With a big chance at winning her first stakes race as a trainer at Randwick on Saturday, you could forgive Clare Cunningham for getting a little ahead of herself.
Cradle Mountain (West Quest {Can}) will start a clear favourite in the Listed Razor Sharp Hcp, and with the added factor that Cunningham's partner Jason Collett is riding the horse, it should make for a big occasion in anyone's book.
But in such times, Cunningham calls on the lessons in pragmatism from her former master Peter Moody.
Moody's influence is still strong with Cunningham, who trains a team of 27 at Warwick Farm and has emerged as one the most promising young trainers in NSW over the past two years.
Cradle Mountain has been a foundation of that success, winning six of his nine starts, allowing Cunningham to build both confidence and a profile over the past 12 months.
"Foundation is probably a good word. He was probably the second horse that I had to my name and the first untried horse," she told TDN AusNZ.
"I had six months of tried horses when I first started out. He was the first one who came to me as a blank page." - Trainer, Clare Cunningham
"I had six months of tried horses when I first started out. He was the first one who came to me as a blank page. It's very rewarding when you put the hard work in and you see them develop into what he has today."
A horse who has won six of his past seven starts is always going to generate some hype, but it is in those moments that Cunningham has called on Moody's advice in order to keep her own expectations in check.
Clare Cunningham
"You can think (how far he’ll go) but I am big believer in actions. Moody always said actions speak later than words and to let the horse do the talking. Any time I get a bit carried away, Moody always says you have to get there first," she said.
"I never get too carried away with what he could be. We'll let him reach his mark. We’re enjoying the ride."
Master trainer and sounding board
Earlier this week, as Cunningham contemplated whether it was the right time to elevate Cradle Mountain to stakes grade, she sought out Moody's counsel again.
"I'm a big believer in working the horses through their grades. Cradle Mountain is an 89-rater and he's up against horses who are 105. In a way, we’ve had to put him the deep end," she said.
"I'm a big believer in working the horses through their grades." - Clare Cunningham
"If we do happen to beat these horses that are rated 105 then the handicapper will have a fun day giving us a few points. That's what I was questioning, do I have to go this grade now and put the horse in that position?"
Clare often turns to mentor, Peter Moody for advice
"Moody just said, what are your options? He just said, once you get up to around 90, it's what you are going to have to face sooner or later."
Backing a young trainer
The story of how Cradle Mountain, a $4000 yearling by a low-profile Tasmanian-based sire, ended up in Cunningham's hands, harks back to when Cunningham was working for Moody as his assistant trainer in charge of his Sydney stables.
Owner John Collison had tracked Cunningham's career, while he also had a connection to her partner Collett, who had ridden his mare Fifteen Sunflowers (Excellent Art {GB}) in four of her seven wins.
Collison had developed a connection with Cradle Mountain when he arrived as a young horse from Aceland Stud at a farm he was managing near Scone.
Clare Cunningham with partner, Jason Collett
When he came up through a dispersal sale, Collison was never going to miss out, attracted by his character as much as anything else.
"I remember John saying he was a bit of a string-bean," Cunningham said. "He never was the biggest horse in the paddock but used to give them hell and gave them a lot of cheek and a lot of fight and that was the reason he bought him."
Collison decided to back the newly established trainer and ensured she was given the right financial support to develop the horse.
"His owners used to pay in advance, because they knew what it took to train a horse and the money it took," she said.
"A lot of the time, we pay the bills for the horses and rely on the owners to pay us a month later. There are always owners who don’t pay the bills on time and leave us short. But these owners, John and Ellen, used to pay in advance so I had the money in credit to spend on their horse."
Believe in the horse not the pedigree page
Cunningham said she was never deterred by Cradle Mountain's modest pedigree and just took the new acquisition on face value.
"Moody has been a great master in relation to keeping open minded. Working for him for a long time, I learnt that they come in a lot of different shapes and sizes and pricetags," she said.
"I learnt that they come in a lot of different shapes and sizes and pricetags." - Clare Cunningham
"There were a few heavily-pricetagged horses when I worked at Moody's who ended up doing nothing, so I got to see that side of it as well. You just have to keep an open mind."
That faith was justified only a couple of months after Cradle Mountain's arrival as Cunningham discovered he had speed and talent to burn.
Cradle Mountain is by Tasmanian stallion, West Quest
"The first time I thought that Cradle Mountain was a bit above average was pretty much an 800m at three quarter pace, so it was pretty early," she said.
"I remember looking over to Jason after the work and thinking this horse paces easily. I sent John and Ellen a message and said 'I don’t think we are wasting our time'."
Having performed well without winning in his two runs in his first campaign, Cradle Mountain returned a better horse as a 4-year-old, stringing together three wins over last summer. He resumed with a city win on ANZAC Day at Randwick before the streak was snapped when he injured himself in a race at Scone in May.
A turning point
Cunningham said that injury, while unfortunate at the time, proved somewhat of a blessing in disguise in terms of the horse's mental development.
"Mentally, we’ve had to work with him, because he's the equivalent of a child with ADHD. We've seen him change a bit since that previous injury," she said,
"Mentally, we’ve had to work with him, because he's the equivalent of a child with ADHD." - Clare Cunningham
"We've had that bit of time and we had some things to repair from that injury which have helped him. We sent him out to the water walker and so on and that’s slowed his mind down a little bit and got him thinking."
Cradle Mountain winning at Rosehill
"We’ve found he has matured a lot between preparations."
Cradle Mountain will start an even money favourite in his first black-type race on Saturday and Cunningham admits a stakes win on her resume will be a significant boost.
"It would be our first one. We've had a Group 3 placing when we came third in the Newcastle Cup (with Just Shine (NZ) (Mastercraftsman {Ire})). It’s definitely a goal like every trainer to get a bit of black type and win these types of races," she said.
"It would be special. The horse means a lot to me."
