YEAR: 2017 HARNESS SCRIBES AND SEVEN OF THEIR PAPER STEEDS YEAR: 2016 MATCH RACING YEAR: 1998
It was appropriate that Maurice Holmes OBE made headlines when he died last week. He was pictured on the front page of "The Press" in Christchurch with a short story that said goodbye to one of harness racing's all-time greats. A true champion, a driver of supreme ability, honoured by the Queen, twice voted NZ's Racing Personality of the Year, the first harness horseman to drive 1000 winners...a famous Canterbury boy; the tribute was no less than he deserved. He went, in fact, closer to 2000, with a total of 1666 - a staggering number considering the opportunities when Maurice started out were half what they are now - and his biggest score of 93 came in his very last season, when he was 65, still in peak form and a competitor to fear. He died aged 89, at his Christchurch suburban home where he lived with his wife Elsa, who predeceased him five days earlier, and Paul, his son and loyal companion. His record in many aspects is beyond compare. He was champion driver on 19 occasions, winning the premiership for the first time when he was 20. Few classics went past his reach, and some of them he won many times. The New Zealand Derby was one of them. He won this blue ribbon feature 12 times, with Wrackler, Arethusa, Circo, Aldershot, Imperial Jade, Scottish Lady, Free Fight, Congo Song, Royal Minstrel, Tobacco Road, Student Prince and Willie Win. Student Prince was trained by Reg Stockdale, who spent nine years with Holmes when he trained such wonderful horses as Vedette, Chamfer, Globe Direct, Te Maru, Attack, Tactics, Lauder Hall, Walnut Hall, Scottish Hall and First Victory. "He was terrific to work with," said Stockdale. "We never had a cross word, and I didn't take a day off in nine years, only because I didn't want to. He said he learnt everything from his father. Free told him to drive for third. The idea was you would come with the last run and you would end up winning." Stockdale was still with Holmes when he moved stables, from Russley Road to Yaldhurst, and the great horses continued until the end of the 50s...Lookaway, Dancing Years, Finestra, Robert Dillon, Recruit, Ruth Again, Super Royal, Black Douglas, Loyal Cis and Papatawa. Recalling how meticulous Maurice was, he said: "One day after we had worked the horses, Maurice raked the yard and drive and had it spot on. Then a man came in, driving an old truck, on to Maurice's neat and manicured yard. He said he was selling apples. Well, he went out quicker than he came in, and never sold an apple." Stockdale who used Holmes to drive his good horses such as Bramble Hall, Jilaire, Blue Prince and Stewart Hanover, said he always drove to save ground and won many races at Addington "sitting on the fence." He could sum up a horse quickly. You would be training one for six months, and he'd drive it once round the track and tell you more than what you would know yourself. "He was a real Professional...never smoked and didn't drink, and no visitors were allowed the night before raceday...that was always an early night." Stackdale said he knew when to hit a horse and when not to, and was good at pushing out during a race. "I remember being in a race at Ashburton when Maurice looked across at the guy outside him and asked how he was going. The fellow said 'by the time I looked round to tell him I was three wide.'" Maurice was a modest man, with a dry sense of humour and a quick wit. Stockdale relates this story: "A fellow engaged Maurice to drive a horse he had driven many times himself without running a place. When he brought the horse into the birdcage, he proceeded to tell Maurice how he thought the horse should be driven, and as he walked away, said 'You know Morrie, she has never been hit.' To which Maurice replied, 'Well, she hasn't got long to wait.'" On another occasion, when an owner thanked him for a winning drive, Maurice replied: "We fed our rooster on thanks and it died." In later years, Maurice raced many horses in partnership with Bernie Wilks. When old age started to finish better, Paul was able to drive his father to work his horses, and take him to trials and race meetings. "I know this was of great comfort to him," said Stockdale. The other eulogy at his funeral, attended by many harness racing notables including Peter Wolfenden, Roy Purdon and Jim Smith, was given by Derek Jones who with Soangetaha was one of the last overtaken when Maurice brought Vedette wheeling out of the pack, dangerously late, to win the 1951 Inter-Dominion Grand Final. Jones, who said he wouldn't have been surprised to read in the paper one day that Maurice had died and the funeral had been held, thanked the family for giving the racing fraternity the chance to pay their respects. 