Untapped galloper Im Bartholomew (NZ) (Contributer) delivered a maiden victory four years in the making for Tony Dravitzki at Hawera on Sunday.
Initially purchased by Dravitzki as a weanling, Im Bartholomew trialled impressively at Waverley in September 2023 and was subsequently sold to Australia. In the care of Victorian trainer Henry Dwyer, he produced a fourth from four starts, the last of those coming in December last year.
Dravitzki had remained in the ownership of the gelding, and following his most recent effort, the opportunity presented to purchase Im Bartholomew back outright. He didn’t hesitate to do so, and after a long build-up, his charge was ready to make an awaited Kiwi debut in the Miss Lizzie (1200m).
In the hands of Mereana Hudson, Im Bartholomew went back from a wide draw, while Our Time Keeper sped up to take the lead in the trying conditions at Hawera. A number of his rivals were already under pressure nearing the 600m, but Im Bartholomew was cruising into contention and hit the lead at the top of the straight.
Coming down the outside, Im Bartholomew was off and gone, taking a comfortable 2 – ¼ length victory over Nightowl who was game on debut.
Dravitzki took great satisfaction out of the result, having had such a long journey with the son of Complacent.
“It wasn’t my biggest win, but it was the win that has given me the most satisfaction so far in my training career,” he said. “I’ve always known the horse had ability, for whatever reason he didn’t show that in Australia.
“I bought him off Gavelhouse as a weanling when I was in hospital, then took him through to trialling as a three-year-old. I sold him to Australia while keeping a small share in him myself, but he didn’t really come up over there, so I bought him back off Inglis Digital.
“I’ve had him back for about nine months, so going into his first start, I was expecting a good run, while being a little worried about the track.
“I’ve always known the horse had ability and he raced very professionally today, he had the four starts in Australia while a few of these were first-starters.
“The future looks quite bright for him and I think he’ll be better on top of the ground, based on what he shows in the training track.
“He’s not the biggest of eaters, but he has improved all the way through and is finally eating up, which he didn’t as a young horse and would lose condition very easily. It’s been a long, slow build-up, which seemed to have worked.”
Based at Stratford, Dravitzki had seen plenty of his mother, Dream Dancer, during her racing career, and leapt at the chance to purchase one of her progeny.
“His mother, Dream Dancer, was a very good mare trained at Stratford,” he said. “I had a horse at the same time that was often racing against her, so I knew her ability.
“I like the Complacent horses as well, I have about five of them in my stable.”
