Angela Ilston was the interview go-to during the first half of opening day at the Grand National CarThe spotlight is not something that Angela Ilston seeks, but there was no avoiding it on the opening day of the Grand National carnival at Riccarton Park.
Being in charge of her absent partner Kevin Myers’ large team meant that Ilston was the automatic go-to for Trackside TV interviewer Aidan Rodley as, race after race – the first half of Saturday’s 10-race card in fact – she found herself in the winner’s stall.
“I prefer to go incognito,” Ilston said when RaceForm spoke with her earlier this week. “It wasn’t the plan to end up in front of the camera every time one of ours won, but I do realise we all have a part to play, we have to recognise sponsors and others who make it happen.”
For years the Grand National carnival has provided an early season harvest for the Myers stable, with a potent combination of jumps and flat members targeting the three-day meeting. This year was no different as Ilston and the rest of the Myers entourage headed south with two truckloads that amounted to 15 starters on opening day.
“Tony Shaw brought one truck down and I was in the other with Scotty (MacNab) and Jimmy (Walker). We all know that road pretty well and once we all arrived at Riccarton it was like a central districts reunion with everyone sharing the same barn.
“We all work in together when we’re away from home, no need for me to ride work with Dean (Parker), Jo Rathbone and Scotty taking care of that and everyone else chipping in, I’ve been nearly redundant.”
That last comment massively understates the part Ilston plays in the Myers training and farming operation, whether travelling with stable runners or being a key member of the home-based team. The couple’s three children, Caley, Jason and Luke, followed a family tradition as successful amateur riders during their teenage years before outgrowing any further competitive riding aspirations.
At 20 years old, Luke has taken on the responsibility of running the operation’s Santof Stables operation near Bulls, while his older brother is enjoying time out on his OE in Europe, currently “somewhere with his mates in a van” in Croatia, according to his mother.
Ilston was a highly accomplished rider in her younger days, most notably in showjumping and best known for her achievements partnering Deficit, on which she won the 1994 Horse of the Year title.
“Deficit was a lovely big Gisborne-bred, but that was then, a long time ago,” she recalls modestly.
Kevin Myers has probably less frequent traveller points than any other member of his entourage, preferring to conduct operations from his home base in the Turakina Valley, with a significant dairy farming component complements the racing side of the business.
“I’m a bit worried about the (dairy) payout, it’s not looking that good and with this cold, wet weather we don’t have a lot of grass either, so just as well the horses are stepping up,” Myers told RaceForm on Tuesday with what could be termed mock concern.
As well as the stable’s five wins on the opening day of Grand National week, Obrigado combined with Happy Star to quinella the Sydenham Hurdles, and Carignan went down by half a length in the last race on the card.
“When I spoke with Kevin at the end of the day he had the cheek to suggest we should have won six!” Ilston said.
All but one of the five winners carried the ubiquitous green, blue and white stable colours, that being Satono Aladdin filly Bozo in the three-year-old sprint. Her black with Kiwi insignia colours belong to the Australian-based expat Hill family, who enjoyed a stack of big wins with former Myers stable star Scapolo.
From Gisborne and Wairoa, to Marlborough and the West Coast, Scapolo was as well-travelled as any Myers-trained horse. He saved his best for Riccarton, where seven of his career total 20 wins included the Gr. 2 Coupland’s Bakeries Mile in 2013 and the Gr. 3 Canterbury Gold Cup in 2015.
“He was such a good horse, Scapolo,” Ilston recalled. “Travelling horses like him makes it all worth the effort.”
So the obvious question: Could there be a repeat of the team’s first day heroics on the final day of the carnival? “Who knows, they’re all in good shape after the first day and most of them will line up again, so that’s all we can do I guess.”
