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RACING HISTORY

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

1961 NZ DERBY STAKES

The Dominion's champion three-year-old Lordship, backed down to £1 5s for a win and 19s for a place, gained the easiest of wins in the NZ Derby Stakes at Addington on Saturday. He coasted home ahead of his nearest rival Belroy by six lengths, with Rembrandt three quarters of a length further back. Rembrandt was followed by Trade Fair, then came Adioson and Ruling Caste.

From the second line Lordship received a good run through and was in third place before the end of a furlong, at which stage he could have gone to the front with little difficulty. The race took a sensational turn in the back straight where Lordship had become awkwardly placed. D D Nyhan, driver of Lordship appeared to be weilding his whip against either the driver of Southern Smoke (G L Mitchell), or Southern Smoke himself, or both! It was a disgraceful incident, to put it mildly. Racing to the three furlongs Lordship was still in between Belroy (rails) and Southern Smoke and the whip slashing was resumed. When Lordship eventually pushed through he quickly asserted his authority and then sprinted right away.

Lordship paced the journey in 3:12, only 1-5sec slower than Stormont's New Zealand and Australian record established two years ago. There is now shadow of doubt that Lordship could have established new figures
if he had been pushed.

The Chief Stipendary Steward (Mr L A Butterfield) issued the following report:-
"After the running of the NZ Derby Stakes an objection was lodged against the first placing being awarded to Lordship, on the grounds of interference to Southern Smoke, driven by Mitchell. After hearing the evidence it was decided to dismiss the objection. Arising from this evidence a complaint was lodged against Nyhan on the grounds of striking Mitchell with his whip during the running of the event. After the evidencehad been heard Nyhan was found guilty of striking Mitchell. Therefore his horseman's licence was suspended until February 17, 1962, inclusive."

"I am thrilled that my colt has won the Derby," said Mrs Nyhan in reply to the decoration of Lordship by Mrs J K Davidson, wife of the president of the NZ Metropolitan Trotting Club. "I would like to thank my husband, who trains him, and my son who drove him and had a terrible lot of difficulty trying to get out," she said.

Lordship, whose sire Johnny Globe won the NZ Derby Stakes in 1950, has now won £5235 in stakes, the result of eight wins and six placings in 14 starts.


Credit: 'Irvington' writing in NZ Trotting Calendar 22Nov61

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

1961 NZ OAKS

For Certain justified her solid support in the New Zealand Oaks at New Brighton on Saturday when she gained success over the fast finishing Atlanta by a length, with Swietenia in third place followed by Hiya. Kinell was next, then came Gay Reel, with a long gap to Ruling Caste and another to Kelso Lady and Sara Black. For Certain's win was very popular with the public and she received a fine ovation on her return to the birdcage.

For Certain lost at least 24 yards at the start, but soon made up her self-imposed handicap to be just in behind the leaders going through the straight for the first time. For Certain was restrained in behind until just inside the final furlong and when pulled out to challenge gave her many supporters a few anxious moments when she ran towards the outside fence. The majority of the field lost their chances at the start, but Atlanta impressed by the manner in which she made up ground for her second placing. Sweitenia also put in some good work for third and Hiya showed speed approaching the half-mile to be on terms with the leader, Gay Reel, racing into the straight. Gay Reel was done with shortly after turning for home.

For Certain cannot boast much in the way of size, but she is a nice mover and possesses a useful tern of speed. Owned, trained and driven by W R Butt, she is a bay in colour and is by Meadow Chief from Little Doubt, a full sister to Quite Obvious, Quite Probable and Call Boy, and a half-sister to Meadow Cheer. Previous to Saturday, For Certain this season had started five times and been placed on four occasions, two of her placings being a second to Rembrandt in the Riccarton Stakes and third to Rembrandt and Aiblins in the NZ Metropolitan Challenge Stakes. Last season, as a two-year-old, For Certain was placed four times in seven starts, her best effort being in the NZ Sapling Stakes when she ran Lordship to a neck.

