Dam of Albion Park winner dodged death

By Peter Wharton

Alisa, the dam of recent barnstorming Albion Park winner Miss Mucho, had a narrow escape from death as a youngster.

“I was visiting my dad one day and noticed that a filly had got caught up to a gate hinge,” Gore breeder Kenny Baynes said. “I rushed inside and grabbed a knife and managed to set her free.”

“Another minute and it would have been too late.”

Miss Mucho winning at Albion Park
(c) Dan Costello Photography

Alisa, a daughter of Bettor’s Delight, was bred and owned by Kenny’s father, legendary Southland horseman the late Colin Baynes.

“Dad told me that she was not going to make a racemare and that I could have her,” Kenny said.

Put to the stud, Alisa’s first foal was Mucho Macho Man, a Mach Three gelding who won nine races with 22 placings for $86,583 in stakes and was above average.

Next, two years later and again to the cover of Mach Three, Alisa produced Miss Mucho.

Trained by West Melton conditioner Tony Barron, Miss Mucho won five races as a four and five-year-old – including her last two starts at Addington and Invercargill – before being sold to leading Perth trainers Greg and Skye Bond.

“I regretted selling her at the time but you can’t keep them all,” Kenny stated.

She won four races in WA including three at Gloucester Park and was placed in the Golden Girls Mile at Pinjarra.

Later sold to Brisbane couple Ron and Stacey Sallis, the now seven-year-old has totted up a further two wins at Albion Park and has been seldom guilty of a bad race. She has a stake tally of $116,574.

Alisa’s third foal, Mucho Fuerte (by Panspacificflight), was a recent winner in 1:59.2 at Invercargill for Richard Austin.

Alisa with her Always B Miki filly

To bring Alisa’s breeding record up-to-date, she has a four-year-old gelding by Always B Miki and a three-year-old filly by the same sire which is being jogged up by Tyler Dewe.

Alisa is one of 20 broodmares owned by Kenny and his wife Joelle, who conduct two adjoining farms, ‘Rosehill’, the base for their dairy herd, and ‘Flemington’, where the horses are bred and raised.

Born and bred on his father’s Hokonui Stud, the birthplace of a swag of top flight performers, Kenny has been around horses all his life.

He has bred and owned countless winners during his 50 year association with the sport.

Perhaps the best trotter Kenny bred was Cool Cobber, who won nine races and $108,000 in stakes. War Machine (10 wins), War Admiral, Full Noise, who set a NZ mile record as a two-year-old, One More Moment and Afterburner were other good trotters he bred or raced.

Among the pacing brigade, Especial, winner of the Robin Dundee Crown, Envious and Jody Direen (9 wins) were the best.