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INTERNATIONAL HISTORY

Tongan submarine volcano (Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha'apai) erupts

Full scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia

Outbreak of monkey pox commences in London

Australian Labour Party led by Anthony Albanese elected defeating Scott Morrison’s Liberal/National Coalition Government

2022 Commonwealth Games held in Birmingham, England

Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and fourteen other

Commonwealth realms dies at Balmoral Castle in Scotland aged 96. Her son Charles succeeds her as King
2022 FIFA World Cup held in Qatar and won by Argentina


Credit: HOF

LOCAL HISTORY

COVID-19 continues in New Zealand: after the confirmation of multiple community cases of the Omicron variant the country moved to red setting early in the year. Protests against lockdown in Wellington started outside Parliament in early February developing into an "occupation", which lasted until 2 March when police moved in. The New Zealand border fully reopened to all travellers at the end of July while the COVID 19 Protection Framework ended 12 September resulting in the removal of most pandemic-related restrictions

West Coast region received a record breaking amount of rainfall in early February with evacuations necessary in low lying areas of Westport

Matariki observed as an official public holiday in June for the first time

Severe weather hit the Nelson and Tasman regions in mid-August causing record flooding and numerous slips. The heavy rain lasted for four days causing extensive damage to Nelson City and surrounding areas. Areas of the West Coast and Marlborough also hit causing extensive flooding and damage with the severe weather impacting Taranaki in the following days.

Charles III is proclaimed King of New Zealand on the steps of Parliament House, Wellington on 11 September

The 2022 local body elections are held in October


Credit: HOF

LOCAL HISTORY HORSES

Akuta treated harness racing fans to the ultimate display of power and brute strength when brilliantly winning the Group One New Zealand Derby on Grand Prix Day at Addington.

Settling many lengths off a hot tempo mattered little to the brilliant three-year-old who put away a brave Republican Party in an epic running of the three-year-old colts and geldings classic.

Akuta’s backers faced the sight of the New Zealand Cup fourth placegetter settling many lengths off a hot early pace set up by an early lead battle between Beach Ball and Republican Party.

While it might not have been what favourite punters were hoping to see, Mark Purdon wasn’t concerned that he had the entire field in front of him.

But there also wasn’t much he could do about it.
“The speed was on so we were flat keeping up, but once Blair found the front they came back to us,” Purdon said.
“Once Johnny Dunn came out and the three wide line got going we were able to get around them.”

After tracking the three-wide line, Akuta found the parked position and from there he delivered a crushing blow.

“It was a real staying event and he is just in super form.”

Akuta’s win was the middle leg of an incredible Group One treble for owner Ian Dobson who shares in the ownership of brilliant winners Muscle Mountain and Don’t Stop Dreaming.

Akuta will now head to the spelling paddock for a short break with North Island feature races like the Taylor Mile, the NZ Messenger Championship and The Race in mind.
And he will do so having already proven himself against New Zealand’s best open class pacers.

“I will give him a bit of a break now, he has had a big campaign and he deserves it,” Purdon said.

“He won’t be out for too long, we will want to have him ready for the feature races in Auckland coming up.”
Akuta went agonisingly close to clinching a national record on a record-smashing day, with his 3.05.6 time just 0.2sec outside the all-comers record for 2600m.

Republican Party was six and a half lengths behind Akuta after setting up much of that sizzling pace.

Sand Wave ran a very brave third behind the first two after he was posted three wide from the 800m after Akuta found the parked position.




Credit: By Jonny Turner

RACING HISTORY

The first of the day's Group 1s and it was a comfortable win for the short priced favourite True Fantasy in the $140,000 Nevele R Fillies Series Final. Driven confidently by Natalie Rasmussen True Fantasy strode to the lead and was never headed. Key rival and stablemate Queen Of Diamonds was not a factor after galloping, with Miki Montana and Obsession filling the minors at good money. It was True Fantasy's 10th win in 19 starts. It's the all powerful All Stars stable's first win for the day, after Sinbad got relegated in race 2.



Credit: HRNZ News 8 Nov 2022

RACING HISTORY

Nazareth may have stunned punters by winning the Pron8ure Probiotic $100,000 NZ Trotting Derby on Sunday but co-trainer Robert Dunn says he wasn’t as shocked.

The lightly-raced trotter kept his head while many around him lost theirs in the classic and after a perfect Tim Williams drive grabbed Mystic Max right on the line to give Team Dunn the two Trotting Derbys in the same season, with Highgrove having won the Northern Derby in May.

He finished a brave third this time after an early gallop, one that was matched by half the field in a messy race that took two attempts to get underway.

None of that should take away from Nazareth’s win as he was having just his ninth career start and has overcome a brutal virus in the last two months to now be a group 1 winner.

“He may have gone into the race our second stringer but he was a good one,” says Dunn.

“He has gone from an average maiden three months ago to a Derby winner and that suggests, the way he is improving, he will be an open class horse.”

Dunn was also stoked with the run of Highgrove but says with the change of the season to match the calendar year both horses will likely head to the paddock.

“Both of them have had the same virus that has affected so many in our stable so we have decided a lot of them can now have a break to get over it,” he explains.

“With the four-year-olds not having many early targets he can work his way through the grades next year when he will be an even better horse.”

Nazareth was bred by Jenny Butt from her handy mare Maysoon and went through the sale ring before ending up with the Dunn stable for a large ownership group.

“They are a good bunch so we are thrilled to get a good result for them.”

While the stable’s effort to win both of New Zealand’s trotting Derbys in the same season is rare it was actually achieved by the All Stars in 2018 when they won at Addington by Luby Lou and the Northern Derby with Winterfell.

Team Dunn missed a shot at a second trotting Group 1 on Sunday when Sundees Son was withdrawn from the NZ Trotting Free-For-All but the stable’s senior partner reports the three-time Dominion winner is actually better than he expected.

“He knocked a leg and we thought it would rule him out of the summer but the vets are saying it not too bad,” says Dunn.

“But we are still going to ease up on him and aim for the northern races in the autumn so that won’t change even though we are very happy with his recovery.”



Credit: By Michael Guerin

RACING HISTORY

After being involved in breeding, racing and harness racing administration at the highest levels for over 60 years, Jack Phillips has died in Timaru, at the age of 93.



Born in Kurow in 1929, Jack was born into a farming family, though racing was also very much in their blood.

Jack's father Gordon was a successful horseman and then his sons John (Jack), Rex, Ian and Bruce, all became heavily involved in the sport.

Described as an ardent breeder and purchaser of young standardbreds among Phillips' star performers were open class trotting mare Pure Adrenalin who won 11 races in New Zealand and then a further 27 in North America. She was third in the 1998 New Zealand Trotting Derby and the 2000 Kaikoura Free-For-All trot.

Pure Adrenalin was trained by Terry May, as was another Phillips' standout in Spring Alot, who won nine from 38 before going to North America. One of the first crops of foals of Sir Vancelot he was also third in the 2004 New Zealand Derby. Other good horses included Bronnie's Fella (six wins) and Magda Sorrell (5 wins).

Laurence Hanrahan was another top trainer that had a close association with Jack Phillips.

"He was an unbelievable man."

"Nothing was ever a problem, you couldn't ask for better owners."

The first horse Hanrahan trained for the Phillips brothers was Extraordinaire in 2000. He won five from seven before heading across the Tasman.

He also trained Camero who won eight from 20 in this country in 2022-03 and Empire Flame (9 wins).

And where the horses went the Phillips would follow.

"They went to every race meeting from Oamaru to Rangiora," says Hanrahan, "they just loved racing."

Past president of the Timaru Harness Racing Club Liz Shand agrees, saying Jack was "family and work orientated, but was very community-minded as well."

"He was a regular fixture at the Grey Way lounge with (wife) Mary ..... he very much enjoyed the social side of racing."

