By Ray Hickson
She’s the $3000 mare who is in a small way helping the families of children with cancer.
Trainer Barbara Joseph (Pic: Bradley Photos)
Her name, and the charity that’s behind her, is Win The Day and she’s out to continue the Joseph Jones stable’s run of form - they're on a high after Sun 'N' Sand's Oaks placing - at her TAB Highway (1400m) debut at Randwick on Saturday.
The four-year-old’s owners include Channel Nine personality Karl Stefanovic, rugby star Matt Giteau and his sister Kristy Giteau who founded the Win The Day charity and whose five per cent share goes directly to the organisation.
The horse even carries the colours and logo of Win The Day.
“It’s a great charity and there’s quite a few bigwigs in the horse, some rugby union players, we were giving five per cent away and they ended up selling the whole horse for me,’’ co-trainer Barbara Joseph said.
Importantly, Win The Day – the horse that is – can gallop and has already returned $56,335 from her $3000 purchase price on Inglis Digital.
“She’s so tall, she’s the most beautiful horse, and that’s why she didn’t race as a young horse,’’ Joseph said.
“When we bought her she had these long legs, we just educated her and gave her plenty of time. She has a massive stride on her because she’s so long, she’d be very close to 17 hands.
“She’d be as big as that horse Zouatica we’ve got.
“We didn’t push her early and now we’re getting repaid.”
Win The Day, $6.50 with TAB on Thursday, has won three of her seven starts and heads to Randwick chasing a hat-trick following victories at Canberra and the Sapphire Coast.
Joseph said the mare is adept in all conditions, as it showed last start, and is confident if Alysha Collett has a little bit of good fortune early there’s no reason she can’t continue on her winning way.
“She’s a very impressive horse and she was impressive the other day and she just keeps improving,’’ she said.
“I think she’s well in the race.
“The barrier gives you options, hopefully she can get across and get in a bit. Alysha loves her and she’s easy to ride.”
Meanwhile, Australian Oaks runner-up Sun ‘N’ Sand has gone to the paddock following her Group 1 placing last weekend and Joseph is confident she can build on that career peak in the spring.
The filly almost stole the Oaks from the front, she was run down late by the favourite Treasurethe Moment, and Joseph said that could be the key to her.
“We’ll give her a break and have a look at what mares races she can come back into,’’ she said.
“She’ll improve another two or three lengths when she learns all about it. Even when she was out in front she was stargazing.
“It might be the way to ride her in those 2000m races, we might have learned something.”
There was an amusing aftermath to the Oaks, when trainer Matt Laurie stopped in at Merimbula on the way home on the Monday.
Win The Day scores at the Sapphire Coast on April 4
Laurie has stayed with the Barbara Joseph, Paul and Matt Jones team in Canberra previously when travelling horses and he wound up having dinner at their place in Merimbula and for a moment they had their hands on the Australian Oaks trophy.
“They had champagne and Paul cooked him a big steak,’’ Joseph said.
“We even had the trophy in our cabinet for five minutes.”
All the fields, form and replays for All Aged Stakes Day at Randwick