Sidenay – The little horse that could

Feb 20, 2024

The story of Sidenay and his recent success reminds me a little of the folk story of The Little Engine That Could.

You know the fairytale in which The Little Engine tried hard enough and persisted long enough proving that eventually you can conquer challenges, the catchcry of “I think I can, I think I can” rings loudly also for Sidenay.

“Sid” has now won 3 of his last 4 races, after taking 16 starts to break his Maiden – now that is a story of perseverance not only from the horse but Kim Waugh and her staff at Wyong.

Your son of Star Turn certainly qualifies as “The Little Horse That Could”

Sidenay Racing at Tamworth Friday 16th Feb 2024

STEPPING UP TO THE MILE – MUM’S THE WORD

The story of Sidenay and his recent success reminds me a little of the folk story of The Little Engine That Could.

You know the fairytale in which The Little Engine tried hard enough and persisted long enough proving that eventually you can conquer challenges, the catchcry of “I think I can, I think I can” rings loudly also for Sidenay.

“Sid” has now won 3 of his last 4 races, after taking 16 starts to break his Maiden – now that is a story of perseverance not only from the horse but Kim Waugh and her staff at Wyong.

Your son of Star Turn certainly qualifies as “The Little Horse That Could”.

Sidenay Head Shot

“Gee, that was a great effort over 1600m for the first time”  Trainer Kim Waugh

THAT STAMINA FOR ALL TO SEE

There was no loafing from Sidenay, apprentice jockey Millie Thompson was instructed to go forward and show intent by trainer Kim Waugh.

The only problem was another runner put pressure on the Tycoons duo and the first 800m was run at a blistering pace.

But instead of wilting in the straight, Millie and Sid had the entire field off the bit, and while the well-supported Night Patra was storming home, he couldn’t narrow the gap.

In fact on the line, Sidenay was an easy winner by nearly two lengths and had broken the heart of the opposition.

NEXT STEPS

Kim nearly sent Sidenay for a break three starts ago when he was disappointing at Kembla Grange. But he recovered so well the campaign continued and has resulted in two more wins.

“Gee that was a great effort over the 1600m for the first time, he jumped beautifully, he got to the lead, that horse did bother him most of the way, but it dropped out and Sidenay kicked again and was strong in the straight.

It was really pleasing to see how strong he was over the Mile and Millie did a great job on him again and she is getting a great record on Sid.

He’s pulled up well and we will try and find a similar sort of race over a Mile, keep Millie on and make the use of that 4kg claim.

There’s not an option that immediately jumps out so let’s just wait and see what unfolds.” Waugh said.

As always Kim and her team will keep you up to date when options arise.

In the meantime, well done Sidenay and well-done Tycoons.

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BOUNCE BACK FACTOR 

As Tycoons were made aware of, there’s a theory in racing that when a horse suffers from cardiac arrhythmia, “you must back it next start” and they win. 

And that was certainly the message after Cool Jakey suffered cardiac arrhythmia the previous start at Randwick, with Joe Pride telling Tycoons in the pre-race late mail, “Don’t worry about what happened last start, the horse is fine and he looks great,” how right Joe was with Cool Jakey leading all the way.

COOL JAKEY THE KING OF WARWICK FARM 050325

Cool Jakey battling to the line with Emmadella

Cool Jakey trainer Joe Pride, Brave Pride, Jockey Adam Hyeronimus and TK

Trainer Joe Pride and son Brave Pride, Jockey Adam Hyeronimus and TRL Rep TK

HIPPO FROM BARRIER TO BOX

Adam Hyeronimus was having his first sit on Cool Jakey and he rode him a treat. We joked before the race “just go to the front and improve your position” and that’s exactly what he did. 

“He jumped well and found a nice rhythm straight away, he had a nice time so I let him slide early into it at the 600metres so we did go a bit early. 

“He felt fantastic throughout the run and was doing it easily, so I did get a bit of a surprise how quickly he stopped. 

“So maybe I did go too early, but in saying that, maybe seven furlongs is his upper limit. On that effort he’ll be winning again” Jockey Adam Hyeronimus said.

JOE DELIGHTED

“That was good guys” trainer Joe Pride said, with a big smile to a large contingent of NSW Tycoons on Cool Jakey returning to scale. 

“Look it was nice to see him win on a track that wasn’t bottomless wet, it opens up a lot more opportunities for him. 

“In saying that if there was a 1400m for him in a fortnight on a Good track I would probably be reluctant to start him. We need to nurse him through it and the next month – six weeks isn’t going to be easy because it’s carnival time. 

Cool Jakey the king of Warwick Farm with NSW Tycoons

Cool Jakey in the winners circle with NSW Tycoons’ owners

WHATS NEXT – PACK YOUR BAGS

The Tycoons have been very patient with Cool Jakey and their patience has been rewarded. He is building a very nice career record which stands at only 13 starts for 5 wins and a minor placing and is now pushing the $200,000 in prize money. 

‘Jakey’ has initially pulled up well, but we all know that he is a delicate soul and has to be treated with kindness and Joe is reluctant to push him too hard too quickly. Which is fair enough. 

“We might even consider travelling him maybe to Melbourne or Brisbane for a wet track, we just need to look after him.

“He’s been a good horse for us, we will look after him and his best opportunities will come in the Winter,” Joe concluded. 

Congratulations to all NSW Tycoons and winning connections.

Go you good thing!