Jack and Mary's daughter the late Anne Patterson also excelled as a breeder and owner. Her biggest moment was Stylish Monarch's Dominion Handicap triumph in 2010 in a then race record 4:02.9

Jack Phillips served on the local Timaru committee for forty years from 1962, including ten years as president. He was also a member of the NZ Trotting Conference (now Harness Racing NZ) for 16 years, and president for five years and represented New Zealand at five World Trotting Conferences. After one trip where he'd seen the use of pylons overseas he advocated for their introduction here. That resulted in them being installed at Methven and then his home club.

He also served on Inter Dominion Grand Council, and was senior vice president of the Inter Dominion Harness racing council from 1989-93. In 2009 he was inducted into the Addington Raceway Hall Of Fame.

A memorial service for Jack Phillips will be held at the Grey Way Lounge at Phar Lap Raceway on Saturday at 1.30pm.

Credit: HRNZ

RACING HISTORY PEOPLE

By Frank Marrion courtesy of the HarnessXpress



There were no surprises when the support for Murray Edmonds’ recent fundraising night at Addington proved quite overwhelming.

Edmonds was one of the genuine ‘nice guys’ of the game who would pretty much do anything for anybody and one never heard a bad word about him.

The overall support extended to Murray and wife Kelly was also overwhelming during his brief illness with a brain tumour.

Murray passed away on Tuesday at the age of 62 – it was only about 10 weeks ago that out of the blue he collapsed while feeding out and was rushed to hospital.

The initial diagnosis was encouraging but the tumour proved inoperable and Edmonds lost the use of his left arm and leg, which was shattering for a man who liked to keep active and loved working his horses.

Edmonds had trained next to the Motukarara racecourse for 38 years and had the last of 377 wins when Get Back scored at Addington in late August.

Watching Our Coin and Gerard O’Reilly had briefly looked like giving Edmonds a fairytale ending by winning at Addington a fortnight ago on his fundraising night, which was sold out in a matter of hours.

The large crowd on hand for the event erupted when Watching Our Coin hit the front at the 100m mark, but he was nabbed right on the line by Rakanotta and Carter Dalgety, beaten just a half head.

Edmonds usually drove his own team and had 345 wins in that respect, the last with Watching Our Coin at Addington in February.

He was driving right up until the time of his surprise and fatal illness.

Watching Our Coin pretty much summed up Edmonds’ attitude to training for his owners.

He was acutely aware of the costs involved in racing horses and did his utmost to keep them to a minimum, often doing stuff for people without charging them.

He avoided calling vets whenever possible although Kelly used to be a vet nurse for Bob McKay in Riccarton and between them they could usually manage most issues.

“That was probably to his detriment to some extent, but it summed up how much he cared about people,” said younger brother Craig.

“He was very loyal to his owners and his owners were very loyal to him.

“Guys that worked for him along the way like Michael Howard, Darren Simpson, Todd Macfarlane and Brent White, they became like family.

“Brent actually lived on the property for quite a while.”

Howard and his father Graham were among those to help with the team when Edmonds was sidelined.

Ray McNally also helped out stable employee Brett Gillan in those remaining months and many others contributed in other ways.

“Jimmy Curtin would also come and help with fast work along with Tim Williams when he could.”



The Edmonds family grew up in Lower Hutt and Craig can recall being introduced to trainers at nearby Hutt Park by an Irishman called Wesley ‘Paddy’ Armstrong when they were about 9-10.

“I wound up helping out Bill Marwick and Murray worked by Brian Hunter, a cousin of Ian Hunter and I think Charlie.

“Trainers would also come up from Canterbury and Murray wound up working for Colin Berkett in his school holidays.

“He moved to Canterbury when he was 18 and Colin also had Mike DeFilippi working for him in those days.

“When Mike went out of his own, he asked Murray to work for him.”

Edmonds married when he was 24 and bought the Motukarara property shortly after from Alex Purdon.

His first training win was with Idle Thoughts, who Murray drove to win a double at the Marlborough meeting in February, 1986.

Edmonds had already driven several winners at that point including 15 as a junior driver, the first with the Mike DeFilippi-trained Abel Royal at Methven in September, 1979, or 43 years ago.

Abel Royal was raced by Edmonds’ mother Gloria so he was no doubt doing much of the work with him.

Edmonds had his first big win when Anvil Lad won the Group 2 Forbury Park 4yo Pacing Championship in February, 1992, with DeFilippi driving.

Anvil Lad had been purchased by Graham Beirne after qualifying for Edmonds and was Beirne’s first horse.

He won nine races with Edmonds driving him in the other eight, with the last of them at Addington when he beat Blossom Lady.

Edmonds took Anvil Lad to the Inter Dominions at Albion Park in April, 1993, but failed to qualify for the final won by Jack Morris.

Edmonds trained and drove the filly Breton Abbe to win the Hambletonian Classic a few weeks after that Forbury Park feature and a few months later, they won the Group 2 Rosso Antico Trotting Stakes in Auckland.

The Rosso Antico became the Group 1 Great Northern Trotting Derby in 2002.

Edmonds won 18 races that season and 22 the following year, while he achieved a career high 24 training wins in 2000 and had 23 in 2008.

It was in the winter of 1999 that Edmonds won the Sales Series race for two-year-old trotters with Flip Flop in Auckland, while Sun Del (2nd in Trotting Stakes, Sires Stakes & Sales race at two) and New Year Whiz (2nd NZ Trotting Derby) were other top young trotters in the stable around that time.

Edmonds was going to win the Sales race for two-year-old trotters at Addington in 2006, but Ronnie Coute galloped after hitting the front less than 100m from the finish.

The Sundon gelding redeemed himself 10 months later by winning the three-year-old Sales race however.



Around this time, Edmonds had his best performer in Running On Time, like Ronnie Coute another Sundon gelding which had been bought at the yearling sales by Eric ‘Cookie’ Inward of Nelson.

Running On Time was beaten by Sovereignty in the Sires Stakes and the Great Northern Derby in 2008 and the following year he finished third in the Group 1 NZ Trotting FFA on Cup Day, beaten half a length by Speculate.

Running On Time won 10 races and $138,000, while a short time later Edmonds trained a good Muscle Mass trotting filly for Inwood in K D Muscles.

She was second in the Sales race at three at Addington to Thebestlove and was also runner-up in the Trotting Oaks to Majestic Time before a sale to Australia, where she won nine races in nine months in Victoria and finished second in the Group 1 Knight Pistol to Sunny Ruby.

Not long after, Edmonds trained a son of Muscle Mass in Heavyweight Hero as a two-year-old for Inwood.

Edmonds drove him to finish second in the Sales race and third in the Sires Stakes at Addington to Enghien.

But following the passing of Inwood, the family wanted the horses gone, so Edmonds arranged his sale to Todd Macfarlane, and in his first race for him, Heavyweight Hero was beaten a head at the Jewels in Cambridge by Custodian.

Edmonds’ name had become synonymous with trotters over the years and 215 or almost two-thirds of his training wins were with them.

Anvil Lad was easily the best of his pacers while he trained another good one for Beirne in Anvil James before his sale to Western Australia.



One of Edmonds’ last pacing winners in Teds Legacy is being raced by another one of his loyal owners in Ian Sunckell, a son of Ted who also had horses with Edmonds.

Teds Legacy and Get Back were Edmonds’ last starters in the same race at Addington last Friday night.

Edmonds’ oldest son Scott used to be the track manager at Motukarara and helped out Murray at the stables from time to time.

He now owns a couple of gyms and has a landscaping business, while Edmonds’ daughter Lisa is a beautician and runs her business out of one of those gyms in Lincoln.

The Edmonds family will be having a private cremation. – by Frank Marrion

Credit: HRNZ

RACING HISTORY PEOPLE

Colin De Filippi doesn’t hesitate for a second when asked to rate the talent of his brother Mike, who passed away at his Canterbury home on Friday.

"He was a better driver than me, right from the start,” says Colin.

