Golden Rose Field: Money and sentiment with Bring Me The Maid

Curiosity, a shared passion and a chef’s outfit brought the late Roy Higgins into Wylie Dalziel’s life.

Dressed in the garb of a professional cook for a trackside betting promotion, Dalziel piqued the interest of the former champion jockey.

The pair began talking and not long after Dalziel, keen to get a foothold in the racing industry, pitched Higgins an idea for a syndication company.

It eventually became known as Roy Higgins & Wylie Dalziel Racing and on Saturday the venture will chase its biggest win when Bring Me The Maid lines up as favourite for the $1 million Golden Rose.

For Dalziel, racing horses is about having fun – win, lose, or draw – and it’s a theme his company is built on.

When it comes to Bring Me The Maid, it is also about sentiment.

Higgins died in March, just weeks before the filly scored her most important win in the Magic Night Stakes, following up with a Golden Slipper placing.

The Hall Of Fame jockey was more than a business partner to Dalziel and he is sure Higgins is still playing a role in Bring Me The Maid’s career.

“I know I’ve got two jockeys on her every time she runs around,” Dalziel said.

“He was my mentor for 10 years. He taught me everything about the racing industry, about yearling selection.

“He was able to open doors I wouldn’t have been able to open on my own.”

Dalziel is committed to continuing Higgins’s legacy and when the owners of Bring Me The Maid converge on Rosehill, the emphasis will be on enjoying the day regardless of the Golden Rose result.

Bring Me The Maid
Bring Me The Maid

But quietly, hopes must be high that Bring Me The Maid can become the first filly to win the race since it was elevated to Group One status.

She will have the Black Caviar combination of trainer Peter Moody and jockey Luke Nolen in her corner, an omen perhaps, given Higgins and Dalziel raced the champion mare’s brother Moshe.

Moody gives stable names to his horses – Black Caviar was famously known as Nelly.

Bring Me The Maid, the filly with a sentimental link to Higgins, is called Gift.

“And I think that’s what she was, a gift,” Dalziel said.

“She’s a special horse. I’m a believer in those sorts of things, good things happen to people who try hard and work hard and the people in her are all good people.”

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