Wingatui was a winter wonderland for trainer Amber Hoffman on Sunday as she recorded a winning double under snowfall.
Her quintet of runners relished the wet conditions to record two wins, two placings and a fourth, making it a worthwhile outing for the Waikouaiti trainer before racing was abandoned following race five as a result of poor visibility.
“It was snowing when Pleasurenpain was racing, it was very cold. The horses all handled it well and the jockeys were brilliant. They would have been freezing,” Hoffman said.
Hoffman made an instant impact at the Otago meeting when Hallelujah Brother romped away to a 10-1/2 length victory in the opening race of the day, the Grand Casino 2200.
“He went really well at Oamaru (last start). He only finished eighth, but he tried really hard. I wasn’t surprised that he went a good race on Sunday, and I knew he liked it extra heavy,” Hoffman said.
“I am really rapt with him, and it is good to see him back in form.”
Later on the card, stablemate Pleasurenpain battled against the elements to post a half-length victory in the Dunedin City Motors (1600m).
“It was a small field (4) but the biggest thing with her is that she behaved herself in the gates, she was a bit naughty at Oamaru,” Hoffman said.
“She was on her best behaviour yesterday and it was very rewarding for the owners, they have been very patient with her.
“She will now probably head to National week at Riccarton.”
Hoffman was also pleased to record two placings, courtesy of homebred Golly Molly in the Nellies Restaurant & Bar (1200m) and Sachin in the Bailey Kennedy Edinburgh Realty (1600m).
“Golly Molly is a nice horse and is one that I bred,” Hoffman said.
“Brandon (May, jockey) came in and said she is going to be a very nice horse once she works it all out, which was quite nice to hear.”
Hoffman’s quintet of runners make up her entire thoroughbred race team, which she trains alongside a dozen standardbred racehorses at Waikouaiti.
While she got her start in racing through thoroughbreds, Hoffman said she enjoys training both codes.
“I got into gallopers first, but I love them both and they work in really well together,” she said.
“The gallopers do a lot of work on the side of the cart with the standardbreds. They really enjoy that. The standardbreds get ridden quite a bit too, so it works out well.”
Hoffman followed the traditional path into racing and said she has garnered plenty of knowledge from her previous mentors in Otago.
“I used to do the whole pony club scene. The lady that got me going, Brenda Harland, trained gallopers and did a lot of pre-training for White Robe Lodge,” she said.
“I was lucky enough to do the pre-trainers for her later on and then I worked for Hector Anderton, which was an awesome experience. They taught me a lot.
“Graeme Anderson moved up to Otago and he had a heap of gallopers, so I ended up helping him quite a bit. He also had standardbreds and once I jumped in the cart I was hooked.
“I now train five gallopers and 15 standardbreds, and I really enjoy it.”