It is one of the ultimate compliments for Mike, who would have turned 72 on October 30 but died after a difficult last year of failing health

While the dual De Filippis have been part of our industry for as long as anybody can remember Mike’s name has not been as prominent in recent years as first his eyesight then his health started to deteriorate.

But there was a reason both brothers are in the elite 1000-win driving club. For all Colin’s polish and patience Mike (1161 career wins) was confidence and guile, both natural horsemen who chose to sharpen different tools of the ones they were gifted.

There was a time in the 1980s and 90s they were feared by rivals and loved by punters in an era of horsemen like Robert Cameron, Peter Jones and Jack Smolenski to mention a few. A time of rare skill and plenty of cunning. Even then, whether it be dominating Victoria Park in Greymouth or pulling off a sting at Addington, Mike was a small giant, armed with total self belief.

“He was a better driver than me right from when were young,” says Colin matter-of-fact.

Even though you know the comments of a loving brother will be through the rose-tinted glasses of grief, Colin says there was proof of his talent long before Mike found this throne in a sulky.

“He was always a talented sportsman, he was a bloody good rugby player and I kind of wish he hadn’t given it up so young,” says Colin.

“And he could box. He has fast hands but his only real boxing fight came when he was six in Reefton.

“Dad took him along there and the only other kid they had him to fight was eight years old and the doctor didn’t want to allow it cause Mike was so small.

“Dad said let him fight cause he will be okay and Mike beat the other kid up and after that Did didn’t take him back to boxing any more.”

He put those fast hands and sharp eyes to spectacular use in the sulky and had his share of really good horses like Quiet Win, who finished third to Bonnies Chance and Armalight in a real New Zealand Cup in 1982.

Another of his good pacers Hoppy’s Jet was good enough to win an Ashburton Flying Stakes 26 years ago beating big Cups winners in Bee Bee Cee, Master Musician and Burlington Bertie.

Sundowner Bay was a highly talented trotter, Alias Armbro who Mike drove to win the 1979 Dominion may have been a better one.

Mike also triumphed in one of our most infamous harness races, the 1984 NZ Derby which Naval Officer won after a sickening smash that saw nine horses fall at the Addington winning post 200m after the start.

Only five horses remained on their feet and Mike, not one to get fazed, secured the one-one with Naval Officer and timed his run to perfection to win the classic like nothing has happened until after the race.

That was Mike De Filippi. Laser-sharp focus, determined, talented, little time for fools but all the time in the world during a race.

He is survived by four daughters and two sons.

He is also survived by some great stories and iconic moments. And tremendous respect inside his industry.

Credit: Michael Guerin

RACING HISTORY PEOPLE

Harness racing has lost one of its greats with the passing of famed horseman Jim Dalgety.

The 88-year-old passed away overnight on Wednesday at his home in Canterbury, where he had wanted to spend his final days.

He leaves behind a huge legacy in the industry not only as the patriarch of a famous harness racing family through son Cran and grandson Carter but for what he achieved personally and those he passed his skills on to.

A ruthlessly hard worker and deep thinker about the harness racing industry Jim learned his craft under legends like Maurice Holmes and Cecil Devine, settling in Canterbury after moving from his home town of Oamaru.

He was a successful trainer and breeder, owning many of his better horses which included the Great Northern Derby winning brothers Bolton Byrd and Melton Monarch, Bolton Byrd going on to win the Auckland Cup.

Bolton Byrd was driven in both those group 1 wins by a young Robert Dunn, Melton Monarch in his Derby triumph by Barry Purdon, just two examples of the impact Dalgety’s mentorship would later have in harness racing.

While they were his best the list of Dalgety stars, either trained, bred or owned was long: Golden Oriole, Happy Hazel, Scuse Me, Solberge, Lucy Lumber, Fancy Wishes, Imagine That, Rely, Astrazaani, Violetta, Jovial Jeanne, Dictatorship and Sunny Action, who caused one of harness racing’s greatest upsets downing Lyell Creek in the NZ Trotting Free-For-All.

But like most of the greats of the industry the deeds of his horses only tell part of the story.
“Dad was a hard worker and somebody who liked to do things the right way,” says son Cran.

“He instilled that in my brother Blair and I and everybody who worked with him.
“His knowledge was wonderful and he never stopped learning.”

Dalgety also stood stallions Bachelor Hanover and Out To Win and had an encyclopedic knowledge of bloodlines both here and in North America.

He imparted that knowledge on anybody who asked for his help, his pearls of wisdom always accompanied by his catch phrase “me old mate.”

Being called “me old mate” by somebody twice your age may have made plenty who talked to Jim smile but being welcomed into the “me old mate” club was like a warm blanket of experience being draped across your shoulder, harness racing’s version of having made it.

So Wednesday was the end of an era, with Dalgety joining other legends no longer with us like Derek Jones and most recently Roy Purdon, off for a drink with his real “me old mates.”

But what he achieved in his life, both as a family man and in harness racing, will be felt for decades to come.

Credit: 20 April 2022, Obituary HRNZ


Credit: HRNZ

RACING HISTORY PEOPLE

Denis Donovan Nyhan is being remembered as an exceptional horseman and administrator.

One of harness racing’s all-time greats, Nyhan has died in Christchurch hospital after a career that included three New Zealand Cup triumphs in the 1960s and 70s, with Lordship and Robalan.



Part of a famous and highly successful racing family, his association with both horses is harness racing legend. They were crowd favourites during an era that featured other household names like Cardigan Bay and Young Quinn.

Sired by the great Johnny Globe, Lordship was a family success story: bred by mother Doris Nyhan, trained by father Don and driven by Denis to New Zealand Cup victory in 1962 and 1966.



Lordship was just the second 4YO to win the NZ Cup (Lookaway 1957). He won 45 races from 138 starts, though how Denis got the regular drive behind him involved some luck, in March 1961.

Denis Nyhan : "On the morning Lordship was due to start in the Welcome Stakes I was following Dad in a workout when his horse cracked a bone in one of his forelegs and fell. I piled over the top of him and Dad was quite badly hurt.

"I got the drive then and won the Welcome. I was lucky enough to win the following three races with him, so Mum decided to keep me on," Denis said.

Don Nyhan died, at aged 99, in 2009, two years after wife Doris.



Denis Nyhan’s New Zealand Cup win with Robalan in 1974 was at his fourth attempt in the biggest race of them all. Denis both trained and drove the free-legged star, who won 39 races between 1969 -76.

More suited to the shorter distances, Robalan won the New Zealand Free-For-All three years in a row (1972-74). Denis also drove Lordship to two of his three successes in the same race, in 1962 and 64.



Nyhan’s other big race wins – and there were many – included the 1971 Northern Oaks (Van Glory), Hal Good in the 1975 Dominion Handicap, Cee Ar in the 1974 Rowe Cup, and Honkin Vision in the 1991 Junior Free-For-All.

In more recent times he had good success training and driving With Intent. The Sundon mare, bred and owned by Denis and his wife Denise, won 13 races from 97 starts (2007-14).

According to HRNZ statistics, Denis Nyhan’s career record stands at 475 driving successes after starting out as a junior driver in 1956, with 269 winners as a trainer, from 1969.

Former long-serving HRNZ administrator Darrin Williams had a lot to do with Nyhan over the years, describing him as a “superstar young driver”, who like his horses, always looked immaculate.

“He was the modern day Double D, (referring to 10-time NZ driving champion Dexter Dunn), he was Mr Cool.”
As chairman of the HRNZ handicapping committee, and a Board member for seven years, Nyhan was a respected administrator.

“I enjoyed his company, he was very intelligent,” says Williams, a former Handicapper and Racing Manager at HRNZ, “he was very keen on process and procedure and got frustrated with people who weren’t.”

Denis is survived by wife Denise, and two daughters Kim and Margo Nyhan.

He was 82.


Credit: HRNZ

RACING HISTORY PEOPLE

If you didn’t know him, or know the people who knew him you may be tempted to think the passing of Jim Dalgety was not quite the significant event many of those people believe.

