‘Hobby’ trainer strikes stakes win

The rising costs of training horses and the need for a hobby prompted Otautau dairy farmer Bruce Tapper to take out his trainer’s license in 2014.

Fast forward to 2022 and Tapper experienced his biggest thrill as a trainer when Specialty (Rip Van Winkle [IRE]- Rio Tennelle) and Redmond (Ghibillines [AUS]- Ruby Red) provided the quinella in the Gr.3 Barneswood Farm Stakes at Ashburton.

Tapper is no stranger to horses, his father Hec was a successful trainer in Matamata, training a number of Group One winners including the MRC Memsie Stakes winner Ahjay, the Wellington Cup winner Big Gamble and the ARC Railway Handicap winner Extra Flash.

He and wife Karen have been owners on and off for a number of years.

“Karen and I had a good horse in the 80’s called Cleargold who won an Easter Handicap when trained by Ian Morton,” Tapper recalled.

“I bought it in the dispersal sale that Dad had, but we were probably too young to appreciate it then, and then we were too busy dairy farming to continue with the horses.

“I had about four horses in work with public trainers and I thought I can’t afford to keep doing this, and the boys (there are four sons) wanted me to spend less time on the dairy farm so it was a hobby I turned to when I retired.”

In 2018 he moved to Timaru onto the Clearview Park property where his son Aaron stands Jon Snow and Echoes of Heaven and the hobby has continued to grow. He now trains over a dozen horses with Varma Ramhit.

He also has four active broodmares on the farm including Rio Tennelle (Captain Rio [GB] - Tats My Girl) and Ruby Red (Dehere [USA] - Seishona), the dams of Specialty and Redmond respectively.

Specialty is the first and only foal thus far from Rio Tennelle and has won two races and run fourth three times from just five starts.

“I bought Rio Tennelle as she was a half-sister to Five Kings (by Shinko King [IRE]) who I raced and I liked the family,” Tapper said.

“I broke her in and raced her, she won one race and injured a fetlock so I sent her to stud. According to the Goldmine mating programme Rip Van Winkle was the best mating, and so it seems.

“She hasn’t had a foal since and has been a difficult mare to get in foal so I am hoping she will get in foal to Ancient Spirit this time.”

As well as being the dam of Five Kings and Rio Tennelle, Tats My Girl is a three-quarter sister to the former Champion Three-Year-Old and Champion Sprinter Tit For Taat, a winner of 15 races including five at Group One level. She was also a half-sister to Tatlock (by Elnadim [USA]), a stakes placed winner of four races.

Tats My Girl was out of Miss Kiwitea (by Truly Vain [AUS]) who had seven other foals besides Tit For Taat, for seven winners including Miss Tree (by Oregon [USA]). She was a winner at two and was the dam of Miss Puzzle (by Citidancer [IRE]) who was subsequently sold to the States where she left three stakes winners including the dual Group One winner Fashion Plate (by Old Fashioned [USA]).

Another of Miss Tree’s daughters is Centree (by Centaine [AUS]), who has left the dual Australian Group One winner Sierra Sue (by Darci Brahma).

Redmond, who was runner up to Specialty, is also the winner of two races. He won a race as a two-year-old and was second in the Listed CJC Champagne Stakes last April, and fresh up this season also won a three-year-old race on that track.

Raced by the Tappers, Ruby Red was the winner of four races before she injured a knee, and went to visit Raise The Flag (GB) at White Robe Lodge and produced Redford, the winner of three races. Redmond, by another White Robe Lodge stallion in Ghibillines, is her second named foal.

She in turn is out of the Fusaichi Pegasus (USA) mare Seishona (AUS), the winner of five races and the dam of two other winners. It’s a family rich with international black-type and included in the pedigree is the Group One placed, stakes winning mare Obsession, the dam of the Group One placed stakes winner Harlech (by Darci Brahma).

“As well as being my biggest win as a trainer, it was also the first stakes winner for Varma, so we are really pleased for him,” Tapper said of his co-trainer.

“Varma came to New Zealand about six or seven years ago and was foreman for John and Karen Parsons, he had been an apprentice in Mauritius and is just crazy about horses. When the Parsons partnership ceased, he moved to Cambridge, he lasted a few days.

“He didn’t like it and he rang me up and asked for a job and came straight back. He worked for me for a while and at the start of last season we went into partnership.”

Tapper and Ramhit are now aiming Specialty and Redmond towards the Gr.1 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai 2000 Guineas at Riccarton next month. -Michelle Saba, NZTBA