driven by Aiden De Campo, is on the way up and is developing into a candidate for the rich events for four-year-olds later this year. He has had 30 starts for nine wins,14 placings and $85,191 in prizemoney.
On Friday night Como El Viento was the $1.10 favourite from the outside barrier (No. 8) on the front line in the 2130m Westside Auto 24/7 Online Inquiry Pace at Gloucester Park. He settled down at the rear before surging forward, out three wide, approaching the bell and taking the lead with 330m to travel and winning by a length from the pacemaker Vinita Rose ($7.50), rating a smart 1.54.1 over the 1730m journey.
And now Moore is planning a return to training and will have her first starter as a trainer for more than five years when three-year-old Crunchem contests the first event at Northam on Tuesday.
Crunchem, the second foal out of Tricky Styx, a winner for trainer-reinsman Aiden De Campo at Gloucester Park last July, will be racing first-up on Tuesday and should perform well. His elder half-sister Zephyra has excelled on the track with her 33 starts producing ten wins, eight placings and $320,557.
Moore has trained nine winners, including two with El Shuey and two with Major Shard on country tracks in 2019.