Yes, Jim had two champion stallions in Bachelor Hanover and Out to Win. But quite a few people had already done that.

Yes, if you didn’t know the strike rate you might think his training career was good without being remarkable. He was an astute but not a regular driver and while that he bred horses to win the Great Northern Derby ,the Messenger and the Auckland Cup as well as many G1 filly events was a major achievement, it was hardly unique.

But if tempted by such a conclusion you drastically underrate Jim’s role as an industry “influencer” - as such high achievers are known these days.



There was his impact on the breeding and racing world based on an encylopaedic knowledge of bloodlines, the passion of a lifetime, and an amazing memory. He could recite not only the pedigrees of current and past stars but also add colourful detail of their character and those associated with them. There was the generous advice offered to any breeding student beating a path to his door in search of greater knowledge. There was the high respect hardened professionals had for his horse skills. And of course there was the study, dedication, planning, enterprise, and willingness to forge his own path, to find a new challenge.

However there is another reason why the family is so welcoming of the interested wider public to his funeral next Wednesday at Addington (1 pm.). Jim was an elite performer, happy in his own company but also at ease interacting at all levels of the equine society with a well earned popularity because of it.

Brought up amidst a successful family farming operation in North Otago, with a more educated background than many of his fellow stablehands (he qualified as a woolclasser before starting his racing career) Jim always travelled first class when it came to unravelling the mystery of standardbreds. He had that rare combination of innovation and a deep regard for tradition.

Working for Cecil Devine, Maurice Holmes and Vernon and Stanley Dancer in the US (in that order) might not have been easy but it was the Holy Grail for many would-be horsemen of the era. He observed and absorbed much of their wisdom and in turn he earned their respect and friendship.

His training closely followed the Cecil Devine formula of spending long hours handling and observing his charges. He marvelled that Devine spent so much time with his horses that he knew when they were ready to win without needing to find out via track sectionals. He learned well.

“I got to know Jim when I bought our horses south to race at Addington and we were based there” another notable horseman Mark Purdon recalls.

“I grew to appreciate his great knowledge and especially on the practical side. He knew his horses well and did his horses well, prepared them thoroughly. Nothing was too much trouble. We became good friends. I admired him as a horseman as much as for his knowledge”

Tradition would certainly have played a role in one of most notable achievements, the importing of champion sire Bachelor Hanover. While Bachelor Hanover, bred at Hanover Shoe Farms, had been an outstanding, if well tried, youngster (26 starts at 2) and a hard hitting free-for-aller, his Axworthy sireline was out of fashion in the US and Bachelor Hanover had a double dose of it. He was then standing at a smaller stud up for dispersal at the time Jim bought him in 1964.

Jim knew however that Hal Tryax, also line bred to Axworthy, had been very successful here and Bachelor Hanover’s dam being closely related to Light Brigade could be an appealing proposition in New Zealand. So it proved. He was soon booked out years in advance.

Unlike his predecessor, Goodland, a noted first crop success but a rogue whose days were ended when he ran amuck on the boat returning to New Zealand after a stint in Australia, Bachelor Hanover was a wonderfully natured horse, once the guest in a special box at a Breeders Dinner in Christchurch,as well dressed and relaxed as any of the human guests.

Out to Win, sourced from the Dancers who also bred to him here, was another for tradition being from the Volomite line so successful in New Zealand in earlier eras - and again more recently - but at a time when the Hal Dale line, especially through Adios, was in the ascendancy in America. Out to Win quickly made Jim the owner of two premier stallions within three years, a remarkable feat for a smaller operation. Out to Win later had fertility problems and he was a disappointment as a broodmare sire compared to his “stablemate”.

Jim, a generous student, often paid tribute to John Johnston a North Otago studmaster who had stood the very successful Sandydale in past decades and owned the dam of Cardinal King, for the knowledge he imparted to a young enthusiast on breeding and stud work. He followed that example in his era.



Robert Dunn, closely associated with Out to Win star Bolton Byrd during his time at Lantana Lodge, remembers his time working there with affection and respect.

“I went there really because I wasn’t sure I was going to make it as a driver and I wanted backup from stud work if I had to go into the breeding side. Jim sent me to the Wellington Cup meeting with Dwayne. Derek Jones was to fly up to drive but the airport closed and Jim just said I should drive him. I hadn’t driven much for two years and didn’t even have my gear. We were just beaten the first night by Young Quinn, close the second night and third in the Wellington Cup - a terrific field that year including Robalan”.

“Then I got to drive Bolton Byrd, mainly I think because Maurice Holmes who was very close to Jim had retired, and we won the Derby and later the Auckland Cup. Drives were hard to get for young guys then and the faith he showed in me was a turning point. In all the time I worked there we never had an argument. A great boss.”

Robert gave an example of Jim’s famed photographic memory and his flair for trying something different.

“We had around 200 mares on the farm when Bachelor and Out To Win were going and mainly just four of us, Jim, (his wife) Faye, a fine horsewoman and successful breeder in her own right, Tim Musson and me. The mares and foals never had tags on them. Jim knew every one. I remember him one day telling me a foal I was handling wasn’t with the right mare and we had better fix it. I couldn’t believe how he would know that.”

Bolton Byrd tied up badly and had a gait problem.

“Jim took him off oats and fed him dried peas with the other usual feed. Then he took a risk I thought, allowing an Australian friend try something really different with the shoeing. Yet those two decisions made the horse what he was”

Mike De Filippi, who drove Happy Hazel in some of her early successes, spoke highly of both the filly and her trainer.

“I always enjoyed driving for Jim. He left it to you and was never critical after a race. He understood race driving. I drove some top fillies (Bionic Chance, Take Care) and Happy Hazel was right up there” he recalls of only the third filly to reach open class as a three year old.

Peter Yeatman, who took Jim’s place at the Devine stable and later worked for him at Blakes Rd and West Melton (“Peter comes in the dark and goes home in the dark” was a Dalgety quote), also rated him a top employer and a man dedicated to his interests - though it wasn’t always plain sailing.

“Jim was always thinking or working but the routine could suffer. Sometimes when we could have brought the horses in we were delayed while he was on a project. He could look up something in the Stud Book at lunch time and an hour or more could pass. He was always friendly and I never saw him lose his temper. A bit of a character but he helped a lot of people and didn’t talk about it. We were leading the premiership half way through the season with 26 winners at West Melton but we ran out of race horses in the autumn. That was quite a feat then.”

Peter set up training after Jim retired from it and inherited his first winner, Local Star, from the stable which set him on his way. Jim was good at setting people up for careers. Jim had also raced the flashy Golden Slipper-winning two year old Rossini which Maurice Holmes sold to Australia at that age. Jim loved his horses but was also a realist and a seller as you needed to be. There were a host of other good performers in just a few years training on a larger scale. Too many to mention.

His success with mare selection has been equalled by few. The best known example was buying Bellajilly when she was battling in claimers in the US and with 80 starts on the clock. Jim, using the US contacts he had made on his trips, bided his time, bred her to Most Happy Fella and brought them home with the usual 6 months quarantine wait in the UK.



While he would have known that the family was a noted producer of fillies going back to a pony mare of the 1920’s Krina he was also swayed that she was by Van Dieman (pictured). Sire and filly had been at the Devine property in his time there. Bellajilly, from the ponified Malabella, won the NZ Derby and Jim exercised Van Dieman by riding him because it wasn’t safe to do it any other way. Van Dieman may have been a mixed success at stud but was a potent cross with this family, also leaving Vanadium and Van Glory.

“Jovial Jeanie, the Most Happy Fella foal, got hurt somewhere on the way out, had a dropped hip and could only reach top pace right handed. Jim sent her up to Roy and Barry (Purdon). I think she won 9 in a row in Auckland,” Robert Dunn recalled.

Her foal Happy Hazel was “just a class above them” as a three year old, according to main driver Mark Purdon. The only disappointment was being unluckily beaten in the NZ Oaks adding to the jinx in that race for generations of the top filly descendants of Krina. It did not end until 2019 when Princess Tiffany won, trained by Mark, driven by partner Natalie.

