Palmerston North trainer Paul Peake broke a two-decade winless drought at Woodville on Sunday when his gelding Lazy (NZ) (Complacent) scored his maiden win in the Mamona 2100 at his 29th attempt.
The eight-year-old son of Complacent was sent forward from his wide gate by apprentice jockey Crystal Lindsay to take an early lead, with the pair dictating terms up front and running out convincing 4-1/4 length victors.
“Fortunately, he drew wide,” Peake said. “He was very slow to find his feet, but drawing wide, he could get to the lead in his own good time without having to be pushed, as he is pretty much a one pacer.
“I thought he would have been a run short, which shows there is improvement there.”
While Lazy has taken longer than anticipated to score his first win, the 71-year-old horseman said his own health had hindered his progress.
“I have had a bit of ill health in the last year or so and he just hasn’t had anywhere near enough work. Since June I have been doing a lot more with him and it has paid dividends,” he said.
While Peake didn’t name the horse, he said Lazy lives up to his name at home.
“I bought him off a friend of mine, Stephen Mercer, and Stephen named him,” he said. “He is a very lazy track worker.”
Originally hailing from Waikato, Peake has a lifelong involvement in racing, and began training from a young age, with jumps racing being his first love.
“My father was on the committee of the Cambridge Jockey Club and we lived right next door to the original track,” Peake said.
“Dad and I had a horse when I was 18. I used to work it and he gave the orders. It had been through a couple of stables and we won a hurdle race on Cambridge Jockey Club’s big day at Te Rapa back in the seventies.
“I got another horse when I was 20 that I leased off Margaret Bull. He won three hurdle races in a row and I took him to Australia where the wheels quietly fell off.
“I came back here in the eighties and I had one called one called Bound To Reign, which was a horse by Great Wall, and had a lot of fun with him.
“That horse was such a challenge just to get to the races. I remember the day I put him on a plane to get him to Melbourne. The Herald came out with a photographer because they thought he was going to wreck the plane.”
While Peake enjoys training, he has loved his life in the saddle, and it’s something he still enjoys doing on a daily basis.
“I only have been a very average rider, but I was brought up in a family of very good riders,” he said.
“My best day’s racing was where I won two races at a point-to-point, an amateur steeplechase day, in Melbourne. That will forever remain my best day for as long as I live I will never ride another a couple of winners over sticks again.
“I still take him (Lazy) to the track now at 5am and ride him in all of his slow work at 71 and I am so pleased I have got the health to do it.”
Peake is now hoping Lazy can win his next race at short notice, with the pair set to head north later this month in search of a second win.
“I am hoping to run him (next) Sunday at Te Aroha in the amateur riders and I have offered Stephen Mercer’s niece, Tylah, the ride. She has ridden him in a lot of gallops and a few jumpouts.”
