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Smiling Shard is Dexter's drive to achieve the 200th season win.

DEXTER DUNN 200 WINS FOR SEASON

By now, it's old news. Everyone in harness racing knows that Dexter Dunn created history last Friday night at Addington when he drove his 200th winner for the season.

Television channels, radio stations, newspapers and magazines the length and breadth of the country have dedicated airtime and space to record the fact that it is the first time any driver or jockey has amassed such a total - and as it arrives in your mailbox five days later, the 'Weekly' can't tell you anything that you haven't already read, heard, spoken about over the dinner table or raised a glass to at your local pub.

That's all thanks to the media coverage in little ol' New Zealand, and imagine how far and wide the news would have spread to other parts of the world...definitely Australia, America too most probably, and perhaps even Europe.

Forget the bigger picture for a minute though, and let's concentrate on a slightly smaller but more important one closer to home: thanks to the deeds of a gifted teenager who possesses an unrelenting desire to succeed, the biggest winner out of all this will be harness racing itself.

Long gone are the days when sports were just sport, they are businesses now. And to continue to function and hold their market share, not only do they have to maintain their existing clietele and all-important sponsors - they have to keep attracting new blood in both areas as well. Golf's status symbol is Tiger Woods, tennis is blessed with an almost unbeatable Roger Frederer; it's not out of place to mention one Dexter Dunn in the same breath.

And that is why a guy like Dex is one of the best advertisements that harness racing in New Zealand could ever wish for, because the spin-offs from the hype and publicity he generates is immeasurable. There are the young children who think Dex is cool and want to grow up like him...the teenagers coming through our cadet scheme who have something to aspire to...the $1 each-way folks who will open the purse simply because 'D Dunn' is listed as the driver...and the large punters who aren't afraid to unload because they know he is one of the best reinsmen out there.

On one hand Dexter has to be generating much-needed turnover, and on the other he's giving tomorrow's participants the incentive to get involved - that is two very crucial bases covered. So we should be proud of what he has achieved, and salute him as a true champion amidst his much older peers.

It was somewhat fitting that Dexter achieved his milestone on home soil at Addington last Friday, and not at Cambridge the night before, because it meant he was able to share the occasion with friends and family at the same time as he humbly accepted a special presentation from the NZMTC.

"None of it would have ever been possible without the support of Mum and Dad, Cran and Chrissie, the staff at Kentuckiana Lodge, and not to mention all the trainers and owners that put me on their horses during the season," the 19-year-old said, adding that there were just too many people to thank. "And it was great to get the two hundred on Shard, because he is my favourite horse."

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STATISTICS

1263 starts, 204 wins, 139 seconds, 120 thirds.
$1,951,274 in stakes.

Dexter set new New Zealand records for both the highest number of starts and the greatest number of wins. The previous harness racing record: 161 wins, Maurice McKendry, 1988/89 season. Thoroughbred racing record: 197 wins, Lisa Cropp, 2004/5 season.

Dunn's most successful track was Addington, with over a quarter of his wins coming there. 371 drives, 56 wins, 45 seconds, 32 thirds. Oamaru's grass track provided him with his best UDR of 0.4861, with three wins from one meeting. For more than one meeting at a track, Cambridge was his best with a UDR of 0.3987.

The most winning drives Dunn had for a trainer were for his employer, Cran Dalgety: 281 starts together, 62 wins, 45 seconds, 32 thirds and UDR 0.3476. With 20 or more starts for a trainer, Dunn's best record was for his father, Robert. 29 starts, 5 wins, 4 seconds, 6 thirds, UDR 0.3947.

Following the Dalgety and Dunn success, it comes as no surprise that Dunn's most successful horse partnerships were with Dalgety runners. Six wins - Smiling Shard, Band On The Run, Diomedes.

Six times this season Dunn won four or more races at one meeting. His best day, however, came in Dunedin in mid-July as the coundown to 200 was on: Forbury Park, July 14, 2009: 8 starts, 6 wins, 1 second. Five of those wins came in consecutive races.

Dunn won two Group One races during the season, both with Smiling Shard. The stakes from those two races, the Garrard's Sires Stakes 2yo Final and the 2yo Emerald Jewels Final, helped push Dunn's overall stakes for the season to $1,951,274l.

There is only one record that eluded Dexter by only 24 hours this season - the fastest to 100 wins, set by McKendry on February 14, 1989. Dunn reached 100 wins this season on 15 February.

Credit: John Robinson writing in NZHR Weekly 29July 2009

Don Nyhan with Livingston Road

DON NYHAN

The death occurred in Christchurch last Sunday of Don Nyhan. Aged 99, Nyhan gained fame and respect for developing two champions - Johnny Globe and Lordship. After long and successful years on the track, they became premier sires.

Johnny Globe was champion sire four times from 1969/70 to 1972/73, and Lordship headed the list in 1979/80, and followed that by leading the broodmare list on four occasions.

Don bought Johnny Globe as a foal for his late wife Doris for £50 from the horse's Pahiatua breeder, F E Ward. He had trained his dam Sandfast for Ward, and knew she had ability after a time trial over a mile in 2.10 at Hutt Park as a 2-year-old. Johnny Globe became a crowd favourite, winning the 1954 NZ Cup from 48 yards in 4.07 3/5, which was a world record. He retired with 34 wins from 99 starts, 15 of them free-for-alls, and four world records. He was given an official farewell at Addington in December, 1956.

