Bumpy Road To The Racetrack, But Sly And Errol Now Cruising

Illawarra Mercury

Monday November 27, 2006

By CHRIS ROOTS

THEY might be inexperienced for their age, but Kembla Grange winners Slippery Sly and Feral Errol showed on Saturday you're never too old to start your career.

Five-year-old Feral Errol is "a lunatic" while six-year-old Slippery Sly is accident-prone. But both are winners.

Owner Lou Thomas was delighted to see Feral Errol ($8) jump out of the ground to win at his fourth race start, in the Coffee Guru Maiden Plate (1300m), by a short-head from Octapus ($3.20). Total Recall ($3.40) was third.

Thomas is a horse breaker by trade and it took him a year to tame Feral Errol, which is how the five-year-old got his name.

"I thought I was good at the caper (breaking horses) until I met this bloke," Thomas said. "He'll kick, bite and strike you if he gets a chance. He is a lunatic, but he's got some talent."

Feral Errol ended up with Nowra trainer Robert Price after going through several trainers. Stable foreman and Price's son Luke said there was only one reason they took him on.

"He has the heart rate of a group horse but he is a ratbag," he said.

It took a long time to get Slippery Sly to the track. Trainer Brett McLaurin has a long list of reasons why Slippery Sly didn't race until he was six.

"First he steps on a piece of glass and then trod on a stake and there went a year," he said. "There has always seemed to be a problem with him." As much as $4.40 was bet in the ring before Slippery Sly started $2.80. He duly led all the way to win easily.

© 2006 Illawarra Mercury

Back to News Index | Back to Home