Mighty Master Mood bows out

Press, 15 February 1989, Page 48

Mighty Master Mood bows out

by

JEFF SCOTT

A slight recurrence of a leg strain has ruled out a start for Master Mood in Saturday’s $90,000 Honda Cars 2000 at Addington Raceway and has also brought down the curtain on the racing career of one of New Zealand’s most successful pacers. “We did intend retiring him after the Auckland Cup but then we were approached by officials of the New Brighton Club to race him again in their feature but we have decided not to risk the horse by starting,” said Master Mood’s co-owner and trainer, Kevin Williams, yesterday. “He has been going as well as ever and although he is not lame, there is little recurrence of the knock he received leading up to the Auckland Cup,” he said.

“It would have been nice to have retired the horse at Addington, but it isn’t to be. However, it is nice to have a winning run in the Thames Cup two starts back to go out on,” he said. The best-performed son of a former champion pacer in Noodlum, Master Mood is to stand his first season at stud

in Canterbury next term. “We intend looking at buying a property in the Prebbleton area to stand Master Mood,” said Williams of the seven-year-old entire. “We have had a lot of inquiry already.” The topsy-turvy career of Master Mood began auspiciously at Addington in November 1983 when he distanced the opposition in the West Melton tavern Juvenile Stakes by six and a quarter lengths. The winner of six races at two, Master Mood created history when he became Australia and New Zealand’s first 2:00 race-winning juvenile with a 1:59.5 clocking to win a Sire’s Stakes heat at Timaru.

At three years, Master Mood won three races and set another national mark, a 2:28.6 2000 m mobile record (for a three-year-old) since lowered to 2:27.8 by Godfrey last year. A ringworm infection affected his form when the Derbys were on offer, but he bounced back brilliantly at four, winning nine races in a row including the Wellington Cup, Anngow Championship and Lion Red Mile, all in track

record times, and also the Television New Zealand Mile. An Inter-Dominion mile heat winner at Brisbane in 1:56 but unplaced in Village Kid’s Grand Final as a four-year-old, Master Mood was an overwhelming choice for, “Harness Horse of the Year” honours.

Master Mood exploded into top form at five, becoming only the fourth pacer to win the New Zealand and Auckland Cups in the same season. “His wins in the Toyoto New Zealand Cup (by four lengths in 4:5.5) and in the New Zealand Free-For-All (by three and a quarter lengths easing down again) were magnificent,” recalled Williams yesterday. “His win in the Sydney Miracle Mile that season was just the icing on the cake. Being able to beat two great horses like Village Kid and Lightning Blue pretty comprehensively in a race record 1:56.1 at Harold Park showed just how much a champion he was.” Another Inter-Dominion heat win, this time at Addington, and sixth in the Grand Final after a tough run, were other highlights of his five-year-old

season, earning him the “Horse of the Year” title for the second year on end. He was the subject of offers in excess of $1 million during this term. Although gaining four seconds in his six-year-old racing. Master Mood was not the same force as the previous season.

Returning the dapper entire to winning form in this season’s Ashburton Flying Stakes was another thrill for the Williams and Wong families, who raced Master Mood. Master Mood’s win in the Thames Cup in December was the twentyseventh and final win of his career, while his luckless eighth in the Auckland Cup was his swan-song in a career spanning 96 starts. Although he failed again to reach the great heights he showed at five, Master Mood touched the harness world with his brilliance when at peak. He will not be easily forgotten and as the winner of $806,923 in stakes, of which $105,920 was won in Australia, he retires New Zealand’s greatest earning stallion and his stud career will be followed with interest.