Written by Georgie Dennis
It took 50 starts for the Rachael Frost-trained Travimyfriend (NZ) (Tavistock {NZ}) to score his first stakes win, but after numerous black-type placings, he finally got the job done in the Listed The Sofitel at Flemington last Saturday.
Despite him paying odds of $21, Frost said she was not surprised by the result.
“His work had been pretty good going into the race,” the trainer said. “Obviously we thought the rain might come a bit earlier and we probably would’ve been a bit more confident if it had have rained earlier, but his Group placings have all been on good tracks.”
The 8-year-old gelding has been an important horse for the former New Zealand trainer, as he consistently races at a high level and keeps the boutique trainer on the industry’s radar.
“He’s just a star,” Frost said. “You need a horse like him. I’ve been lucky all the way through, even when I was in New Zealand, I’ve always had a good horse in the stable.
“I actually thought Deep Euphoria was probably even better than him but she had her issues and bad manners so she’s been moved on.
“You always need a good horse in the stable to keep your name out there.”
Frost relocated from New Zealand to Mornington in 2018 and has set up a small stable where she does almost all of the work herself. She said it has taken her a while to get going, but with the likes of Travimyfriend flying the flag for her, she is settled and happy with where she is at.
“It’s good (training at Mornington),” Frost said. “It was a bit slow to start, they (horses) travelled over and picked up a virus and it took about eight months for them to get over it which was a bit of a disaster.
“It has taken a while but I’ve got good owners that I’ve brought with me and I’ve picked up a few others which is enough.
“I’ve got about nine covered yards and I rent 30 acres so they go out there to spell or if they want a bit of time during the day. They get out in the paddocks quite regularly.”
“I’ve got about nine covered yards and I rent 30 acres so they go out there to spell or if they want a bit of time during the day." - Rachael Frost
With only a handful of horses in her stable, Frost said she would be open to expanding but for now, she is happy with her current set up.
“I would expand,” she said. “I’ve been through the whole bigger stable in New Zealand and had staff to manage.
“You’ve got to get the right staff and probably the right set up. At the moment I’m stuck at nine or 10 and I’m happy with that, I’d rather have quality over quantity.”
Quality over quantity
As for leaving New Zealand, Frost said low prizemoney and the overall distribution of money is what prompted her to relocate to Australia.
“It’s poor money in New Zealand and the money is going to the wrong places,” she said. “They’re putting in synthetic tracks but if you haven’t got owners that aren’t racing for good money, a synthetic track isn’t going to help it.
“The politics of New Zealand racing and the distribution of money just isn’t right.
“Unless you’re selling horses in New Zealand, you can’t make a living really. Unless you’ve got a good horse - I’ve been really lucky, I’ve always had an open handicapper in the stable and I had a share in Sea King who made a lot of money. Horses like that help just carry it through. You’ve got to have good horses in the stable in New Zealand all the time.
“I definitely wouldn’t go back to train, obviously I might go back to retire but not in the foreseeable future.”
Going forward this spring, Frost will continue to aim high with Travimyfriend. He missed out on a run in Saturday’s G1 Sir Rupert Clarke S., but the trainer does think he could perform in a similar race at Group 1 handicap level.
Travimyfriend (NZ)
“He’s got to get the right run in the Group 1 obviously and if he can stay down in the weights, a handicap suits him because he’ll be down in the weights," Frost said. “He’s got a rating of 97 now so he’s going to have about 55kg, but if he runs in another open handicap he’ll probably be up closer to 60kg again.
“When he turns up, he turns up. He turned up on Saturday and he can run devastating times but he’s a very moody horse.
“When he turns up, he turns up. He turned up on Saturday and he can run devastating times but he’s a very moody horse." - Rachael Frost
“He either runs exceptionally well or he can put in a pretty average one.
“He has got a bit better with age, I probably shouldn’t be so mean on him, he didn’t like the horses down his outside early in his career and he could really just chuck the towel in when he wanted but he’s got over those problems by the looks and he’s a bit more of a racehorse now.”
