Blackout at the Park after Tartan Robyn torches rivals in final New Zealand start

Winning a $17,500 race with Tartan Robyn at Auckland certainly warranted celebration but trainer Ray Green would have preferred it didn’t take the form of a complete blackout at Alexandra Park.

The drinks had hardly been poured in the winners’ room after Tartan Robyn’s decisive win in his last start in New Zealand than the complex was plunged into darkness.

And with a power outage throughout the entire suburb of Greenlane, and no quick resolution in sight, it didn’t take long for club officials to abandon the last two races.

“It’s a shame because I thought we could win the last race with Louie The Punter,” said Green ungearing the horse in dim emergency lighting.

“But it’s the perfect scenario for Tartan Robyn to win his last two races here. We couldn’t have wished for better.”

The $9625 winner’s purse tonight, added to his $4400 winnings from Cambridge last week, brought the horse’s earnings from seven starts since arriving in the north to $16,706 for Melbourne owners Merv and Meg Butterworth.

Ray Green … perfect finale for Tartan Robyn.“I thought when he arrived that he could win a couple of races in Auckland. He’s gone some super races previously without winning but he’s done us proud.”

Green said despite the six-year-old’s form surge there would be no change in the plan to fly the horse to Melbourne on April 28 to join the stable of Kerryn Manning.

“He’ll be rehandicapped to something like 73 after tonight which means he’d have to front up to Copy That and co and he can’t do that.

“He’ll do well over there where he can be placed much better.”

Green said driver Maurice McKendry drove the perfect race on Tartan Robyn, starting his run three wide all of 600 metres from home.

“He needs to be driven like that. He’s no champion but he keeps going. He needs a solid pace and that’s what he got tonight.

“Maurice said the race suited him - the even quarters were right up his alley.”

And when Tartan Robyn hit the front just inside the 200 metres it was all over, too late Cya Art’s passing lane challenge and American Me’s charge from the back for fourth.

It was an appropriate win for McKendry in a race named in honour of champion horseman Tony Herlihy as with 3305 wins in the cart the “magic man” lies only second to the “ice man” who has notched 3566 wins.

Tartan Robyn’s winning time was a swift 2:40.1, a mile rate of 1:57.1, with the closing 800 in 58.3 and 400 in 29.6.

Tartan Robyn, who paid a healthy $8.60, leaves New Zealand with a career record of seven wins and eight placings from 48 starts for $57,737 in stakes.