From the stately Globe Derby Lodge, Nyhan produced Lordship to follow in his footsteps. He won 45 races from 137 starts, and his stake earnings of $115,190 were easily a record for a thoroughbred or standardbred. He won two NZ Cups, 16 free-for-alls, and among his stock was the great Lord Module.

Among many other fine performers he trained were Dresden Lady, Gold Flight, Vagas, Au Fait, Lords and Koarakau.

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DAVID McCARTHY writing in The Press 31Oct09

Obituaries of leading horsemen often rely on lists. Lists of races won, top horses trained, trophies on the mantlepiece. After 80 years working with horses however, Don Nyhan, who died in Christchurch last week in his 100th year, was always associated with just two names - Johnny Globe and Lordship.

The two most popular pacers to grace Addington in the last six decades, their reputation was partly a reflection of the values of the of the Nyhan family itself and the esteem they earned from the racing public. Nyhan and Doris, his late wife and best friend of 70 years, were ornaments of the trotting world in its peak years, respectively racing Johnny Globe and Lordship.

Modest winners, gracious losers, their focus unaffected by success, their chief enjoyment was the friends they made in racing. They loved their horses, valued their family and devoted their lives to both. No breath of scandal ever touched the horses housed at the immaculate Globe Lodge in Templeton. The Addington public clutching their precious 10 shillings each way ticket knew they would at least get a run for their money from the horses in the black, pink-crossed sashes and sleeves, black cap.

Don Nyhan was born in Petone, the son of Dan, a successful horse trainer from Ireland, and was raised in surrounding districts. In Wellington he met Doris, the attractive and stylish daughter of family friends who had never been to a race meeting. They were married a few years later. Within a short time Doris was driving the team in fast work while Don rose at 1.30am each day for his milk round before his day's work horse training. Even in recent years few birds were singing when Don Nyhan arrived at the stables and 8pm could count as a late night for the couple. They shifted to Canterbury in 1948, first to West Melton and later Templeton.

Visiting a client returning to England one Sunday in the late 1940s, Nyhan was offered a colt from a mare which he had trained. He later described him as "a mean-looking little coot with a poor coat who had been in swamps too long". When asked about his value he replied "nothing". Doris liked him though, and emptied her fur-coat fund to take him home for £50. The colt, Johnny Globe was to pay for a lot of fur coats, winning 34 races, an unprecedented 15 free-for-alls, and a stakes-earning record of all codes in New Zealand at a time when a Cup win could buy a farm.

His win in the 1954 NZ Cup in world record time was one of the most exciting in the long history of the race. Two years before he had pulled up as a distressed favourite. For a few dramatic minutes he hovered close to death and "you could literally see the life draining from him" an eye-witness related. An emergency high-risk dose of adrenalin restored the blood flow and within 24 hours he was back to normal. As horse stories go, Seabiscuit had nothing on Johnny Globe.

After the 1954 Cup, fans on the inside of the course rushed the track amidst unforgettable scenes of affection for the great horse. Others were cheered after big races, but only Johnny Globe was cheered and applauded before them. Partly because of his head harness, the dapper little champion appeared to nod to the public in appreciation and the natural showman soon learned the ploy for further applause.

"John" as he was known, was only not human in that he could not speak, according to Don Nyhan. Even as an older stallion he allowed children to ride him bareback without complaint, and when Doris spent up to two hours at a time bathing his troublesome feet, he would rest his head on her shoulder while she read her book. When Johnny Globe made his farewell appearance, thousands sang 'When Johnny Comes Marching Home' and club president Allan Matson expressed the hope "he will leave one as good as himself".

Retired to stud at Globe Lodge and with barely 10 mares booked to him in his first year because of a bias against New Zealand-bred stallions, he fulfilled that dream by producing Lordship, bred by Doris Nyhan. Twice winner of the NZ Cup and with 45 wins in all, he was an even greater stud success than Johnny Globe had been.

Don Nyhan trained many other top horses - all with a story - yet the father and son champions dominate memories of his achievements. He worked them hard in the old fashioned way but treated them with great respect.

A noted raconter, his stories of older days in racing never varied in the telling. He had to miss the departure of so many contemporaries in recent years but kept good health until near the end. His older son, Barry, ran the Globe Lodge breeding operation and the younger, Denis, set on the path to success by being given the drive on Lordship as a youth, was to later win his own NZ Cup with Robalan.

Don Nyhan took the one big opportunity life gave him and turned it into a small industry. That he did that without any loss to his reputation or friendships in a tough business was a true measure of his long life.

Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 29Oct09

JOHN SHAW

John Shaw, who died at the weekend, was a highly-respected Canterbury veterinarian and a pioneer in equine reproduction medicine. He was 70.

He graduated with a BVSc from Sydney University in 1963, and followed that by gaining an MACVSc in equine medicine and surgery. After his graduation he spent several months with the legendary Dr Percy Sykes, who was associated with Tommy Smith's stable.

In 1964, he joined Dr Bob Mackay, and a mixed practice with an emphasis on horses became Mackay, Shaw and Murfitt when Corin Murfitt joined in 1967. This practice developed one of NZ's first equine hospital surgical facilities and when it moved to Prebbleton, John established a stud and semen station.

He served as one of the official veterinarians at Addington and Riccarton for many years.

According to Murfitt, he was a compulsive worker with a high standard of professional ethics; fearless - he often became injured in the course of his duties - and was a reputable horseman. He held a trainers' licence and was successful with Pumpkin.

