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PEOPLE

 

YEAR: 1993

JACK HEWITT

John William (Jack) Hewitt, who died in Invercargill on Monday, aged 76, became a household name in harness racing as the owner of champion racemare Robin Dundee in the 1960s.

Robin Dundee, who was trained by the late Jack Walsh of Gore, was actually bred by owner Hewitt's late Gore relations by marriage, Myra and Bob Ritchie, who virtually gifted the Hal Tryax-Cherry Blossom filly to him. The favour was extended to Mr Hewitt in return for his generosity in grazing Cherry Blossom free of charge for the Ritchie's on his Mataura Island farm.

Robin Dundee (1:59) won $229,272 in NZ, Australia and USA. She was the first pacer to better 2:00 in a race in Australia when she won the 1967 Craven Filter Miracle Mile at Harold Park, Sydney. Bob Cameron reined her in that feature win. Maurice Holmes drove the mare in many of her earlier NZ races.

Having her first race start, Robin Dundee served notice of her exceptional ability when she won the Southland Stakes by 16 lengths at Invercargill on October 29, 1960. She was reined by Charlie Franks, then attached to trainer Walsh's operation. They again triumphed in their next outing, the 1961 NZ Oaks at Addington. Robin Dundee won 33 other races outright and shared the major honours with Jay Ar in the 1965 Inter-Dominion Pacing Grand Final at Forbury Park with 'Doody' Townley at the reins. The NZ Free-For-All and Auckland Cup were feature wins for her that year.

Robin Dundee was three times runner-up in the NZ Cup - to Cardigan Bay (1963), Garry Dillon (1965) and Lordship (1966). Blossom Lady, her close relation from the Fashion Queen (by Bellfashion) taproot, won last year's NZ Cup. After her demanding career and when her powers may have been waning, Robin Dundee still won further races in North America for the late Eddie Cob, of Adios Butler fame, who part-owned her there. Easily Robin Dundee's best son was Genghis Khan (1:51.8), a world champion son of Meadow Skipper, subsequently a fine sire who has also stood in Australia.

Born in Palmerston North in 1917 and the second of six children, Mr Hewitt shifted to Winton with his family as a child, being educated there before spending two and a half years at Southland Technical College. Mr Hewitt later settled on and developed a 550-acre farm at Mataura Island and on September 5, 1946, married Joan Ritchie, who died six years ago. In 1975, Mr Hewitt sold his farm and shifted to a 14-acre section on the corner of Mill and Findlay Roads on the outskirts of Invercargill.

Credit: Don Wright writing in HRWeekly 13Oct93



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