Harness 5000 winner, Clotilde Wainwright… a name to remember

It might be a bit of a mouthful to say, but Clotilde Wainwright is a name racegoers are likely to hear a lot more of in the months ahead.

Apparently named after an ‘old girlfriend’ of part-owner Ross Jones, the diminutive four-year-old mare by Majestic Son announced herself in no uncertain terms when she scored her fourth career win at Ashburton’s Harness 5000 meeting, doing so at just her 10th race start. While the win itself was impressive, the broader context only enhances its significance, with the Harness 5000 platform continuing to reward emerging talent and elevate performances that might otherwise slip under the radar.

Those wanting a real insight into the raw ability Clotilde Wainwright possesses need only revisit her run three starts earlier at Gore on September 28. After losing an extraordinary amount of ground at the start, estimated at close to 150 metres, she still managed to tack onto the field with 400 metres to travel before unleashing a powerful finishing burst to grab third, just three lengths from the winner. It was the type of performance that stops seasoned observers in their tracks, prompting the commentator to label it a “gigantic” run — praise rarely handed out lightly.

She is a mare with pedigree depth to match her ability. Her dam, Poppymelda, was a talented race mare in her own right, winning eight races from just 25 starts when trained by a younger Nathan Williamson. However, her early breeding career was anything but smooth. She missed to Muscle Hill in her first season, then suffered the disappointment of a dead foal by Majestic Son. After another miss, this time to Father Patrick, she returned to Majestic Son, and Clotilde Wainwright was the result — her first foal, and one that is now well and truly flying the flag.

In more recent seasons, things have tracked far more positively. A colt by What The Hill preceded a filly by Father Patrick, though the family did suffer another setback with the loss of a weanling colt by Tactical Landing just a few weeks ago, a reminder of the fine margins that define breeding.

Poppymelda is by Armbro Invasion from the Sundon mare In The Sun, who failed to win from 17 starts but proved her worth many times over at stud. For co-owner, the late Mike DeFilippi, and his partners, she produced eight horses good enough to race from 10 foals, with Poppymelda clearly the standout.

In The Sun was the final foal out of In The Pink (by Noodlum from Picotee), a mare whose influence runs deep through the pedigree. None more so than her full brother Sundowner Bay, a top open-class trotter for DeFilippi in the late 1990s, winning 18 races and over $260,000 during a highly productive career.

The family continued to throw quality performers. Marvin was a promising type for Paul Nairn, winning five of just 12 starts before injury cut his career short. Enthuse, also trained by Nairn, met a similar fate after winning one of three starts, but she more than repaid the faith as a broodmare. Her son Enthusiast won 11 races and was a multiple Group winner at three, while Call You Later captured a Canterbury Park Trotting Cup among his nine career victories.

Inspire won nine races, highlighted by a Group One Rowe Cup, while Red claimed the historic West Coast Bonus, winning five of just nine starts. All were trained out of the Nairn barn and further underline the strength of the family.

Picotee, who won four races for the late Freeman Holmes — of Noodlum fame — proved just as influential at stud, producing seven individual winners. Her daughters continued the trend, leaving a succession of high-quality trotters that carried the family line forward with distinction.

Of particular note, Primula (by Game Pride from Picotee) became the grand-dam of Belle Galleon, an 11-time winner who later produced millionaire performer Stent, a 30-win superstar and one of the modern greats of Australasian trotting.

Picotee herself was from Dianthus Girl, a 12-time winner and half-sister to the outstanding open-class trotter Framalda, who won 22 races for the famed Roy and Barry Purdon training partnership in the late 1970s. While Framalda did not leave one quite as good as herself at stud, her daughters bred on with remarkable consistency.

The likes of Superstaragogo (eight wins), BD Love (six wins) and Trouble Rieu (eight New Zealand wins) were all well above-average performers in their own right and sit directly within the immediate family of Clotilde Wainwright.

With trainer Nathan Williamson facing a long and careful rehabilitation following his recent fall, the continued rise of Clotilde Wainwright shapes as a timely and welcome source of positivity for him, his family and their wider harness racing connections.

She is bred to be good, she has already shown she belongs at this level, and with the Harness 5000 stage now firmly under her hooves, Clotilde Wainwright looks every bit a name worth remembering.