Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
New Zealand breeders Terry and Dawn McPherson didn’t waste much time in naming the third foal out of Pretty Pins, and it was a pretty simple and obvious choice to register the colt as Sweet Pins.
But they had no idea that pins would play a vital role in the career of this son of boom American sire Sweet Lou whose future was uncertain after suffering two leg fractures and a badly damaged knee at his race debut when he scored a runaway victory at Pinjarra on July 1, 2024.
After Sweet Pins had clocked a dazzling 54sec. over the final 800m of a track workout in New Zealand as a three-year-old the McPhersons were inundated with phone calls which led them to selling the unraced youngster to champion WA trainer Gary Hall Snr on behalf of several of his stable clients.
Expectations were high when Sweet Pins lined up for his first start, and he delivered the goods with an emphatic performance when he rated 1.56.5 and beat Ebee Aviator by seven lengths over 1684m.
He pulled up sore and it was discovered that he had fractured his nearside knee and both his hind legs. Surgery was performed on his knee and pins were inserted, with veterinary surgeons predicting it was unlikely that the pacer would be able to race again.
However, patient care by Hall enabled Sweet Pins to resume his career after 12 months, and he reappeared in a 2130m event at Gloucester Park on July 11 last year when he outclassed his rivals and defeated Sheza Sassy Lassy by four lengths.
He has gone on to compete in grand style, with the pins still in his knee, and at Gloucester Park on Friday night the five-year-old impressed when he rated 1.53.9 in winning the $31,000 WATA Members Sprint over 1730m.
Sweet Pins, a $9.90 chance, began from the inside of the back line, and Stuart McDonald was delighted to enjoy a perfect sit behind the frontrunning $8 chance Lucca, with the $2.45 favourite Never Ending working in the breeze after failing in a bid to get past the polemarker Lucca and set the pace.
Never Ending dashed to the front about 550m from home, and it was then that McDonald was able to get Sweet Pins into the clear, and the horse took the lead in the home straight and went on to beat his stablemate and $31 chance Youre So Fine, who flew home out five wide after coming from ninth at the bell.
Sweet Pins has now earned $155,110 from ten wins and eight placings from 29 starts and he and Youre So Fine will be set to contest the $450,000 WA Pacing Cup on December 11.
The win gave Hall a record seventh success, and his third quinella result, in the Members Sprint. It was also McDonald’s second win in the feature event, following his victory with the Hall-trained eight-year-old Whozideawasthis, an $18 chance who sat behind the pacemaker and $1.07 favourite Chicago Bull and finished strongly to beat his stablemate by a half-length in 2019.
“Whether Sweet Pins reaches his full potential is hard to say,” said McDonald. “He has had his fair share of problems, but we always knew how good he was.”