Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
Galaxy Warrior, who loves feeding on mangoes, was a gift horse for his hobby trainer Simon Lowings, who works diligently at creating high quality meat pies, vanilla slices and other delicacies at his Mundaring bakery.
Now a seven-year-old, Galaxy Warrior is racing with youthful zest, and he maintained his consistent form when he started as a $27.70 outsider and finished strongly to get up and snatch victory by a short half-head from the $2.20 favourite Montana D J in the $23,000 Happy Birthday Matthew Needham Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Galaxy Warrior began from an awkward barrier at No. 6, but Shannon Suvaljko was able to obtain a perfect sit in the one-out, one-back position after Montana D J had dashed forward from the outside of the back line soon after the start to move to the breeze outside the pacemaker Jaxon Morgan ($13).
Emily Suvaljko sent Montana D J to the front 90m from home, but the gelding was unable to hold out Galaxy Warrior, who started a three-wide move with 230m to travel and finished strongly to get up in the final stride.
“He has been very consistent and that’s the way you have to drive him, with a sit,” said the 60-year-old Lowings “He works hard, galloping on the side of the motor bike and working on the heavy sand in a heavy cart. He also works up a massive hill at my property at Stoneville.
“I’ve got about 25 mango trees, just for our consumption, and after his work in the morning he walks around the property he feeds himself off the trees. And at six o’clock at night if we haven’t fed him, he knocks on the kitchen window. He’s a real pet and everyone loves him.”
Lowings said it was just by chance that he got Galaxy Warrior, saying: “He had broken down in a tendon and hadn’t raced for almost three years when I went to his owner and trainer Merv Jupp’s place about 18 months ago.
“Merv was holding a garage sale, selling horse gear, and I went there with the intention of buying a pair of shin boots,” explained Lowings. “I asked him if he had any horses for sale, and he said ‘no, only Bob in the back paddock’ — and he gave him to me with the proviso I would give him $3000 from his first win.”
Not only did Galaxy Warrior win that first race, but he has earned $95,087 for Lowings and his wife Quyen from eight wins and 16 placings from 51 starts for his new owners.
Lowings began his involvement with horses at a young age and was briefly an apprentice jockey who rode in a few races at Ascot and Northam without success before increasing weight saw him turn to harness racing.
“I started with Ken Kirke and then worked for Ken Tyler junior before I was the private trainer for Russell Roberts for twenty-odd years at West Swan.
“Pure Steel had retired and was at stud when I drove him on to the track at the final meeting at Richmond Raceway, and with Satinover and San Simeon we led the field on to the track for the Champagne Stakes and then did a lap before sprinting down the home straight when Steelo had his head turned towards the crowd. He was just a showman.”
Lowings said he was looking forward to the imminent arrival from Victoria of Shes My Little Gem, a pacer he purchased recently after he had had a good bet on a pacer in Victoria who won at odds of $71 and returned him more than $10,000.