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BRISBANE - VILLAGE KID
Like Preux Chevalier, bred in New Zealand, Village Kid equalled his feat of going unbeaten through all four nights of the 1986 Brisbane Inter Dominions. He was the eighth pacer to do this, while his 30-year-old pilot Chris Lewis became the fifth reinsman to win two pacing grand finals having reined Carclew to victory in 1976.

MELBOURNE - PREUX CHEVALIER
Western Australian sensation Preux Chevalier who as a five year old had to miss the 1984 Adelaide Inter- Dominions because of a set-back, proved himself in a class of his own as he swept through the heats and Grand Final of the 1985 series at Melbourne's Moonee Valley. Scotch Notch avenged her defeat by Sir Castleton in 1984 to become the first two time trotting champion.

ADELAIDE - GAMMALITE
Victorian great Gammalite (a millionaire) joined Captain Sandy and Hondo Grattan as the third two time Inter Dominion Champion by powering his way to a clear cut victory in the 1984 Grand Final in Adelaide. New Zealand's diminutive campaigner Sir Castleton prevailed over Scotch Notch in the Trotters Final.

AUCKLAND - GAMMALITE
Three of the best standardbreds produced in Australia dominated the 1983 Inter Dominions in Auckland. Gammalite and Popular Alm quinelled the Pacers Final and Scotch Notch outstripped her rivals in the Trotters Final. Richard Brosnan, trainer of Bonnie’s Chance, one of the New Zealand favourites prior to the series, summed up the feeling of most of his compatriots when he said of Wondai's Mate "He's good and if that's their third best, god help us". The sentimental favourite Delightful Lady was third.

PERTH - RHETT'S LAW
Unable to win an Inter Dominion Grand Final with his champion Pure Steel and such fine performers as James Eden and Local Product, Western Australian bookie and the State's best known trotting owner, Russell Roberts, struck the jackpot in the 1982 series in Perth with the little known Rhett's Law. Rhett's Law took out the biggest purse to date of $160,000 in just 3.22.7 for the 2625 metre standing start event.

HOBART - SAN SIMEON
Brilliant Western Australian 4yo San Simeon was the shining star of the 1981 Inter Dominions, the first held in Hobart. Before an estimated crowd of 23,000 San Simeon who drew one, broke the tape causing a false start while the field was reorganised. Trainer Lou Austin conceded later that the incident wasn't altogether accidental but retaliation against those drivers attempting to upset the Champ.

SYDNEY - KOALA KING
Koala King won the 1980 Final in a cake walk over Kiwi star Locarno and Pure Steel for trainer-driver Brian Hancock. The four night carnival drew a total attendance of 84,581 and the turnover was a mammoth $12,645,645. Total turnover on the final night of $4,287,378 was claimed by the Club as the highest for a harness meeting in the world.

ADDINGTON PREPARATIONS

Des Parker was working at Addington Racecourse when the Inter-Dominions were held there in 1938. He will be there again this year, but in a vastly different capacity. Forty-one years ago he was working in the tote. Today as Secretary/Manager of the NZ Metropolitan TC, he and the club's racing secretary Trevor Davis are the key men in the organisation of this years series at Addington, from March 10-24.

It will be the third series they've been been involved in together. The two previous at Addington were in 1961 and in 1971. Parker was involved, too, in a more limited way when the 1951 Inter-Dominions were held at the course. At that time he was working in the office, before being appointed secretary a couple of years later. It's because of all this previous experience the organisation is running into very few problems this time, both Parker and Davis told me last week.

Club officers and stewards had formed a special committee (all have jobs on various sub-committees) to organise the championships as long ago as 1977. It's first meeting, in July that year, "was fairly informal" involving mainly planning discussion with quite a lot of reference back to what had happened in 1971. And since then, the major committees have had up to 25 meetings. The problems encountered so far have been only of a minor nature. "In the main we have based out planning on past experience," Parker said. The biggest problem this time - "keeping on top of things" - has resulted directly from the increased number of permits for racing at Addington. From October 1, 1970 up to the time of the '71 series, there were seven meetings at Addington. This time, there will be fourteen, with only a small increase in raceway staff.

