All The Way Mae (Andrew Adkins) in the well known Parker stable colours scored an emphatic win in Saturday's Midway - courtesy Bradley Photographers.

A less patient trainer could easily have pulled the wrong rein with All The Way Mae early in her career. Kerry Parker knew he had a pretty smart filly on his hands the first time he asked her to slide along in trackwork at Kembla Grange. He was tickled pink when she was never off the bridle to run second in an 800m Kembla trial this time last year. Kerry then opted for a 900m maiden 2YO at Newcastle to launch All The Way Mae’s racing career. The filly began smartly but Chad Lever immediately took hold to make sure she retained her confidence on a Heavy 10 track. Although wide on the corner All The Way Mae let down stylishly to put almost three lengths on runner up Tyrone’s Power. Kerry couldn’t wait to get the precocious two year old to the spelling paddock.

Not surprisingly the trainer was a touch excited three months later, when the spring three year old returned to the trials. The filly exceeded his expectations in finishing a fast closing second to Boston Rocks in an open 800m dash. Interesting to note that six weeks later Boston Rocks finished a close seventh 2.5 lengths from Clear Thinking in the Kosciuszko and followed with a black type win at Caulfield. While Boston Rocks was mixing it with stakes horses, All The Way Mae was doing her best to disappoint connections.

All The Way Mae (Chad Lever) was airborne on the line in winning a 2YO Maiden at Newcastle 26/05/2025 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.

In three consecutive runs on her hometrack, the filly failed to fill a place. She wasn’t beaten far in all three, but it was clear she’d become her own worst enemy. “She thought she knew a lot more about it than we did,” said Kerry. “She was far too aggressive and just wanted to get it over and done with. To continue while she was in that frame of mind could have been disastrous. I went the old fashioned way and sent her straight back to the paddock in the hope she’d grow up a bit and give all that nonsense away.”

The man who learned his trade from people like the ever patient Les Bridge was right on the mark. When All The Way Mae returned to training Kerry went to painstaking lengths to keep her relaxed on the training track. “We hastened slowly in every piece of work,” he said. “Every work rider was told to try to convince her there was no need to rush. Slowly but surely, you could see her coming around. She’s still not perfect but a hell of a lot better than she was, and the results tell the story.”

Five months after her previous run All The Way Mae resumed with a very “cruisy” second in an open Kembla trial. She returned to the races in a 1000m Cl 1 at Hawkesbury on April 14th with Andrew Adkins in the saddle. “We asked Andrew not to get involved in any speed battle, and it was pleasing to see the filly reasonably relaxed in front of only one horse at the 600m,” said Kerry. “After being pushed wide on the corner she put in a dash, but her inexperience showed when she ducked in pretty sharply at the 150m. Andrew had to straighten her, but it may have cost her second spot behind Tides Turning. She hasn’t yet kicked the habit of wanting to carry her head off to one side and it can make her a bit difficult to steer.”

It wouldn’t have mattered where she carried her head next time out in a 1000m Cl 1 at Kembla on May 9th. With Brock Ryan up she relaxed surprisingly well in front before “exploding” clear on straightening. Hard up against the fence All the Way Mae absolutely blitzed the opposition to win by close to three lengths, and her natural improvement was clearly evident. Andrew Adkins returned as her rider at Rosehill on Saturday and his instructions were set in stone. “Even though she had the benefit of the inside gate I told him to look for cover and concentrate on getting her relaxed and into a rhythm,” said the trainer.

This was the day All The Way Mae put it all together for Brock Ryan and the result was a runaway win at Kembla 09/05/2026 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.

Adkins did exactly that, and it must have been very gratifying for Parker to see the slow maturing filly bowling along generously at the 600m behind hard going leader Sir Les with Shaggy and Norton Road prominent. Not so generous was hot favourite Gorgeous who was racing untractably back in the field. Sir Les was one of many leaders on Saturday to turn for home well away from the fence. Adkins opted to make his run inside Sir Les but still four horses off the rail and this was where All The Way Mae’s turn of foot was evident. The filly dashed impressively in the Heavy 9 going to put the race beyond doubt as favourite Gorgeous was having a disagreement with her shadow roll. On the line the Kembla filly safely held fast finishing She Swings with Gorgeous a creditable third all things considered.