He was acknowledged by the equine veterinary profession when awarded the Brian Goulden Medal in 2005 for his contribution to the profession, especially for his developmental work with frozen semen transportation and artificial insemination.

John also specialised in pre-purchase examinations for America and Australia. He stood both thoroughbreds and standardbreds at his stud farm, prepared stock for sale and ran a very successful veterinary practice.

He was president of the Equine Branch of the NZVA for three years in the late 1970s.

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David McCarthy writing in The Press 7Nov09

Prominent and popular Christchurch veterinary surgeon John Shaw had a rare ability to relate with equal ease to animals he treated and the people who cared for them. He died recently aged 70.

Born in Christchurch in 1939, Shaw's early ambition was to emulate the training and driving feats of his father Jack, an industry leader and pioneer in galloping and trotting.

Shaw was tall and rangy, unsuited to driving and riding racehorses. At St Andrew's College he was a noted high jumper. Fellow student and friend Peter Cordner said boys would gather just to watch the long-legged Shaw train for the event. He claimed a Canterbury title and record and second place in a national championship. He also played rugby in the first XV. He was awarded an athletics blue by Sydney University, where he trained and worked as a veterinary surgeon.

Returning home, he helped build the Mackay, Shaw and Murfitt partnership, with which he was associated for 30 years. Much of his work was with horse breeding and care, although he had an equal interest in and skill with smaller animals.

Shaw and wife Heather, whom he married in 1964, later set up their own establishment, first at Yaldhurst, where he trained standardbreds with some success and introduced Canterbury's first dedicated equine operation facility. Later he moved to Prebbleton and established a virtual potpourri of veterinary science, reflecting his widespread equine interests, innovative thinking, and inquiring mind. The project encompassed thoroughbred and warm blood stallions, pre-training, and the first commercial importing of frozen semen for standardbred stallions from the United States, as well as a thrivivg small animals practice.

"Gentleman John" Shaw's devotion to all aspects of his profession, interest in his clientele and long hours made it work. He became nmore interested in thoroughbreds later in life, importing stallions from England (Depot), France (Le Paillard and Sumayr) and Australia (Tuscany Flyer), all of which had success. Another innovation was to breed his own mares to these stallions and syndicate the foals among local enthusiasts, a time-consuming operation he handled with aplomb. Once he had established the viability of any project, his thoughts invariaby turned to a new one, rather than restricting his vision to the commercial potential of previous ones.

To the wider public, he was best known for his "open all hours" approach to animal care. His family remember him working to help distressed cats and dogs in his dressing gown. Christmas Day festivities were frequently interrupted for emergency surgery. His expertise was matched by fearlessness with animals, born of empathy with them. "Where others would take precautions when treating the broodmares, John often didn't have time and had complete faith in the intentions of the animals he was working with," a studmaster said. He was known also for his generosity - his charges often only an approximate assessment of the cost of time and materials.

Shaw was a much loved father of a family of four. They have special memories of forays to West Coast trotting meetings over the holidays with a home-trained horse. He conducted his five-year battle with cancer with quiet resolve and dignity. When unable to leave his bed he gained special pleasure when his most successful homebred racehorse, Oxford Aunt, was brought to his window so he could see she was safely in foal to carry on her line.

Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 29Oct09

W P WALSH

W P Walsh is associated with 1950s Westport trotter, Durban Chief. But there was a lot more to Billy Walsh's career than that. He tells David McCarthy about some of the highlights of nearly 70 years with horses.

There was a family connection with racing when you were young?
My father, Claude, was a butcher in Westport and often trained a horse or two for a hobby, sometimes for other people. That is the way I have worked too, really. I took over the management of the butchery for Oxnams of Murchison from dad and later we took it over ourselves. Horses were a sideline, but I have had a tremendous amount of pleasure doing it that way.

Deliver the meat with horses?
Dad had but it was mostly bikes in my time. When petrol rationing came in after the war it started people coming to the shop instead. I remember dad having to get special coupons to go up the Buller Gorge every couple of weeks just to buy stock. We had up to 26 staff at one time, but now only wholesale. We were the first shop in Westport to sell pre-packed meat and it was a turning point for us.

How?
We could see the supermarkets coming and were looking to hold our own. Stan Payne was an Englishman who had developed the prepak for Auckland firms and in Christchurch. We saw it with Jack Ferguson in Greymouth and took it on. Later we bought a supermarket and sold a lot of meat through that. It became a Fresh Choice and in the end we accepted an offer we couldn't refuse for it. We have only sold wholesale since then.

When did the racing come in?
My first winner was Sea Pirate at Westport(1952). Dad trained him. We had got him for £200. He had been a good horse as a youngster. I think he was placed in the Sapling Stakes. He won his first three starts that season but he had been useful before that. We had a good horse in King Bruce about the same time. He was raced by Jimmy McDonald from Ngakawau. He had broken him in and he was a good horse for us.

What was it like driving against the Canterbury reinsmen? You and your horses would not have had much practice before the meetings?
In those days there were a lot of trainers operating in Westport. Barney White was my best man when I married Gloria and still comes around for a chat. Len Pascoe was a great driver. Frank Watson from Reefton, he won six races one day there; Keith Powell - quite a few of us. We would have our own little trials on Sunday mornings. We held our own alright. I found the visiting drivers pretty fair. Fortunately, Maurice Holmes didn't come up this way much.