Parker has been involved full-time since January 1 with the Inter-Dominions. And a lot of the duties around the office have been re-allocated to keep Trevor Davis as free as possible as well. "It has been a matter of organising the office around the Inter-Dominions, rather than any other way," Davis said. The organising committees' working brouchers had to be constantly up-dated. The special functions list had been up-dated at least half a dozen times so far; the overall plans "the secretary's bible" about ten times. The series had involved an "extraordinary amount" of coresspondence as well, Parker said.

There had been a minor hassle earlier when the original dates, from March 3 to 17 had to be changed after an objection from the Wellington Racing Club which is down to race it's Centennial meeting at Trentham on the 17th. The organisers copped a little backlash from Australian tour operators who had already booked accommodation in Christchurch for the original dates...and had been unable to find alternative beds at the new time. "Two tours - one from Western Australia and the other from Tasmania - of eighty people each had been cancelled. Another eighty strong party from Melbourne has been cut down to twenty," Parker said. Both men agree, apart from that, the clash of dates would not have done either club any good. "In fact it probably couldn't have been worse."

The series will almost certainly be the biggest Parker and Davis have organised. It will certainly carry the highest stake money. With the Grand Final worth $125,000, total stakes could be over $350,000 depending on the number of heats necessary. At the moment the programme caters for nine pacing heats, each worth $10,000. "But on nominations, it looks as though a fourth heat will be necessary each night, and another consolation on the last," Parker said. As well, there will be trophies worth not less than $250, donated by local business houses and trotting clubs in the area, for the winners of every trotting and pacing heat. Benson & Hedges who sponsored the 1979 series in Auckland, have once again come to the party with an arrangement which extends to the next two NZ Cup meetings as well; and Air New Zealand which will sponsor the big trotters' final. Max Harvey Furnishings, Mrs Rhona Donald, Wrightson Wine & Spirits are others who have contributed to ensure the success of the meeting.

The club is hoping for anything up to 20,000 patrons on each of the three nights and the final day...and is making sure it has the facilities geared to cope. The biggest number ever on the course was an estimated 30,000 who flocked to Addington to see, as Des Parkers recalls, the 1946 or '47 NZ Cup. "We couldn't get an accurate count as all soldiers in uniform were admitted free." About 18,500 attended the Cup last year, with up to 22,000 on Show Day. The club had some major problems with the tote during the 1977 cup meeting. "But we made immediate steps then, with last year's Cup and the Inter-Dominions in mind, to explore the possiblity of improving those facilities," Parker said. As a result, there has been a huge increase in selling outlets (as well as an intensive maintenance programme), most of them in the main public stand.

And these Inter-Dominions will see another innovation for Addington, the pre-selling of reserved seats in the stand. At the moment the club is selling season tickets only, at $100 a seat (the same seat each day and including admission) in the covered stand; $35 a seat in a temporary open stand the club will build at the top of the straight. "It is new for NZ...but it's always done in Australia," Davis said. Otherwise patrons will pay $2 a night entrance, $8 for he carnival.

Before they even get on the course, race-goers will notice a difference at Addington. At present, only a matter of weeks before the big event, there is an outline of planks laid out on the ashpalt near the existing members' entrance. By the time the Inter-Dominions get under way, the area will be taken up with a new turnstile complex, the only access to the course from the three car-parking areas. Architecturally designed, it'll be a permanent feature of the course and, according to Des Parker, will incorporate automatic turnstiles similar to the very successful system used at Moonee Valley. The new facility was to provide the maximum amount of space for parking, and make for better use of staff. The construction of the Southern Motorway across land previously used for car parking had forced the club into replanning parks and entrances. With the demolition of the old Derby Lodge, more land had been made available for parking as well.

