Cowboy scores first win for Cambridge couple

It’s been a long time coming for Josh King and Maija Vance, but the Cambridge trainers brought up their first win in partnership at Ruakaka on Saturday courtesy of Cowboy (NZ) (Reliable Man) in the Northland Business Systems (1200m).

Former Queenslander Josh King trained in his homeland before moving across the Tasman to be with Vance last season, and after a 65-start drought he was relieved to win his first race in New Zealand.

“It’s the longest streak I have ever been without a winner,” King said. “It is one of those things where it takes a fairly long time to build a stable and start from scratch again.

“Maija and I started with a couple of horses that I brought over and they didn’t really handle the tracks like we thought they would. It is nice to break through for that win, we have been a bit unlucky.”

King spent the formative years of his career as a jockey before becoming a trainer and he also worked in the mines before he moved to New Zealand.

“I was a jockey for 15 years and then I stopped riding because I got a bit heavy,” King said.

“I rode provincials for quite a long time when I was an apprentice and then I went to the bush and I was a diesel fitter in the mines for a while. I worked in the mines for three years and rode in-between.

“I started training out of Toowoomba and I had a few good winners in Brisbane. When Maija and I got back in touch I thought I would take a chance and come over here. I wasn’t going to train, I was just going to ride work but one of our owners got in contact and asked if I wanted to get my licence over here and I thought ‘why not?’, and it has gone from there.”

King initially trained in a solo capacity before quickly being joined in partnership by Vance, who also rode as a jockey on both sides of the Tasman before her well-publicised fall and comeback, and she was rapt to get her first win as a trainer.

“I am very happy,” Vance said. “I think it is a little bit better than riding winners because when they are slow we have to take them home and look at them all day, so it is nice to bring home a winner.”

Cowboy has been a project horse for the couple, with the five-year-old gelding suffering from soundness issues, which King and Vance have been able to get on top of.

“It was very cool that we got our first win together with that horse as well because we got him when he was retired and Josh has done a lot of work on his feet to get him sound,” Vance said.

“He had been retired without having a gallop when he was four, he just couldn’t stay sound, and he had been through a couple of people.

“Josh had a few horses in Australia that had a similar problem with their feet, so he had a few ideas, so we took him on. It was a bit of a risk because he hadn’t had a gallop and he was a four-year-old, but he was such a lovely type, so we gave it a go.

“Josh used some three-quarter mesh and Equi-Pak on his feet to grow his feet back and do a bit of shaping. We have got a really good farrier called Bruce who has done a lot of hard work on him as well, it has been a joint effort to keep him sound.

“It is a real credit to Josh that he has been sound the whole time we have had him. To get him to the races was a massive win and to get a win with him is even better.”

One race later they were celebrating further family success, with Vance’s parents, Bob and Jenny, training Nicconi County (Nicconi) to win the Whangarei/Toots ITM (1200m).

“Dad’s truck broke down last week, so Josh picked him up on the way to Ruakaka in our float,” Vance said. “We should send the boys on boys’ trips more often.”

King and Vance have recently purchased a property near the Cambridge Racecourse and said they are building a nice team of young horses around them.

“We just bought a 15-acre property with 32 boxes and 22 paddocks next to the track in Cambridge, and we have got about 20 horses in work now,” Vance said.

“Up until now the horses that we have had racing have been tried horses. We have got some really nice two-year-olds coming up, so I am really excited about them.”

The couple also added two weanlings to their growing team following New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Weanling Sale last month, including a Reliable Man filly for $2,000 and a showy Mr Mozart colt for $12,500.

“We really like him (Mr Mozart) and he is in the paddock with the Reliable Man filly that we bought as well,” Vance said. “Cowboy is a Reliable Man and there are not going to be many more of them, so we really liked her.”

With a win now under their belt, the stable is hoping to quickly add to their record when they head to Avondale next week where Jack High (NZ) (Ace High) will line-up over 1200m.

“He was unlucky last time, he clipped heels and he nearly unseated the rider and hit the running rail,” King said. “He should have sharp improvement from last start.”