The gelding turns nine next week but made it 22 career victories when he won the $25,000 Cambridge Pacers Christmas Cup on Wednesday evening.
Fresh back from another winning trip in Palmerston North, Rough And Ready were sent on a mission in the middle stages by David Butcher, got the lead and that was that.
He was far too strong for the Iron Brigade, who capped off another frustrating day for Team Telfer as they searched for another win to give them the outright New Zealand single-season training record.
But this race was about Rough And Ready, because not many horses win 22 races and Donnelly admits she never thought she would have one that did.
“That’s a lot of victories, he’s an old wonder,” she smiles.
“If you think about what he’s done in his career. All those wins here, then he went to Australia where nothing went right for him.”
“But he came off the canvas, came home and won about eight or nine more races.
“You’d love it if every horse looked like him.
“Of course, he has moments where he gets out of shape, but he always gets back to it, often in the summer when it’s warmer.
“It’s really incredible what he has done.”
ROUGH AND READY REPEAT
Donnelly says Rough And Ready can soon run another flawless race, but she sees no signs of him losing his passion for racing.
She now moves on to the more serious New Year’s Eve activities of the Auckland Cup with Jolimont and Little Spike.
But she can look back fondly on 2025 with her 46 wins, just six short of her best ever year, and with some very talented two-year-olds to look forward to in 2026.
“I have some very nice two-year-olds that are not yet overplayed and I also like the yearlings that I have.
“It is quite exciting to have good horses from the open class, but also the depth of the young horses coming through.”
The other match on Wednesday was won by Pantani, who overcame a short straight gallop to win the Trotters Cup for new trainers Mark and Nathan Purdon.
He still has a lot to learn before he is the finished product and a few easy kills would boost his confidence, but he has the engine to at least be mentioned in the group of horses that will eventually take over when our older open class stars retire.
There were also two-year-old wins on Wednesday for Pantani’s stablemate Crippa Max and the Sheryl Wigg-trained filly Little Lily.
Wilson House won the first race to take the junior driver’s premiership back to 88, all with Carter Dalgety and House putting in more than $1 million in what was a wonderful season regardless of the outcome of their battle for the premiership.
For full race results, click here
Through Michael Guerinfor Harness Racing New Zealand
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