Again this year, the club has paid particular attention to security around the raceway and stabling areas. The 24-hour arrangements which caused so much good comment in 1971 will be repeated, with, if it's at all possible, even more stringent precautions. "Really, you couldn't get them more tighter than then," Parker said, recalling that one visiting trainer was barred access to his own horse until he returned to his hotel to pick up his forgotten identity card. Only then could he put his horse to bed. The incident was widely reported, even in Australia; and other owners and trainers were thankful for the service. "just ten of those top horses could be worth up to a million dollars," Davis said. "Look at Pure Steel, for instance. What would happen to him if a gate were left open? The precautions are not only to keep unauthorised people out...but just to keep a general eye on things."

While the spotlight, of course, falls mainly on the horses at the Inter-Dominions, there are a number of social functions and off-course activities associated with the racing. And this aspect of the carnival has taken up a lot of the organising committee's time. After all, both Parker and Davis agree, they organise actual racing programmes every week. They are 'a piece of cake' now. The Inter-Dominions are certainly bigger...therefore just a little more complex. They only have to worry if anything goes wrong on raceday itself. But there was a considerable amont of extraordinary planning needed to take care of the needs of the overseas guests and visiting owners and trainers. The visitors won't just be coming from across the Tasman. There'll be at least two parties from America, too - officials from the U S Trotting Association and another group from Hollywood Park and the West Coast states.

Members of the public won't be left out during these championships. Away from actual racedays, they will be able to take part in such diverse activities as an ecumenical 'Trotting Mass' at the local Catholic church in Spencer Street on March 11, a cocktail party on March 13 and the Inter-Dominion Ball at the Town Hall on March 22. As well, trials at Rangiora on March 15 will feature four stakes races, there will be a big barbecue after the Sunday trials at Motukarara on the 18th, and for those who want even more racing, there is the Methven club's meeting on March 21. The additional printing involved for all aspects of the carnival was a huge task. And so was the job of organising 'essential supplies' for the various functions.

The stakes offered and the reputation of the NZMTC in Australia had meant that hardly a horse of any worth had not nominated for the series, Parker said. The club had advertised the programme in each state and had kept in constant touch with the bodies controlling the sport in Australia. At last year's event in Melbourne, club officials had organised a promotional function for journalists, owners, trainers and other Australian officials. By the entries, this move has obviously paid off. Trevor Davis and NZ Met. Vice-President Murray Taylor followed this up with a ten-day trip late in November when they saw the connections of most of the prominent horses there.

But now, all the hard work is about to begin. The plans have been made. "It's now up to the administration staff to bring the plans to fruition," Davis said. "You can do a ton of pre-planning, get everything geared to go...but it's only in the last few weeks you know exactly who and whats coming. Then the work starts. In the final fortnight last time, both men were putting in up to sixteen hours a day, seven days a week. Parker produced his diary for that time. It showed in actual fact one week they put in 81 3/4 hours. "You have got only a certain time in which to get things done. It is no use being a day late. There would never be any racing," Davis said.

Racing there will be for sure on March 10. But after March 24, not much more for Des Parker. For then he retires, after more than forty years with the club. "Yes, it'll be my swan-song," he said. "I just hope I go out with a bang."

Credit: Graham Ingram writing in NZ Trotting Calendar 23Jan79

CHRISTCHURCH - RONDEL
The 1979 Inter Dominion Championships staged at Addington will best be remembered for the phenomenal finishing burst that gave victory in the Trotters Grand Final to South Canterbury's No Response and Peter Wolfenden's masterful drive to take the Pacers Grand Final with the lightly fancied Auckland campaigner Rondel which edged out Sapling.

No Response

1979 INTERDOMION TROTTERS GRAND FINAL & NZ TROTTING CHAMPIONSHIP

For the standardbred purist there is no more aesthetically pleasing sight than a great trotter in full flight, and no doubt one could come up with 10 great trotting races just as easily as the pacers.

Time and space do not permit us to do the latter exercise this time round, but picking one seems to spring to mind for most everbody old enough to have seen it - No Response's exhilarating 'back from the dead' win in the 1979 Inter-Dominion at Addington.