Atlanta was making her first race appearance and is bred to make fine progress, being by Light Brigade from the grand race mare in Excelsa. She is owned by Mr M T Baker and trained at Springston by J H Winter. Sweitenia was also making her first race appearance and her effort suggests she will develop useful form. She is by Flying Song from a non-stud book mare in Flight de Oro, by a speedy pacer in Red Flight from Agnes de Oro. Hiya, owned and trained by Mr A W Stark, Addington, is by Stormyway from Arizona, and is thus a half-sister to Ordeal.

Credit: 'Irvington' writing in NZ Trotting Calendar 6Dec61

BUILDINGS & FACILITIES

TWIGGERS GRANDSTAND

The new Grandstand at Addington viewed from the rear shows the new amenities block which will be used for the first time on Cup Day (1960).

With lounges, bar, totalisator facilities and restaurant, patrons do not have far to move from the stand on the northern side.

The large circular bay windows give a clear view of the totalisator dividend indicators.



Credit: NZ Trotting Calendar 9Nov60

PRESIDENTS: NZMTC

J K DAVIDSON

President of NZ Metropolitan Trotting Club 1960-65

Credit: NZ Trotting Calendar 30Jun65

JUDGES

Mr A O WELLWOOD

One of NZ's best-known racing writers, Mr Arthur Otway Wellwood, died at his home in Riccarton last week. He was 73.

Born in Hastings, Mr Wellwood was for many years a farmer and fat stock dealer. As a young man he was a prominent sportsman and a Hawkes Bay tennis champion. During World War I he served in the NZ Army as a sergent-major instructor at Trentham military camp.

In 1926, after working as a reporter for the 'Hawkes Bay Herald' and on 'The Referee', he joined the staff of 'The Press' as racing editor.

In the 1930s he served as a racing judge for several racing clubs in the South Island. He retired from all judging in 1949.

After his retirement from 'The Press' in 1946, Mr Wellwood continued to work as a free-lance racing writer for many of NZ's newspapers, including 'Truth,' the 'Dominion' and the Dunedin 'Evening Star." He was the first paid contributor to the 'Turf Digest.'

A keen bowler in his retirement, he was a popular member of the United and Riccarton Bowling Clubs. He was a foundation member of the Russley Golf Club and in 1938 was runner-up in the club's senior championship.

Credit: NZ Trotting Calendar 13July60

PEOPLE

MR V LEEMING

The well-known Prebbleton trainer, V Leeming, died suddenly at his home last week.

Mr Leeming first came into prominence just before the beginning of World War II when he trained horses for Mr J Richardson, of Dunedin. Three of the best he trained for Mr Richardson were Colonel Grattan, Toorak and Belmont Hall, the latter now being a successful sire in South Australia. Colonel Grattan reached NZ Cup class and among other races, Toorak won the NZ Champion Stakes in 1936.

Integrity, who Mr Leeming raced, was his most successful winner. Integrity won over all distances and after finishing second to Bronze Eagle in the 1944 NZ Cup, and to Gold Bar the next year, he beat Josedale Grattan and Haughty in the £7500 race in 1946.

Unite, whom he bred himself, graduated to NZ Cup class with an Auckland Cup among his many successes. Esteem and Admit were two other useful winners for Mr Leeming. Among the other horses he trained were Lady Nairne, Aden and Notify.

Mr Leeming, who had a model training establishment at Prebbleton, also farmed extensively on the property. His horses were always turned out in first class order as was the gear they wore and the sulkies they raced in. He was most meticulous in this direction.

Mr Leeming was a prominent official of the Canterbury Trotting Owners and Breeders' Association for a number of years.



Credit: NZ Trotting Calendar 5Oct60

PEOPLE

A J TOON

Mr Arthur John Toon, a former totalisator manager for the three Christchurch trotting clubs, died last week. He was aged 69.

