It was the Queen’s Birthday holiday, but Seymour hobby trainer Colin McGillivray was the one throwing the party after his horse Cosmosnip won at Mornington on Monday.
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It was a finish even the camera had trouble sorting out – officially a nose and a nose, but in reality a lip and a nose hair.
The $48 000 Ned’s Toolbox Plate over 1200 m was the maiden win for the five-year-old mare and McGillivray’s first winner since Em for Miranda won on his home track way back in December 2017, giving him a career total of two wins.
But he was happy to laugh that off. After collecting the $26 400 winner’s stake, Cosmosnip now has career earnings of $28 606 - more than enough for a reliable supply of quality feed until McGillivray’s next winner.
“I’ve always had an interest but only took up training around the time I retired,” McGillivray said.
“ I had my first runner in July 2016 and I generally only have one horse in work at a time, although I always have another one coming on.
“Monday was our first time at Mornington. I wasn’t even sure where the best place was to stand and watch the finish.
“But it’s just fantastic to get a win on a track such as this, it’s just about a metropolitan win.”
Unseen by punters – Cosmosnip paid $30 and McGillivray admitted it wasn’t carrying too much of his money – the horse was also virtually unseen by the course caller until the field was well into the straight.
Even then, the favourites for all the world looked set to make it a two-horse race until 20/1 bolter Powerful Flyer’s jockey Michael Walker seemed to think the running would be better away from the fence and steered two or three wide on the turn as the heavily backed Aristo Missile started lining up the finish line.
“My horse had been fourth emergency and I only got the call on Monday morning that she was in. I didn’t even have a rider,” McGillivray said.
“I was lucky enough to get Ben Thompson and my only instruction to him before the race was to hug the rail and wait for a gap and when it comes told him she would go through.
“And that’s exactly what happened – she didn’t go around one horse in 1200 m.”
McGillivray also clearly knows his horse’s limits – in a 1201 m race she would almost have certainly been second or third. Without camera technology, it was a triple dead heat.
Aristo Missile was a worthy opponent, from the Hayes, Hayes and Dabernig stables at Lindsay Park.
McGillivray now has two wins and almost $50 000 in career earnings.
The extended Hayes family has more than 11 000 wins and earnings counted in the hundreds of millions – but McGillivray is just getting started.
He obviously has an eye for a bargain – he purchased a mare in foal from Inglis Bloodstock in 2015 and resold the mother after she delivered a filly.
McGillivray was put on to the mare by fellow Seymour trainers Lee and Shannon Hope, who have raced her half-sister and mother.
“The filly we got was Cosmosnip, so right now I reckon that was pretty good advice – four starts for one win,” McGillivray said.
“I’d also like to give a lot of the credit for this success to Natasha Baxter, who rides Cosmosnip’s trackwork every day and does such a great job with her. She is fantastic to have on the team.”
McGillivray runs the horse in partnership with his wife Carolyn and sister-in-law Kate McIntosh.
But he missed his big chance to be interviewed on national TV through racing.com after the win, as he was too busy looking after the horse post-race.