| PEOPLE |
YEAR: 2011
 |
Trail-blazing trainer Alex Milne, considered an expert with young horses, died in Gore, aged 90.
On Boxing Day, 1974, he produced Parlez Vous at Ashburton to beat the champion Noodlum, the first horse to do so. Six days later, at Addington on New Year's Day, he did it again. The race was the E F Mercer Flying Mile and he became the first three-year-old to clock a race winning time of 2.00 (in NZ). Race driver Alex Milne junior recalled it was Parlez Vous's fifth win in a row. Nine months earlier, Parlez Vous had won the New Zealand Kindergarten Stakes with Henry Skinner in the sulky.
In 1978, Matai Dreamer - driven by Milne junior - won the same race after breaking early and giving the field a massive start. Matai Dreamer and then Armbro Wings won Great Northern Derbies in 1979 and 1980. New Zealand 3YO of the Year, Matai Dreamer was named by Milne junior as probably the best of his late father's many winners.
In 1977, Milne had prepared Almac to win the Kindergarten Stakes, prior to selling him to Australia. According to Milne junior however, the Australians came early, paid for him and wanted their own driver, Eddie Sim, to take the reins. "The Australians brought their own hopples. It was the first time we'd seen shorteners, but when they measured them against the ones he had been wearing they couldn't get them long enough. They went ahead and used them, he ran third." Almac was renamed Black Irish in Australia and went on to have a distinguished career including victory in the Queensland Derby.
Milne junior said that when his father weaned, he kept the foals in all winter, mouthed them and drove then in a sulky as weanlings. "He said that if you get them doing work, they'll eat better. He didn't put them in a sulky very much, he seemed to know just how often to do it."
Milne also had then driven differently on raceday. "When I started driving, you used to sprint early, back off and then sprint home," Milne junior said. "When Dad took young horses to Canterbury his way was to make a mid-race move and at the 800m, put the pressure on to take the sprint out of them. They were conditioned to do that."
One of a family of nine, Milne's mother died when he was four and his father when he was 14. He was brought up by locals in the community and became a cheese maker at the local dairy factory. Another chapter in his life saw him take a team of horses to Walter Peak Station on the banks of Lake Wakatipu where he ploughed over 200 acres of land. It is believed the exercise took about two years and was instrumental in developing his equine expertise.
Married before the war, Milne returned from service in 1947 and immediately went sheep farming near Edendale. He had a family of four daughters and three sons. One of them, Ewen Milne, now of Christchurch, drove and trained for a time while Alex Milne junior continues to do both at Edendale. Grandson Nigel drives successfully in Australia. Such were the demands of farm and family that Milne was in his 40s before he took up training. Cover On was his first winner. He later took it to Wellington to race and then sell.
In the 1964-65 season he ha five wins, four of them with Van Patch who was the first of a significant number of winners who secured four or winners for him. Inclded were Matai Chip, Matai Blue Chip, Matai Bret, Monarque, Maai Moon Beam, Matai Gogi, Matai Skipper and Arden Bay (runner up in the New Zealand Derby). Another was Watbro who started in the New Zealand Cup, led up but was run down.
Camsplace Alec, the winner of two as a juvenile (1996-97 season), five at three and four at four, was the last winner trained by Milne. Raced by him in partnership with Balfour studmaster Allen Jones, Camsplace Alec was then transfered to Brian Hancock in New South Wales and won another 33 times. Matai BBC (Nevele R Series heat winner, 17wins in Australia) and Matai Princess (Southland Oaks heat winner) were the last horses he raced. The 1978-79 season, with 23 wins, was Milne's best and he was Southland's leading trainer that year.
Credit: Mac Henry writing in HRWeekly 3Aud2011
YEAR: 1987
 |
| Young Eden after her record breaking win |
Young Eden had to overcome a long list of adversities to win the New Zealand Oaks in race and New Zealand record time. Indeed, on at least two occasions, Edendale trainer Alex Milne really wondered if she was finished as a racing proposition.
