Ken Casellas | Photo: Hamilton Content Creators
Baldivis trainer Jason Woodworth was prepared to take a risk with a pacer with a hitch in his gait when he outlaid $1000 to purchase Tiza New Day 13 months ago.
Tiza New Day, who is raced by Woodworth, his brother Luke and their mother Beth, celebrated his fifth appearance at Gloucester Park when he was a $15.40 chance and Emily Suvaljko brought him home with a strong burst to win the 2536m Etch Coatings Pace on Friday afternoon.
The victory, by a head over the pacemaker and $3.40 favourite Joe With the Flow, justified Jason Woodworth’s judgment in buying the gelding, who now has had 26 starts for his new owners for four wins, eight placings and stakes of $27,329.
“Ten weeks before the Busselton Cup last January Luke and I were watching replays as we were looking for horses who could get away from a stand,” said Woodworth.
“And it was Tiza New Day who struck our eye. He was advertised for sale by Hayden Reeves, and so we rang him and asked a few questions. The horse had a hitch in his gait, but we took him.
“At his second start for us, at Bunbury on New Year’s Eve 12 months ago, he finished a close second (to Watch Me React) and then in January he won three in a row at Busselton. He had to win the first two to be eligible for the Busselton Cup, in which he got a lovely run and won by a length from The Situation.”
Before the Cup win, Tiza New Day won twice over 2400m by margins of eight lengths and nine lengths. Since the Cup win Tiza New Day has suffered from feet problems. “It has been a slow process, putting him out and bringing him back,” said Woodworth.
“We have just purchased another horse (Snorkel) from Hayden, and we are intending to take him to Busselton and have a bit of fun with him.”
Tiza New Day’s win on Friday gave Woodworth his first Gloucester Park training success since Attack On Command beat The Trilogy in a stand on April 12, 2019.
Tiza New Day is the third foal and the first winner out of the unraced Courage Under Fire mare Maiden Valour — and his ancestry dates back to Snowbird, a brilliant mare in the 1960s, and the dam of star pacer Haddock in the 1970s.