Luck, legacy and a hot dog: Kiwi trainer’s winning recipe

2026-03-05 - 17:38

Pam Gerard is superstitious to a fault. When the impressive Matamata horse trainer is at Ellerslie Racecourse on Saturday before two of her horses contest New Zealand’s richest race, the NZB Kiwi, expect to find her round the back of the stands with a hot dog in her hand. It’s a tradition that began with her mentor and training partner, the late Mike Moroney — the pair sneaking out before the first race at meetings on either side of the Tasman, Gerard’s three kids in tow. And it’s a ritual she’s determined to continue in Moroney’s memory, after he died suddenly last year. She may also be wearing the pink and white outfit that brought her luck in November when her star three-year-olds Affirmative Action and Romanoff fought out a spectacular photo finish in the New Zealand 2000 Guineas at Riccarton. “Yes, superstitions and traditions are huge with me – you’ve got no idea how important it is. Horse racing is a big game of luck,” she says from her Ballymore Racing stables. “We all laugh about it because it’s really silly, but I think there’s a little something in it. “From the moment I go home and have my shower, I find myself thinking, I’ve got to do this this way or that way. When you put the horse in the stall a different way, get out of the car a different way, you think, ‘Oh no my day is doomed!’ “I had a lucky dress once and I had to wear it to every race meeting after that, until I hated it. “I don’t think I’m nervous, because whatever happens, happens. But you think, ‘What did I do when I won that good race?’ There will be little things you’ll do along the way that might just help.” Lately, Gerard’s luck has looked a lot like form. Pam Gerard (third from right) in the winner’s circle at Riccarton after Savaglee won the 2024 NZ 2000 Guineas. Photo: Ajay Berry Having two horses line up in this weekend’s $4 million slot race on Champion’s Day reinforces Gerard’s standing among New Zealand’s top trainers. “I don’t think it’s harder to prepare two horses for this race; the hardest thing is getting one in there,” she says. “You just carry on with your job, trying to get the best results out of the horses.” Affirmative Action will represent Auckland Thoroughbred Racing in the 1500m slot race, while Romanoff fills the Canterbury Jockey Club’s slot after beating his stablemate in the $700,000 Guineas showdown by the barest of margins. “It’s a massive achievement for the team at Ballymore. The last piece of the puzzle is getting them into the race,” Gerard says. “There’s no ‘I’ in my life, it’s ‘we’. Always has been, always will be.” Gerard has around 15 full-time staff at Ballymore, as well as track work riders and part-timers. The stable boxes are almost always full, with 45 to 50 horses working on the property. She admits she’s come a long way from two bare paddocks on the Canterbury Plains. Growing up on a farm, Gerard had a pony. “My grandparents and my dad raced horses, I had cousins who were jockeys. My mum used to ride horses to school,” she says. “We didn’t have Playstations – if you wanted something to do, you had to go and ride your pony. But then I went to boarding school, so it was hard to be a competitive rider. “But my whole life has been about animals.” A keen hockey player, Gerard wanted to study to become a PE teacher. Then she met Cindy Hampton, who pre-trained horses for successful trainers Dawn and Peter Williams, riding them on the roads around Methven. After travelling overseas with her then partner, a ski coach, she returned home to work for the Williams in their Ashburton stables. Gerard then went to Japan to break in young horses, earning enough money to buy her own land in Methven – still in her mid-twenties. As she became a highly-respected horsewoman, Gerard bought a larger property in Ashburton, where she trained 91 winners. In 2011 she moved north to Matamata with her partner – former leading jumps jockey Tom Hazlett – to join Te Akau Racing as an assistant trainer. Five years later she shifted to Ballymore Stables under Australian Mike Moroney, becoming its New Zealand-based trainer, before taking sole charge of the Matamata operation in 2024. She admits it took her some time to recognise a good horse. “In my mid-20s, I thought every horse looked beautiful,” she laughs. “Once you get into the game a little more, you learn this one is nicer because it moves better, it’s got a better mindset, or it’s stronger with more muscle. You feel underneath you when you have a good horse.” Pam Gerard has a winter training system she sticks to that has brought her success in NZ. Photo: Trish Dunell She credits Moroney and his younger brother, Paul, a bloodstock consultant, with helping her choose good horses from the sales. “A major part of success is what you buy in the sale ring,” she says. “Then there’s the education, getting to know the horse and trying to get the best result out of it as quick as possible.” Gerard also has a system of training her horses through winter, so they have success earlier in the spring racing season. “It’s a bit slow and tedious working them through those colder months, but you get to know your horses and they get to know your system,” she says. In the 2024-25 season, Gerard guided standout colt Savaglee through a successful spring campaign, winning the Group 1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas. He was the favourite to win last year’s inaugural NZB Kiwi, until his owners decided he’d be better off running in Australia – where he was an impressive second in the Australian Guineas at Flemington. But last weekend, the four-year-old stallion prospect was retired from racing, following a frustrating year, and will now go to stud. Gerard knows that’s the tough reality of horse racing. Through all of the highs and lows of their careers, Gerard and Hazlett raised three children. They all helped out in the stables growing up – though none have ambitions to ride or train horses. “Unfortunately, they were brought up in an era in New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing when kids were not allowed to be around the horses out the back [of racecourses],” she says. “They brought in strict guidelines for health and safety, which I understand. But they lost a whole generation of young people coming into the industry. My kids wanted to be involved, they loved the horses. “Yet, even now that they’re at university or working, they text me during the day and say ‘Mum, that one went good; that one didn’t go so good’. My daughter at Lincoln messaged the other day to say, ‘The horses aren’t coming from behind today – you need to be on pace’. It’s quite cool they still know how much is involved in it.” Their daughter, Meg Hazlett, has gone down a different sporting route – representing New Zealand at the world U20 lacrosse world championships. View this post on Instagram Taking out the quinella in spectacular fashion at the NZ 2000 Guineas in November – and defending her 2024 victory with Savaglee – was one of the most bizarre racing days Gerard has experienced. Not only did Romanoff beat his stablemate by a nostril in the Group 1 race, but a massive hailstorm at Riccarton Park beforehand had left the race in doubt. “It was surreal, absolutely wonderful,” she says. “But there was so much going on beyond everyone’s control, and no one really knew what was happening. “Then nobody knew who’d won, but the owners of both horses were jumping up and down like crazy. Then we stood in the birdcage in torrential rain under one umbrella for the presentation. We were exhausted by the end of the day.” When it comes to Saturday’s NZB Kiwi race, Gerard just wants to see both her horses do as best they can at the end of a long season. “You’ve got fresh horses coming in on fresh legs, so I don’t have any expectations. I just want to get them in the best condition I can, and get the best results for my slot holders. “Romanoff has to carry a two-kilo penalty because he won that Group 1 race, which is crazy. And the other fella is a massive horse and he’s had growing pains.” Gerard has never felt her gender is a barrier in the thoroughbred game. “It’s up to an individual to make things happen – you need a lot of luck and support along the way. But nothing in the industry says being a woman makes you a little bit less, or you can’t have good horses,” she says. “Everyone’s on a level playing field.” A powerful motivator is to continue what Mike Moroney started. “I loved Mike to bits. I was super lucky to have him as a mentor and be given the opportunity to take over what he started. I want to keep his dream of training winners alive,” Gerard says. And on Saturday, she’ll eat another hot dog in his honour.