Samantha Logan and her stakes-winning two-year-old Sailcoats, with fellow Cambridge horsewoman Sam M“I’m so grateful for that support, and it’s been a real privilege to work with such nice horses.”
Samantha Logan initially made her mark as a trainer of jumpers, but Saturday’s Listed Auckland Futurity Stakes at Pukekohe put something very different on the young Cambridge trainer’s CV.
Saltcoats scored a dominant win in the $80,000 feature, cruising out of midfield to take command at the top of the straight. He was never fully extended by jockey Kozzi Asano, yet still opened up a dominant winning margin of three and a half lengths.
Saltcoats became the first black-type winner of Logan’s career, and was in fact her first winner in a two-year-old race of any kind. Logan has held a training licence since the 2013-14 season and has saddled a total of 46 winners, with more than a third of those over jumps.
“It was a huge thrill to get my first stakes win on the board on Saturday,” Logan told RaceForm. “The only other time I’d ever won a feature race was in the Pakuranga Hunt Cup (with Lacustre in 2019), so this was something a bit different! I really like having the variety in my stable now.”
The Futurity Stakes capped an impressive autumn campaign for Saltcoats, who had finished second on debut at Hastings on April 15 before a strong-finishing third behind Solidify in the Listed Waikato Equine Veterinary Centre 2YO Stakes on May 6.
Bred and raced by Lib Petagna’s JML Bloodstock, Saltcoats became the third stakes winner from the first crop of Waikato Stud up-and-comer Ardrossan – the equal most for any first-season sire in Australasia this season. The undefeated Codigo had won the Listed Wellesley Stakes at Trentham in January, while Loch Katrine took out the Listed Champagne Stakes at Pukekohe in late April.
Petagna shared in the ownership of Ardrossan during his Group One-performed racetrack career, and a growing association with the Elsdon Park principal and his bloodstock manager Bruce Perry has given Logan a close look at the early progeny of the Redoute’s Choice stallion.
“Sam Beatson originally introduced me to Lib and Bruce, and he recommended me to them as a pre-trainer and someone who could get their horses up and trialling,” Logan said.
“They gave me the chance to work with six horses by Ardrossan, and they were happy with how they were all progressing. They wanted to give Saltcoats a couple of runs in New Zealand before deciding what to do with him, so I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to train him in this autumn campaign.
“I’m so grateful for that support, and it’s been a real privilege to work with such nice horses. I’ve been impressed by Ardrossan’s progeny. They have some real quality and look like they’re pretty versatile as well.
“Saltcoats is obviously quite smart. He’s always shown a lot, right from the very start. He’s going to have a good spell at Elsdon Park now, and then they’ll make some decisions around what he might do heading towards the spring. It’s likely that he’ll race in Australia.”
Logan has plenty to keep her busy in the meantime, with more than a dozen horses in work and others being prepared for the Ready to Run Sale at Karaka in November.
“We’re working 15 at the moment, and we’re just waiting to bring a few of our Ready to Run horses back in as well,” Logan said. “I think it’s a nice number to be working with for now.”
That includes one jumper, Flyingwithoutwings, the winner of a steeplechase double late in the 2021 jumps season who returned to competition with a second placing behind Zedman in a steeplechase trial at Cambridge on Monday.
Logan’s black-type breakthrough at Pukekohe on Saturday was part of a memorable day for the family. Later in the evening, her mother Donna – a multiple Group One-winning trainer at Ruakaka before relocating several years ago to Singapore – produced a double with Our Secret Weapon and Te Akau Ben.
Having taken over Te Akau Racing’s Kranji stable from Mark Walker, Donna Logan finished second in the 2022 premiership with 59 wins. She sits in equal third place after five months of the 2023 season with 17 wins.
“Saturday turned out to be a pretty good day for our family,” Samantha Logan said. “Mum is going really well up there. She’s getting to train a lot of nice horses for Te Akau, and she’s doing a fantastic job with them.”