Jim’s search for likely sorts from our traditional families continued with leasing of Petulus and her half-sister Wrack’s Gold, daughters of the first NZ Oaks winner Perpetua from Oamaru’s Andy Todd and close family the Ormandys, both of whom Jim knew well.

Petulus (Stormyway), from the No 1 Pride of Lincoln family, left high class filly and mare Golden Oriole to a Dalgety favourite, Local Light. Golden Oriole ended up beating all the stars of her time, colts included, and was later sold to the US for a then sensational 20,000 pounds by 17 year old Murray Butt who had leased and later bought her from Jim. She had been difficult in the education process and time was an issue with stud and racing commitments.

“Wes Butt came around one day saying he was looking to continue a family tradition of presenting a horse to his boys on turning 18 and asking if there was anything going. Jim said he wasn’t sure about the filly but he would lease it with a fairly low right to purchase for them to try.” Peter Yeatman recalled.

“He accepted those sort of things. He was never mean spirited about others' success. He was satisfied he had played a role”

Wrack’s Gold, by Local Light (and later sold to Australia for a record price for a broodmare) left Nikellora the dam of Bolton Byrd and Melton Monarch, both by Out to Win from the Bachelor Hanover mare and Jim’s best age group performers.

North Otago was the Dalgety gift that kept on giving. Jim’s father, also Jim, besides being a prominent farmer, a successful owner and breeder at Kakanui, gave his son his first training success with Vanity Scott at Forbury Park in 1959.

However Jim has been somewhat short changed over the credit for breeding broodmare superstar Scuse Me, officially credited to Mark Purdon, who confesses he doesn’t know how that happened.

“I had the mother Super Smooth, a beautiful mare but without much speed. Jim loved her and wanted to try her again and when that didn’t work out wanted to breed from her and we would race the progeny.” Mark recalls.
“He had B G’s Bunny at stud then and Scuse Me was the foal. It was really all Jim’s doing. The plan was to sell the foal but Jim rang and said she wouldn’t bring a big price, he really liked her and could we race her in partnership which we did," Mark said of the great broodmare.

NZ Cup winners Just an Excuse and Kyms Girl were among other stars Jim had a hand in breeding. And his stallion Farm Timer (sourced from the Dancers) left a special animal in Blossom Lady.



Jim rather abruptly gave up public training in the mid 1960’s after moving to West Melton from the historic (that word again) Blakes Rd stable opposite Don Nyhan's Globe Lodge, where the mighty Harold Logan had once been trained. Jack Smolenski followed him. It was almost an overnight decision according to knowledgeable memories. He decided to concentrate on the stud, his cattle, a small team and as a buying agent for Stanley Dancer, famous here for training Cardigan Bay but a legend in US harness.

On one trip to the US (1967) Jim posted a win there himself at Freehold Raceway with Lyndhurst, a purchase from Ted Lowe. He had notable success as an agent including the purchase of Cardinal King which swept the International Series at Yonkers in 1968 and that earned the respect of several prominent Americans. There is a long list of other performers purchased and bred, again too many to mention.
Jim’s well-known experiment of crossing thoroughbred mares with his stallions in a bid to re-energise the standardbred was triggered by friend Jack Litten’s comment that inbreeding would lead to its extinction, something the Dancers also believed. It was another bold innovation but with a frustrating ending. History held that such an outcross had worked in the past and also more recently, with Angelo Dundee and especially Kata Hoiho, a top performer for Peter Yeatman. It needed five generations to evaluate the success of the mission and Jim gave up after four. Not from lack of belief. He was defeated by nature.

“We got too many colts. We wanted fillies. Made it very difficult” he said. He had two fillies in the first year, one from Carron, granddam later of high class thoroughbred Polly Porter, but the dominance of colts virtually ended the project.



He started again more recently this time re-establishing the Arab influence prevalent in early trotting years in New Zealand and now with some current success from the stable of son Cran whose own great success is a notable third leg of a 4 generation harness dynasty with the emergence of grandson Carter. The continuation of the family tradition meant a lot to Jim.

He had more success with thoroughbreds on the track. A notable winner was Maxwelton, raced with well known thoroughbred breeder Joyce Edgar-Jones (Sailing Home) who streeted a field at Riccarton in 1970 at 82/1.
He was certainly astute enough to use his knowledge and reputation as a marketing tool and a powerful one it was. But unlike some breeders intent on protecting their own Jim brought an intellectual discipline to his observations. He was quick to acknowledge no matter how much you know there are even fewer certainties in the breeding barn than on the racetrack.

An example was Alberton. Jim was so disappointed with his stud performance (apart from Happy Hazel) that he said he never claimed the insurance when the horse died prematurely.

“I had persuaded so many of my friends to come to him I was just embarrassed with the results. It would have felt wrong for me to make any more money out of it”
Late in life he perhaps surprisingly rated the Auckland-owned Mister Chips when it came to the best he had handled. He took Mister Chips to NZ Cup class in the late 1960’s with a string of victories against the best in the business yet several other good trainers struggled to win a race with him.

“He was sent down to me from the north. He was like a thoroughbred and I trained him like a thoroughbred, cut out a lot of the slow work. Alf Bourne and other top trainers had a go later when he changed hands but he wasn’t the same horse. Couldn’t take the work most others could.”

Peter Yeatman agreed.
“I took him up to Auckland for Jim and I drove him in a lot of his work. He was a terrific horse, won them in a row. The only one who could foot it with him at home was a horse called Fielder and he would have been a Cup contender here. He was raced by Jim’s Dad and went to America with one of the teams”

In more recent years Jim’s harness profile receded somewhat as he turned his attention more to his farming and land interests having achieved much of what he wanted with horses. As with the family farm at Kakanui every post was painted white, often by Jim himself when required. Being particular was in the Dalgety DNA. But his enthusiasm for racing and breeding never flagged.
Jim’s cattle brought top prices at auction and he had a growing and successful interest in sheep. It would be fair to say he also felt some of the “people factor” had gone out of the breeding industry as increased commercialisation meant fewer hobby breeders and lesser interaction with them. Interaction with clients was his lifeblood. A stroke some time ago was a setback that didn’t daunt him. He was soon back in action, the prodigious memory affected, the spirit undimmed. Indomitable until the end.

James Scott Dalgety just seemed an essential part of the harness landscape. A star in reverse. He had walked the walk and people loved listening to him talking the talk. He had absorbed and remembered all he had learned and there was always an audience who appreciated that along with the words the deeds had been done.
“Me old mate” was his catch phrase, yet more than that. A signature tune.

One that knowledgeable people in harness racing will be singing for many many years to come.


Credit: Dave McCarthy 29 April 2022 HRNZ News

RACING HISTORY HORSES

A theme of nothing going to plan this spring continued for Self Assured until the home turn in the star pacer’s brilliant come from behind victory in the Group 1 New Zealand Free-For-All.
The 2020 New Zealand Cup winner showed exactly how devastating he can be when flying home from last to clinch victory in the Show Day feature, just denying Aussie raider Majestic Cruiser.
Seeing Mark Purdon sitting last and giving the leaders a huge start with a warm second elect was an unusual sight for Self Assured’s backers to have to encounter at Addington on Friday.
But it was because the pacer was the early loser amid a hectic start to the New Zealand Free-For-All.
So often praised for his training, it was Purdon’s cool, calm and collected drive that won the race.
“There were a few going out early and it looked like I was going to end up four-wide,” Purdon said. ]
“I thought if I got on Majestic Cruiser’s back, he would want to put him in the race.”
“And he did, down the back he was the first to come out before Zac and Old Town Road pushed him out.”
“When they started to roll, I was able to get my horse into the clear, so it worked out well.”
Self Assured swept up to the leaders inside the final 150m, but he needed to dig deep to win.
And he did exactly that under Purdon’s urgings.
“He had to dig in to get there and he did, it was a great effort,” Purdon said.
The top seed among New Zealand’s open class ranks through the summer and autumn, Self Assured’s spring campaign hit a brick wall last month when he went a shocking race by his standards in the Ashburton Flying Stakes.
The Purdon-Cullen camp resurrected Self Assured’s form with treatment for spring-like complaints.
“He disappointed us in the Free-For-All last year, in the springtime he seems to be affected by allergy-type issues that irritate him,” Purdon said.
“Having that knowledge from last year was really helpful, so we got onto it straight away after Ashburton.”
Majestic Cruiser looked to have the New Zealand Free-For-All won until Self Assured lunged late to win.
Denied twice during New Zealand Cup Week following his second in the New Zealand Cup, trainer Jason Grimson gets some small consolation in that his pacer at least brings exceptional form to a very weak upcoming Interdominion series in Victoria.
Old Town Road dug in for a third after launching a huge run before the home turn.
In doing so, the northern star grabbed a well-deserved placing after smashing the clock with his sectionals in the New Zealand Cup.