'You had to be out on the track to appreciate his uncanny ability. He was fearless, he had hands like a BBC pianist and an electric brain. He had a super sense of pace, anticipation beyond description and his stance in the sulky was balanced perfection. "If you gave him the reins he would ask you what the horse does wrong, and say he would find out the rest on the way." Jones said Maurice was never one for ceremony, and when asked to say a few words after winning a big race would invariably reply: "I think I've done my part. Thanks." "The day he drove his 1000th winner was an exception. He gave a wonderful speech. He could rise to the occasion when it was demanded," said Jones. He also acknowledged his remarkable gift of being able to get horses away safely from a standing start. "This is illustrated by the number of Derbys he won. They were in the old days, over a mile and a half, where the start at Addington was on the bend going out of the front straight. He always managed to get round that corner better than most," he said. Canterbury trainer Bob Negus was one of many who turned to Maurice when the big money was up. He used him to win the 1955 New Zealand Oaks with Glint. "He gave tremendous advice," said Negus. "I was hard up in those days and I told him I had the chance to sell her. Maurice asked how much. He said to take the money would be the wrong thing to do, best for you to hold on to her. I mean, he could have bought her himself. That advice was worth thousands to me, but then he did that many times," he said. Negus said Maurice approached every drive with the same level of commitment, whether it was a Cup horse or a maiden. "It was so important to him, to get the best out of it. He always made suggestions to improve the performance of a horse in a very kind way. You had to listen very carefully to what he was telling you, and what he said would always be right." According to Freeman Holmes, Maurice told him many times Vedette was the best horse he handled. "And I would say that his drive to win the Grand Final with Vedette was the best I have seen. He was three or four back on the fence. Soangetaha had gone clear, but Maurice got through that last bit and won. He would say you can't go through gaps if they are not there, but this was a really superb drive. He won seven races with Noodlum in his last season when there looked to be a chance that he could drive 100 winners, and he rated Noodlum the best young horse he drove. The thing with Maurice is that he could be in midfield, or further back, and he would know where everyone was. You never really knew when he would attack," he said. Morrie was very much 'the maestro' from the time he started. His first win was at Addington in August 1925, riding Bonny Logan to win the one-mile Lightning Handicap, for saddle horses, by three lengths. He was 16, and he was 17 when he won the 1926 Auckland Cup with Talaro. At 20, he was New Zealand's champion driver. One of eight children - four boys and four girls - Maurice was born into a family of racing blood as pure as it gets. He father Free won the 1888 New Zealand Cup on Manton, turned to harness racing and won the 1919 New Zealand Cup with the American import Trix Pointer, and in 1936, at the age of 65, won the Inter-Dominion Grand Final in Perth with Evicus. In his first season of driving, the 1925-26 season, Maurice drove five winners, and 30 the first season he topped the premiership. The first of his three New Zealand Cup winners was Wrackler and the same day Maurice won the New Zealand Derby with his stablemate and younger sister, Arethusa. Wrackler was the first foal fron Trix Pointer, and two seasons later won the Dominion Handicap off 60 yards when trained as a trotter by Jack Behrns. In the 40s, Maurice turned to training, and in the 1949-50 season, topped the premiership. He won the NZ Cup again in 1950 with Chamfer, a horse who had to be covered for one, short, sharp sprint. No-one could do this as well as Maurice. In the same year, Vedette joined the stable. Formerly trained by Jack Litten, Vedette was especially prepared for the Addington Inter-Dominions, and earned favouritism with a handsome win in his third heat, over two miles. From all accounts, the Final was a cracker, and Maurice had to be the great architect he was during the race to find space with a horse in hand. His