David Payne in ‘Raging’ form
WHEN Raging Bull ran out the winner of the $150,000 Benchmark 78 Handicap over 1800m at Rosehill Gardens last weekend the victory continued an impressive run of success for veteran trainer David Payne. The expatriate South African horseman chalked-up win number 10 in very recent time — and with yet another galloper taking its earnings to a substantial six-figure sum.
Bazooka
Payne did the very same the week before when Bazooka scored in the Midway at Randwick, the consistent city performer recording career win number three in the process. The son of Smart Missile has now proven to a very reliable conveyance for a similarly satisfied group of owners who have banked $364,125 from the 5-yearold’s exploits.
Bazooka’s achievement is particularly noteworthy when you consider the gelding’s original purchase price. Offered as a Scone Select Yearling in May 2019, Payne Racing P/L only had to go to $14,000 to secure a horse which has now won that sum in prizemoney many, many times over.
Since late May, the popular Rosehillbased
horseman has sent out winners at Hawkesbury, Gosford, Randwick and Kensington on multiple occasions, and most share a similar back story to Saturday’s Rosehill winner Raging Bull or Bazooka before him. Each and every one is an inexpensive home-bred galloper given to Payne to train or a relatively cheap purchase picked up at a bargainbasement price.
Last Saturday’s desperately unlucky fourth Montefelicity (NZ) is another to have been very modestly bought by coowner Ms C Vincent out the 2020 NZB South Island Sale for just NZ$1900. Now the winner of two races — including a
Randwick Midway in July — and $94,630 in prizemoney, the daughter of Vadamos has already recouped her purchase price and is well on the way to bigger and better things based on her effort behind stablemate Raging Bull last weekend.
Wonderwomen
June’s dual Hawkesbury winner Wonderwomen is another case in point. Bought at the 2020 Scone Yearling Sale for just $18,000, the Super One mare has already amassed $81,280 from just 10 starts.
A late season 2-year-old winner at Hawkesbury in May, Monastery is yet another member of the David Payne stable in the process of earning its initial purchase price many times over. A lightlyraced son of So You Think (NZ) bought for just $35,000 as a yearling, the gelding’s four starts have already seen him accrue $36,415 and further success seems assured considering his breeding and the individual involved in mapping out his career path.
Caboteur, Navajo Peak, Tympanist (NZ) and Tapis Magique are other recent winners for the very same stable which have strikingly similar backgrounds to Raging Bull and Bazooka — all of which amount to a significant endorsement of David Payne’s timeless training prowess.