Credit: Johnny Turner HRNZ News 11 Nov 2022

RACING HISTORY HORSES

Champion trainer Mark Purdon wasn’t holding back in his praise for Millwood Nike when the superstar filly remained unbeaten at Addington on Friday.

Our best juvenile filly cemented that claim by overcoming a second line draw to smash her rivals in the $138,000 Dunstan Feeds Sires’ Stakes Fillies Final.

That made it seven wins from as many starts and the hot tempo played into her hands as her strength became telling factor in the Group 1.

Purdon says that strength, and just about everything else about Millwood Nike, makes her as good as any juvenile filly he and his All Stars partners have trained.
“We have had some very good ones of course but at this stage of her career she would be as good as any of them,” he offered.

“She has it all. She is strong, very fast and has a great will to win.

“What she did today was very, very impressive.”
Purdon has been associated with great juvenile fillies his whole career dating back to driving ones like Scuse Me in the early 1990s right through to Amazing Dream and True Fantasy in the last two years.

His greatest ever female pacer Adore Me actually didn’t race at two so can’t be rated on her juvenile ability but it is hard to make an argument any of the other freshman fillies have been any better than Millwood Nike.

She will now head to the Ace Of Diamonds at the new Grand Prix meeting at Addington on December 4 before she faces a fast turnaround to start her three-year-old season.

While juvenile fillies used to, on the whole, finish their season at the Jewels in June and have no major Group 1 target until Christmas, Millwood Nike won’t be able to get to the paddock until mid December and will need to be turned around a lot quicker for the first three years features early in the New Year.

“I think she is the type of filly who will handle that if we go down that path,” says Purdon.

Millwood Nike rated 1:54.7 for the 1980m and while all the honours were with there was plenty of courage from leader Kahlua Flybye, who true to co-trainer Steve Telfer’s words before the race held the lead and ran them hard.


Credit: Michael Guerin HRNZ News 11 Nov 2022

RACING HISTORY HORSES

Robert Dunn has long held Master Musician as the best horse he has trained, his email address even bears the pacers name, but his near 30-year reign in that pinnacle spot could be coming to an end.

Sundees Son is quickly coming after that crown and inched closer at Addington Raceway on Friday when taking out the Gr.1 Fred Shaw Memorial NZ Trotting Championship (2600m).

It was the ninth Group One victory for the seven-year-old gelding and he once again stamped himself as the top trotter of the modern era in New Zealand.



From his ace draw, Sundees Son was crossed early by Muscle Mountain, however, driver John Dunn immediately sent his charge forward to recapture the lead.

In his customary style, Sundees Son ran his opposition into the ground, posting a new New Zealand record of 3:10.4 for the 2600m mobile trip, beating a brave Muscle Mountain by 1-3/4 lengths.

“It was a great drive by Johnny,” said Dunn, who trains in partnership with his daughter-in-law Jenna.
“You could see him looking across and he knew Ben (Hope, driver of Muscle Mountain) had the momentum and he did the right thing in not pushing Sundees Son to try and hold him.

“Luckily enough there was enough space to come out straight away. It was a perfect drive by Johnny, as per usual.

“He seems to have that ability to run most of them into the ground. When he is in that zone, he is very hard to get past.

“The horse gets all the accolades he deserves; he is just unreal.”

Sundees Son has comfortably earnt the title as the best trotter Dunn has trained, and he said he has drawn alongside two stable predecessors that have earnt champion status in his eyes.
“Master Musician and Mainland Banner were two champions in their own right and he is up there with them,” Dunn said.

I am pretty privileged to have had three champions in our care, it has been pretty special.

“He is getting towards the top of the tree because he has had nine Group Ones and there could be another couple to come yet.”

Sundees Son will get the opportunity to add to his Group One tally when he heads north to Auckland this weekend to tackle a number of autumn feature races in the coming month.

“He is coming north on Sunday along with Five Wise Men, who I would say Craig (Edmonds, co-trainer of Five Wise Men and travelling foreman for Dunn’s stable) would be absolutely thrilled with running third, and Highgrove.
“Highgrove will target the Sires Stakes and Derby, and Sundees Son will have the National Trot, ANZAC and Rowe Cups.

“If he happened to win all three, dare I say it, I might have to put him ahead of the Master, but that is going to break my heart saying that.”

Credit : Joshua Smith, Harness News Desk, 9 April 2022


Credit: Joshua Smith

RACING HISTORY HORSES

The experience was completely different, but the result was exactly the same when Copy That joined harness racing’s greats as a two-time IRT New Zealand Cup winner at Addington on Tuesday.
Driver Blair Orange brilliantly constructed a carbon copy of the star pacer’s 2021 victory in New Zealand’s greatest race to seal the five-year-old’s place in the harness racing history books as a modern-day great.
Trainer Ray Green watched on from his Auckland living room as his brilliant horse won last year’s New Zealand Cup in front of a Covid-restricted crowd.
This year, the veteran trainer got to soak in every minute of the build up to his horse’s cup defence in front of a packed house at Addington.
Many of them were well-wishers and Green loved every minute of it.
“It is great, there is a real atmosphere here and I think this horse has got a real following now,” the trainer said.
“A lot of people were cheering him on and wishing us well and it is great that he was able to do it for them.”
“The game needs these kind of horses.”
A second New Zealand Cup victory continued the epic journey Green’s wife Debbie has been on with Copy That.
She picked the horse out of a weanling sale for a bargain price five years ago and the pair have been inseparable since.
“Debbie is pretty close to the horse, she loves him,” Green said.



The Greens sold Copy That to stable clients Merv and Meg Butterworth who were also denied the chance to see their star horse win at Addington last year.
But the Victorian couple were on hand to collect their third New Zealand Cup trophy, also having won the great race with Arden Rooney in 2015.
Though it may have looked that way to Cup Day patrons who were back at Addington after a two-year hiatus, it wasn’t just a matter of Copy That turning up and repeating the dose in his cup defence.
Green perfectly plotted the massive task of bringing Copy That back to peak athleticism following a hind injury soon after last year’s win.
And he got his timing absolutely spot on.
“We took a few punts along the way to get him back to his best, like taking him to Australia,” Green said.
Orange was full of praise for Green’s brilliant training performance as he returned Copy That to his best.
Though the reinsman clearly controlled the race tempo, the victory wasn’t handed to Copy That on a platter.
The pacer copped pressure from the bell, before going on to register the third-fastest winning time in New Zealand Cup history - 3:54.00.
“It shows just what a good horse [Copy That] is and Ray has done a fantastic job to get him back from Australia at full fitness, and at the top of his game,” Orange said.
Majestic Cruiser got within three-quarters of a length at the finish, charging home from well off the pace to run second.
The Australian raider got stuck behind tiring horses before the home turn, before launching his brilliant finish.
Spankem took third after trailing the winner throughout, recording his third New Zealand Cup placing.
Spankem held his placing after a protest following some hope-straight bumping with his stablemate Akuta, who was excellent in fourth.


