| PEOPLE |
YEAR: 2013
JOHN DEVLIN
I am not going to tell you what sort of a person John Devlin was. Because if you are reading this you almost certainly knew him, everybody in harness racing did. Most of us who have knocked around this industry long enough have a JD story, whether of the horse he sold you, owned, the stories he told, the loser he backed or the hangover you shared. Because JD was a harness racing instutution, part of out industry.
That part left us at 1:57am on Tuesday morning, New Zealand Cup day. When I first heard that I was sad to think the brash Aussie-cum-Kiwi had passed away on his favourite raceday but his son Shane soon put me right. "The only way Dad could make it to Addington to watch Cran try and win the Cup was this way," said Shane. "And Dad would want everybody there to have a beer, a bet and a good time."
That was JD. Big heart, big mouth, big brain and now a big hole left in harness racing. He was the first person to pick you up if you were down, the first to pull you back down if you got too high. He loved life, a drink, and an all nighter with him holding court, as you would expect from a man born on New Years Day 1943.
But more than anything, apart from his family, he loved racing. He loved the thrill of the punt, the stories from the bad old days, the drama of raceday and the battle of wills and cunning. He willed himself to Melton in August to see his last, and best, horse Ideal Scott win the Breeders Crown and the tears flowed after the big horse did the job.
Even then JD knew he had almost, excuse the pun, run his race. He could have prolonged his life with more treatment, might have even got him to Cup Day or to see Ideal Scott in the Miracle Mile. But JD didn't want that, I guess he thoughthe had said all he had to say and when it was time, it was time. Before then though JD had got to hold court once more, in front of his people.
It was the North Island harness racing awards dinner in September and JD got the ultimate honour, the Outstanding Contribution to Harness Racing, which on so many levels is well named. He was speechless. For about eight seconds. Then, shocked but honoured, JD got to stand up with his boys and his grandson and tell all his harness friends that it was all right. "I'm probably stuffed to be honest, but this has been amazing," he said. Again there were tears in eyes, as there were at Addington this week. Because we have lost a friend and harness racing became just that little bit less interesting in the dark hours starting Cup Day.
He will be missed by kids Shane (and partner Melanie), Bredley (Aimee) anf Kylie (Mike) and his eight grandkids, Hannah, Josh, Jake, Martine, Olivia, Holly, Tane and Brady, with one more on the way. But, sad as Tuesday was, as JD would say, have a beer, a bet and enjoy yourselves. He did.
Credit: Michael Guerin writing in HRWeekly 14Nov13
YEAR: 1987
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| Jim O'Sulivan & Dick Lee savour the triumph |
"It's the biggest thrill ever; he's the best horse I've had, and I've had some good ones," said Jim O'Sullivan, returning with his 1987 Lion Brown Inter-Dominion Grand Champion.
In his regular acquisition of NZ horses, O'Sullivan almost invariably uses the services of former Australian John Devlin, professionally known as the South Auckland Standardbred Agency. Devlin, who in the last 10 years has secured something close to 80 horses for O'Sullivan's clients singled out Lightning Blue for him. "He was trained by Mike Berger at Morrinsville," recalled Devlin after the Final. "I watched him at the trials, saw him win at an on-course-only meeting at Cambridge and then run an unlucky second at Alexandra Park before recommending that Jim come and trial him.
Of the three owners only Mr Conidi was at Addington for the Grand Final. "Alan will be very upset about not being here," he said. "He saw all the bad luck in the heats, got called back home on urgent business and was unable to get back here for tonight." Although his horses have won many hundreds of races, Alan Hunter's biggest victory prior to Saturday night was in the $43,000 Cranbourne Cup last December with Saturday night's First Consolation winner Quite Famous, whom he owns outright.
Apart from securing Lightning Blue (who races in Australia as My Lightning Blue) from the O'Sullivan stable, Delvin is a quarter-share owner of the 4-year-old's sire, the Meadow Skipper horse Lonero. Lightning Blue's dam Lightning is by the good Hal Tryax horse Holy Hal (second to First Lee in the 1968 Inter-Dominion Final in Auckland and winner of two heats at the 1971 Addington Inter-Dominions). Lightning's dam Lightning Lass was by Lighterman Tom, remarkably still alive in South Canterbury, aged 40. By Light Brigade, Lighterman Tom is a half-brother to Cherry Blossom whose daughter Robin Dundee shared the Inter-Dominion title in Dunedin in 1965 with Jar Ar and was fifth in Melbourne in 1964, second to Chamfer's Star in Sydney in 1966 and fourth to Binshaw in Perth in 1967.
Lightning was the first venture into harness racing of Peter and Mrs Doris Miller, semi-retired farmers of Mystery Creek, near Hamilton airport. The bought Lightning on the advice of Ngaruawahia trainer Joe Goodyer after she had won a 2-year-old parade from the Mataura stable of Dave Todd, of Cardigan Bay fame.
