Luke McCarthy adds French trotter Kristal Josselyn to his stacked stable
by Adam Hamilton
It’s time for some more Luke McCarthy magic.
The champion horseman is on the crest of a wave with his powerhouse stable and now has an exciting French trotter, Kristal Josselyn (Bold Eagle—City Sees—Sam Bourbon), in the mix.
But a daring and exciting first-up tilt at Australia’s biggest trotting race, the Group 1 Great Southern Star on Feb. 14, will hinge on a Menangle trial on Wednesday.
Kristal Josselyn, a winner of six races and over $520,000 in France, pleased McCarthy at his first public appearance in a Menangle trial this week.
The 6-year-old showed dazzling early speed to lead, but was rundown late by last year’s Great Southern Star winner, Watts Up Partytime, who won by 1.5 meters in a 1:55.4 mile. They dashed home in :56.5 and :27.7.
It was also an important moment for Watts Up Partytime (Majestic Son—Watts Up Rainbow—Bacardi Lindy), who has changed trainers twice since last year’s career-best win and hasn’t started since a ninth at Melton on Oct. 18, last year.
He’s now back with his original trainer Rickie Alchin after winning the Great Southern Star for Andy Gath and then having two starts for the Chris Lang and Sonia Mahar team.
Although there was a lot to like about Kristal Josselyn’s effort, McCarthy wants more and doesn’t have much time to get it.
“I was happy, but it showed he wasn’t quite as fit as I thought,” he said. “I was going to race him at Kilmore on Saturday week, but I’ll give him another trial now instead. He’ll need that.”
That trial will decide whether Kristal Josselyn, a 6-year-old stallion, steps straight into the biggest Aussie league for his Down Under debut.
It would mean facing the freakish 5-year-old mare Keayang Zahara (Volstead—Keayang Yankee—Muscles Yankee), who boasts 23 wins from 24 starts.
He will need to be primed.
Anton Golino, the man who “found” Kristal Josselyn from France for leviathan Gold Coast owner and passionate harness racing supporter Norm Jenkin, said McCarthy was the man for the challenge.
“Luke’s only had the horse since Melbourne Cup Day [Nov. 4] and he’d basically been spelling for a month with all the quarantine time.” Golino said. “He’s an amazing horseman. I’ve seen him run a horse a bit underdone and then turn it around in a week or two and be absolutely primed.
“If anyone can peak this horse in time for the Great Southern Star, it’s Luke.
“In saying that, it’s not crucial that he goes there. There are lots of other good races for him over here, like a $600,000 trotting slot race at Cambridge in April.
“I’m sure Luke will give it his best to have a crack at the Great Southern Star, but if he doesn’t think the horse is ready, he’ll go to a Plan B.”
Golino, who has spent lots of time working in the U.S. and France, was the ideal man for Jenkin to approach when he decided he wanted to get a European trotter, no doubt inspired by the French-bred Callmethebreeze winning the Great Southern Star in 2024.
Golino trained Callmethebreeze (Trixton—Gilly LB—Supergill) for Victorian breeding and racing giant Pat Driscoll and his Yabby Dams operation.
“Norm [Jenkin] mentioned it to me and I’m always watching the replays of the French races, especially in our summer, and the U.S. races in our winter,” Golino said. “I looked at so many horses and asked Jean-Etienne Dubois to keep an eye out for any nice horses for sale, too.
“I thought we had one bought, but the [French] owners asked for more when we almost had the deal done, so we pulled out and then Jean-Etienne found this horse, trialed him for us, had him vetted, and that was it.
“It’s so hard to buy the French trotters because they race for so much money and there is huge stallion value if you’ve got the right horse.
“Kristal Josselyn had a fantastic 4-year-old season and was consistently racing in very strong races at Vincennes, which I think is the strongest trotting anywhere. He’d won Group 2 and Group 3 races and I can’t tell you how hard it is to do that in Paris.
“I think, as a whole, the French trotters are the best in the world. Look at their record for the past 10 years or so in the Elitlopp over a distance and around a track which is just so foreign to them.”
Jenkin is no stranger to top trotters. He owned former champion Aussie trotter Tornado Valley, who banked over $1 million, won two Great Southern Stars (2020 and ’21) and an Inter Dominion final.
Jenkin won three Great Southern Stars in a row when Majestuoso followed Tornado Valley’s two wins.
“It’s a special race to me,” Jenkin said. “I’d love this horse to get there, but will leave the call to Luke.”
The obvious question for Golino is to compare Callmethebreeze, who raced 11 times Down Under for seven wins and two seconds, with Kristal Josselyn.
“Gee that’s hard because they are just so different,” he said. “For starters, Callmethebreeze had won over $1 million before he came to Australia and this horse only has half that.
“But Callmethebreeze did a lot of his racing in Italy and Kristal Josselyn has done almost all his in the toughest of places in Paris.
“They are such different horses. Kristal Josselyn is a typical French trotter, while Callmethebreeze was bred differently and more like a thoroughbred. He was by a U.S. stallion [Trixton] out of an Italian mare [Gilly LB].
“The ability and speed is certainly there with Kristal Josselyn and I know Luke [McCarthy] really likes the feel he gives him, so a lot will come down to how he settles in here and adapts to the style of racing.”
If the Great Southern Star comes up too soon, other options in coming weeks include the $60,000 Group 1 Grand Prix at Melton on Feb. 28 and the $100,0000 Group 1 Hammerhead Mile at Menangle on Feb. 14.
Then the focus would go to the $600,000 TAB Trot at Cambridge on April 10 and the $500,000 Brisbane Inter Dominion final in July.
The question is whether Kristal Josselyn stays with McCarthy or switches to Golino, who has just returned from a stint on the sidelines from training.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Golino said. “I could’ve had him back already, but Luke’s come this far and he’s the right man to try and get him to the Great Southern Star.”