Credit: Johnny Turner HRNZ News 8 Nov 2022

RACING HISTORY HORSES

Punters were left in awe of High Energy after her heroine-like performance in winning the Group 1 Canterbury Spa & Pool Ace Of Hearts 2YO Filles Mobile Trot (1980m) at Addington Raceway on Sunday.

From her wide draw (7), High Energy was eased off the gate by co-trainer and driver Mark Purdon but was stuck three wide behind The Fiery Countess, where they were forced to remain.

Heading into the back straight Purdon elected to make his move four-wide and was able to find the back of The Ivy League, who gave the pair a cart into the race.

Despite expending a fair amount of energy during the running, High Energy lived up to her name down the straight and found a new gear to flash by the leaders and post a remarkable 2-1/2 length victory and beating her own New Zealand record in the process.

“It was a great run. It didn’t go to plan, but she was good enough to overcome it,” said Purdon, who trains in partnership with Hayden Cullen.

“I tried to get one off the markers but the horse’s legs were just there so I had to come back out.

“The horse I was following (The Fiery Countess) was going nowhere, so I thought ‘once we get into the back I will just have to take my chances and make a move’.

“I knew the possibility that I could be racing wide from then on, but I was lucky enough to get cover off Blair Orange down the back and around the corner, and that was probably the difference in winning.

“Around the last corner she picked the bit up and I thought ‘she is going to win this’. She gave me great confidence and she won on her own.

“She is a great little trotter.”

With the victory, High Energy joins her dam High Gait as a Group 1 winner, cementing her spot in the breeding barn.

Bred and raced by Breckon Farms, High Energy extended her undefeated record to five, with her victories including the Group 3 2YO Trotting Stakes (1980m), Group 2 Sires’ Stakes 2YO Championship (1980m), and now the Ace Of Hearts.



Credit: By Joshua Smith, Harness News Desk

RACING HISTORY HORSES

His second-line draw may have kept him out of favour with favourite punters, but it proved no issue for Don’t Stop Dreaming who led home a sea of blue in the Group 1 Ace Of Spades 2YO C&G Mobile Pace (1980m) at Addington Raceway on Sunday.

The Mark Purdon and Hayden Cullen-trained juvenile had won five of his previous six starts, including the Group 1 Sires’ Stakes Final (1980m) last start, however it was stablemate Sherlock who was backed into favouritism after he drew the one marble.

Purdon kept his faith in Don’t Stop Dreaming and elected to stick with the colt, with the knowledge he would have to show his superior qualities in order to defeat his favoured stablemate.

Purdon eased his charge off the gate to settle at the rear of the field before pressing forward and assuming control of the race off Sherlock with a lap to go.

Don’t Stop Dreaming didn’t relinquish his advantage and saw off a late challenge from Sherlock to win by a neck, with a further 2-1/2 lengths back to Sinbad in third, while Final Collect and Vinke B completed the first five for the All Stars barn.

Touching on his driving tactics, Purdon said he felt he needed to make his move when he did otherwise he would risk getting boxed in.

“Johnny (Dunn) was outside me early and when he got to the death I could hear others coming and I thought the three-wide line would block him in, so I opted to make a quick decision to get out and get going with him,” Purdon said.

“He was clearly well today and once he made the front he was going to be hard to beat, and he held Sherlock off well.”

Purdon was rapt for his winning connections, which include well-known owner Ian Dobson.

“Ian is an elderly gentleman now, but he is getting a great thrill out of his horses,” Purdon said.

Don’t Stop Dreaming was purchased by Purdon out of Studholme Bloodstock’s 2021 New Zealand Bloodstock Standardbred National Yearling Sale draft for $250,000.



Credit: By Joshua Smith, Harness News Desk

RACING HISTORY HORSES

The least talked about of Paul Nairn’s incredible talents as a horseman shone through when Confessional ran to a commanding win in the Group One Ace Of Clubs at Addington on Grand Prix Day.

All of Nairn’s skill with a young trotter was on display when the youngster powered away from his rivals in a national-record breaking victory.

Nairn’s drive was as good as his horse’s brilliant performance.

Over the years, the trainer has handed the reins of his star horses to a line up of top class drivers including David Butt.

These days it’s Butt sitting in the stands as a successful part-owner and breeder of Confessional as Nairn is tasked with making the decisions on the track.

The result was Nairn producing a steer as good those Butt produced for him behind his champions of the past in Stig and Call Me Now.

Though in typical Nairn style, the trainer-driver downplayed his effort.

“Davey was happy enough for me to drive him, especially with young trotters it is an advantage to train them and drive them”

“Everything worked out good today.”

“It was a privilege to have the drive, actually.”

Confessional not only beat his rivals, he effectively gave them a head-start in doing so by starting from the unruly.

Though he had broken in just one of his five prior starts, the horse is far from foolproof and wears plenty of gear to help him get around.

“It has been a wee bit of trial and error, he just wasn’t very solid in his gait,” Nairn said.

“He was galloping and we were never quite sure why, that is the reason he wears the gear.”

“We are still not sure why, whether it is the grit or something else but he has got a lot more solid.”

Given he will eventually get even better in his gait and come off the unruly, Confessional will be an even bigger force for his rivals to contend with.

The trotter is the third foal from David and Catherine Butt’s brilliant trotting mare Habibi.

The Butts bred and race Confessional with Bolty and Lynne Paterson.

Confessional stopped the clock in 2-25.5, smashing the previous 1980m New Zealand record of 2-27.7 held by Ultimate Stride.

Paul Nairn just missed out on the quinella in the Ace Of Clubs with Tectonic just a neck behind runner-up Southern Diamond.



Credit: By Jonny Turner

RACING HISTORY HORSES

Next level is the only way to describe Millwood Nike following her record-breaking win in the Ace Of Diamonds at Addington on Grand Prix Day.

The brilliant filly’s performance was so good, it just about had to be seen to be believed.

On a national-record-breaking speed, the star Mark Purdon and Hayden sat parked throughout before breezing by her rivals at the top of the straight as if that sizzling pace had meant nothing to her.

Clearly a champion of her year and unbeaten in eight starts, Millwood Nike is simply made of different material to the average horse.

And Mark Purdon thinks it is the filly’s top-two inches that sets her apart.

“She has just got all of the attributes, she didn’t take anything out of herself sitting parked.”

“That is very important when you are racing at this level and things don’t quite go your way.”

“We did think it might work out that way, that she would be left parked, but she relaxed nicely and was able to quicken when I asked her to.”

Sunday’s win was Millwood’s Nike’s third at Group One level following her record breaking win in the Sires Stakes Fillies Championship last month.

Though she was clearly there before the race, her stunning victory clearly pushed Milwood Nike higher into rarefied air, occupied only by some of New Zealand’s greatest ever two-year-old fillies.

“Eight for eight at the end of the year, to run a national record at the end of the year and the way she did it,” Purdon said.

“She is the best filly.”

Aardiebytheseaside and Kahlua Flybye filled the placings behind Millwood Nike as they did in the Sires Stakes Fillies Final.

Aardiebytheseaside worked to the lead, setting up Sunday’s national-record breaking time before fighting on bravely.

The Steve and Amanda Telfer trained filly still lead passing the 200m before she was reeled in late by the winner.

In any other year, the filly may have been a two-time Group One winner, but she has come along at the same time as a champion filly in Millwood Nike.

The winner stopped the clock in the Ace Of Diamonds in a 2-20.3 time for 1980m.

In doing so, Millwood Nike broke the 2-21.2 national record time she set in the Sires Stakes Fillies Championship on Show Day.

Millwood Nike is raced by rugby league identities Frank and Shane Endacott, and Stephen Byrne, Steve Thompson and Bruce Irvine, following her purchase at the National Yearling Sales.



Credit: By Jonny Turner

RACING HISTORY HORSES

Hotpot Don't Stop Dreaming won the $170,000 Woodlands Stud Sires' Stakes Final, giving the All Stars their second Group 1 win of the afternoon.