Goodyer won two races with Lightning for the Millers, but her race career was cut short by injury incurred in a training spill. Before putting Lighting down in 1983, the Millers bred five foals from her, the three to have raced being Lightning Blue, Rainbow Light (winer of three before injured) and Millertime (sold at two and the winner of two races so far). The Millers are breeding from Rainbow Light (by Adover Rainbow) and are looking forward to racing with Mike Berger's wife Brenda and his father Geoff her first offspring, a yearling Tudor Hanover filly they have named Lightning Belle.
Credit: Ron Bisman writing in HRWeekly 19Mar87
YEAR: 1987
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| Jubilant part-owner Alan Hunter displays the Cup |
Melbourne businessman Alan Hunter, 52 year old co-owner of Inter-Dominion titleholder and yesterday's $300,000 Toyota NZ Trotting Cup winner Lightning Blue, has raced horses since he was 23.
"I bought my first horse, a Van Derby pacer named Great Effort, for a thousand pounds," he recalled. "I had to borrow money to do it, and I didn't know how to tell my father about it. He won a good few races for me, and I thought: 'This is easy.' I later found it wasn't so easy, but it hooked me on trotting. I have a few gallopers, including a jumper called Mister Mint, who could win our next Grand National Steeplechase; but I much prefer trotting and football to galloping."
Hunter estimates that he has won about 700 races with his horses. The bulk of this success has come since his profitable business involving cleaning chemicals and detergents has enabled him to spend up large since 1981. "I've had 78 winners at Moonee Valley since then," he said.
"My first NZ horse was Hubert Campbell, who won me 14 races and about $60,000. He was my favourite and a real top-liner. Since then, I've bought, through John Devlin, Paul Davies and other agents, at least a dozen Kiwi horses including My Surdon, One Happy Fella, Kilrush (who cost me $100,000, broke a pedal bone and didn't win me a race), Conga's Pride and That's Incredible. I tried to buy the NZ-bred Jay Bee's Fella, who has done so well in Western Australia, but the deal fell through; and he was beaten at the weekend so I might have been a bit lucky, as it was big bikkies involved. I pay a lot of money for good horses, but I would be ahead of it. It's a wonderful game, with wonderful people in it. Jim (O'Sullivan) is a super man with a horse, and a super man to know."
Hunter was obviously thrilled to be on hand to see Lghtning Blue's Cup win. "I went back to Melbourne at Inter-Dominion time, thinking I wasn't going to have a horse in the Final and opting to see a two-year-old race at Moonee Valley. As it turned out My Lightning Blue won the Final, my other horse here then, Quite Famous, won one of the consolations, and my youngster won at Mooney Valley all on the same night."
Yesterday, Hunter's partners in the horse, (Nes Conidi and Tony Prochilo) who had watched him win his Inter-Dominion Final, were both home in Melbourne.
Nothing made quite the smart start in the Cup as Skipper Dale. And this was rather unusual because Skipper Dale was off the second line and was fortunate to dash through a gap left by Sossy and Metal Mickey after only 70m. At the same time, Frangelico was being held up a place further out, Happy Sunrise broke briefly and Master Mood didn't make marvellous acceleration.
Tony Herlihy wisely sent Luxury Liner forward after 600 metres, and with two laps to run he was in front, ahead of Gaelic Skipper, Lightning Blue, Skipper Dale and Sossy. Four hundred metres later, Rum Brydon swept round, running hard, and he made the front near the 2000 metres. Jim O'Sullivan had Lightning Blue out of the trail at the same time, to sit in the 'death', outside Luxury Liner, and ahead of Gaelic Skipper.
The pace slackened near the mile and remained that way until near the 900 metres. Master Mood and Happy Sunrise were the last pair and facing an awfully difficult task, with the pace by now right on and Lightning Blue, Luxury Liner and Skipper Dale many lenghts in front of them.
On the corner, O'Sullivan had made his move passing Rum Brydon and receiving very generous response from Lightning Blue.
Herlihy, with more hope than confidence, sent Luxury Liner into the attack, Patrick O'Reilly joined in with Skipper Dale and Sossy came too. But Lightning Blue, showing the same extraordinary strength and courage of eight months ago, was quite supreme in the end, winning by a length and a quarter, with a short neck and three-quarters of a length between the others.
Rolls Hanover made progress strongly near the end which was commendable allowing for the fact he pulled a punctured tyre for the last 1400 metres.
The time of the race was 4:05.13. Lightning Blue ran his last 2400m in 3:00.7, and his last 1600m in 2:00. The first 800m of that 1600m took an easy 1:03.4, and the last 800m followed in 56.6, the last 400m in 28.5.
Credit: Ron Bisman writing in HR Weekly