By Bruce Stewart - Harnesslink

The Dylan and Jo Ferguson trained, and Off n Racing part owned Apollo Eleven (Bold Eagle) kept his unbeaten record intact at Alexandra Park last night.

From a wide draw driver Peter Ferguson took Apollo Eleven forward early and he was soon in front with stablemate Ellie Diamond dropping into the trail.

Meanwhile the favourite Duke Of Bourbon galloped shortly after the start and lost a huge amount of ground before tacking on.

Ferguson kept Apollo Eleven rolling and he went down to the line to win.

Although Duke Of Bourbon stormed home late, his early gallop meant he was later disqualified with TK Supersonic promoted to second and Ellie Diamond (Bold Eagle) to third.

Dylan says having good manners is one of the keys to racing two year old trotters.

“As a stable we pride ourselves on our horses doing things right. We’ve put a lot of miles into our two year olds this year, tried to give them as much experience as we could hoping that it would stand them in good stead. So far it has,” he said.

Apollo Eleven is out of the Muscle Hill mare Tickle Me Pink which won nine races for Tony Herlihy and has the G1 Three Year Old Ruby, G3 Northern Trotting Oaks and G2 Sires Stakes Championship on her resume.

“Both our Bold Eagles are out of Muscle Hill mares. We feel we had the best of the American blood thrown in with the best of the European blood. We felt Bold Eagle was one definitely worth having a punt on.”

Apollo Eleven was purchased by Dylan and Jo at NZB Standardbred Yearling Sales in Auckland. The couple paid $90,000 for the colt.

“We had no real financial backing when we went to the sales that day. We’ve just been treading water with our racehorses and wanted to take our business to the next level and have a crack at making it in the big time.” 

Both Apollo Eleven and Ellie Diamond are part of the Breckon Farms draft, who were last night’s sponsors.

“Our number one pick sold well into six figures that year. Apollo Eleven was a very close second pick so we were rapt to secure him. It was about raising the bar a little bit and giving ourselves a bit more of a purpose for working hard. It was something that was a little bit more affordable than going and buying a top priced pacing colt. The trotters are going ahead leaps and bounds and it’s only going to get stronger and stronger.”

After the Sale the Fergusons went about syndicating the colt.

“It was a very daunting couple days after the Sale but I think nice horses syndicate themselves and we’ve certainly found that with both of our Bold Eagles. We’ve got a lot of new clients in them and a lot of existing clients was well. It’s a great bunch of people and they’re all enjoying the ride so far.”

Northern jockey Craig Grylls is a syndicate member.

“He’s a friend of the family and he’s had a couple of horses with us, but this is the first yearling he’s got into. A lot of the other owners have had horses with us but for a lot of them this is their first dabble into the young horses too. We put a lot of effort in getting our young horses out early and showing our owners what they paid for.”

Prior to debuting at Cambridge Apollo Eleven had been to three workouts and one trial.

“He’s a lovely gaited horse., He’s still a colt and he knows it. He doesn’t mind mucking around a bit. He’s taken a fair bit of making but all trotters do really. He’s a lovely looking strong horse and I think he’ll get stronger physically. When you work him he never gets tired. He always does enough to please you. We’ve only got a small track at home so he does most of his fast work at Cambridge. The further you go the stronger he feels. He keeps lifting the bar.”

Dylan says he was happy with Ellie Diamond’s run last night.

“She just struggles the right-hand way of going and hung quite bad on the bends. She’s a lovely filly that’s getting beat up by the boys at the moment. She’s got nice ability and is going through a growth spurt.”

Apollo Eleven will next race at Alexandra Park in the Young Guns Prelude before heading to the G1 $100,000 Young Guns Easton Light on the 8th May.

“Although it was good winning at Cambridge and tonight, we’re gearing up for the Grand Final in a few weeks so hopefully there’s a bit of gas left in the tank. After that he’ll have a spell and get ready for the spring.”