Driven by Mark Purdon, Don't Stop Dreaming made the most of his front row draw (2) to take the lead early but handed up to the unbeaten Merlin as he looped the field from his poor draw (15) and into the lead. Merlin, who went into the race with eight wins from as many starts, was super brave finishing fourth, with Don't Stop Dreaming's stablemate Sherlock also impressive in finishing second with Alta Meteor third. Don't Stop Dreaming paid $1.70 and $1.20.

Many may have been surprised with Purdon's tactic to take the trail with the favourite but he later said it "was the winning of the race"
"I was keen to stay in front but I could see that horse was over racing so had no option."

Don't Stop Dreaming has now won five of his six starts.




Credit: HRNZ News 8 Nov 2022

RACING HISTORY HORSES

Addington racegoers cheered home a champion as Sundees Son produced one of the greatest trotting performances in harness racing history to win his third straight Renwick Farms Dominion Trot.



The Robert and Jenna Dunn trained superstar had to dig deep into his stamina reserves to win the Show Day feature, willing himself to an incredible victory after fighting out a home straight war with runner-up Muscle Mountain.
The roaring reception Sundees Son and driver John Dunn got when they returned to the birdcage demonstrated the enormity of the trotter’s victory.
Robert Dunn dared to compare the epic battle between Sundees Son and Muscle Mountain with New Zealand’s most recognised test of horse racing’s stamina – Bonecrusher and Our Waverly Star’s 1984 Cox Plate.
Nobody on track argued with the trainer given what they had just witnessed.
“It was like Bone Crusher and Our Waverly Star coming down the straight – our guy is just an out-and-out champion.”
Trained by Dunn and daughter-in-law Jenna, with son John driving and Jenna’s father Craig Edmonds at the horse’s side every day, Sundees Son preparation is a family affair.
John Dunn summed up exactly what the horse meant to the Dunn-Edmonds clan after Sundees Son’s epic win when returning to meet his hordes of adoring fans.”
“He means a lot to them, but he means even more to us.”
The enormity of Sundees Son’s victory was set up by the amount of work the horse was forced to do in the running.
Muscle Mountain and driver Ben Hope gained a key advantage over their main rivals when finding the lead and parking Sundees Son.
Dunn pressed forward to take to eventually find the front before immediately being attacked by Oscar Bonavena.
That early tempo meant the first half of the Dominion was run quicker than the closing half, setting up a battle of attrition over the final 400m.
Sundees Son was clearly headed by Muscle Mountain inside the final 200 metres, but the winner somehow lifted himself to a courageous victory.
“He must have a massive ticker there, he has got the personality to go with it but he has got the motor.”
“He was out on his feet on the furlong, Muscle Mountain ranged right up to me and looked like he was going to go straight past.”
“To dig deep like that, he is a true champion.”
Sundees Son is bred and raced by Colin and Nancy Hair, who now have three Dominion trophies to put on their mantlepiece.
Immediately after yesterday’s win Hair admitted he was still coming to terms with what he had witnessed.
Sundees Son stopped the clock in 3-58.4, slower that his 3-56.6 record breaking Dominion win last year.
A strong wind and much cooler conditions at Addington than in 2021 are likely to have had an effect on the race time, despite the hectic tempo of this year’s race.


Credit: Johnny Turner HRNZ News 11 Nov 2022

RACING HISTORY HORSES

By Michael Guerin

Driver Olivia Thornley spent much of Sunday’s $175,000 IRT New Zealand Oaks worrying that the tactic she thought up to win the race may actually end up costing her it.

But the yet-untapped ability of No Matter Wat was enough to overcome her fierce pulling and provide the popular Thornley with the first Group 1 victory of her driving career.

No Matter Wat went into the Oaks a big improver after a stunning third in the lead-up last Friday week but while Thornley hoped she could win she thought a top three finish would be a great result so set about putting No Matter Wat’s mind on the job.

“After she galloped away last week I gave her a real rouse up in the prelim to get her mind on the job,” says the 22-year-old.

“The problem was it worked too well and she thought she had to go like that the whole race.

“I was really happy to get her off the gate so well and get the front but when she kept going and wouldn’t really come back to me I started to worry.

“So I tried to control her and keep her from choking down but then later she started to get some of her Harry Houdini steps going and I thought she might break.

“After all of that to get her home was such a relief but also an amazing buzz.

“This is why we are in the industry to try and get wins at this level so to break through is a wonderful feeling.

“And I have had so many people contact me, my phone has been blowing up after so thats really great to have that support.”

No Matter Wat held out the passing lane surge of Obsession with favourite True Fantasy third after sitting parked in the 1:56.8 mile rate for the 2600m.

Thornley has been making a name for herself as a driver for the last two years but it is as one of the head staff at All Stars and a constant travelling companion for their elite horses that she is most recognized.

Go back through the footage or files of recent Group 1 winners in New Zealand and you will see plenty of Thornley’s trademark smile helping some of our best horses back to the stables.

“I have been there (All Stars) seven years at Christmas, I started when I was 15,” she says.

“They have been very good to me and I am learning so much and I realise the great opportunities I get. So to get that Group 1 for everybody else at the stables and the owners as well feels good.”

It isn’t just driving that interests Thornley heading forward though as she and her mother Jackie have a broodmare now and are on to their third co-bred foal so Olivia is already working her own youngster with more to come.

“I don’t actually work him at the All Stars cause we are full so I go work him afterwards.

“We have two now by Creatine (stallion) out of the mare from the family breed and I love the trotters.

“So that gives me another thing to work on and learn from.”

No Matter Wat’s emergence suggest she is going to be an even better four-year-old next season in a crop that feels like many of the participants have plateaued after the longest three-year-old season ever.

Judging by what she was able to do after over-racing Krug-style from the Northern Derby last year, No Matter Wat may have a bright future.
So too, does Thornley.



Credit: Michael Guerin

RACING HISTORY HORSES

Muscle Mountain capped a massive day for owner Ian Dobson at Addington Raceway’s Grand Prix Meeting on Sunday.

His victory in the Group 1 New Zealand Trotting Free-For-All (1980m) was Dobson’s third of the meeting, following Don’t Stop Dreaming’s win in the Group 1 Ace Of Spades (1980m) and Akuta’s win in the Group 1 New Zealand Derby (2600m).

With archrival Sundees Son withdrawal from the race earlier in the week and Bolt For Brilliance’s absence as a result of the Inter Dominions, Muscle Mountain was backed into a short-priced $1.30 favourite for the feature trot.

From his ace draw, Ben Hope drove Muscle Mountain positively off the mobile arm and took an early lead, seeing off an early challenge from Majestic Man.

Hope was able to dictate terms up front and Muscle Mountain looked in control throughout, running away to a 2-1/2 length victory for trainers Greg and Nina Hope, and posting a new New Zealand record of 2:22.9.

Muscle Mountain was brave when runner-up to Sundees Son in the Gr.1 Dominion Trot (3200m) last month and Hope was rapt to be able to go one better on Sunday.

“His work after the Dominion has been superb. He had a week off after it and he came back awesome,” he said.

“He looks phenomenal, and he has been training phenomenal.

“There are no certainties in racing, but I knew that if he was on his game it would take a special horse to beat him over the short distance.

“In my opinion, he is the best horse in the race and I think you have to drive him like it.”

Hope was pleased to get another Group One for Dobson, particularly having recorded his first elite-level victory in the bike behind Muscle Mountain in the NZ Trotting Championship (2600m) last year.

“Ian has shown a lot of faith in me, so it is great to reward him with another Group One win,” Hope said.

Victory in the Trotting Free-For-All is nothing new for the Hopes, with the Woodend Beach operation having tasted success in the race with their former top trotter Monbet.

“Monbet won it twice. He was a super horse and so is this guy,” Hope said.



Credit: By Joshua Smith, Harness News Desk