BLAST FROM THE PAST
INTERDOMINION CHAMPIONSHIP: Early History
INTERDOMINON EARLY HISTORY
Claims have been made to the effect that the Championship meeting, now an accepted annual NZ-Australian standardbred duel, originated in 1925, but the official record of the series takes us back to 1936. The history of this now world-famous series is as follows:-
In March 1925, a gathering of enterprising trotting supporters in Perth held what was termed an Australasian Championship. This took the form of two heats and a final over three different distances - one mile and a quarter, one mile and a half and two miles. The winner was the NZ horse, Great Hope, a handsome chestnut stallion by Great Audubon from Sadie Dillon. He was taken to Perth by his renowned trainer and driver J Bryce.
The following year, under the same conditions, Great Bingen and Taraire emerged with eight points each. The run-off resulted in Taraire (J Shaw, of Perth) beating Great Bingen (J Bryce). Great Bingen was trained and driven for the Championship by Bryce, who, incidentally, trained and drove Taraire for numerous successes before he was sold to a Perth owner. Bred at Tai Tapu by the late R M Morten, Taraire was by Four Chimes from Muricata, dam also of the dual NZ Cup winner, Ahuriri, and other winners.
The so-called 'Championship' then lapsed until June, 1935, when Mr J P Stratton, the leading figure in Western Australian Trotting, and the late Mr H F Nicoll, the president of the NZ Trotting Conference, convened a meeting in Sydney which was attended by delegates from every Australian State and NZ. This conference discussed a yearly Inter-Dominion Trotting Championship, and was quick to realise the benefits which would be derived from it. It was decided that such a meeting would be held in 1936 and conducted annually thereafter. Since that date 14 contests have been staged.
The first Championship, held in Perth in 1936, was won by Evicus, a Globe Derby mare who raced well in NZ for a period. The Grand Final was actually won by Logan Derby, but on a points basis he was relegated to second place. Evicus was driven by veteran Free Holmes, who made the trip specially to drive her. No NZ horses took part in the second of the Inter-Dominion series, held in Adelaide in February, 1937. The winner was Dan's Son, from Wrinkle and Joy's John.
The first Championships held in NZ were at Addington in 1938. Bad weather seriously retarded the running off of the divisions. Parisienne, who succumbed to Pot Luck in the Grand Final, was declared the Champion on points. A brilliant pacer, and later a successful sire, Springfield Globe, was the winner of the fourth Championship held in Launceston, Tasmania. He was followed home in the Grand Final by Globe Dorell and Radiant Walla. Perth again set the stage for the 1940 series, and although the Grand Final was won by Grand Mogul, bred and owned in NZ, the Grand Champion on points was Logan Derby.
The series had to be suspended during World War II, until 1947, when they were again allocated to Perth. Stake-money had greatly increased in the interval - in 1940 the Grand Final was worth £3000; in 1947 it had jumped to £8000. The winner was Bandbox (Van Derby-The Mirror).
A very successful meeting resulted for the Auckland Trotting Club when the Championships were held there in 1948. For the first time trotters as well as pacers were catered for, and the innovation was attended with such bounteous results that the square-gaiters earned a permanent place in the Championship set-up as far as NZ is concerned. After Loyal Peter, Emulous, Highland Fling and Knave Of Diamonds had won divisions, Emulous, from 36 yards, put up a slashing run in the Grand Final (worth £7600) to win decisively in the then world's winning record time of 4.12 2/5 for the two miles. Emulous, a bay horse by Jack Potts from Light Wings, was trained and driven by W K Tatterson. Emulous was a mighty pacer who was Highland Fling's only recognised adversary over a fairly long period and he beat him several times. Division (or qualifying race) leaders in the trotting section were Fantom and Aerial Scott. The last named won the Grand Final from Toushay and Willie Winkie.
Adelaide, for the second time, was the venue of the 1949 Championships. Among the division winners were Victory Speed, Amorous, Raidella, Hatteras, Single Direct and Plunderer. In the Grand Final, of £8500, Single Direct, driven by his trainer, E N Kennerley, completely outclassed his opponents. The crowd, 45,000 was a record for an Adelaide meeting. Captain Sandy raced brilliantly in the Grand Final of the 1950 series, held in Melbourne, and beat two other NZers in Glob Direct and Sprayman. The Grand Final stake of £10,000 set a new high for stake-money at the Championships. Division winners were Globe Direct, Claude Derby, Avian Derby, Tivoli Star and Derby Globe. Much of the gloss was taken off the Grand Final when Claude Derby could not start because of an injury. He was then the recognised champion of Australia, and his presence that year created the widest interest.
The scene of the Championships returned to Addington in 1951 and must go down as one of the most memorable in the history of the series. A field of champions including heat-winners in Vedette, Soangetaha, Parawa Derby, Blue Mist, Zulu and Ada Scott faced the starter for the Pacers' Grand Final. In one of the greatest races ever staged at head-quarters, Vedette worked clear from an almost impossible position to beat his younger rival, Soangetaha, by a length and a half. Vedette's effort brought the huge crowd to it's feet in appreciation of a wonderful performance on the part of both horse and driver. As late as two furlongs from the finish Vedette appeared to have no earthly chance of finding an opening, although he was close enough to the leader, lying about seventh; but the field was closely packed on all sides of him and time was running tantalisingly short. It is now history how M Holmes extricated his charge to win the Grand Final, and run the mile and five furlongs in 3.22 3/5, which was then an Australasian record. Trotters were also catered for in 1951 and in a fine contest Gay Belwin took the honours from Signal Light, Dictation and Barrier Reef. Gay Belwin was trained by the late J Young - a master with trotters - and was driven by his son, R Young.
Fittingly, the 1952 Championships, the first to be held at Harold Park Raceway, coincided with the 50th anniversary of the formation of the New South Wales Trotting Club. On the Grand Final night, the largest crowd ever to assemble there - one of 38,090 - saw Avian Derby take the major honour. It was also very appropriate that this son of Lawn Derby - and therefore a descendant of Childe Harold, the great horse after which the Raceway is named - should rise to one of the greatest occasions in the club's history.
All roads led to Perth for the 1953 series and the ex-NZ pacer, Captain Sandy, after running prominently in the heats, was first home in the Grand Final from Ribands and Kellett. Captain Sandy thus became the only horse to win the Championship twice. His performance was all the more remarkable as, prior to his sale to Australia at a moderate figure, he had lost all form in NZ.
At Wayville, South Australia, in March 1954, 13 runners lined up for the Grand Final - Floodlight, Ribands, Merchant, Sparkling Max, Andi, Recovered, Beau Don, Captain Sandy, Goulburn Monarch, Wilber's Hope, Dainty Rose, Hedonist and Tennessee Sky. The winner was Tennessee Sky, who had barely qualified in the heats; but the Sky Raider-Lily Direct pacer was considered the unlucky horse on the early nights of the carnival. In the Grand Final he was skillfully handled by the Perth reinsman, Frank Kersley, and won brilliantly from Recovered and Andi.
Last year's carnival was held at Epsom, Auckland. In a stirring finish to the Grand Final M C McTigue's brilliant gelding, Tactician, a son of the 1939 winner, Springfield Globe, sprinted clear rounding the home turn and held off the determined challenge of NZ's idol, Johnny Globe, a son of 1940 winner, Logan Derby. Petite Yvonne was third and Laureldale fourth, with Australia's Ribands unplaced. Mr and Mrs E S Baxter's Battle Cry won the trotters section from Vodka, Precaution and Ecosse.
Credit: Ron Bisman writing in NZ Trotting Calendar 8Feb56
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