Other early winners?
Queen Jess won for us a Westport. She was another of Jimmy McDonald's horses. And I won one for George Shand one day at Blenheim which was a bit unexpected.

How so?
It was the second string. George was driving Sam Scott which Sam Woods owned. My horse, Bar None, was a brilliant beginner, but gee he could pull. Well, in this particular race there were two false starts but Bar None began like a bullet each time. Man, he pulled, but he was always clear of them.

I see one day when you were driving, Colin Berkett had a horse called Cabot which won a race and went out and won the next one. Do you remeber that?
Not offhand but I remember Leo Berkett winning successive races one day with one horse; one of them pacing and one of them trotting. I think it was with Toushay.

Durban Chief. He was a bit of a cult horse in his time. How did you become associated with him?
He was bred by Mrs Bill Craddock (wife of the West Coast cartage operator) and Bert Woodcock trained him. There were quite a few people with an interest in him. He was leased originally and then bought. I drove him in a lot of his work but it was dad who really set him on the road to fame.

How?
They were trying to get him to pace and he was proving a bit of a handful. Dad watched him one day and said he thought the horse was wanting to trot and they should try them at that.

Had you driven at Addington much before him. Were you nervous?
I hadn't driven there before Durban Chief. You worry that you will do something wrong in a big race like that but I liked driving at Addington. All those good drivers. It made it easier in some ways.

He won two Dominion Handicaps. Did one stand out ahead of the other?
Well, he got the first one on a protest. Recruit was first past the post but he was in a gallop and was relegated to third. I think they put him up to second on appeal. The day of the appeal was one of my most memorable days in racing.

How come?
Maurice Holmes and I were giving evidence and we had to wait in a seperate room. We were there on our own for about an hour and I have never learned more in a shorter time about racing than on that day. A great man, Maurice. People liked him and when he was on a likely winner he got a few breaks from other drivers because of who he was.

The second Dominion?
It sounds like a skite, but it was easy. He was off 36 yards and everything went to plan. I think he won by eight lengths. He should have gone through unbeaten on all four days. He won three and ran second in the Worthy Queen Handicap and he should have won that. It was my fault. He set some great records too. Dictation held all the records then but Durban Chief matched them.

What became of him?
Noel Simpson leased him and he went to America. Before that I took him to Auckland and he won a race there leading up to the Rowe Cup. He won 32 races in America. He was the first New Zealand trotter to run in an International Series up there and measured up to the good ones. When he retired he used to pull a gig for an old couple who looked after him. He deserved it. He was a lovely old horse.

Easy to drive?
The thing with Durban Chief was that he never wanted to do anything wrong on or off the track. He was great to do anything with around the stable and once he was trotting right he was super smooth, no putting in short or long ones or doing something funny. He just wanted to do it right. In a 2600m race at Addington he would take a while to get fluent. Maybe by the time he got to the showgrounds bend he was right and that would be that. He had a wonderful sprint at the end of his races. The day he won the Dominion he just ran away from them and they were pretty good trotters about then. You could only wish they were all like him.

A horse to have a bet on maybe?
Yes, probably, but I had learned my lesson about punting before he came along.

You did a lot of freelance driving. It could not have all been plain sailing?
There was one time when a Canterbury trainer put me on at Westport. We did everything right and won and he was absolutely furious. He had not said anything beforehand about what he wanted. He wasn't happy when I brought it back but then went around town telling everyone I had "had a go" on my own while he had not backed it.

What could you do about that?
Well, I did talk to the stipe Len Betterfield and I said I thought it was a bit tough being talked about like that. Len had a lot of experience. He came back to me and said "Any trainer who has to ride a bike around Christchurch hasn't amounted to much" and we left it at that. I rated Butterfield far ahead of his predecessor.

You drove quite a lot for "Super" Shrives of Reefton. Super could be a bit fiery too?
Super could get wound up but we never had a cross word. I remember driving Steel Lady for him once at Nelson and he told me he had let the hopples out eight holes. I said that seemed a bit extreme but he said it would be alright. Well, she just couldn't find her gait and never paced well. The second day he took the hopples up six holes and she won. Repus Bob was a trotter I won a couple with him for Super too.

You drove, trained or owned other good ones?
I was always a seller and most of the good ones went early. Cedar Kiwi ran a first and a second in two starts and went to America. We had a full brother who was better but was a heartbreak. He was always sore and we spelled him more than once but he always went wrong. The Deputy we sold after he qualified and Johnny Tapp won a lot of races with him in Australia. On of the best horses we had was Hurry On which my father (Claude) raced with Jack Clayton. He won on Show Day at Addington(1964) and was a bit unlucky not to win on Cup Day as well. I drove Remlap three times for three wins. Johnny Gilbert won a Westport Cup. Faberge I won several races with for Brian Woodcock. It is not easy to remember them all now. Chesterfield which I drove for Ransley Reid, won a race at Addington and caused a stir at Omoto one day.

In what way?
Well, I went down there just to drive Chesterfield. I didn't find out until I got there that he was out and then I was offered the drive on Doctor Jim not long before the race. I went to see the stipes and there was a bit of talk but I was allowed to drive him and he won. Some punters were not impressed because those off course didn't know I was driving it.

Cecil Devine hired you one day?
Yes, that was for a mare he sent over called Daisy D'oro. I remember him telling me that when he first came to Westport (in the 1940s) at the old Mill Road track he slept the previous night in the grandstand. He went a long way from there. He told me to check out Daist D'oro with Bob Young on raceday because he had driven her. Bob didn't muck around. He just told me she was a "stinking little b...." and he was dead right there.

