 | RACING HISTORY |
YEAR: 1923
FEATURE RACE COMMENT
1923 NEW ZEALAND CUP
Another Cup has come and gone and this year it went to the favorite, Great Hope, who was sold some time back to the Dunedin owner, Sonny Trengrove, who made his first appearance as an owner of a light harness horse.
Ever since the National meeting Great Hope has been in the market, as the majority of people thought he would improve considerably on his August efforts. So he did, but this scribe is not going to suggest that the improvement was not the result of his races and there was nothing not all square about it. Right here let it be said that after seeing the Cup run and won by Great Hope, this scribe thinks that, though he was unplaced, the pony Taraire is to-day the best pacer in the Dominion. Well, what happened to him on Tuesday? Nothing more or less than that it failed to leave the mark and lost about three seconds. Afterwards he went a good race, but turned it up when pursuit was hopeless.
Now for the race. The bracket was a good favorite and both Great Hope and Tamaire stripped well; so did the second favorite, Acron, but he is a young horse and many were afraid of him at the peg. Early in the day his trainer told Owner J. R. McKcnzic that he had every hope that the bay would be tractable at the peg. but though he was not very bad, still he was on his toes and the assistant starter took hold of him after he had been giving trouble, but at Kennerley's request he let him go again.
When the word was given Great Hope was in his stride like a flash, whlle Paul Dufault dwelt and so did Acron, Whispering Willie and Turaire. Great Hope led to the stand, when he was steadied, and Paul Dufault led him and a bunched field, which was tailed by Taraire. Down the back stretch Paul Dufault was going very fast and tho driver of Great Hope was using him as a wind shield, while none of the rear rank could head them off. As they went into tho straight Vilo and Onyx were noticed putting in good work but the leading positions were unchanged. With half a mile to go Great Hope ran past Paul Dufault and down the back it looked like a stroll for the winner, but as they swept into the straight Acron who had been snowed in most of the way, Vito and Onyx started after the leader.
In a good finish ihe handsome chestnut held his own and won by a length from Acron with the consistent but unlucky Onyx in third p!ace. Then came Willie Lincoln and the Oamaru horse, Albert Cling. With five furlongs to go Snowshoe when well placed, left his feet and Tompkinson got a heavy fall but luckily, was not hurt. It was considered in some quarters that Acron was unlucky and he might have been, but this scribe will not have that the best horse did not win. He never put a toe wrong the whole way and young Bryce deserves every credit for the wry he drove the winner. It was a case of his father over again at his very best. Snowshoe has all along been giving trouble and probably he hit himself when he fell, as certainty nothing in the race interfered with the Aussie.
Credit: NZ Truth 10 Nov 1923
YEAR: 1923
FEATURE RACE COMMENT
 |
| Great Hope with J Bryce Jnr after the 1923 NZ Cup |
As the first two decades of Cup competition closed there was a changing of the guards of sorts when Great Hope led home the unlucky Acron, the first 4-year-old to contest the race, in the hands of James Bryce Jnr, who at 21 remains the youngest reinsman to win the Cup, along with Allan Holmes.
In a fine field, they were followed in by Onyx, Willie Lincoln, Albert Cling, Trix Pointer and the winner's stablemate Taraire, the backmarker on 48 yards.
Initially raced by his breeder Robert McMillan and then Joe Corrigan, Great Hope had only been owned for three months by Dunedin sportsman J Trengrove.
He went on to be placed in the next two Cups and was also runner-up to stablemate Taraire in the forerunner to the Inter-Dominion Championship in Perth.
Credit: NZ HRWeekly 1Oct2003
-o0o-
Great Hope, always well-placed and well-driven by James Bryce junior, held out the four-year-old Acron after a great contest. Bryce, only 21 years nine months, was by far the youngest driver to win a New Zealand Cup, a record he held until 1932, when Allan Holmes, 21 years one month, piloted Harold Logan to victory.
Bracketmates Great Hope and Taraire were the race favourites. The latter, the top money-winner from the previous season, scored a dashing win in the King George Handicap at Addington in August, posting 4:29.6, and qualified within the limit of 4:30. But Taraire was badly treated by the handicapper and shared the back mark of 48 yards with Vilo. As it turned out, Taraire began badly and never showed up during the running.
Great Hope raced three times in August. Earlier in the three-day National meeting he raced prominently in the August and King George Handicaps, but failed to see out the distance, fading in the last 100 yards. In the National Cup on the final day he improved to run third behind Alto Chimes and Onyx.
From the start Bryce positioned Great Hope, from his 12-yard handicap, in behind the leader Paul Default, and they were followed most of the way by Trix Pointer, Vilo, Albert Cling and Willie Lincoln. Snowshoe fell when mixing her gait in the back straight the first time and dislodged Bill Tomkinson. In the back straight the last time Paul Default and Great Hope were driven clear, while Onyx made a forward move and Acron moved up fast on the rails. At the tanks Bryce sent Great Hope away in the lead, and he turned for home on his own, finally winning in 4:31.4 by a length from the fast-finishing and unlucky Acron. Then followed Onyx, Willie Lincoln, Albert Cling, Trix Pointer and Taraire.