In fact, that Championship is best remembered for the trotters and No Response in particular, even if the Pacers Series had been severely depleted by the defections of Australian champion Maori's Idol along with Pure Steel, Rip Van Winkle, Koala King and Royal Force. The defending pacing champion Markovina was there, but the loss of Maori's Idol hurt.

The previous year in Melbourne, Maori's Idol had equalled Lucky Creed's 1970 record of 24 consecutive wins in the heats, only to be inexplicably beaten into third in the Final. The 5-year-old entire then won two heats of the Sir Clive Uhr (Queensland) Championship in Brisbane, beating top pacers which included Koala King, Paleface Adios, Master Findlay, Roma Hanover and Sporting Son in the process, and give Rip Van Winkle a real race in the Final. Maori's Idol returned the next season to win four of five starts, including the Dullard Cup at Moonee Valley from 40 metres, but then went amiss and while nominated for Addington, he never made it to the end of the comeback trail.

Outside of the unbeaten run through the heats by the fine stayer Wee Win and a few sideshows from Lord Module, the Pacing Championship was actually all rather anti-climatic in the end, but there was enough class and depth to the trotters to make for some compelling racing. Even if in this pre-Internet and Trackside day, hardly anyone had ever heard of the Australian visitors Alby Logan, Hec's Hope, Hilton Adios, Mighty Miller and Silken, the latter a fine type of 11-year-old mare for Victorian horseman Kevin Murray. Only Hec's Hope and Mighty Miller would not make worthwhile contributions at some point during the Series, with Alby Logan and Silken making the Final and Hilton Adios winning the Consolation on the third night.

Even Speed and Spartan Prince were rising 5-year-old open class stars on the scene in 1979, and others of the same age who would prove more than capable on their day included First Prize, Miss Castleton and Pointer Hanover. About Now and Hano Direct were classy 4-year-old mares at the time, while Ilsa Voss and Our One were older mares who were also top class at times. Waipounamu was a 10-year-old and far from finished - in fact he was just getting warm - while Diogenes, Relinquish and Yankee Talent wer others commanding respect into the Championship.

But this was the time of a 7-year-old No Response and Scotch Tar, Slim Dykman's 5-year-old pacing-bred freak who trotted faster than the great majority of pacers. One just had to catch him in the right frame of mind, which was not always often. After winning five of eight races the previous season, Scotch Tar had gone through to open class in his 12th start with a double in Auckland in the spring, and then in his first race against the best around, had split No Response and favourite Framalda - the 1977 Rowe Cup winner who was unbeaten in four races at Alexandra Park that season for Roy & Barry Purdon - in the Challenge Stakes.

Come the Worthy Queen Handicap on NZ Cup Day, and No Response was a late scratching after becoming distressed after doing his preliminary, and Scotch Tar was a costly failure after doing a stretch. Winning that race was favourite Spartan Prince, the Doody Townley-trained and driven Tuft gelding who had been the top youngster of his year, and he would now go into the Dominion unbeaten in three races that season. Spartan Prince had been unbeaten in three starts at the Cup Meeting the previous year, but that season his career would be derailed by unsoundness and strangely enough, an ownership dispute.

The Dominion had merely served to underline the awesome potential of Scotch Tar however. In what was considered "one of the greatest exhibitions of trotting ever seen," not to mention a fine display of horsemanship by Bob Cameron to hold him together near the end as Spartan Prince made his challenge, Scotch Tar triumphed in race, track and New Zealand record time of 4:11.6, which bettered Easton Light's "great" record of 4:13.1 from the 1974 Dominion, and which would have won that week's NZ Cup by six or seven lengths. Scotch Tar had applied the blowtorch to Alias Armbro, Brian Gliddon's Banks Peninsula Cup winner that year who would win the Dominion the next season, from as far as two laps out and gone past him on straightening, and Spartan Prince could make no impression despite enjoying the run of the race.

