One last hurrah for Fletcher and Sundon with Son E

Fred Fletcher knows a bit about the Sundons, so there was probably no one better to sort out Son E.

The four-year-old gelding became Sundon’s latest and 800th New Zealand-bred winner when he easily won the maiden trot at Washdyke two Sundays ago.

Fletcher had plenty of Sundons during his many years as trainer at Roydon Lodge, with numerous winners headed by the brilliant mare Sunny Ruby.

Son E is going to be the last of them, and Fletcher admits he still “wouldn’t mind a stable full of them.”

Son E is being raced by Fletcher’s daughter Wendy and her partner Gary Bree, who had a share in Royal Aspirations. He races in Bree’s colours, which resemble the Chiefs, as Bree lived in the Waikato before moving to Canterbury.

Bree has raced several good horses over the years, usually in partnership with his late friend, Grant Adamson.

“They bought him at the yearling sales for just $10,000 and he was the last Sundon to go through there,” said Fletcher.

“They were paying all this big money for the flash overseas trotting sires, but when they asked me what I thought, I said there was only one that I would buy.”

Son E was bred by Roydon Lodge and he was quite the bargain no matter which way you look at it.

He is the second colt from Duchess Diedre, who won five races in smart time for Tony Herlihy, after the first had been Hurricane Hill (8 wins), a good horse for Phil Williamson.

He won five of his last six races here before a sale to Australia, where he soon went amiss, reappearing recently at Globe Derby Park in Adelaide.

Duchess Diedre is a Monarchy sister to another good mare in The Earth Moved, the dam of Mr Love among others.

Their dam Dear Diedre was a Sundon sister to Diedre Don and Diedre Darling, the dam of Monbet.

So Son E has a 1x3 cross to Sundon in what is very much a Roydon Lodge pedigree, going back to when Sir Roy McKenzie imported the Florida Pro mare Diedre Hanover back in the mid-80s.

Son E has been through some issues but caught the eye when finishing fifth in two heats and the final of the Anne Thompson Graduation Series.

That was after Fletcher put Son E on the unruly mark and he began to at least get away with his opponents.

He was slow away and settled well back during the second round of 2000m heats, but made up many lengths to finish close by behind Kashanova, and he also powered home from well back in the final.

“I thought he could win the final, and while he was never going to beat Paddy McDaddy, who is a really nice horse, he copped a check in the back straight and I think he would have been second or third but for that.”

A maiden at the Timaru meeting was a much easier assignment and after Sam Thornley managed to work into the one-one during the first lap, Son E loomed up on the turn and bounded clear over the closing stages to score by three and a half lengths.

Fletcher and Thornley have reunited in recent months after winning numerous races together a few years ago.

They also combined to win again with Paris Prince at good odds at Addington the Friday before last.

Son E had a stint with Matty Williamson last year when Fletcher got too busy following James Stormont’s move back to the North Island.

Williamson qualified Son E in July and gave him three starts before tipping him out.

He did things right in his first two races in half hopples, although he was trotting roughly, and then Son E blew the start in the third.

Fletcher was having the same problem when he got Son E back to the races for two starts in March, so he put him on the unruly mark.

“He’s a brilliant beginner at home, but when he gets to the races, there’s a lot of horses around him and he tries to beat them all out.”

“He basically shits himself and loses it, but being on the unruly means there’s plenty of space around him and he’s been getting away safely, although slowly.”

“He’s learning all the time and will be fine with a bit more practice.”

“When he does turn the corner, I think he can go a fair way.”

“He’s a fairly big horse and he’s been through some growing pains.”

“It’s a family which takes time and that’s all he will need.”

“People used to say the Sundons came with problems, but a lot of them were man-made.”

“They were such natural and fast trotters, it was hard not to push them early, and that’s when the issues would arise.”

Son E won’t be the last Sundon winner, as there’s still half a dozen younger ones to come, but he’ll be bringing back plenty of memories for Fletcher—and it’s nice he can share this one with a daughter.

Paris Prince recorded his ninth win at Addington and it was probably the best performance of his career in beating Zoltan Boscik, Jimmy Carter and the unlucky Father Time.

“He’s got no speed but he’s tough and when they go hard, he keeps trucking.”

“Now that he’s up the classes a bit, the races are being run truly and it suits him.”

“They went like the clappers the other night and he just outstayed them.”

Paris Prince had six starts from January for three wins, two seconds (one to Eurostyle), and a third before being freshened.

He’d had his misfortunes going into that Addington race and was at the false odds of 18 to one.

In a trial at Rangiora last month, Paris Prince was pulled up after 200m by Alan Beecroft, who has been helping Fletcher out since Stormont’s departure.

“It was actually meant to be a false start and the whistle blew.”

“Alan and Sam (Thornley with I Dream Of Jeannie) heard it because they were back on 30m, but everybody else kept going.”

Beecroft won a few races for Fred Morris when he was a junior driver some 20 years ago, but he’s been around the traps since.

“Alan has been everywhere and is a very good horseman, but you have to remember to only listen to half what he says.”

Paris Prince was then driven in a race at Addington by Blair Orange, where they went off as the favourite, but they locked wheels down the back with Ricky May and Bullit Train and both were pulled up.

A month goes by and Paris Prince is seventh favourite in a nine-horse field despite his earlier form.

The win took Paris Prince’s earnings past $100,000, a milestone not missed by Fletcher.

He bred the first four foals by Royal Aspirations when he had him at stud, before he went to Grant Beckett’s Phoebe Lodge to stand commercially.

Those four foals are Paris Prince (9 wins, $112,000), Royal Del (12 wins, $158,000), Royal Pride (6 wins, $77,000), and Royal Diedre (5 wins, $48,000), while Fletcher also bred and raced Sunny Louis (8 wins, $132,000) and trained The Royal Gamble (5 wins, $62,000) from Royal Aspirations’ second crop.

“Royal Pride was actually the best of them, but we pushed him too soon as a two-year-old trying to make the sire, and it buggered him.”

“He still went 4.05 for two miles winning his last start on Cup Day, but he was never really happy.”

“I bred two foals by him last year and last season I let him run with half a dozen mares.”

“I haven’t bothered testing the mares yet, but we’ll see what comes out of that.”