Great Hope, a five-year-old, was by the American sire Great Audubon, from Sadie Dillon. He was raced early in his career by his breeder, Robert McMillan, of the Santa Rosa Stud, where Great Audubon stood at a fee of £15 15s. At three, Great Hope was the best of his age, winning the Great Northern Derby at Auckland and the New Zealand Derby at New Brighton. Between these winning runs, McMillan died and the horse passed to Joe Corrigan, a patron of the Bryce stable. After the August meeting, where Great Hope proved disappointing, he was sold again, this time to the Dunedin sportsman, J Trengrove. When presented with the Cup by the Governor-General, Lord Jellicoe, Trengrove expressed his jubilation and good fortune at having owned a horse for only three months and in that time having him win the country's most prestigious race.
Acron was the first four-year-old to contest the New Zealand Cup, but, like so many other extremely good four-year-olds who followed him into the race, the win eluded him. Acron possessed brilliant speed and stamina and for 10 years held the record mile time in New Zealand of 2:03.6. The outstanding youngster of his time, winning the Great Northern and New Zealand Derbies, Acron was the last qualifier for the 1923 New Zealand Cup, winning the Islington Handicap, the last race on the final day of the August meeting, with a superlative performance. He started from 72 yards and beat 17 others to record a time of 4:29.8.
Slow away in the Cup and a long way back early, Acron gradually improved and at the end of the first mile took a place on the inside, at the back of the first group. That proved to be a bad decision because Jack Kennerley could not clear Acron until the race was all but over, though he put in a tremendous run for second. Such bad luck was to dog owner J R McKenzie and his son Roy, who, despite every effort, have failed to land a New Zealand Cup. Yet, between them the McKenzie's have won every other important race on the harness racing calendar and have been leading owners 18 times. J R McKenzie headed the owners' list for the first time in the 1925-26 season.
Acron and Onyx (who ran her usual honest race for third) were by Free Holmes' imported stallion Logan Pointer, then standing alongside his other American import, Rey de Oro, at his Upper Riccarton Stud. Both were successful sires, but Logan Pointer more so. Logan Pointer, foaled in 1909 and imported in 1915, did not race in New Zealand and was first represented on the sires' list in 1918-19. For six seasons, from 1922-23 until 1927-28, and again in 1930-31, he was the country's top sire. Unfortunately, Logan Pointer met a premature end, in 1924, in the prime of his stud duty, when he was kicked by a pony and had to be destroyed. In all, he sired 187 individual winners. His greatest son, without doubt, was pacing idol Harold Logan. Other outstanding performers, in addition to Onyx and Acron, were Prince Pointer, Jewel Pointer, Logan Chief, Cardinal Logan, Logan Park, Native Chief and the trotter Trampfast.
On the second day of the 1923 meeting some excellent performances were recorded by several young horses, none more so than the victory by Logan Chief in the New Zealand Free-For-All, beating Great Hope and Happy Voyage. Logan Chief was one of the stars of the early part of the season, recording three wins and two minor placings from five starts.
Kennerley must have been the envy of most trainers at this time, with Logan Chief, Acron and rising champion Great Bingen in his Belfast stable. But even with this powerful trio, Kennerley trailed James Bryce at the end of the season. Bryce trained 24 winners and drove 28. Kennerley, with 16½ training and the same number of driving successes, was runner-up.
A cold easterly made the third day unpleasant. Don Wild, a free-legged pacer, won the Christchurch Handicap from Tatsy Dillon and Trix Pointer. Don Wild continued his good form after this meeting and by the end of the season was the top money-winner with £3202. Free-legged pacers have been a rarity on racetracks in New Zealand and few have made top company. There have been exceptions - Young Irvington, Don Wild, Lawn Derby, Robalan and Final Decision all raced 'without straps' and made it to the top level.
Native King, a son of Nelson Bingen and Norice, won the Dominion Handicap in race-record time of 4:37.2. Native King was a brother to Nelson Derby, sire of Haughty.
The betting at Addington over the three days was £210,436, a decrease of £11,000 on the previous year. The trend continued, as interest, it seemed, had peaked at Addington. Patrons at the track in 1923 were greeted with extentions to the steward's stand. However, the purchase by the club of a large property on Riccarton Road and the proposed transfer of operations away from Addington were much-discussed topics at this time. The Riccarton project never went ahead, although substantial plans were drawn up. Significantly, the track was designed to run clockwise, the opposite way to Addington. The Riccarton land was sold some years later, and it seems that harness racing in Christchurch will forever have its headquarters at Addington
Credit: Bernie Wood writing in The Cup