 | RACING HISTORY |
YEAR: 1961
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