Santos keeps magic summer run going for Parsons team

The win of Santos (NZ) (No Excuse Needed) in Saturday’s Listed Carriers Arms Hotel Riverton Cup (2147m) on Saturday continued a fine run of form for the Balcairn stable of husband and wife training combination, John and Karen Parsons.

With the victory of stablemates Confused and Semper Plus added to the day’s tally the Parsons moved to 38 wins for the season and 5th equal on the New Zealand Trainers Premiership ladder.

More importantly it allowed the couple to crack the $1million barrier in total prizemoney earned this year, a first for the couple and more than $360,000 in excess of their previous season’s best.

Bred and owned by longtime Parsons stable client Bev Jones, Santos registered his biggest win and the sixth in his career to date when he burst between a wall of runners halfway down the Riverton straight to record a convincing victory.

Rider Buddy Lammas had the five-year-old son of No Excuse Needed well positioned near the pace for most of the journey but was pocketed close to the home turn when a number of the back-markers made their runs wide around the home turn. Piercing through a gap at the two hundred metre mark Santos put the issue beyond doubt as he collared a game Electronic Motion and third placed The Glitzy One in the shadows of the winning post.

“He is a tough customer and although he is nearing the end of this campaign he still proved too good for them and I expect him to be even better in his next preparation,” said co-trainer Karen Parsons.

“We will look at a race at Riccarton in the next couple of weeks but if he doesn’t get to that then he will go out for a winter break.”

Santos is from the same family as the outstanding sprinter/miler O’Cartier and recent stakes winner Annabel Rose.

Meanwhile Parsons confirmed that stable star Final Touch was in the spelling paddock for a six week break before returning to the stable for a build-up aimed at the Hawkes Bay Spring Carnival.

“We’ve had a lot of luck this year and I doubt whether we will ever have three Group One wins in a season again so we are thrilled with what we’ve achieved,” said Parsons. “I think the best we have done before is fifty two wins in a season but certainly we have never achieved this level of stake money of which Final Touch has been the major contributor.

“She is having a well earned break but as an older mare we won’t keep her out for too long so she can come back and have a slow and steady build up for the major races at Hawkes Bay in the Spring.”

Source: NZTM