Durham Town justifies reputation

5th Dec 2011

Exciting young galloper Durham Town (NZ) (Falkirk) lived up to his big reputation wining the Group Two Concorde Handicap at Ellerslie on Saturday with ease.

The big strong four-year-old son of Falkirk (NZ) (Tale of the Cat) was always in control in the slick 1200 metre event running his rivals of their feet and winning by half a length. Ridden by Jason Collett and carrying a relative light weight of 52.5 kilograms he was soon in the lead.  He maintained that lead and kicked clear in the straight running the last 600 metres in a cracking 33.83, the time of the race was 1.09.51. 

Happy connections with Durham Town (NZ)

A fast finishing Upsala (NZ) (Oratorio) finished in second place followed closely by Rough Odds (NZ) (Stravinsky).

Durham Town (NZ) is trained at Ruakaka by Donna and Dean Logan with Donna sharing in the ownership with former trainer Jim Gibbs MZNM, his wife Anne, former All Blacks Coach and now NZ Warriors manager John Hart along with Paul Collins and David Wale.

He was having only his seventh race day start and recorded his fifth win – all of which have been at Ellerslie. And it will be back at Ellerslie in the group one Railway Handicap that he will have next start.

“He’s a very very talented horse, and the plan is to now take him to the Railway, he was in a position today where he could have been run down, but that last 600 in 33.83,that was impressive,” said an obviously delighted Donna Logan.

She is also hoping that some of the luck enjoyed by Jim Gibbs and John Hart in winning the 1995 Group One Railway Handicap with Coberger (NZ) (Famous Star) will also rub off on Durham Town (NZ).

Logan purchased Durham Town (NZ) from the 2009 Festival Yearling Sale from the draft of Nerobella Lodge for NZ$43,000 and shortly after was approached by Jim Gibbs to see if she had an owner for the colt. 

He was from the first crop of the Tale of the Cat (Storm Cat) stallion Falkirk (NZ) who is a son of Madam Valeta (NZ) (Palace Music) who was trained by Gibbs. As well Gibbs was familiar with the family of the yearling, having trained the stakes winner Darcybee (NZ) (Fasliyev).

Durham Town (NZ) is out of the unraced Marju (Last Tycoon) mare Durham Walk (NZ) a granddaughter of Sharp Walk (Sharp Edge) a stakes winning dam of Classic Walk (NZ) (Grosvenor) and a half-sister to Cheyne Walk (Le Cordonnier) and Jubilee Walk (King of Bavylon), their dam being the Golden Slipper winner Fairy Walk (Minor Portion).

Darcybee (NZ) is a granddaughter of Sharp Walk. This family also produced the recent group one Levin Classic winner Distill (NZ) (Volksraad).

Gibbs then put together the syndicate with his former owner Hart and his colleagues Paul Collins and David Wale and they will no doubt be at Ellerslie on New Year’s Day hoping for another Group One Railway Handicap success.

Falkirk will be represented by 11 Select lots and 4 Festival lots at NZB’s National Yearling Sales Series beginning January 30.