IT WAS "REAL" ALLRIGHT

SUNDAY: December 8, 2024: IT’S real allright! Two keen young racing fans are “pinching” themselves to know their first Saturday winner in town is not imagination.  

You could hear the cheers on both sides of the Tasman when heavily-backed Be Real ($3.70) relished the heavy conditions at Rosehill Gardens yesterday to clinch a city breakthrough in the Benchmark 78 Handicap (2000m).

Hunter Widdup, 16 and Max Fraser-Campin, 17 aren’t yet old enough to properly race a horse in their names, and the former’s mother Milissa Widdup manages the “Hunter W and Max FC” syndicate on their behalf.

Leading Hawkesbury trainer Brad Widdup prepares four-year-old Be Real, who was bred by his close friend, New Zealander Mark Fraser-Campin (Max’s father).

And whilst Widdup welcomed the rain earlier in the day, knowing his grey mare’s chances were enhanced, he then became concerned when it didn’t stop.

“I was getting worried the races would be called off by the time it got to Be Real’s race half-way through the program,” Widdup said.

“I was thinking to myself ‘this is unbelievable, she has conditions to suit and it just kept pouring’.

“Thankfully, the meeting went ahead. Hunter was at the track and Max was watching on TV in New Zealand.

“It was a terrific result for them.”

Such are the vagaries of breeding racehorses that Be Real is a younger sister to another grey, Tuncurry trainer Terry Evans’ seven-year-old Sir Ravanelli, whose nine wins have been between 1000m to 1400m.

By contrast, Be Real’s four wins (the first three at the provincials) have been between 1600m and 2000m, and her trainer is adamant she will run 2400m.

Widdup is considering nominating Be Real for Saturday’s Listed Christmas Cup (2400m) at Royal Randwick.

“I doubt we will back her up unless we get more rain this week,” he said.

“But the forecast is for something like 35 degrees on Friday.”

Be Real, after settling last, quickly surged between runners in the straight yesterday.

With a tidy 6kg advantage over $2.70 favorite Bullets High, whose rider Nash Rawiller steered toward the outside rail seeking better ground, she defeated him by nearly a length.

Widdup has just returned from a trip to the UK, where he made five purchases for Honeycomb Stud’s Adrian Whittingham, at Tattersalls sale at Newmarket.

“Three of our buys will stay in the Uk, and the Frankel mare (who has already won a few races) and Galileo Gold filly will come out to be trained at Hawkesbury,” he said.

“We were able to visit both William Haggas and Charlie Appleby’s stables at Newmarket.”

Meanwhile, Be Real’s winning rider Tyler Schiller will be back on Jedibeel in Saturday’s Listed Razor Sharp Handicap (1200m) at Randwick.