Trainer Donna Logan is quick to admit it has been a voyage of discovery with stable debutant St Jean who will make his first New Zealand appearance at Ellerslie on Tuesday.
Logan and co-trainer Chris Gibbs received the well travelled seven-year-old entire into their Ruakaka stable earlier in the year after being sent an e-mail from part-owner James Purcell. Purcell was acting on behalf of the large group of owners in the horse who had won four of his eight Australian starts after being exported from Ireland where he had commenced his racing career.
“He said he had followed our stable and was impressed with what we had achieved so was keen to send us a couple of horses. One was a hurdler and the other was St Jean.
“Chris and I had a talk about it and agreed to take them although we did have some trepidation about having a stallion in the stable as they can be quite disruptive at times.“Those worries have never eventuated though as he is just the perfect gentleman and a delight to have around.”
Logan is keen to see what the entire is capable of on Tuesday when he tackles the Gr.3 OMF Stakes (2000m) after trialling satisfactorily at Avondale last month.“He is a dead set stayer so I’m not really sure what to expect from him first-up,” she said.
“His long term aim is the Auckland Cup in March but on what we can see from his record to date he should be competitive over a middle distance if he can get back to his best form.”Logan won’t be on hand to witness the run as she is currently in Melbourne leading 120 Kiwis on her annual Melbourne Cup tour.
“We have a ball each year and this year will be no exception,” she laughed.“We are heading down to Brighton Beach today (Sunday) and will be at a special luncheon in the Myers ballroom on Monday.
“Our guest speaker will be James McDonald so it will be fascinating for our group to get his insight into the Cup and the pressure he is feeling riding one of the main chances for the race.“To be able to get someone like James to give his time to us is very special so I know he will have a new group of fans who will be cheering him on for the big race.”
