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Kerry nurses "Paternal" Instincts
​Michael Manley talks with vet nurse and racehorse trainer Kerry Edwards about her star 'Ready to Run' selection, Paternal. Published, Inside Racing 2003.
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In terms of strike rate, Gisborne-based trainer can claim to be one of the leaders in her profession, such has been her success with the only member of her stable, Paternal.
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In two and a half years of racing, Paternal has built up a very impressive records of 10 wins from 27 starts and earnings of $253, 9500. To put that in perspective, there would be a lot of stables - with many, many more horses in them - that couldn't boast a horse with that sort of record.

Edwards, a hobby trainer, can put Paternal's success in perspective.

"This is a dream come true to get a horse like him. It's what you dream about and now that it's happened I can't believe it," Edwards said.

Over summer, Paternal enhanced his reputation as a Mooney Valley specialist, winning three races on end at that circuit. The last of those was the $52,500 Wedgewood Vase, in which he carried 58.5kg (2.5 kg more than any other runner) and lead throughout to win easily.
Edwards has only trained four horses - and each one has been a winner.

She purchased Paternal at the 1999 Sydney Ready to Run sale for $16,000, after watching him gallop. It wasn't quite how he went about his work that impressed Edwards, but rather what he might do in the future.

"He was a most unlikely Ready to Run horse, as he was a lanky, adolescent creature who ran so greenly. He bounced off the running rail, he sky gazed, but still ran a nice time," she said.

Edwards purchased the horse believing she wouldn't see the best of him until he was a four-year old, as he is by My Patriarch, who didn't win a race under 2,800m.
Instead, Edwards got a horse who managed to show above average ability from the moment she galloped him. He won four out of his first five starts, including the Robert Hunter Handicap at Caulfield in Spring of 2000, and he has won a race at each preparation.

It hasn't always been an easy road for Edwards and the five-year old gelding, though, as Paternal developed hoof problems as a three-year old due to his soft feet.

This is part of the reason Edwards believes he shows a strong liking for Moonee Valley, where he won six from seven starts on the extra cushion of the StrathAyr surface.

Edwards does point out that that Paternal is not solely a Moonee Valley horse, as he has won twice at Caulfield and should have won a race early in his career at Sandown. In order to help Paternal with his feet, Edwards works him twice a week at Altona Beach.

Edwards combines training Paternal with working as a vet nurse at the Gisborne Veterinary Clinic. She said her bosses are very understanding, allowing her to dash off to her home and Paternal, two minutes away, when required.

"In addition, they are also a great help when I have problems with him. We sit around and discuss how to handle his injuries and these meetings are known as the Paternal emergency sessions," Edwards said.

Edwards,who is on the lookout for another horse, said that at some stage in the future, she would like to train full time but was not quite ready.

"It's been great fun with this horse. The owners are first timers and are having a ball and the locals are also right behind him," she commented.