You also drove Golden Rule quite a lot?
Yes, but I wasn't on her when she won the Champion Stakes at Ashburton because that meeting clashed with Westport. My father had a racing share in her with Jack Reedy at that stage. I took her up north where she won the Masterton Cup. It's been a great family. She was a lovely mare to handle.

Mister Gregory?
Yes, we sent him over to Denis Nyhan later which we did in those days with the better ones to cut the travelling down. He won the Timaru Cup for Denis and I am pretty sure he set a track record doing it.

I guess with your opportunities you never had a big tally of winners in a season?
I think 11 was the best and it wouldn't have been with that many drives, maybe 30 or 40. As I said it was a hobby rather than a business proposition for us. We'd buy a horse at the sales most years looking to sell on. Aveross Seelster we had some fun with. Craig Thornley and Jackie Burrows did a lot of the work with him. We sold him to Perth for very good money and I got a shock when my boys told me one night Aveross Seelster was arriving back in the morning.

What was the story?
My wife Gloria had died and I was a bit down. I took a long time to get over it. He hadn't done well in Perth. The boys tracked him down, bought him back, and he turned up at home to give me a bit of a lift I suppose.He went a big race for second up but didn't do much after that. He broke a leg out in the paddock one night.

Now the next generation is taking an interest?
Yes, one of my sons, Graeme, and his wife, Karina, have gone into breeding for the sales here. Actually the only horse I have in work now is a Christian Cullen filly they are retaining for breeding. They have done pretty well so far. It is not an easy business breeding to sell.

Christian Cullen. Where did he rate with you among the greatest you have seen?
Right up there. One of the really great ones. But Highland Fling has always been my favourite. I saw him race quite a few times. You never forget a horse that could do what he did.

You are now 80 and seem to be keeping well?
I had a brain bleed a while ago which kept me in hospital for a few weeks but it seems all right.

It hardly seems worthwhile asking if you have any regrets?
No way. I have met a lot of great people in trotting. A lot of great people. I still follow the game as closely as I always have. It's been an important part of my life.

Credit: David McCarthy writing in The Press 5 & 12Dec09

DOUG McCORMICK

Doug McCormick, 80, became the oldest reinsman to drive a winner when he partnered Perfect For Us at Westport on December 26.

The Ashburton horseman races Perfect For Us with his daughter, Susan Roulston. They bred the mare. Perfect For Us traces to Silver Wood, who gave Doug his first win as an owner and trainer at Oamaru 56 years ago.

Credit: NZHRWeekly 13 Jan 2009

JACK SMOLENSKI

In July last year, harness racing's "horseman's horseman", Jack Smolenski, 73, was struck down by a brain haemorrhage at Addington Raceway, just before he was to drive in a race, and, at one stage, he was given up for dead. He talks to David McCarthy.

Our Princess Royal's win at Methven (this month) would have been a tonic for you?
Yes, she had disappointed me at Motukarara. I had a good talk to young Sam (grandson Sam Smolenski)and he did everything right on the day.

He doesn't have a bad teacher.
He doesnt tell fibs. He is straight-up and so am I. After one of her races when I thought she might have done a bit too much, he said maybe she just wasn't good enough and I said "b....., you can't sprint twice in a race - at least with what I feed them - and you have to remember that. You can go to the front, but you can't sprint again to fight them off and still come home fast." He is doing well, he can be very patient. You have to be careful with fillies. They can go off quickly if they have to do a bit too much in a race when you expect they might improve.

How hard is it not being able to go out and do it yourself?
Bloody terrible. I miss it badly. I am still hoping to get back into the cart, even if it is not raceday.

Did you have any warning of your illness?
Funnily enough, I had had a headache the day before. It was unusual, because I hardly ever got headaches. I took the horse (Xativa) to Addington, but started to feel crook not long before the race. Barry and Sue Morris were with me and they got some asprin. I was still off-colour, but determined to drive. Sue said in the end "you are not driving". I collapsed not long after that. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be here now.

Dying on the track would have been awful.
I think in my time three drivers died out there. I was driving in a race at Ashburton one day when I saw one of them collapse and die, and I thought what a terrible way to go. It could easily have happened to me.

You went very close to death anyway. Did you know much about it?
I was in and out and then there was the operation and there was a family meeting. I was sort of aware what had happened, but not really with it.

You seem fairly mobile in your scooter?
I have had my moments. I had a few falls out of the first one, which had bigger wheels. One was going too fast and then I would reach over to pick something up and over I would go. It was always on my left side and hip, which was the worst. This one has smaller wheels and is more stable.

What therapy do you still have?
(Daughter) Joanne takes me swimming twice a week. She is a tough taskmaster too. Gives me plenty of orders and makes sure I am doing it properly. It is about half an hour each time. It helps. The water is nice and warm, too.

What sort of swimmer were you?
I could dog-paddle a width of the old tepid baths, and I think I won a race dog-paddling a width when I was a kid at school. I couldn't swim at all.

You go back a long way in trotting Jack, and you had a great career. It all started with Tom Gunning at Temuka?
I went there in school holidays and I started working there on Christmas Day, 1949. My auntie, Nellie, was married to Tom Gunning. She used to take me to the races when I was a kid and she raced some top horses herself. One of them was Gay Heritage. I wasn't too popular with Tom over him.

