It was a sentimental moment at Te Rapa on Saturday when Don’s Legacy broke through for his maiden win in the Noverre Mile (1600m) for owner-trainer Dennis Nunn.
The six-year-old gelding was bred by Nunn’s close friend Don Wilson and was gifted to Nunn by Wilson’s widow Dorothy Wilson following his passing five years ago.
Nunn took a patient approach with the Bullbars gelding’s development, and was rapt to get the victory at his 12th start.
“It has been a while coming,” Nunn said. “It was great to get the win, especially for the Wilson family.”
Don’s Legacy went into the race in good form, having finished runner-up in his two prior starts, but his trainer was a bit nervous with the gelding having suffered a stone bruise in the weeks prior, but he needn’t have worried.
“He had a few little niggles in-between (his last start), he had a stone bruise which came out on the Sunday before the race,” Nunn said. “That made us a little apprehensive, but it went well.”
Nunn and Wilson’s friendship goes back more than four decades, and Nunn said Wilson’s love for animals was evident from their first meeting at his farm.
“I met Don 45 years ago when he had (Gr.1 Sydney Cup (3200m) winner) Oopik going,” Nunn said.
“I went to see him for some reason, and he said to me ‘want to come for a ride?’, so off we went. When I went to hop in the front of his flash Valiant he said to me ‘you’re in the back seat, my dog, Bob, is in the front. He works for me, so you’re in the back’.
“Don was a very straight shooter. The animals, and of course his family, were his love, they came first.”
The pair continued their burgeoning friendship and shared their love for farming, animals and horse racing.
“From there we have been great friends,” Nunn said. “Whenever he needed some help on the farm, I had a little farm myself, I would go around and help start his tractor or put a pipe in for him or help transfer his horses from A to B.
“He was a bit like a grandfather to me, I never had one. He was a real character.”
When Wilson passed away at the turn of the decade, Nunn decided to take on his unbroken yearling and continue his good friend’s legacy, and aptly named the horse Don’s Legacy.
“When Don passed away in 2020, Dorothy (wife) had no takers for the horse. I said to her ‘do you mind if I took him?’ and she said I was most welcome to the horse.
“I then took him to my daughter’s sheep farm and chucked him up in a big 70-acre paddock and forgot about him for six months, and then brought him back to Hamilton and got him broken in.
“He has been in and out a few times. The last time he raced (preparation), Sam Spratt rode him for me and she said she thought he was too big to go on the hard ground so put him aside, which we duly did. This time he has come back with a fifth, two seconds and a win.”
The victory meant a great deal to Nunn and on Monday he went out to visit Dorothy to savour the win.
“I went and saw her today and I have got a photo of the horse framed coming back to the birdcage, with the breeder being Don Wilson on it,” he said. “She was certainly in a bit of shock that he had won a race, I hadn’t seen her in a while.”
It was also Nunn’s first training victory in more than 30 years, and he was delighted to break the drought.
Horses have always been a big part of Nunn’s life, but he said his interest in racing was piqued in his formative years in the workforce.
“I used to work with a gentleman who was an apprentice (jockey) many years ago called Terry Knox. Terry got me interested and I used to help him a bit before work at Te Rapa,” Nunn said.
“I always had an interest and people have been very kind to me along the way.”
Following Saturday’s win, Nunn said Don’s Legacy is enjoying a week in the paddock before he brings him back in search of his next win.
“The jockey (Elen Nicholas) said she feels he is waking up a bit,” Nunn said. “I thought she rode him brilliantly, it was a lovely ride, so we will give him a week out in the paddock and go again.”
