Giveaway excelling for Tyler

Flying Sardine (outside) will look to add to her winning tally at Riccarton on Saturday. Source: Race Images.

Seven career wins and more than $120,000 in stakes is not a bad record for a mare who was essentially given away two years ago.

That is the tally Flying Sardine has accumulated since beginning her career with Riverton trainer Kelvin Tyler.

The Group 3 South Island Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes (1600m) place-getter has won her last two starts and will be looking for more success on Saturday when she competes in the Greenwood Amberley Cup (1600m) at Riccarton.

“I’m rapt with the way she is going. I can’t really fault her,” Tyler said.

“They were good efforts. She’s not really big, she’s only a runt of a horse and would barely be 15 hands. To carry 58kg in a handicap last-start, it was a pretty good effort.”

The Flying Spur five-year-old has been freshened since her last-start win at Riccarton last month and is being set for a tilt at the Group 3 121st Winter Cup (1600m) in August.

“She had 10 days off, the Winter Cup is her main aim so I thought I would give her a wee break. I couldn’t be happier with her going into this.

“She will probably have one more run before the Winter Cup, just bearing in mind I don’t want her to get up in the weights too much.”

Flying Sardine didn’t impress earlier on in life due to not being much bigger than her namesake and was given to Tyler to try and win a few races in the South Island.

“Bernie Myers (brother of trainer Kevin) gave her to me actually, he sent her down and said she wasn’t very big, but should win a few races down here,” Tyler said.

“She has turned out better than anyone expected. The original deal was just a couple of bottles of drink, but I ended up giving him $5,000 because she’s done such a good job. But she was pretty much just a giveaway.

“She had a couple of jump outs up north with Kevin (Myers) as a three-year-old and she has just come down and matured.

“If you looked at her, she still turns a lot of heads now and people can’t believe what she is doing. I can’t believe what she is doing either, she has obviously got a huge will to win, so hopefully there are still big things to come.”

Meanwhile, Tyler will take five horses to Oamaru tomorrow and rates Galway Garry his best chance of the day.

The No Excuse Needed four-year-old gelding has been freshened since his last-start win over 1600m at Riverton last month and is also being set for a tilt at the Winter Cup by Tyler.

“He’s fresh-up, he had a few days off and his goal is the Winter Cup as well. He enjoyed the little break and I expect him to go a good race.”

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