third NZ Cup came in 1957 with Lookaway, a 4-year-old bred and raced by his brother-in-law, Clarry Rhodes. Besides the Cup and the Derby, Maurice won the Auckland Cup (Talaro and Robin Dundee), the Great Northern Derby (Wrackler, Chamfer, Tutta Tryax), Rowe Cup (Recruit -twice, Ordeal), New Zealand Oaks (Glint, Petro Star, Earl Marie), Dominion Handicap (Recruit, Wrackler, Fair Isle), NZ Free-For-All (Harold Logan, Vedette, Lookaway, Robin Dundee), NZ Trotting Stakes (Acclamation, Alight, Court Out, Winterlight, Spark Gap), NZ Golden Slipper Stakes (Adroit, Rossini, Fidelio), Miracle Mile (Wag), and Sapling Stakes (Arethusa, Slavonic, Tobacco Road). His last day at the office was at Alexandra Park on July 20, 1974. From eight drives, he won four of them, including his final one with the trotter Transmitter Sound. The Club marked the occasion by taking Maurice on a lap of the track in an open tourer, and drivers gave him a whips-held-high guard of honour. In retirement, at an age when many had flagged it away, Maurice still maintained an active interest in harness racing, training his last winner when he was 80, and he had Apollo at the races when he was 86. He was associated with wonderful horses that many of us did not see. He may well have had his last headline in the paper, but in old photographs, on the list of past winners, in the gallery of fame, Maurice Holmes will be a name that will last forever. We thank you Morrie. As a horseman, you were someone special. -o0o- NZ Trotguide 25Jul74 A man who has been at the top of his profession over a span of 44 years has had his last drive. He is Maurice Holmes whose accomplishments as a horseman have made him a household name in NZ. Holmes is by far the most successful reinsman in the history of trotting in this country dating back to the 1860s. He has driven 1666 winners and amassed $2,054,555 in stake money over the last 49 years. His skill has earned him the title 'Maestro' - a word usually reserved for an eminent conductor, composer or teacher of music. Maurice Holmes is considered to be in a class of his own. Holmes has topped the national drivers' premiership 17 times and he is currently leading the list with a record number of wins before he retires from race driving under the Rules of Trotting. He has driven 93 winners since August, 1973 bettering his record total of last season. Holmes set the previous single season records of 67(1954/5) and 52(1949/50). His 52 wins in the 1949/50 season eclipsed the record set 16 years previously by the late Fred Smith who drove 51 winners in the 1933/34 season. Holmes also drove 67 winners in the 1959/60 season. Holmes has driven the winners of practically every major race in NZ and trained winners of two Inter-Dominion Grand Finals, the premier light harness event in Australia & NZ. He trained and drove Pot Luck to win the Inter-Dominion Final at Addington in 1938 and was also successful at the Christchurch course with Vedette in the 1951 final. Oldtimers still rave about Holmes extracting Vedette from a seemingly hopeless position a furlong (200 metres) short of the winning post. It was described by one trotting fan: "Vedette, by some freak of fortune, virtually threaded his way through the eye of a needle and them sprouted wings." Holmes has driven the winner of NZ's top handicap harness race, the NZ Cup on three occasions. The first was with Wrackler in 1930 at the age of 21. He also trained his two other winners, Chamfer(1950) and Lookaway(1957). Holmes has established a record without parallel in a single race in NZ by driving 12 winners of the NZ Derby - Wrackler(1928), Arethusa(1930), Ciro(1931), Aldershot(1938), Imperial Jade(1939), Scottish Lady(1942), Free Fight(1946), Congo Song(1947), Royal Minstrel(1954), Tobacco Road(1957), Student Prince(1960) and Willie Win(1972). He also trained Aldershot, Imperial Jade, Scottish Lady, Free Fight and Tobacco Road. Holmes has also been in the top bracket as a trainer, heading the national premiership in the 1949/50 season with 30 wins. Other important wins for him as a trainer included the NZ Free-For-All with Vedette and Lookaway, NZ Sapling Stakes with Arethusa and Tobacco Road and NZ Golden Slipper Stakes with Adroit, Rossini and Fidelio. He bred and raced the last two in partnership. Holmes has also had success in Australia as a trainer-driver with Tobacco Road as a 3-year-old. The announcement that Holmes will drive a horse immediately invites special attention from trotting fans and in many cases sends them rushing to bet on that particular horse. Holmes's