The 2025/26 racing season marked the beginning of a new era for nonagenarian trainer Leonard Stewart as his granddaughter Lacy Stewart joins him in partnership.
Based out of the Phar Lap Raceway, Stewart has had the assistance of Lacy for a number of years, and it was only a matter of time before her name was in the racebook alongside his.
“She’s been helping me for the last few years, so it was well overdue to happen,” Stewart said.
“We get on pretty well, we see eye-to-eye and there’s never been any arguments. It’s quite special training with family, she loves the horses and does a good job with them.”
Throughout their lives, horses have kept the pair closely connected, and Stewart recalled thoroughbreds always being the preferred choice for his granddaughter.
“It all started when she was about four or five, and she was wandering around while I was drying a horse off,” Stewart said. “I said to her, ‘Lacy, I must get you a pony’, and if there was a prize for the biggest pout, she would’ve won it by a length. The foot stamped and she said ‘I don’t want pony, I want racehorse’.
“Later on, when she went to university, she took one that wasn’t fast enough to be a racehorse up to ride around the roads around Christchurch, so she’s always been involved in the horses.
“She’s got a good eye for a horse as well.”
The Stewarts presented just a handful of runners during National Week at the beginning of the month, but they will have a strong representation at Oamaru on Friday, with 10 horses accepting into the meeting.
Leading their charge is last-start winning mare Satin Doll, who will aim to repeat her most recent effort at the venue when contesting the Oamaru Scaffolding (1200m).
“She’s come through that race well, she’s a nuggety little horse that does what she has too,” Stewart said. “She eats, sleeps and works.
“Gosen (Jogoo, jockey) rode her very well to win, but it was also a very good effort from the horse. We have worked her along quietly and she’s fairly well.”
Tranquil Eyes filled the quinella behind Satin Doll in that race and comes into the Bernard Francis Potts and Associates (1200m) in search of an elusive maiden success. Their stablemate Queen Of Kings enters the One Smart Coffee (1600m) with a similar profile, and Stewart is looking forward to seeing their progression in the new term.
“Like Queen Of Kings, she (Tranquil Eyes) will be much stronger and more mature this spring,” he said. “At the moment, she’s just doing it on ability and goes out and does her best.
“They’re going well, but you never know what you’re going to strike in a maiden field.”
Peachy Keen will resume off a decent spell in the Kelvin Tyler Racing (1400m), with the benefit of the minimum of 54kg under Jogoo.
“He’s coming up very well, he’s been working well and he won’t mind the track on Friday,” Stewart said. “In saying that, since they put the drain in at Oamaru, it’s made a big difference to that track.
“I think it’ll be a nice surface with that drainage, Oamaru are a very progressive club and do a great job.”
In the same event, newcomer Flying Dubawi will take his place, aiming to overcome recent barrier woes that have hindered his chances. The six-year-old won two races in a 30-start career in Australia and has been with the Stewarts for just under two months.
“He has had a few shifts around, but he’s won a couple in Australia, so he’d have to have a bit of ability,” Stewart said.
“He’s a big strong horse, he’s just got little issues that we’re trying to iron out. We put him through the gates and gave him a bit of interval training, and he reacted well, but at Riccarton last Saturday, he was moving back and lost a couple of lengths at the start.
“Through no fault of the rider, he covered quite a bit of ground, so I think there is potential there.”