How come?
I had been there a while and had only jogged or walked horses. I hadn't done anything with them at speed. I walked them so much it's a wonder my legs weren't worn down to my knees. That and lugging big water buckets for 30 horses at a time. Anyway, this morning Tom was getting Gay Heritage ready for the Sapling Stakes (June) and he got me to drive the galloping pacemaker.

There was drama?
In those days they put sawdust on the track so it could be used in the winter. Anyway I set off in front of Gay Heritage. The pacemaker picked up the sawdust on his hoof, it compacted, and then it flew off into my face. It went down my throat and Tom was yelling at me to keep the pace even. When we pulled up he was abusing me - Tom could go off at times - while I was just coughing and spluttering trying to get sawdust out of my system. Gay Heritage turned out a very good horse.

Leicester Tatterson was there then and told a few stories about you. Any comment?
I had a beer with him one day and told him when my turn came I would tell a few of my own. One of those I remember was one hot day when an owner who had a pub in Timaru came and had two bottles of beer in a paper bag for the staff. Somebody reckoned I was giving them cheek - I didn't think I was - and rubbed my face in the dirt.

You weren't standing for that?
I got a stone and threw it at the beer. I hit bottle plumb and because it was so warm, froth spurted everywhere. I just started running. They caught me eventually. We used to give the horses this awful smelling stuff as a kidney treatment after a race or work and I got some of that in the mouth. I am sure it was Tatt actually. It smelt horrible and tasted worse. I can still see that froth from the beer and the looks on their faces.

You got your revenge?
One day we had to take some feed up to a horse on the top of the hill. We put it in a sulky, Leicester hopped on and made me pull it up the hill. When we were coming down he was urging me to go faster and faster. In the end I hit a knee or something, but anyway I went down, dropped the shafts and they jammed into the ground. I looked up and saw Leicester sailing through the air. He didn't see the joke. He got me back.

How?
We had a good trotter called Will Cary and four of us went out one night to catch it. We only had a lead and the others said I should hop on his back and ride him back. I didn't want to do that because my tailbone used to give me hell from too much riding. I had just got on when Tatt slapped the horse over the arse and off he went. I was heading straight for a hedge at top speed when I bailed out.

Much later came your New Zealand Cup winner Arapaho. Peaking a horse for a big race like that on the day, is it luck, skill, or something you can learn?
It's mostly experience. On Cup Day with Arapaho I didn't just set the horse to be at his peak, but myself, too. I really worked to make sure everything was right for both of us. I think that's important.

You added the Auckland Cup?
We went to the front, which didn't really suit him, but Young Quinn was in front and I knew he wouldn't want to be there and would let me go. Arapaho was a great stayer. Down the back I threw in a half in about 57 to take some of the sprint out of him, and it worked out. He couldn't catch me.

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Part 2 The Press 1 Jan 2010

Jack, you started training from Reg Cutin's place, got into the limelight driving Rocky Star for Ivan Schwamm and then struck the training jackpot from your own place in Templeton. What was the key to that sensational team which gave you the record premierships in the 1970s?
I worked them on a heat system. it was not too different from what we did at Devine's, but I had my own way of it. It was not like the interval training, which came later, with horses going flat out and resting in between. I would work them over a mile and a quarter (2000m) at a 2:30 rate. There were no big sprints home. They seemed to love it. We had a great run. But after a few big seasons it didn't work as well.

Why was that?
I came round to thinking that those earlier horses had been in other stables and had done the groundwork before I got them. They thrived on the heat system and I stuck to it. But I had to go back to standard training hoppled work with horses which hadn't had a lot of experience, and buildup. I worked the two-year-olds over mile heats but sort of on the same system. One of my best fillies, Seaswift Franco, was an example of what I mean.

How so?
I got her up for the filly races that season (1991) but in the really big ones she didn't finish off like I would have liked. I thought enough of her to set her for the Great Northern Derby. Not many fillies I have trained would take the colts on (Mel's Boy and Nardin's Byrd had both won the Derby previously for the stable) but I thought she was good enough. Anyway the day before I put her on the plane tp Auckland I worked her the heats and then sprinted from the 800m. She ran that in 58 and I told the boys there wasn't a horse around which would beat her that week. As it happened she got wiped out in the Derby and never had a chance. But that was how I stepped it up sometimes with the good ones later on to give them an edge.

You won the Messenger with OK Royal a few years later?
There was a story in that one. Passing lanes were just coming in and I had been against them down here and pretty strong about it. Anyway they had one at Alexandra Park. When I was doing my preliminary I had a look at the pasing lane and thought, gee that's wide enough for two horses. In the race I got to be three back on the rail which was not the best place to be but I was confident I could get a run, that lane was so wide. Sure enough the horse trailing in front of us took the lane and I was able to squeeze up inside and win it. I heard some bloke say 'he won't be able to show his face at Addington now he's won the Messenger in a passing lane'. I never became a great fan of them but you just have to adapt.

Mel's Boy was a horse which maybe never lived up to all his early promise?
He was a good horse but he had some odd habits. The worst one was that he would some days just pull up on the track and refuse to work. You couldn't budge him. You don't often strike one that determined.

