Memories of ‘Ginga’ revived through Melton winner

Popular Ashburton couple Alan and Fiona Clark enjoyed a golden run a decade ago with the outstanding trotter The Fiery Ginga.

Bought out of the paddock as a yearling from Dunedin breeder Steve Thompson, the gelding totted up 28 wins – including two at Group level – with 43 placings from 134 starts for $414,996 in stakes.

“The Fiery Ginga was a tremendous hard hitting horse but unfortunately he came up against the likes of I Can Doosit, Stent and Vulcan. There were four millionaire trotters racing in New Zealand at that time,” Alan said.

“I took him to Australia three times. He ran fourth in the Inter Dominion Championship at Melton when the first five horses across the line in the Final were New Zealanders.”

Now the Clark’s are firmly back in the spotlight through the deeds of one of the progeny of a sister to The Fiery Ginga.

It is The Ginga’s Sister, an unraced CR Commando mare.

“She was a big, strong mare that had two or three trainers but nobody could sort her out. We were asked if we wanted her as a breeding proposition,” Alan stated.

The Ginga’s Sister produced five foals, three of whom raced and all emerged successful.

Her fifth and final issue is Imperial Command, an Imperial Count gelding who won twice with seven placings from 48 starts for Clark.

“He was put through the yearling sales along with three others of ours. He was the only one that didn’t sell….he didn’t get a bid! He was the first horse auctioned in Christchurch at that sale, so I brought him home. I was pleased to do so as I thought he would make a nice two-year-old,” Alan said.

“I qualified him early as a two-year-old and raced him through the two-year-old season. He had good speed but because he did most of his work solo, he didn’t really have the pure craft sitting in a field.

“It wasn’t until his three-year-old season that he finally learned how to trail up and sprint home.

“He was hopeless from the standing start. That was one of the reasons I sold him. There were very few low grade mobile trots in NZ at the time, so I thought I’d be better off selling him to Australia where he can race every week from the mobile. He could earn three or four times as much over there as he could in NZ.”

Alan’s prediction was soon vindicated.

From eight outings in Victoria, Imperial Command has chalked up three successes and two placings, highlighted by an end-to-end win in a career-best 1:59.3 over 1720 metres at Melton last Friday night.

Two of Imperial Command’s siblings, The Fiery Spirit (by Bacardi Lindy) and The Fiery Countess (by Imperial Count), were also winners.

The Clarks are currently breeding from a Muscles Yankee half-sister to The Fiery Ginga and The Ginga’s Sister named Lady Muscles, who they bought as a yearling at the sales.

“I’ve got a Majestic Son yearling out of her that will qualify early and race as an early two-year-old and a weanling colt by Habibi Inta. She’s back in foal to Habibi Inta,” Alan said.

“I’m sure that Lady Muscles will one day leave me a good horse.”

A half-sister by Earl to The Ginga’s Sister and Lady Muscles named The Fiery Filly has proved a grand producer for Invercargill breeder-owner Tom Kilkelly.

She has left five winners from seven foals of racing age including the smart trotters Smokin Bandar, a winner of 13 races and $195,833, Fiery Bandito ($86,293) and the Albion Park victor Somethings Burning.

Another half-sister, Muscle Girl (by Muscle Hill), ranks as the dam of the promising three-year-old To The Moon And Back, a winner at his fourth attempt at Invercargill last Sunday.