By the Thorpe Hanover horse Tarport Coulter and from a mare by Scottish Command, who had sired the two previous NZ Cup winners in Trusty Scot and Sole Command, Scotch Tar had won that battle in No Response's absence. No Response, troubled on and off throughout his career by arthritis and various other ailments after making his debut as a 6-year-old, was back on song for three feature race wins in Auckland over Christmas as Scotch Tar went off the rails on that trip, and headed into the Inter-Dominions with six straight wins and eight wins from 10 starts for the term. Scotch Tar got back on track by winning a class two trot at Washdyke from 90 metres in late February, and the stage was set at Addington.

On the first night, Scotch Tar lost no friends apart from the punters who made him odds-on when he recovered for a close fifth after losing 100 metres at the start and racing three and four-wide from the 1000m in Hano Direct's heat win over Diogenes, Waipounamu and Silken, but No Response confirmed his Inter-Dom favouritism with a classy win over Even Speed, Our One and Hilton Adios in the second heat. He was even more impressive in putting away Silken and Alby Logan by four lengths from 15 metres over 3200m on the second, and Scotch Tar was at his brilliant best as well later in the night. Peter Wolfenden had been engaged for Scotch Tar for the Series, and after missing away from 15 metres, they looped the field to sit outside Hilton Adios and won easily by a couple of lengths over Hano Direct and Waipounamu.

THE RACES
With over 13,000 in attendance despite the hefty gate charges and many more watching live on television, the Inter-Dominion Final was like one sensation after another. Scotch Tar blew the start again and lost too much ground to make up, and as the race unfolded No Response seemed to become less and less of a chance back in the running. Alby Logan, a 9-year-old and the only "city class" trotter in NSW, had led them along at a merry clip from the start for Grahame Kirkwood, whose wife and owner/trainer Noleen was out to become the first woman to officially prepare an Inter-Dominion champion - 22 years before Lorraine Nolan succeeded.

Turning for home and No Response showing $1.60 to win, was in the immortal words of an Aussie reporter in the Press Box - "a hundred-to-one chance to win." And yet No Response unwound so quickly, dramatically and powerfully, while changing ground for the gaps three times in that scintillating run home, that in the end he won easily going away by over two lengths from Alby Logan, with Silken, Pointer Hanover and rank outsider Josephus almost in line for third another length and a half away. "If I went around them on the bend, I was going to hit the tree at the top of the straight, so I just had to wait and hope the gaps came," said his unflappable trainer/driver Richard Brosnan later.

If that had been a superlative individual performance and left any observer stunned, No Response and Scotch Tar would provide the match race that everyone had gone to see a week earlier, in the NZ Trotting Championship on the day of the Inter-Dominion Pacing Grand Final. In an all too rare race from a mobile for Scotch Tar, and in a 2600m event which underlined just how much better they were than any other top trotters around at the time, Scotch Tar and Wolfenden were around the field to take over a lap out, stalked all the way by No Response. When they drew clear passing the 400m, Brosnan was able to drop onto Scotch Tar's back momentarily, before coming out again in the straight and drawing level at the 100m. Neither flinched or gave an inch, but No Response gradually got a neck advantage close to the line, and the time of 3:21.9 broke another of Easton Light's long-standing NZ records. Miss Castleton was the best of the rest, 10 lengths away.

For No Response it was his 10th win on end and 12th for the season, and while he had bowed out for the season before Even Speed's Rowe Cup after also missing the Dominion, he was pretty much a unanimous choice for Horse of the Year and the first trotter to achieve that honour. He was a popular choice as well.

No Response was the first real step into the big time for his then 30-year-old unassuming and 'nerves of steel' trainer/driver Brosnan, while he was raced by 69-year-old Fred Black, a retired farmer at Pleasant Point who had bred him after being gifted his non-descipt grandam First Axworth at the age of 18. Black had been given the choice of two mares a quarter of a century earlier by small time Palmerston North trainer Dave Hansen, in return for Black's help around the stables over many years during his time as a meat inspector at Feilding.


Credit: Frank Marrion writing in HRWeekly 9Aug06