Mr Toon retired from his position as totalisator manager in 1957 after 16 years' service. Before that he had been an accountant to a dairy company in Christchurch for 28 years, though during that time he had worked on totalisators from Oamaru to Greymouth and Kaikoura.

He introduced pre-race betting on the NZ Trotting Cup at Addington after he had noticed that the queues of bettors on the Cup meant that many people either failed to see the race or failed to place their bets. His innovation was followed by other Clubs.

Mr Toon had the task of organising doubles betting and off-course betting at Addington and New Brighton.

The two most memorable meetings that Mr Toon controlled as totalisator manager were the Inter-Dominion Trotting Final in 1951 and the Royal meeting in 1954. On the final day of the Inter-Dominion meeting, £214,424 was put through the totalisator and he had a staff of 364 to look after the betting, though he could remember days when he only had a staff of 70 and there was a turnover of £50,000 to £60,000.

Credit: NZ Trotting Calendar 7Dec60

PEOPLE

Mr R TOWNLEY

The death occured in Timaru last week of Mr Robert Townley, one of the best known trainers and drivers in Canterbury over a long period extending from 1920 to 1944. He was 85. Mr Townley turned out winners consistently season after season during that period, and built up a fine reputation as a judge of pace, winning many races by going to the front at the start and staying there.

'Bob' Townley came from Warepa in South Otago, and for some years was the leading horseman at country meetings in the Clutha district. More than once he scored a treble at Clutha races, on one occasion winning three times on his own horse, Last Ensign. He gained what might have been his first trotting success at Balclutha on Lady Nelson about 1920. He tried his luck in an amateur's race at Forbury Park with Moving Picture and although beaten, received the stake because the rider of the first horse was ineligible. Soon afterwards he made a trip to Canterbury and won with Moving Picture at Ashburton. As a result of the trip Bob moved his family to Winchester and he later transferred to Washdyke.

One of the best horses trained by Townley was Dusky Sound with whom he attempted to win the 1940 NZ Cup practically from end to end only to be run down in the last few yards by Marlene. Other good pacers trained by Townley included Warepah, Girvan and Nor' Wester.

Townley's training methods were considered unorthodox compared with those of other trainers. His horses were jogged twice a day, in the morning and in the afternoon. This method bought results however, and he enjoyed outstanding success with trotters of all breeds, shapes and sizes. High class trotters trained by him were Engagement, Louis Bingen and All Peters and others in Gracie Fields and Reta's Own.

Mr Townley held a horseman's licence until the end of 1944 when the NZ Trotting Conference introduced a rule preventing drivers taking part in races after reaching the age of 65. Mr Freeman Holmes and the late James Bryce retired on the same day.

Mr Townley is survived by his wife, five daughters and five sons.

Credit: NZ Trotting Calendar 13Jan60

PEOPLE

W T Lowe, Lucky Jack & R B Berry

Mr W T LOWE

One of the most successful breeders and owners of pacing and trotting horses in NZ, Mr William Thomas Lowe, of Hinds, died at Christchurch last week. He was 83 years of age.

With a lifetime association with the sport, Mr Lowe was a good judge and had a natural interest and love of horses. He had raced more than 70 horses for stakes amounting to more than £80,000 and bred about 200 horses. His most notable success was with Lucky Jack, an entire who started three times in the NZ Cup for two wins and a second.

When he was 17, Mr Lowe went to work for Mr Max Friedlander, of Ashburton, who bred thoroughbreds and trotters on his stud farm at Lyndhurst anf raced them with success. From this interest in the sport, Mr Lowe bought his first pacer, Yankee Lass, from Mr Carl Nordqvist, of Methven, for £40, winning two races before retiring her to the stud.