The first occasion came before Young Eden even lined up in a totalisator race. Milne recalled after Young Eden's surprise success in the $40,000 Nevele R sponsored classic how the daughter of Noodlum had crashed to the track in training in the early stages of her two-year-old preparation. "She smashed the sulky and a broken shaft dug deep, high up on the inside of a hind leg. I had to tell the owners she was finished for the season at least. She'd just been to her first workout and shaped up pretty well...well enough to consider racing her later in the season," Milne said.
Ken Milne and Russell Hollows had originally leased Young Eden from her Stirling breeder Frank Young with no right of purchase, but with the right to her first foal. When advised of the accident, Young gave his friend, Milne, one month's option to by the filly at a 'pretty reasonable' price. She is the first foal from Young's smart racemare Eden's Joy, a winner of six races and a half-sister to six winners. "Ken asked me if I thought she would recover from the accident and whether she was worth buying," said Milne. Saying he could see no reason why Young Eden shouldn't make the grade as a three-year-old, Milne persuaded Milne and Hollows to buy her, and what a bargain she has proved.
The Oaks success took her record to four wins and four placings from nine starts for stakes worth $43,000, with the promise of much more to come. But it's been far from plain sailing this season as well.
From the time she stepped onto the track, Young Eden has looked one of the better fillies around, but her racing programme was again in doubt a couple of months ago. "She curbed a hock and was actually a bit lame when she won the DB Heat at Ashburton. Then she tore some ligaments in a hind leg in the DB Heat at Forbury Park. Both hind legs were a bit of a mess but we tried everything we knew and then sent her up to Craig Buchan at Dunedin so he could work her on the beach at Brighton. "I worked her there about a week ago and she felt alright, so we thought we would give the Oaks a try. With no workout or trial to get a line on her, I really had no idea how she'd go," said Milne.
Young Eden, a hot favourite in her previous outing at Addington when she was a gallant third in the Fillies' Triple Crown, was allowed to start at odds of almost 30 to one in an Oaks seemingly dominated by Bionic Chance and Victoria Star. Settling at the rear from her second row barrier draw in the mobile 2600m contest, Young Eden was able to leave the rails when Coma Berenices choked and fell after 800 metres. Eddie Cowie, who won the Oaks last season with Free's Best, suffered minor bruising after parting company with Coma Berenices. With Young Eden travelling strongly, Milne decided to press forward three wide entering the back straight the last time and was up outside the leader Bionic Chance 600 metres out. "I got a hell of a surprise when I got up there and found Bionic Chance wasn't going so well," Milne said, "Pat looked at me and said something about being flat." Young Eden took the lead early in the run home and kept going strongly to win by a length and a half over Victoria Star, Rosy Score and Bionic Chance.
There was considerable merit in the performance of Victoria Star as well. The daughter of Lordship was trapped three wide during some scorching early sectionals and then became badly placed back in the field. She rallied gamely in the straight to leave a fine impression. After a slightly disappointing run in the Great Northern Derby, Bionic Chance raced right out of character. Hunted out from barrier nine to lead after 200 metres, Bionic Chance ran herself into the ground, being timed through the first mile in 1:59. Only Lightning Blue, in the Inter-Dominion heat won by Skipper Dale in New Zealand record time, has run the first mile of a 2600m race at Addington faster. "She wasn't so much pulling or hanging, she was just on one rein the whole way," said driver Pat O'Reilly Jnr later. "I thought there was something wrong in the preliminary and I knew as soon as we were underway, we were in trouble," he added.
After being tucked away for much of the suicidal pace, Young Eden proved the best stayer on the night. Her 3:16.41 (2:01.5) easily bettered Free's Best race and New Zealand record.
It was by far the biggest success to date for Edendale horseman Alex Milne, 31, son of renowned Southland trainer Alex Milne Senior. A professional licence holder for about eight years, Milne has had some handy pacers before, the best of them King Farouk and Auburn Bret, but rates Young Eden in a class of her own. "I really don't know how good she is. To have done what she has done after all the trouble we have had...well."
Russell Hollows, a sawmiller in Balclutha, was on hand to accept the trophy and found the experience rather bewildering. "This is the first horse I've had. This racing game is all very new to me." Russell said. His partner Milne, a Stirling wool buyer whose only other venture in the game was the smart pacer King Farouk, was unable to make the trip due to his commitments as coach for a Balclutha rugby team.
Credit: Frank Marrion writing in HR Weekly