ability as a reinsman was summed up by the noted trotting writer Karl Scott (now retired) in the November, 1960 edition of the NZ Trotting Calendar: "Maurice Holmes is an 'out and out' natural" and his knack of anticipating the moves of other drivers and horses in races borders on the uncanny. Horses race kindly for him, even notoriously hard pullers. Holmes is not keen on the use of hand grips on reins and this is sufficient testimony to his ability to handle the hardest puller with confidence. It is noticeable that if horses are inclined to want to make their own rules by tear-away tactics, Maurice is ofter seen allowing them to have their own way for a short while but they generally finish nicely tucked in behind something else and racing the way they should." He is also a master at educating and gaiting young horses and invariably has a 2-year-old to the fore in the early part of the season. The name Holmes has been associated with Trotting on a highly successful basis since the early days of the sport in NZ. Maurice is son of Free, affectionately known as the "Grand Old Man" of trotting. Free rode gallopers on the flat, over hurdles and steeples and was a trainer and owner of thoroughbreds. Free rode his first winner at Ashburton at the age of 12 about 1883 as a five-stone lad. His wins as a jockey included the 1888 NZ Cup on Manton; 1894 Grand National Hurdles on Liberator and a Great Northern Steeple on the same horse. His training successes including an Auckland Cup and he had Vascoe, leading stake earner in the 1903/4 season. Free had great success in the sister sport. He trained and drove Evicus, the grand champion at the inaugral Inter-Dominion at Perth in 1936, drove the 1919 NZ Cup winner, Trix Pointer and won the 1935 Auckland Cup with Graham Direct. Maurice is the second son of Free, who also had four daughters, one of whom is married to Mr C L Rhodes, who has major holdings in the standardbred industry. Maurice's brothers, Freeman (eldest), and Allan also made their marks as horsemen while another, Walter was the right-hand man for his father. Freeman figured as the owner-trainer-driver of the 1953 NZ Cup winner, Adorian and trained Graham Direct for his 1935 Auckland Cup win. He trained and drove two NZ Derby winners - Bonny Bridge(1943) and Daphne de Oro(1927) and four NZ Sapling Stake winners - Richore(1926), Sonoma Child(1928), Captain Morant(1942) and Forward(1951). Allan Holmes is best remembered for Gold Bar, who put up great exhibitions of speed and ran his rivals off their feet in the 1945 NZ Cup. He also drove Harold Logan in his second NZ Cup win from 60 yards in 1932. Today a third generation of Holmes's is continuing the family tradition for top horsemanship with Freeman L, Graham, Kevin and Colin, nephews of Maurice. Graham has driven the classic winner, Buccaneer(1953 NZ Sapling Stakes) and developed the Cup class pacer Co Pilot. Kevin, who also drove a NZ Derby winner Leroy(1968), is a prominent trainer at Cambridge and Colin has also had success. Freeman L figures as the trainer and part-owner of this year's star 2-year-old Noodlum and the fine 4-year-old trotter Edis Nova. Maurice Holmes attended Riccarton Primary School. He began driving work at the age of 11 and was full time in the stable at high school age. Maurice was soon licenced as a reinsman but for a short time had his licence revoked on the grounds that he was too young. He had his first engagement in a race at Ashburton on Boxing Day, 1923. The horse Energetic, fell so it could be said that he started his career at ground level. Holmes maintained his association with Energetic's trainer G H Murfitt of Rangiora. Murfitt, the oldest licenced trainer in NZ was on hand when a presentation was made to Holmes by the Ashburton Club last month to mark his retirement. Holmes drove Life Bouy for Mr Murfitt that day but was unplaced. Holmes had his first placing behind Wonder Why who finished third from 60 yards in the Governor's Handicap at Addington on November 14, 1924. He had his first win on Bonny Logan in a saddle event at Addington on August 17, 1925 at the age of 16. A description of the race in a Christchurch newspaper the following day read: "The winner was well and patiently handled by the young horseman, Maurice Holmes, whose first win it was. With the good judgement and coolness he showed, he will be heard of later." Maurice was considered a top rider whe saddle races were in vogue. His first win in a sulky event was behind Talaro at Auckland on December 23, 1926. Five days later he gained his first 