Racing: NZ trainer king of harness castle - NZ Herald (2024)

By MICHAEL GUERIN

When Brett Pelling left snow-covered Mataura as a 17-year-old, he might have been co*cky enough to dream he would one day live in a house like the one he now calls home.

But even the co*ckiest kid from Southland could never have envisaged what that house, nestled in the New Jersey pinelands, would contain.

Because inside Pelling's US$1.5 million home are some things money can't buy.

Like three Little Brown Jugs, the Holy Grails of harness racing, two Meadowlands Pace trophies, a Breeders Crown-winner's sculpture and a whole cabinet full of harness racing's most sought-after silverware.

"And there is another cabinet over there full of trophies that don't make the main cabinet," says Pelling, casually perusing his office.

Pelling is harness racing's Sir Edmund Hillary - the Kiwi who climbed the highest mountain.

But unlike Sir Ed, he stayed there.

More impressive than his trophy cabinet are the numbers that make up his career.

Pelling's 60-horse stable has won the premiership at The Meadowlands in New Jersey, the world's greatest harness track, seven times in the past 10 years.

His biggest season brought him US$8.1 million and 265 winners, helping his stable to career earnings of more than US$60 million .

And he is confident of adding to that tally when he takes Lyell Creek to The Meadowlands for the Nat Ray Final tomorrow.

"He can win it, he has beaten all these horses before," says Pelling.

"What he has done since he arrived up here has been amazing."

Pelling could just as easily be describing himself.

The 43-year-old had never sat behind a horse when he left Southland for Australia 26 years ago.

He soon picked up work in stables and made his way to the States in the 1980s, working on tracks in California and Chicago before finding a home in New Jersey.

The Meadowlands had become harness racing's magic kingdom and Pelling went about becoming its king.

Pelling and fellow Southland import Richard "Nifty" Norman have combined the best of the training philosophies of the US and New Zealand.

"That is one of our strengths," admits Pelling.

"I think a lot of the trainers up here, their families have been in the industry for generations and it is almost like deja vu for young trainers here.

"If something doesn't work one season they simply think, 'Never mind, we always have next season'.

"But we think differently.

"If something goes wrong we will try something else. For example, we take horses and paddock- train them to ease soreness.

"Yet some of the trainers up here, their horses will never see a paddock from the time they are broken in.

"They are boxed every day for four years."

But Pelling isn't some parochial yokel.

He believes many Down Under trainers, particularly Australians, train their horses too hard.

"It is not very often we work Lyell Creek faster than 800m in 61 seconds. They race so hard up here it keeps them fit."

Pelling's regime for New Zealand's favourite trotter includes plenty of straight-line training on a 1200m strip at White Birch Farm, a property he shares with 10 other trainers.

"Some mornings I will work him over 800m eight times, with slow return trips in between. We have to be flexible, which is the key to surviving."

Surviving in US harness racing is not easy.

Major owners usually have a stable life of five years before they move on somewhere else to have their egos stroked.

And even as the top dog Pelling can expect little loyalty from the best drivers, who dominate the industry.

And then there are the bills.

"I have to keep $250,000 available every month to enter horses for races and pay the rent and wages.

"It is big business over here and if a horse races for me three times in a month then an owner can expect a bill of at least US$3000 for that month."

That is why Pelling knows he won't be training too many other Lyell Creeks for New Zealand owners anytime soon.

"Can you imagine sending an owner in New Zealand a bill for US$3000 every month.

"Lyell Creek is different because he pays his way but most New Zealand horses can't compete up here and when it comes to racing at the top level, well the best horses here are unbelievable.

"Every time you go to The Meadowlands it is war."

The scars of that war are sometimes evident on Pelling, who is happily married with two children and the almost obligatory two dogs.

He admits he often discusses with his wife returning to New Zealand or Australia.

"When you have kids you think all the time about where is the best place to bring them up, about their education, safety and quality of life.

"Sometimes I miss home. You miss the mates you grew up with, and little things like leaving the door unlocked during the day."

So could we see Pelling back home clashing with the Purdons and Herlihys of our industry some time soon?

"No way. If I come home I won't train horses. I've already done that."

And not many have ever done it better.