The Neumanns have their Tyres On!
Alan & Ian Neumann have long been associated with several major tyre franchises throughout Canterbury and their harness horse interests span over 40 years with many of their stock carrying the Tyron (Tyre On) name.
Sonoma Tyron with Vinnie Neumann
Alan fondly remembers going to the 1984 Yearling Sales with some of his rugby mates and securing a Noodlum colt from Scottish Armbro (4 wins) quite cheaply. Entrusted to Patrick O’Reilly Jnr and although bred to pace, Tyron Scottie won 21 races trotting from 68 starts and won just short of $300k in stakes which would have been a sizable sum in that era.
‘Scottie’ was a topliner and at his 4th last start just missed winning the 1990 Inter Dominion trotting grand final at Addington won by Real Force.
“After all this time and with the success we have had, Tyron Scottie would still be the best horse we have been involved with to date” Alan suggested
Interestingly Scottish Armbro had another 6 foals and never left another winner with only one of them getting to the races.
And so an adult lifetime with the family began in the harness racing industry with ‘real skin’ in the game.
A 100-acre berry farm in Mid Canterbury was transformed into an equine haven with Alan & Ian’s mother getting the credit for renaming it ‘Tyron’.
Administration roles with the Ashburton Trotting club evolved over a long time and the return trips to purchase from the yearling sales continued to leave a long list of Tyron winners.
“We bought into Ian Lochhead’s trotting breed with Sunloch (Sundon – Wise Game) and had immediate success with Tyron Lochie (2 wins) and Tyron’s Aphrodite (1 win/1 placing from only 2 starts).
The latter, by Love You, has been a great success at stud already with Alluring Tyron (11 wins), Tyron Arohanui (3 wins) and Tyron Eros ( 3 wins including 1 at Group 1 level and last seasons 2yo trotting colt of the year) keeping the family name in the bright lights.
“We are hoping for big things with Eros and both RJ and Johnny really like him” Alan enthused.
But the Neumanns are just not trotting men.
The pacers have played their part with Mach Banner giving them their only NZ Cup runner back in 2013, won by Terror To Love, before he was sold on shortly after.
The thinking is that Who’s Delight (4g Bettor’s Delight – Cullen Who) might just be their next NZ Cup aspirant. To date he has won the 9 with $145k in the bank after being a six figure purchase at the yearling sales.
Alan explained that his association with RJ Dunn goes way back to his Marist rugby days and over time with Pat O’Reilly cutting back his training operation, the Dunn/Diamond Racing operation has become a bigger manager of their racing stock.
Queen Tyron (2f Bettor’s Delight – Tyrons Falcon Ella) has won 2 of her 3 raceday starts this season and is held in high regard by the stable.
The talented but unsound trotter Highgrove (11 wins from 22 starts + $232k) is on the mend and his connections are hopeful that he will make a raceday return this season.
Alan, with wife, Christine, and son Vinnie
Alan quickly admits to brother Ian being the real breeding ‘buff’ in the family along with his son Vinnie.
“The farm has reduced in size over time as parts have been sold off to the dairy farmers and Ian lives on 30 acres, agisting the half dozen mares that the family breed from”, Alan explained.
This group is headed by Passion And Power, another yearling sales purchase (6m Art Major – Sem’s Delight) who did a good job winning 7 (from 29) + $77k..
After leaving colts by Captain Crunch & Always B Miki, she is in foal to Sweet Lou. Tyron Arohanui (Father Patrick – Tyron’s Aphrodite) has a weanling colt on the ground by Majestic Son but wasn’t served last season.
In that same category is Tyron’s Che Bella (8m Bettor’s Delight – Ella Royce) who had an Always B Miki colt weaned off her this autumn. Her first foal Tyron’s Connoisseur (by Art Major) has already qualified but has yet to place in 4 x 2yo raceday starts.
The mother of Queen Tyron is in foal to Sweet Lou.
Trip’s On Me (Dream Vacation – Focus On Me), making her a half sister to Highgrove is in foal to buzz trotting stallion King Of The North.
There is genuine hype around the first son of Walner to be available in this part of the world and with 74 mares visiting his court last season, he was by far the most popular trotting stallion amongst trotting breeders.
With a good number of both experienced and untried stock coming on, there is little sign of the Neumann ‘juggernaut’ slowing down.
But with widespread serious commitment and personal contributions to the harness racing game over a long period of time, it seems quite appropriate that the Neumann family enjoy a high level of success.
The Canterbury Standardbred Breeders Assn recently named them Trotting Breeders of 2023.