You were quite a long time with Cecil Devine. Was that in the 1950s when Thunder, False Step and all those top horses were there?
Yes. I did two stints with Cecil covering a lot of those years. You mentioned Raft before. I remember Cecil setting up a punt on him in a maiden and he asked me if I wanted to come in with him

I bet you didn't say 'no'?
I drove him when he qualified at Rangiora. Cecil wanted him to qualify but did not want him to win but I think he did anyway. He told me when I came back that when the right day came he was going to have a good go on Raft and did I want to be in? Of course I said 'yes'. I drove him at Motukarara and he finished down the track. Cecil was a bit critical that I let him do it all a bit too easy. Anyway he was going to Orari one day not long after and he told me today was the day and how much did I want on? I said £10 each way. To tell you how much that was I was getting £10 a week as stable foreman.

A happy ending?
A bit of drama. First the float was late getting away - I think Jim Bell was driving it - which always put Cecil on edge. Marie and I had not long been married and risking two weeks' wages on a horse was not Marie's idea of fun. She was glued to the radio because you could only just hear the race. Raft missed away but he won. Then the dividend came over as £2/5/-. It had seemed a lot of risk for that. I pointed out to Cecil the next day he had been paying £17 at Motukarara but he didn't say anything. There was less racing then and you had to make the most of your chances.

Was your training, particularly of young horses, modelled on his?
Not with youngsters. The trainer I tried to follow there was George Noble. He was a great trainer but especially with young horses. He used to work them over a mile and in heats. His young horses were always well educated. They'd stand up, they'd step and they could take a position. With older horses I suppose Devine's methods were where I started but even he changed. I always thought that if he had trained Lord Module like he trained False Step, Lord Module's career would have been a lot different.

Credit: David McCarthy writing in The Press 19Dec2009

Frank & Shirley Bebbington

FRANK BEBBINGTON

The Bebbington family has been involved with trotting horses for almost a century. Frank Bebbington's still training horses in his seventh decade and talks to David McCarthy about his experiences.

It was your grandfather who started it all off?
Yes, his name was Frank too and my father, Reg, trained as well. The other Frank had a good mare called Manuka which was a sister to (pacing champion of the Victorian ere) Ribbonwood. But he passed her on and a foal, I think, to Maurice McTigue and Frank McKendry. The filly, Ivy Mac, was a foundation mare for Maurice. It was where his best horse, Tactician, came from.

You and your dad trained a good one in Robert Medoro?
The Jamisons were next door to Dad. They had that very good breed but this one had a club foot and when a possible sale fell through we got him. He was by Medoro, a stallion we liked. He had been breed in Italy but was of all-American blood. In those days you couldn't bring a stallion in from America and he was one way round it. He was trotting bred, though actually most of the good horses he left were pacers. We had him at home trying to get his feet right. I don't think he raced until he was seven and ended up beating Snow Globe in the Hambletonian which was the big Easter trot in those days.

What about your first winner?
It was the first horse I trained and he came along exactly at the right time in 1960. I raced him with Gordon Cartwright who used to be my barber then. He bred him. His name was Whipaway and he won at Motukarara the same week Shirley and I were married. What we got out of it paid for the wedding, the honeymoon, the lot. I bred from a half-sister called Iron Maiden. She was a good mare and left some good horses including Avalon Globe who sired a grand trotter we raced called Globe Tour.

You seem to favour trotters?
It is just the way it has worked out really, but I must say I enjoy developing a good trotter. I did my own shoeing and it was a big part of it. You can't condemn a trotting horse if it lacks early speed, especially if it has got breeding. Sooner or later something will come of it, if it has the pedigree. In the old days the trotters were horses too slow on the pace, and some of those old trainers took six months to get them just to trot. It is a lot different now.

Some people say the ones now are not as tough?
I suppose it is right but you have to remember they are not trained to be tough like they used to be. Maurice McTigue, Ossie Hooper, Billy Doyle and those blokes did a lot of road work with their horses. Paul Nairn is still doing it but the roads around here now are too risky. Ted Lowe used to jog his pacers for half an hour before he fast worked them. People don't have time for that any more.

How did you get Globe Tour?
Though a friend mine from Murchison, Dave Oxnam. He gave me some young horses to take home from Nelson one day and educate. They were pretty rough and getting them home was an achievement but they turned out alright. He was breeding from a horse called Protector there.

Protector became famous when horses like Nigel Craig were racing but came from nowhere.
A bloke called Charlie McHugh who was basically a car dealer was sort of behind him. He was unusual in that they had him running with the mares when he was two and he had stock racing before he did. He had ability but by then he wasn't interested in racing by the time he got there, only the mares around the track and (stipe) Len Butterfield wanted him out of it. Dave Oxnam had a remarkable piece of luck to get some of his best rachorses.

Like?
He was breeding thoroughbreds and when it was suggested he switch to trotters he wanted to know where to get some mares from. He was sent to Joe Hampton at Upper Riccarton for a couple, but Joe said he had sent them to the knackery the day before. It was the weekend and Joe said Dave might be able to get them there before the gun was fired. He just made it. They were waiting in the paddock. He took the two mares home and bred them to Protector in Murchison where he was a butcher and a farmer. One, Propetre, left the champion trotter Nigel Craig which set the mile record and the other Shendi Lass, left one of the best trotters we ever had in Royal Armour. She left some other good ones too. Trafalgar was a really good trotter she left. He was well known up Nelson way. A great staying horse.

I see Globe Tour won seven races one season at four?
A grand wee trotter. He went in the wind. I think it ran in the family because Royal Armour did the same. We operated on them but it was much harder to get it to work then.