All The Way Mae (Andrew Adkins) raced generously throughout before putting the opposition away with a stylish turn of foot at Rosehill - courtesy Bradley Photographers.

All The Way Mae’s burgeoning turn of foot isn’t surprising in view of a pedigree laden with raw speed. Her sire is the lightly raced Yes Yes Yes whose time of 1.07.32 in winning an Everest remains a Randwick track record. You could have knocked me over with a feather when Glen Boss declared in a podcast that he’d never travelled as fast on a thoroughbred’s back as he did when Yes Yes Yes unleashed his sprint from the top of the rise in the 2019 Everest. Perhaps the son of Rubick is responsible for a small percentage of All The Way Mae’s ability to let down.

The filly is a daughter of I Am Invincible mare Ottamae, a winner of five races for three trainers - one win for Noel Mayfield-Smith, three for Matthew Smith and one for David Vandyke at Ipswich. The Queensland win was easily her best, accounting for BM72 opposition by more than six lengths. The second dam is Sister Samantha whose sire Encosta De Lago has been responsible for many winners endowed with blistering speed. For those breeding buffs who acknowledge a double strain of a champion stallion in pedigrees, it’s worthy of note that Rubick, sire of Yes Yes Yes was also by Encosta De Lago.

All The Way Mae's dam Ottamae (Christian Reith) in one of her five wins - Muswellbrook 25/08/2019 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.

Kerry Parker recalls having taken an interest in the Yes Yes Yes filly at the 2024 Inglis Premier Sale in Melbourne. When she was passed in at a reserve of $40,000 he decided to make contact with vendors Stonehouse Thoroughbreds of Eddington Victoria. Kerry secured the filly for the reserve price and was delighted when two members of the breeding group agreed to remain in the ownership. The trainer was able to syndicate the remaining shares among clients and friends, making sure to retain a chunk for himself. As of Saturday night All The Way Mae’s stats read seven starts for 3 wins, 1 placing for almost $127,000 - triple her purchase price. Only a handful of the filly’s large ownership group were captured by the Sky Racing birdcage camera after Saturday’s win. Long time stable supporters Jeff and Julie McDonald expressed their delight alongside trainer Parker and the trainer’s partner Lydia.

For the past eighteen months Kerry has been operating from the Kembla stabling block previously occupied by the late Gwenda Markwell whose passing from cancer in 2022 deeply saddened the racing industry. The relocation has enabled Kerry to increase his numbers from a dozen to a current team of thirty horses. When asked if he’d named the new operation after his former star racehorse Think It Over, his reply reflected his trademark sense of humour. “Mate I used to call my old place “The House With No Steps” because of the number of half broken down crocks I’d tried to patch up over many years,” he said. “I’m getting sounder horses to train these days so maybe I will honour old Think It Over in the future. I know one thing. I’ll be waiting a long time to get another one like him. In the meantime, I’ll do what I’ve always done, just poke along doing my best for every horse in the stable.”

A recent one of Kerry Parker after a win with Walk Like A Man at Kembla 28/01/2026 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.

Kerry says it took he and all the team quite some time to come to terms with Think It Over’s retirement just over two years ago. Very few days go by when he doesn’t spare a thought for the horse who took him to racing’s biggest stage. He won 13 races with the son of So You Think between September 2019 and March of 2024 including three at Gr 1 level, three Gr 2’s and three Gr 3’s. Two other wins (Rosehill Cup and Channel 7 Stakes) carried big prize money but were denied elite level status by qualifying conditions.

Of all Think It Over’s wins, the one certain to live in the memories of racing fans was his spectacular defeat of Zaaki on a “bottomless” track in the 2022 Queen Elizabeth Stakes. Zaaki was being hailed the winner when Nash Rawiller made the spontaneous decision to suddenly steer Think It Over to the outskirts of the track. Defeat would have brought Rawiller widespread criticism. A last stride win brought him acclaim which will endure for the rest of his career and beyond. It was the impulsive reaction of a great jockey whose uncanny instincts are found only in a chosen few. None of it would have been possible without the dedication of an innately talented trainer who continues to cherish memories of a fantastic journey with his “horse of a lifetime.”

ALL THE WAY MAE’S FINALLY LEARNING TO BIDE HER TIME

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