ROOKIE trainer Henry Dwyer brought Sonntag back from the dead and delivered a handsome cheque for charity when Sonntag won Saturday’s Group 1 Queensland Derby.
In an epic battle down the Eagle Farm straight, Sonntag went toe to toe with Pinstripe Lane before gaining a narrow verdict on the line.
It also continued the fairytale season for Boy Wonder Chad Schofield, who said he wouldn’t have swapped Sonntag for any other runner after parading him before the race.
Sonntag’s owners organised a series of fundraisers last week for the Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA), including an auction to be a part-owner of the horse for Saturday’s Derby. A $250 each-way bet on the gelding formed part of the prize.
Additionally, five per cent of the horse’s Derby prizemoney will be donated to the charity.
“I feel a bit guilty actually. Some trainers go their whole lives without a Group 1 winner and I’ve got one in my first year,” Dwyer said.
“I’ve been training for 11 months and here we are. I’m humbled by the occasion.
“It was always the plan to go out on my own since I was 18 or 19. The time was right, I was 30 years-old and I thought I could work for other people all my life or I could do it myself.”
Dwyer said he has only had six individual horses go to the races and this was just his 35th runner as a trainer.
Sonntag was secured by Dwyer out of a Darley Dispersal Sale for $58,000 and shares were broken up among 17 owners, including Melbourne’s Radio Sport National host Shane Anderson.
“Henry and I met last year when he started out on his own and we talked about targeting a few horses at the Inglis Sale in October,” Anderson.
“This is thanks to Darley. If their horses don’t reach a certain standard, others get a chance. The horse had an infected tendon and within three months was fighting for its life. We were told it was a 50-50 chance of living.
“And here we are now. Henry Dwyer is a freak. In 10 years’ time we will look back and say he is one of the great trainers.
“The guy has learnt his craft well with Lloyd Williams and Robert Smerdon.”
This was Schofield’s fourth Group 1 win for the season following the Cox Plate (Shamus Award), Newmarket Handicap (Lankan Rupee) and Champagne Stakes (Go Indy Go).
“I got a lovely run in the race and I got on the back of what I thought was the hardest to beat in Pinstripe Lane. I just had to follow Ollie,” Schofield said.
“I peeled out quite early and got rolling. My bloke tried hard he just kept winding up.
“The horse looked a million dollars in the yard and when I saw him walking around the parade ring I would not have swapped him for anything. He looked absolutely perfect.”
Article from Herald Sun