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: 2002 Closure on another chapter in the colourful history of the Holmes family came last week with the passing of Freeman. He was a grandson of 'the Grand Old Man of Trotting' Free Holmes and a son of 'F.G', who won the 1953 NZ Cup with Adorian to emulate the feat of his father. Old Free's many unique distinctions included riding Manton to win the 1888 NZ Cup at Riccarton and training and driving Trix Pointer to win the 1919 NZ Cup at Addington. A filly he imported a few years earlier after his first trip to America along with Logan Pointer and Bonilene, Trix Pointer is the only Cup winner to become the dam of a Cup winner - her first foal Wrackler. Freeman did not manage to win the Cup himself, but could so easily have done so had the sensational Noodlum not gone amiss on the eve of the 1975 edition. Troubled by strained ligaments in a leg from midway through his 3-year-old campaign, Noodlum had as a 4-year-old chased eventual Cup winner Lunar Chance home in the Louisson and National Handicaps before brilliantly winning the Laing at Addington after being well back and eight wide turning in. The Ashburton Flying Stakes and Canterbury Park 4yo Flying Mile, from Trevino, In Or Out and Cyclone Lad, followed but a week out from the big event Noodlum broke down at the trials. Blistered and patched up on a limited preparation, Noodlum reappeared five weeks later to win the National Flying Pace over what was the Auckland Cup field. However, thirds in the Auckland and Wellington Cups were not the real Noodlum and with his value at stud assured, he was retired to Holmes' The Manor at Ellersmere to begin another highly successful aspect of his career. Noodlum, a rich, dark liver chestnut by Bachelor Hanover from the top racemare Deft, had earlier been the focus of much attention from the general public when he went on a tour as a 2-year-old and it became common knowledge that he was named after Rob Muldoon in reverse. He was bred and raced by Mrs Ann Wilson, an ardent admirer of Muldoon who considered the Prime Minister the "most deft person I know." Noodlum was so precocious that Holmes took him north to win the first juvenile race of the season, the Morrinsville Stakes in September, and by the end of the term he had won a record 12 races fron 15 starts. Along the way he swept the Welcome and Sapling Stakes and NZ Juvenile Championship by eight lengths in record time. There was also the infamous crash when well clear nearing the finish at Forbury Park, where he attempted to jump a head number and lost a few teeth. From that point however, Noodlum strung together a record 15 consecutive wins - his last seven at two and first eight at three - bettering the previous record of 10 held by Cardigan Bay, War Buoy and Young Quinn. Freeman was also his regular pilot at three following the compulsory retirement of his uncle Maurice that year and Noodlum had qualified for the NZ Cup in August when no other 3-year-old had achieved that feat before the race was run. Tumbling records and wide winning margins were the highlight of that spring and his dominating performance in the NZ Derby from Commissioner on the final night of the Cup Meeting was his eighth win for the season. It as his 23rd career win fron 26 starts. Then the unthinkable happened when he was out of the money in the North Canterbury Stakes after a shocking passage and beaten by Commissioner in the Champion Stakes at Ashburton and Parlez Vous in the Mercer Mile at Addington. This was the point where his leg condition worsened, but on limited training Holmes had him back later in the season to win the Russley Stakes by seven lengths and a heat and the final of the Queensland Derby, on the latter occasion stunning the locals after conceding a 50m start. Noodlum went to stud after 28 months of racing in which he raced 42 times for 28 wins, six seconds, two thirds and a fourth. He was well received right from the start when stood for the 'horsemens' fee of $500 and in a 14 year career at stud averaged covering 147 mares a season. In all he produced 1286 live foals for 385 winners (30%), among them two time Horse of the Year Master Mood, Race Ruler, Laser Lad, Miss Clevedon, Speedy Cheval, Young Eden and trotters Tyrone Scottie, Lenin and Cracker. His broodmares have to date produced over 430 winners, notably Lyell Creek, Il Vicolo, Homin Hosed, Mark Hanover, Mark Roy, Fraggle Rock and Sundowner Bay. Considering his pedigree, it was perhaps surprising that Holmes was not to the fore much earlier than the 1970s. However, he was for many years first and foremost a farmer at Oxford, and had got the commentating bug after being selected as an 11-year-old from many applicants to read a daily junior news bulletin on Christchurch's 3ZB radio station. This led to 25 years of professional race calling at meetings from Oamaru to Wellington, and as a paid official of clubs he was unable to race a horse or hold a licence to train one. However, during this time he bred horses and those that raced were in the name of his wife Peggy and trained by his father after Holmes gave them their early education. Among them were good sorts in Commonwealth, Forward Star, Adulate and Bedazzle. The transition to horses full time came in 1969 when he bought a property at Ellersmere and set it up as a stud. Named The Manor after a good galloper he raced from John Parsons' stable, Holmes stood the likes of Play Bill, Mark Lobell and Jersey Hanover and ultimately Noodlum. He was also training and driving a small team and not long to appear on the scene was the fine pacer Armbro Free, followed by good trotters in Edis Nova, Wadestown and Picotee, the grandam of Sundowner Bay. The last winner of note he trained was Gavotte, a daughter of Noodlum. Derek Jones, who delivered the eulogy at the funeral, described Holmes as simply "a great all round horseman and a real good bloke. He did everything well, but everyone who knew him will remember him for his generosity," said Jones. He was a top studmaster, but what really impressed me was his knowledge of breeding in both standardbreds and thoroughbreds. He had an exceptional memory for families and detail." he said. Those thoughts were reiterated by another longtime friend in Jim Dalgety, who raced a good filly from Noodlum's family in Fancy Wishes. "It was amazing when he was race calling, both trotters and gallopers, how as soon as there was a winner he could tell you all about the family for three or four generations," said Dalgety. "He had a photographic memory for all things actually. He just loved stock in general and took great joy in showing off his black angus cattle. And he got a Diploma in Wool Classing and was into that side of things, as well as growing crops like chaff, oats and barley," he added. Dalgety also recalled with fondness the day Holmes, who "loved to entertain," pulled out a video which had every Melbourne Cup since 1926. "This went on for hours, but boy did we see some good horses. Freeman didn't have much quality of life in his later years, but no one ever heard him complain." Credit: Frank Marrion writing in HRWeekly 09Oct02 YEAR: 1980 GEORGE YOUNGSON |