Wallbank keen on Pukekohe consolation
Dennis Ryan - Raceform • March 20th, 2025 12:00 PM • 4 min read
Pukekohe hobby trainer Bruce Walbank admits that he’ll never get over losing a race at Ellerslie with his talented three-year-old Midnight Edition, but he’s just as adamant that a worthwhile consolation prize awaits him at Pukekohe on Friday.
Wallbank was first licensed as an owner-trainer in the 2008-09 season, saddling his first winner three years later, and after a six-year hiatus he renewed his licence at the start of the current season to enable him to indulge his passion in the three-year-old Wrote gelding Midnight Edition.
A Te Rapa maiden win in September proved the worth of the venture by the retired master builder, and after finishing fifth in his first feature race mission, the Gr. 3 Bonecrusher Stakes, in early December, Midnight Edition was aimed at the Gr. 2 Auckland Guineas on Boxing Day.
Horse and hobbyist rose to the occasion with victory on the big stage – albeit in a dead-heat with the Andrew Forsman-trained Yaldi – but Wallbank’s joy quickly turned to despair when an inquiry found that Midnight Edition had interfered with Yaldi in the final stages and he was relegated to second.
Wallbank’s disappointment at that turn of events is still obvious, but if anything it has steeled his determination to land a big one.
“You never get over that, it was hard to take and it still hurts,” he told RaceForm, “but nothing’s going to change it.”
What also hasn’t changed is Wallbank’s belief in Midnight Edition, who he races with his wife Raelyn and son Mark, who’s well-known on the Auckland restaurant scene and as a MasterChef judge.
“Even with the weight (59kg) I think he’ll bolt in,” he says of Friday’s mission in the Trackside.co.nz 1600. “With his rating he has to carry a lot more weight than the others, but I don’t think that will be enough to stop him.”
Two starts after the Auckland Guineas, Midnight Edition stepped up to 2000m in the Waikato Guineas but after racing in the open on the pace he faded to beat just two rivals. He showed his resilience when he dropped back to 1200m on his home track two weeks later for an all-the-way win and followed that with an unplaced but still meritorious fifth of sixth behind flying filly Alabama Lass in the Gr. 3 King’s Plate at Ellerslie on Champions Day.
In that race Midnight Edition finished within a length of Babylon Berlin and two lengths adrift of Railway winner Crocetti, while a further line on his ability is that the beaten runners behind him in the Auckland Guineas included NZB Kiwi winner Damask Rose and third placegetter Checkmate.
“Don’t worry, he’s a good horse,” says the rangy bay’s greatest admirer. “He’s a lovely big horse – 16.2 hands and plenty of him. He got up to 525 kilos, but I’ve got that back under control now and he’s at his fighting fit weight, 505 kilos.
“He’s not a fast-finishing horse, but he’s got the tenacity, and I can’t wait to see him getting out there on Friday.”
Wallbank is also looking forward to seeing Midnight Edition reunited with Sam Spratt, whose only previous raceday experience came in his maiden win back in the spring.
“Sam’s back on, which is a positive, and with the bit of rain we’ve had this week, I reckon the track will be perfect for him.”
Photograph at the top of the page: Bruce Wallbank (left) can’t wait to see Midnight Edition back on his home track seeking another win on Friday. Photo Credit: RaceForm
