Fresh starts for boom brothers Oh Mickey and Smokin' Wits

By Isaac Murphy

Winning a Group 1 National Derby and Group 2 Richmond Derby by start 11 sets a serious benchmark for any dog.

The Clint Kratzmann-owned Selena Zammit-trained Oh Mickey has done a pretty good job at living up to those lofty heights, but with an eye to the future the dog earnt a recent spell before resuming in Tuesday’s Lismore Cup Heats where he showed he’s not far off his brilliant best.

“In the final of the Townsville Cup he got a toe injury; it wasn’t too severe, it was mostly bruising but in consultation with Selena we thought it would be a good time to give him a bit of a break after a sustained preparation of almost 30 starts at the highest level,” Kratzmann said.

“Adding on to that, we just felt he was tapering off a bit and getting a little bit stale early and not jumping as well, so we thought rather than push on and possibly give him an injury, we got him out while he only had a couple of little niggles and come back bigger and better.

“It was the right time, the only race on for him would have been the Million Dollar Chase which would have meant different tracks and more travel, so he ended up having about a month off and has been back in work a month now.”

Kratzmann knows he must make the most of Oh Mickey’s prime, but that doesn’t mean racing him every week, and instead making sure he’s sound and in the right races.

“Having been an owner and trainer for a couple of decades now, the biggest thing you want at any level of racing is to know your dog is lining up for a race ready to compete to the best of his ability,” he said.

“Selena has been a big influence on me and was of the same view, so it was a pretty easy decision in the end to concentrate on the big picture and give him a bit of rest and rehabilitation.

“He’s achieved a lot but he’s still a young dog and we want to keep him young and at that Group 1 level for as long as possible.”

Kratzmann was more than happy with Oh Mickey’s first up performance as he qualified for next week’s Group 2 Lismore Cup Final, and the dog looks every chance.

“It was a heck of a heat down at Lismore, drawn out in box six first-up for a couple of months when he hadn’t been jumping towards the end of his last preparation we were pretty nervous, but to see him overcome that and get the draw (two) for the Final was a great result,” he said.

“He’s got a genuine chance of winning the Cup now, he’s going to have to beat a fantastic animal in All Hands Off who beat him by three lengths in the heat, but crucially we draw inside her and second run at the track I see quite a bit of improvement.

“There’s four of five dogs in that field that run very similar time and it can come down to box draws; Sequana, All Hands Off, Fire Legend, Oski they’re all capable, we’re just lucky this time round we get every chance from the two.”

Prior to his Richmond Derby triumph, Oh Mickey’s early speed had seen him lead in just about every race he’d run and while beneficial when he started to begin a litter slower, he understandably became a little confused with dogs in front of him.

“He won the National Derby at start seven and the Richmond Derby at start 11 and the way he was going nothing could lead him early,” Kratzmann said.

“He was bulletproof, but the downside of that was he didn’t learn how to race from behind.

“As he’s got a bit older he’s just lost a bit of that early pace but added extra strength towards the end of his races, he’s run better time in his last 20 starts but hasn’t won as much as his first 10.

“A lot of that goes back to what I said about the Lismore box draw, he’s been on the wrong side of a couple of big finals and if you miss it an inch it goes the other way, but we hope with the rest he’ll get that ping back.”

It’s been a big week for Kratzmann, who saw Oh Mickey’s brother Smokin’ Wits run his first race at Albion Park in six months after the owner/trainer hit reset on his career.

“I’ve had him back in the kennels for five months and I gave him almost three months off and he’s just thrived on time spent with the family,” he said.

“The dog had seven or eight starts at Albion park before he came back to me and didn’t break 30.3, I knew he was better than that but mentally he just wasn’t in a good spot, so I just thought let’s give him the break and start fresh.

“I’d take him and the kids down the beach at Bribie Island and just let him have a play around at low tide and walk him down at the footy fields most days and slowly you’ve seen the dog’s personality come back.”

The dog was in a class on his own in his Fifth Grade heat on Monday and Kratzmann believes it’s just the start of big things to come.

“His run on Monday was superb, I hope he’ll end up in a lot better company than that but to put the race away like he did and run 29.85 - clearly the time of the night and comfortably his best - was really pleasing,” he said.

“I think we’re only just scratching the surface with him; he’s still got plenty of grades to go through but depending on how he’s going I could choose to step him up to something more challenging in the near future.

“He’s always been referred to as Oh Mickey’s brother, but I think he can make a name for himself with the clean slate he has.”