Timaru juvenile Simply Susational launched his racing career on a winning note at Ascot Park on Saturday.

Simply Susational won two workouts and finished second in a trial before trainer David Mitchell lined him up in the Cruickshank Pryde Two-Year-Old Pace at the Invercargill Harness Racing Club's meeting. Ares, who beat Simply Susational in the Ashburton trial on January 9, won a 2-year-old race at Ascot Park on January 17.

''He's a strong horse. When they go hard (in front), he'll still be there trying,'' Mitchell said of Simply Susational, whose dam, Simply Scrumlicious, was also successful from the trainer's stable in 2005.

Mitchell first met Simply Susational's Dunedin owner-breeder, Gavin Chin, in 1999. Chin, at the time, was working in the same Timaru pharmacy as Mitchell's wife.

About a year later, Chin had his first horse - Virgin Venture - in Mitchell's stable. Virgin Venture went on to win three races. Fast Lane Daisy and Dudinka's Angel have been other winners for Chin and Mitchell.

Chin, who is a pharmacist, part-owns Simply Susational's half-sister, Better To Be Bad. She is the winner of six races for Dunedin trainer Steve Ashton.

Mitchell said Simply Susational would be nominated for the $25,000 New Zealand Sapling Stakes at Ashburton on February 9.

Days Of Courage, trained by Mitchell, was an unlucky fourth in the Group III feature in 2006 after breaking and losing 60m soon after the start.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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