Your daughter, Lynne, drove Globe Tour?
Lynne did everything with him. She broke him in, shod him, drove him, the lot. Then she got married to Andrew Neal. She had her photo taken in her wedding dress with him before she went to the church. Jim Ferguson got up at the wedding and told Andrew he was not only getting a lovely wife but an expert blacksmith.

You also stood stallions and one of them was Mercedes. That must have been a challenge?
He was a brute. Ted Lowe was in Ashburton hospital when the news came out we were going to stand him. He told the nurse to leave the bed next to him vacant because soon after Mercedes arrived Frank Bebbington would be needing it.

I remember seeing him in Auckland and he was a man-eater. How did you survive?
He had killed a bloke in America and he would have done here with half a chance. We heard the stories from up north where Ted Hooper had him. They told me he always had to have two headstalls on. If there was only one somebody would cop it. We couldn't get a headstall on him. You couldn't handle him. In the end we shot darts into him but it didn't seem to make any difference.

What was the solution?
We built a race right outside his stall. You had to have those sort of things to get anywhere. When he ran into the race we blocked it and tried to get a headstall on him from above where he couldn't get at us. We still had the darts as well. He always had to have someone on a pole either side when you could catch him. Gary Argyle was working for us then. I don't think I have ever seen anybody get over a big rail as fast as he did one day when Mercedes was going to eat him.

Was he a success?
Well of course he left Luxury Liner up north who was a great horse otherwise I suppose nobody would have bothered. We used natural service with him - you had no chance collecting semen for AI - and the first mare he served left twins. I thought that summed it up really.

Best horse you have seen?
Johnny Globe was a favourite of mine. I know everyone says that but he was for me. Mount Eden was a horse with terrific speed. He was the fastest I have seen.




Credit: David McCarthy writing in The Press 7Nov09

DENISE BOURNE

Denise Bourne died suddenly on Monday after a short illness, aged 59.

The daughter of former top trainer Alf 'Ginger' Bourne, Denise was a passionate follower of harness racing who was a forthright and a sound thinker.

She drove and trained, but her interests in more recent times were breeding and racing Ernestlordrutherford, which she did in partnership with her husband, Doug Martin. Previous winners for her were Understudy and Underworld, and she had young stock by Falson Seelster, Courage Under Fire, Live Or Die and McArdle at various stages.

"She was really starting to enjoy it. We'd had three foals this season, and she had much to look forward to," Doug said.

Denise is survived by Doug and two sons.

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IN MEMORIAM - appeared in HRWeekly 13 Feb08

Thank you for taking the time to provide an obituary for Denise Bourne last week.

Although Denise had only minor success at training and driving, she remained passionate about her involvement as an owner and breeder and was immensely proud of the achievements of her father, the late Alf Bourne.

We are humbled that black armbands were worn for race nine at Forbury Park last Friday and wish to thank all the trainers, drivers and the Trackside Presenter and race commentator for the dignified manner in which they paid tribute to Denise. That the trainer, driver and Ernestlordrutherford himself combined for a tear-jerking win concluded what was obviously an emotional week for our family.

Those who knew Denise will remember her as never being afraid to have her say, and we believe her parting remarks to all participants in the industry would have been along the following lines...celebrate your wins, however minor; put the disappointments behind you, and most importantly, enjoy competing fiercely but with integrity and respect for your competitors and the rules governing the industry.

Doug Martin, Denise's sons Ross and David, brother Maurice Bourne, sister Sandra Radford and their families.

Credit: NRWeekly 7Feb08

ALASTER McDONALD

Alaster McDonald held a lifetime interest in harness racing. He was an administrator at the highest level, a breeder, owner and regular racegoer.

He was steward of the New Brighton Trotting Club as it was then from 1965 to 1985, and a member of the committee from 1972 to 1998 when the club then amalgamated with the Canterbury Park TC and the NZ Metropolitan TC

He was Vice-President of New Brighton from 1981 to 1982, and President from 1984 to 1987. He was a Director of Addington Raceway from 1987 to 1998.

Alaster followed a family tradition at New Brighton; his father Alex was President from 1958 to 1961. He was on the Executive of Harness Racing NZ, and raced gallopers as well as standardbreds.

Survived by his wife Vonnie, Alaster was 78.

Credit: HRWeekly 5Mar2008

PETER COWAN

The death occurred last Wednesday of Leeston horseman Peter Cowan. He was 62. Cowan died of a heart attack caused by acute stress response after being kicked in the ribs by a weanling early that morning.

Originally from Mosgiel, Cowan and his wife Vicki moved to Canterbury four years ago. The former dairy farmer had had a long involvement in the sport, tracing right back to when he and the late Andy Laidlaw bought Witchlight at a sale, whose descendants like Orbell, Lento and Bella Chip enjoyed great success.

First licensed as a trainer in the 1990/1 season, Cowan got underway in this respect when Orbison scored at Forbury Park on April 9, 1991. Licensed as a driver from the 1997/8 season onwards, Cowan's first victory in the sulky came behind Executive Lady at Invercargill on September 7, 1997.

In total Cowan drove 13 winners, and trained the winners of 67 races. The best from his stable were Flying Sands(11 wins), Trotupastorm(eight to date), Joe Boy and Tartan's Blue Chip(six each),and Classic Kojak(five), and notably, 14 of the 21 horses he trained to victory went on to record multiple successes from his barn.

Vicki said the support from the harness racing community had been "just fantastic". Cowan is survived by his wife Vicki, their son Thomas, and four sons from a previous marriage.

Credit: HRWeekly 30Apr08