| PEOPLE |
YEAR: 1995
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Owen Quinlan, who died suddenly aged 75 last week - two days after playing 18 holes of golf - was a low profile trainer who had his share of good horses.
He drove more than 100 winners and trained the outstanding trotting mare Uteena to win 18 races from his Rolleston stable. Quinlan took particular satisfaction in training trotters, and never in his career raced one with a toe-weight or a half-hopple.
Uteena, a daughter of U Scott, was the best he had. Her wins included a heat of the Inter-Dominions at Forbury Park, where she beat Acquit and Tronso but ran unplaced in Poupette's final; she won the Bridgens Free-For-All at Alexandra Park twice, from Scotleigh and Highland Flight, and French Pass and Rannach Lad; she beat Mountain Pride and Mighty Chief in the Reta Peter Handicap on Show Day at Addington, and she ran third to Tronso in the 1966 Dominion Handicap.
He also returned Aronmot - who had not won at six, seven and eight - to winning form as a nine-year-old, his two wins at that age including the Festival Trotters Championship at Forbury Park.
Quinlan came from Greymouth, starting his career with Jack Shaw. His first win was with Loyal Peg on his home track in 1945, and his first at Addington was a year later, in the Canterbury Juvenile Stakes with the Grattan Loyal filly, Darkie Grattan. He rated Zenith, who won eight, among them the Marlborough Centennial Cup; and Antonius, who won six, as his best pacing winners.
Other good winners were Morano mare Monarrg, who beat Royal Ascot and Walk Alone in a heat of the Dunedin Festival Cup; Castleton's Gift(nine), Chatmos(five), Vivace(five), Le Whip(five), Court Verdict, Sir Hall, Aunt Ada, Siki, Toll Call, Rory, Loylan, Fyvie Queen, Composite, Soubrette, Fifth Brigade, Deuce, Lord Springfield, Frozina, Frozen, Sir Leonard and Margaret Logan.
By his own admittance, Quinlan never trained a top horse, but it was something that never affected the pleasure he had for harness racing. On his retirement, he said: "No, I guess I have not had the vital ounce of luck to get a really top horse of my own, but it hasn't made my time in the game any less enjoyable. And I suppose, I have been luckier than some."
He is survived by his wife Francis and son Michael.
Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 4Oct95