Dachy Racing in her Prime

Bruce Stewart Contributor

At the ripe old age of eight, Changeover mare Dachy is having her best season.

Owned by trainer Ian Goodman and Doug McLeish, Dachy had to overcome plenty of roadblocks to achieve her win at Ascot Park yesterday in the hands of Sheree Tomlinson.

Dachy – File

She was locked away on the inside with 500 metres to run surrounded by tiring horses. Tomlinson managed to extricate her from tight quarters and sent her out to chase down leader Wolf West, which had got away by eight lengths.

“I was a wee bit concerned and thought we might get dragged right out the back. Sheree said she got the gap and if you watch the replay you can see she ran onto Kirk’s (Larsen driving Maidonthebeach) wheel. But she made enough room and got out,” said Goodman.

Straightening up for the run home Dachy mastered Wolf West and came away to win by three lengths.

“She’s always been very competitive and just wants to run. It suits her when the speed is on. She can get out and run home.”

Dachy doesn’t win out of turn. She won once in each of her first three seasons of racing.  At six she won twice before going winless the following season.

“Last season she only had a few starts and did a suspensory and was meant to be out for six months. She was only out for four months. We got her scanned and she was good to go and won first up in Invercargill.”

It was the mare’s eighth win in seventy six starts over six seasons of racing. She resumed after lock down with a sixth last Saturday at Ascot Park after getting clear late.

Most of Goodman’s thirty two winners have featured the McLeish name in the ownership, including Future Fortune, Connie Belle and Bold Centurion.

Dachy has spent some of her career at Nathan Williamson’s barn.

“I’ve done it the last two Christmas’s. We take the family, the boat and go on holiday to Hawea.”

Most of the mare’s runs have been over the shorter distances and she’s only had one stand.

“That was at Gore and she didn’t go that well. I think half her trouble is she gets a bit keen. That was the only time she’s raced over a distance beyond 2400 metres. I hope they stick with what they’re doing racing over 2200 mobiles so we can make the most of that.”