CONNERS RACING DYNASTY KEEPS ON KEEPING ON!
One of five for J. McDonald at Rosehill. The leading jockey takes a quick peep at runner up The Instructor as they hit the line in the JRA Plate - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Marc Conners’ heart skipped a beat when Willaidow put in a couple of “wobbly” steps close to home in a Cl 1 event at Nowra in May of 2023. The then four year old was coming off an emphatic maiden win at Kembla two weeks earlier and looked like recording another easy win when well clear at the 200m. “The horse still won but I knew something had gone wrong because he hit a brick wall close to home,” Marc recalled. “I was pretty devastated when the vets diagnosed a significant fracture to the off fore cannon bone. They stabilised the fracture by inserting three screws and were confident he’d make it back to the races after a long spell.”
Thirty two months and twenty race starts later those screws are still in place, and Willaidow hasn’t taken a lame step. It’s possible Marc gave a fleeting thought to that Nowra episode as he watched the gelding snatch victory on the line in Saturday’s Gr 3 JRA Plate at Rosehill Gardens. It was the gelding’s seventh win since his veterinary procedure and almost certainly his best performance to date. It also gave Marc and son Mitchell a maiden stakes win since formulating their training partnership last November. “As the junior partner Mitch had to take another stable runner to Newcastle while I soaked up the black type glory at Rosehill,” said Conners Snr. “Prince Harrison was out of a place at Newcastle, but Willaidow put the smile back on his face.”
James McDonald scores his fourth win on Willaidow and the first at stakes level in the JRA Plate - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Online sales have become a vibrant part of the racing industry since their introduction around 2017. Rarely does a week go by when we don’t hear of an online bargain recouping its auction price many times over. Willaidow is one of the most notable examples. “He was an unbroken three year old when I spotted him in the catalogue for a Magic Millions digital sale in March 2022,” said Marc. “His sire Shamus Award had already made his mark with notable stakes performers and the further I went into his dam’s side the better it got,” said the trainer. “Admittedly his mother Stimulated (Casino Prince) hadn’t placed in four country runs but his second dam Provokes (Octagonal) had won three races and placed eight times. Three of those placings were at stakes level.
“His third dam Excited Angel was a ripper for Jim Conlan in the 90’s. She won twelve races including a Gr 2, three Gr 3’s and three listed with sixteen placings thrown in. No wonder she won $811,000. When our bloke’s x/rays checked out we decided to throw in a bid or two and it was a pleasant surprise to get him for $7000. His Gr 3 win on Saturday has taken his record to nine wins and four placings for $822,000. These online sales give the smaller players a fleeting chance of finding a decent horse provided the necessary homework is done.”
The new acquisition was broken in by multiple Olympic eventing medalist Shane Rose nowadays regarded as a master breaker of yearling thoroughbreds. By the time the son of Shamus Award entered the Conners stable his ownership had been resolved, and a name selected. Marc decided to keep it all in the family. He races the gelding in tandem with Michelle and her sisters Louise, Kate and Alison. Willaidow’s name is derived from a combination of letters from the names of Michelle’s nephews William, Aiden and Owen. Not surprisingly a huge family cheer squad attended Rosehill on Saturday to watch the talented horse win his first stakes race under the Marc and Mitch Conners’ banner.
The Conners clan was well represented at the presentation of trophies after the JRA Plate - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
It’s quite a coincidence that Willaidow’s initial black type came in the same race exactly one year ago when trained exclusively by Marc. On that occasion the race was called the Southern Cross Stakes, but was renamed this year in acknowledgement of the ATC’s close association with the Japan Racing Association. With Tyler Schiller doing the honours, Willaidow tracked the leader Hard To Say in a fast run race before striking the front at the 200m. Iowna Merc after a soft run, got close to Willaidow right on the line with Brudenell third in a strong field.
Tyler Schiller had his only other ride on the gelding a month later when a respectable fifth in the Liverpool City Cup at Randwick, won coincidentally by Iowna Merc. Interestingly James McDonald was having his sixth race ride on the gelding on Saturday for win number four. Despite a huge volume of rides on Sydney tracks McDonald obviously has a photographic memory for the horses he likes. The jockey was more than happy to jump on Willaidow in a recent Warwick Farm barrier trial, and equally happy to snap up the ride on Saturday.
While on the subject of Willaidow’s riders, special mention should be made of Deanne Panya. The Laotian born jockey played a major role in the gelding’s early education and has ridden him in nine races for four wins including a Rosehill Midway. “Deanne gets a lot of credit for the horse’s achievements,” says Marc. “She always believed he was going to make the grade despite some ordinary performances early days. She follows his career closely and was happy to ride him in a recent trial. Deanne is a regular at Warwick Farm trackwork and has been a great help to many trainers over many years.”
This was the day Marc Conners feared the worst! Willaidow underwent surgery two days after this win at Nowra for a cannon bone fracture. Deanne Panya managed to get him home narrowly - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Training partnerships around Australia have become the norm rather than the exception. Young Mitchell Conners realised early in life that a future in racing was the way he wanted to go, but not without a sound grounding. He applied for and gained an enrolment in Victoria’s Marcus Oldham College Equine Programme, which was discontinued late last year as a result of dwindling enrolment numbers and sustainability concerns. Mitchell was pleased to be in front of the inevitable closure and regards his time there as highly productive. He would later gain practical experience with the Waterhouse/Bott stable and the Maher/Eustace yard at Cranbourne.
When it was time to formulate a partnership with his experienced Dad, young Conners felt fully prepared for the transition into the very tough Sydney training arena. Any outstanding queries he may have had, only needed to be directed to Marc or his Hall Of Fame grandfather Clarry Conners who continues to prepare a team of 15 horses from the same premises. Interestingly Clarry was at Rosehill early on Saturday to saddle up Iceman in the Midway Hcp in which he was opposed to his son and grandson. Between them the Conners clan got away with their fair share of the prize money. Iceman was a cracking second at his first run back from a spell, while Marc and Mitchell’s Danish Prince beat all but the placegetters.
The new training duo got away to a flying start at Hawkesbury last September when they won with their very first starter. The horse in question was Cape Byron, who like Willaidow was sourced from a digital online sale. Formerly trained by Ciaron Maher, Cape Byron gave his new trainers a special thrill by winning a 1400m BM68, perfectly ridden by Deanne Panya. Six weeks later the Capitalist gelding won another one at Hawkesbury before finishing second to Missile Seeker in a Rosehill Midway.
Marc and Mitch won with their very first starter Cape Byron after formulating their training partnership. Marc is on left with Deanna Panya. Mitch is on extreme right - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Mitchell with Cape Byron, an online purchase from the Maher stable - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Marc says he will find a suitable race for Cape Byron in the immediate future and confirms that Willaidow’s next assignment will be the Liverpool City Cup at Randwick on February 28th. With a little time on his side Marc was able to send Saturday’s Gr 3 winner to Shane Rose’s Bimbadeen Park on Sunday morning. “I’ve been doing this with Willaidow for quite some time now,” said the co-trainer. “He goes down to Werombi for two or three days after each run, and it seems to agree with him.”
Asked to nominate a future prospect from his 15 horse team, and the trainer immediately came up with a three year old filly called Penpel. “She strolled home in a two year old maiden at Warwick Farm last June which prompted me to throw her into a stakes race at Flemington in September,” said Marc. “She finished at the tail but not too far away. After a freshen I gave her another run at Warwick Farm and again she was disappointing. I put her away immediately and she wasn’t seen again until the Warwick Farm trials on January 22nd. She ran a very pleasing second and isn’t far off a start. I’ve got to say my co-trainer is pretty pleased with her too.”