Although she never won a race, Jessie B, purchased for £50, was the foundation mare of a good stud at Hinds for Mr Lowe. She produced Sherwood, who finished first in the NZ Cup of 1921 but was placed second for interference. The 1912 foal of Jessie B, Tairene, a chestnut mare by Wildwood Jun, besides Lucky Jack, one of the finest stayers to race in the Dominion, left a string of winners, including Trenand, Dundas Boy, Dundee and Belle Lorrimer. Her daughters have bred on with outstanding success and there must now be over 100 winners credited to the family. The progeny of some of the mares from Tairene have been responsible for producing such winners as Globe Direct, Trusty Scott, Molly Direct, Gloxania, Flame, Melton, Merval and a host of others.

Mr Lowe also raced, trained and drove Trampfast, one of the greatest trotters to race in the Dominion. Trampfast was one of the very few Logan Pointer trotters to race and he was minus one eye which was lost in an accident earlier in his career. Trampfast was successful against the pacers on more than one occasion and after a lengthy spell from racing during the depression years, Trampfast made a successful return to racing under Mr Lowe and later won several races when trained by the late R B Berry, including the Dominion Handicap in 1934. Mr Lowe had a long and successful association with Berry.

Mr Lowe was born at Mount Hutt and was educated at the Tinwald school. He started work at farms at Chatmos, Isleworth and Lyndhurst. He took up farming on his own account at Bankside and eventually settled on 1000 acres at Hinds in 1912. Over the years Mr Lowe increased his holding and eventually settled his whole surviving family of 12 on farms in the Ashburton county. The homestead block still comprises 640 acres.

Mr Lowe saw service in the South African War and was a former president of the Third NZ Rough Riders, South African War Veterans, and chairman of the Ashburton South African Veteran's Association. He took an active interest in the affairs of the Hinds district and was chairman of the Hinds Domain Board for some years, a member of the Hinds Farewell Committee, sports club and Ashburton Agricultural & Pastoral Association and he helped form the Hinds Bowling Club. He was a past master of Erewhon Masonic Lodge.

Mr Lowe's hospitality and generosity were proverbial.

For more than 40 years Mr Lowe was a member of the Ashburton Trotting Club and when he retired from the committee in 1958 he was elected a life member. He was also a life member of the Marlborough and Nelson Trotting Clubs and a member of the NZ Metropolitan Trotting Club.

He was married in 1903 to Miss Annie Drummond and is survived by his widow, seven sons, five daughters, 40 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.



Credit: NZ Trotting Calendar 13Apr60

PEOPLE

ALF BOURNE

There is a tall, jovial trotting trainer in the South Island by the name of Alf Bourne. And what a character is this red-head. I must admit I met him in the most pleasant conditions. It was a bright sunny Sunday morning and one of the local publicans, Bill Anderson by name, asked me to got and look at some horses. The idea appealed to me immensely when I saw in the back of his car three of four iced flagons of the nut brown ale.

And don't think you have to travel miles to reach Alf Bourne's stables. They are almost in the heart of Christchurch city itself. Alf had only one horse racing at the recent NZ Cup carnival and that was Aquaplane. He finished fifth in the Empire Handicap the first day but it was an effort that suggested he may not be long in taking out a winning stake. Ebony Scott and Larnie Scott are two others from the Bourne stable but he has two or three in the younger division which have the appearance of going places.

Just prior to the Cup meeting Alf was more than a little lucky in not being seriuosly hurt when he was working a horse. The pacer stumbled and shot the driver high into the air. Fortunately, Alf is made of strong material and a badly swollen hand was all the injury he received.

As a group of us sat round the stable and moaned of our previous day's losses, the always laughing trainer brightened up the refreshment hour with racing anecdotes and some tales of his experiences. Although the light-harness sport is Alf Bourne's main interest now, he was a provincial Rugby player in his day and also held the New Zealand heavy-weight boxing title on two occasions.

Alf Bourne may not figure at the top of the trainers' table at the end of the season but he meets with a fair measure of success and really enjoys the game. If you are down that way drop in on a Sunday morning. Even if you don't like horses, you'll like the social hour.

Credit: MPT writing in NZ Hoof Beats Vol10, No7