By Duane Ranger
Don’t be surprised if the ‘bowed tendon man’ again weaves his magic shortly before 4pm at Redcliffe Paceway today.
Many know Gavin Crone as the ‘race-day’ farrier’, but together with his wife Kay, they have been conditioning standardbreds for decades, and also have their own special way of dealing with horses who have suffered from bowed tendons (tendinitis).
“That’s how we got Our Buscemi,” the 51-year-old Ebenezer horseman said.
Our Buscemi has hit a purple patch of form winning his last two races impressively. This afternoon he has drawn ideally at two in race 8 - a $5,200 Q-Bred C5-6 Pace.
“I can see no reason why he can’t carry that form-line on. He’s at his peak right now and is sound. We just have to keep close tabs on him,” Crone said.
Ray Jenkins initially trained the then named Buscemi in New Zealand. He won one of his 13 starts in his homeland and has since won nine more in Australia.
He was then trained by Bianca Hooper before the Crones took over the training in August last year. He will be having his 14th start for the Ipswich couple.
“Kay and I do not treat any of our horses as a number. They all receive special attention. We also like to keep them sound which is much easier to do when they are racing. I also have my own little methods and habits with each individual,” he added.
“We have eight to 10 horses in work and they are all treated with the same one-to-one care. We love the animals we work with,” he stressed.
Our Buscemi will be lookjing for his third straight win in today’s 2040m mobile. He drew nine when winning by four metre at the same venue last start (last Wednesday). Matt Elkins did the driving that day and the claimer is again in the bike today.
"He got back in the field and really unwound well. I personally thought that was his best win yet because he had to make up a lot of ground on the favourite who had a nice lead at the top of the straight.
"Even though it's a rise in class today, I still think he can go close," Crone said.
His wife Kay said she loved Our Buscemi.
"He's a lovely, beautiful horse who is so nice to deal with. To be honest we have been surprised how well he's doing. Hopefully we will all be celebrating another win soon," she said.
Our Buscemi has raced 68 times for 10 wins, 11 placings and $42,827. He made is debut at Forbury Park in Dunedin (NZ) with a sixth on December 16, 2015.
"He's no star but he's going real nice at the moment. I don't mind getting horses with bowed tendons. In fact I seem to get a lot of them.
"I'm more than happy to treat them and prolong their racing careers. If they are happy then why not?" Crone said.
Our Buscemi is owned by Mario Di Carlo.