Dasher gives Murray Howard 50 training wins

By Jonny Turner

Murray Howard put on a show when Dashed notched his 50th training win in New Zealand at Winton on Saturday.

The mare lived up to her name with a brilliant front-running display to make the most of her trip south from Canterbury.

Dasher had one thing on her mind and that was to run, and Howard had no plans to argue with her after she left the mobile in race 3, the Tui Base Camp Fillies and Mares Trot.

The trotter led by as many as eight lengths in the middle stages and she never looked in doubt before easing down at the post.

“That is just her, she just wants to charge out the gate and go,” Howard said.

“You can’t fight her, you have to let her find her feet and she is better that way.”

Howard is hardly a regular visitor to Southland, but finding a mobile mile for his five-year-old gave the trainer the perfect opportunity to head south.

“She is good gaited and has that bit of speed,” Howard said.

“She is suited to the short distances, that is why she came down here, for the mile.

It was Dasher's second win in eight starts, after her victory at Timaru last month.

Howard hasn’t been focused on chasing down his 50-win milestone, but the trainer was thrilled to bring it up at Saturday’s meeting.

“I wasn’t focused on it, it doesn’t matter how many wins you get, they are all good and they are all different.”

Howard has trained a total of 55 winners with five additional wins coming in Australia with his former trotter Benchmark

“He won five in Australia, I won three races on him and Jack Trainor won a couple on him.”

“He was good, then he came back and won another one here.”

“He had a bad fetlock, he would have had a longer career otherwise.”

“He wasn’t a bad horse.”

Ask Me Lou won in completely opposite style at Winton on Saturday in the Riverton Rural Transport Ltd Mobile Pace.

The mare sat off the pace and scorched home to win for driver Tom Nally and trainer Alister Kyle.

Nally has formed a strong association with the mare who ran to her third career win.

“It was a nice win, she is better suited when you save her for one run.”

“I think she is actually getting better with a bit of age on her side.”

“I think the worst result I have had with her is running fifth, the first time I drove her.”

“Other than that, I think she has always brought a cheque home.”

The Kyle stable also produced Tash’s Bad Girl for a creditable fifth in the same race.