'big' win with Talaro in the Auckland Cup. A free-lance driver in the early days of his career, Holmes first topped the drivers' premiership in the 1930/31 season with 35 wins and repeated the feat the following season. He took up training in the depression years of the early 30s. It was a case of making a living with driving fees dropping from £3 to £1 and the chance of only five drives a week. Holmes retired from public training in 1959 though he still prepares a few horses for himself. He trained Strauss, a winner at Addington earlier this season and has about 450 wins on his record as a trainer. Holmes achieved the $1 million mark in stake earnings when he reined Damian to success in the Le Lievre Handicap at the NZ Metropolitan meeting on November 21, 1959. He achieved $2 million when Waipounamu ran second in the Spreydon Handicap at Addington on March 30, 1974. Holmes hoisted his 1000th winning drive behind Rustic Lad, in the Final Handicap, last race of the NZ Metropolitan Trotting Club's Cup Day programme on November 8, 1960. His reply at the presentation to the thousands of fans who had been on tenderhooks: "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. It would have suited me much better five races ago." He was referring to the NZ Cup in which he was beaten into third place with Lookaway. Holmes gained win number 1500 at Oamaru on October 23, 1972, when Macamba won the Cecil Hore Memorial Handicap. Holmes cut down on travelling much further afield than Canterbury in the late 1960s after topping the drivers premiership for five consecutive seasons between 1961/2 and 1965/66 with totals of 54-50-60-45-48. Consequently his tallies dropped away though he still remained high on the national list each season. Last season(1972/73), urged on by his wife, Elsa, and 17-year-old son, Paul, Maurice revisited some of his old haunts in quest of the record. His brilliance as a reinsman did the rest. He drove a winner on 54 of the 62 days or nights he had an engagement and piloted at least one winner on 24 consecutive days or nights between December 23, 1972 and March 24, 1973. To emphasise his skill he landed five winners - Wag, Robin's Sister, Armbro Jodie, Strauss and Great Time at the NZ Metropolitan meeting on March 7, 1973. Holmes had twice previously driven five winners on one programme at Forbury Park. He was successful with Jenny Dillon, Walnut Jimmy, Te Maru (twice) and Lady Inchape on October 13, 1951 when he also gained seconds with First Victor and Scottish Nurse. The other occasion was on February 5, 1955, when he piloted Recruit, Trueco, Belle Renarde, Sure Phoebe and Secure. At the presentation to Holmes when he drove his 68th winner for 1972/3 - Grizzly Bear at Addington on April 7, 1973 - thus eclipsing his old record of 67, NZ Trotting Conference President, Dick Rolfe, said: "The Holmes family have shaped the destinies of NZ trotting and 1973 will go down as Maurice Holmes' finest year." Another feat for Holmes was to train and drive the winners of both divisions of a race. The event was the Waiwera Handicap won by County Clare and Valola at the Banks Peninsula Racing Club's meeting on March 2, 1946. Holmes won the only other light harness event on that programme with County Clare. Maurice has a remarkably clean record as race driver. He had his first suspension for 18 years when given a one day penalty for causing interference at the Morrinsville meeting an April 2, 1974. The previous time he was outed for a month when found guilty of causing interference as the driver of Super Royal which finished second to Loyal Cis in the Author Dillon Handicap at Addington on November 8, 1956. Among his big wins in 1972/3 were the $16,500 Stars Travel Miracle Mile with Wag (who set a national record of 1:57 2-5); NZ Derby (Willie Win); Champagne Mile Final (Tonton Macoute); Bridgens Memorial and Stewards Free-For-All (Jason McCord). It is fitting that Maurice should be associated this season with Noodlum (trained by his nephew, Freeman) as the colt rewrote the record book for a 2-year-old by winning 12 races and $23,162.50. Freeman drove Noodlum to win five of his first eight starts then offered the drive to Maurice to help in his quest to top the drivers' premiership in his last season. Maurice obliged by piloting Noodlum to seven straight wins including the triple crown of 2-year-old racing - the NZ Sapling Stakes, Juvenile Championship and Welcome Stakes. Maurice has had his share of spills; enough to rule him out when he volunteered for the Second World War. At 65 years of age, Holmes is driving with the acumen of men many years his junior. His nerve has never wavered. Another remarkable feat he has achieved in his final season, is driving a winner at 18 of the 20 tracks where he has attended his last meeting. This he proved at Alexandra Park last Saturday in his final day of driving when he drove four winners, two seconds and a third. It was a remarkable achievement and showed him to be the 'Maestro' to the end. Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 15Jul98 YEAR: 1973 J S (Jack) Shaw, who died in Christchurch on Saturday aged 76 after ailing in health for several months, will long be remembered in NZ racing and trotting circles for many fine accomplishments. But probably his greatest feat of all was blazing the trail to America for NZ standardbreds with that grand trotter Vodka. It could be rightly said that someone had to be first in this role, but Jack Shaw overcame severe adversity to get Vodka into winning form in the United States in 1956. I was there with him at that time, and I believe no other horseman from this part of the world could have surmounted the difficulties that beset him on that trip and proved his point by leading the way across the Pacific to the hundreds of standardbreds that have followed. Had Jack Shaw and Vodka failed in their mission, there would almost certainly have been great reluctance on the part of any other owners and trainers to take or send horses to America. The crack pacer Caduceus may not have been tempted to New York for International competition in 1960, there might not have been sufficient American faith in NZ performances to prompt the purchase of the mighty Cardigan Bay in 1964. And the keen demand for our standardbred product that arose through the deeds of our topliners in the United States transforming NZ trotting from a battler's sport to a flourishing industry, might not have developed. Jack Shaw was just the man for such a significant crusade. Already by 1956 his name was a household word in NZ racing circles. His accomplishments, first in trotting with a string of outstanding pacers and trotters headed by the long-time NZ record holder for a trotting mile, Worthy Queen(2:03 3-5), and then with numerous gallopers headed by the outstanding classics and cups winner Beaumaris, had set the seal to his fame. And when the brilliant trotter Vodka, a gift to Jack Shaw from Auckland's Mr Trotting, Bill Hoskins, capped a fine NZ record by winning from 102 yards at 13 furlongs in record time at Addington early in 1956 in his final appearance, the stage was set. The NZ trotting fraternity as a whole had every confidence that the Shaw-Vodka combination would prove winning ambassadors in their historic venture into the American harness racing scene. But events were to prove that it was not going to be all that easy. Jack Shaw took Vodka to America by ship. It was a bad trip, and Vodka and his master both travelled poorly. They reached New York down in health and Vodka, his condition aggravated by severe corn trouble, could not trot a yard when Jack set him to training at Yonkers. From being a star visitor with glowing advance reports to live up to, Vodka, when he looked and performed so poorly in first appearances on the busy Yonkers training scene, was reduced to something of a joke amongst the heartless grooms and touts of the area who knew nothing of the troubles of the visitor. Jack Shaw was a man of great independence and pride. He refused to seek sympathy from raceway officials or to accept help from American horsemen - insistent in his own mind that he would overcome all the problems. But Vodka was proving more than a worry even for Jack Shaw, costs were running high, eating into the finance Shaw was legally restricted to. In desperation, Jack transported Vodka to the less significant Vernon Downs track in upstate New York, took moderate private lodgings, lived virtually on coffee and hamburgers for weeks on end while he devoted his every waking moment to patching up Vodka sufficiently to win with him. In his day a robust but extremely fit man with a background that included a career in wrestling and wrestling refereeing, Jack lost several stone in weight and, I am sure, aged himself considerably in this ordeal. Jack by this time had refused to accept financial assistance offered him by globetrotting NZer Noel Simpson. He still wanted to do the job completely on his own. Boarding with him for a few days at that time, I found that despite all his woes, Jack Shaw still retained his sense of humour. When I mistakenly set the