Trots Centre: Kaa keeping hand in the game with Sertorius

It’s a name that doesn’t pop up in the form guides too often these days, but Kiwi native David Kaa is certainly no stranger to the harness racing folk here in Australia.

The 54-year-old had a long and distinguished training career in homeland New Zealand before packing the bags and following his children here to Victoria, where he has been established now for close to a decade.

Kaa’s bread and butter was training and then selling talented horses to Australia. And he made a good living out of it. But since crossing the Tasman, a large-scale building business has paid the bills and therefore restricted his time in the stables to a minimum.

“We used to sell a lot,” Kaa said.

“We were in the game to sell to Australia and we did well out of it.

“It was a big lifestyle change for us when we moved over here.

“I sold a lot of horses over the years. No champions, but some of them came over and did good jobs.”

Perhaps one of the best-known horses to pass through Kaa’s Cambridge yard was Bachelorette, who was crowned New Zealand’s top four-year-old mare in the late 2000s.

“She actually didn’t win a Group 1. She was just a bridesmaid. But she was probably the best horse I’ve had and then Tim Butt bought her for racing and breeding purposes, but unfortunately she died after her first foal,” he said.

Kaa trains just one horse these days, and like him, the seven-year-old gelding hails from New Zealand. His name is Sertorius and he’s set to line up in this Saturday night’s BSL St Arnaud Sporting Club Trotters Cup at Tabcorp Park Melton.

The Muscles Yankee gelding is part-owned by John Dickie, the father of Kiwi horseman Josh who is set to move to Victoria in the coming days.

“He’s got old legs and is a horse (John) probably couldn’t sell. He asked if we wanted to do a deal. He’s been there and done that, so I thought it was a good idea,” Kaa said.

And while he’s only won the one race since arriving here in Australia – a photo finish success at Melton on October 8 - Kaa holds an element of confidence about his charge’s chances in Saturday night’s $20,000 feature, where he will be driven by champion reinsman Anthony Butt.

“I always leave it to Ants and see what he wants to do, but I’ve just got a feeling he’ll probably try and drive him similar to when he won that day,” Kaa, who credited farrier Steve Alexandrou with improving the horse's gait in recent times, said.

“He’s drawn wide enough where they come off the bend and they’ll build up a bit of momentum, so I’d say he would be going forward.

“He went forward last start in a standing start and Easy Pickings trailed him up. I think it was only less than 2m between first and fourth. I thought it was a good run.

“He had to work to get to the front, too. And when they headed him, he didn’t lie down. He kept going.”

Sertorius will come out of gate five on Saturday night after the scratching of emergency Kheiron and was one of the outsiders at $34 with the TAB on Friday afternoon.

The Melton meeting will see the long-awaited return of fans to the track, with fully vaccinated owners and patrons allowed to attend the venue.

The 2021 Weir’s Supa IGA St Arnaud Pacing Cup and Hero Battle of the Claimers Final are among the other headliners on the card, which kicks off from 6.27pm.