fire alarm for the whole township of Vernon going, thinking that I was using a telephone in the household, he laughed until the tears came. Finally, Vodka was as ready as any hands could have possibly got him under the circumstances for his American race debut. Typically slow from the barrier in his first start, Vodka, though not half his former self, made ground into fifth at the wire. Though relieved that Vodka had shown sufficient to suggest he would be able to at least win minor races, Jack was nevertheless bitterly disappointed that he hadn't won first-up with him. The following week, however, the NZ combination made no mistake, coming from another slow start to win handsomely. And history was made. Almost crying with joy, Jack invited me into the box with him and the horse after cooling Vodka out. As I tried to squeeze past Vodka's rump the gelding lifted his off hind leg as if to kick at me. I froze. "Don't worry about him. He won't kick you. If he does I'll send him back to NZ," said Jack. And fortunately for me, that great confidence that Jack Shaw had in himself and his horse was right once again. Vodka didn't kick me. He was to win several more races under Jack and then a few more under an American trainer, Earl Nelson, who had been very helpful after Jack had finally befriended him. And though, before he died a year or so later while still in active racing Vodka did not win a really big race in America, he had proved a NZ horse could succeed in the States. I related some of this story some months later to Karl Scott, long-time editor of the NZ Trotting Calendar and a top authority on NZ trotting. Karl said at that time: "Jack Shaw is not a trainer, he's a scientist with horses." I couldn't agree more. Credit: Ron Bisman writing in NZ Trotting 14Jul73 YEAR: 1948
Harold Logan died last week at the age of 25 years. The owner, Mr E F C Hinds, stated that Harold Logan's heart weighed four pounds. His lungs were still perfectly sound, but his teeth and gums were gone. Harold Logan was a horse who became an institution with the racing public. His name was a household word. He was almost human. Everybody idolised him. Can't you still hear the cry re-echoing through the grandstands? "It's Harold Logan coming through." The cry was taken up by thousands, until it swelled into a mighty roar as the hero of a hundred fights broke another world's record. Harold Logan's deeds live on as an epic. He was, indeed, one of Nature's finest little gentlemen. Homer never sang of a greater hero than this courageous piece of pacing dynamite. Harold Logan rose from comparative insignificance. His dam, Ivy Cole, was never threatened with fame, and when Harold Logan was born in a yard at the back of the Springfield Hotel, he was regarded by the natives as just another horse. But what a horse! As near perfection in racing qualities as we are ever likely to see. Harold Logan's third dam, Charity, was a thoroughbred, but was a poor galloper, and her track performances would scarcely have done credit to a back-country hack. To Duncan Abdullah she produced Wisconsin. For some years Wisconsin did duty as a shepherd's hack. Later she was raced, but was a decided moderate. Her owner, Mr J J Coffey, mated her with King Cole, the result being Ivy Cole, a good-looking sort; but she was injured and did not race. Ivy Cole, if she had never left another foal, earned immortality as the dam of Harold Logan. Harold Logan had his first race at a Waimate Hunt Meeting as a 5-year-old in the 1927-28 season, when with his owner, the late F R Legg, in the saddle, he won easily over the mile and a half journey. He raced four times as a 6-year-old, but without any return. In fact, it was not until he came into the ownership of Miss E Hinds, at the small outlay of £100, and joined the late R J Humphrey's stable, that he began to show his real worth. Nothing succeeded quite like Harold Logan. His onslaught on the West Coast of the North Island curcuit in the 1929-30 season was one of the cleanest sweeps on record. He took everything before him, and was later successful at Addington and Auckland, in all sorts of going. Each of his wins was more impressive than the last, and already he was recognised as a coming champion. By the time he had passed the 8-year-old mark he was among the stars. His victory in the Oamaru Handicap that year is still regarded by many experienced observers as one of his greatest performances. Buffeted from pillar to post, he was apparently out of the contest more than once, and it was a supreme effort in the straight that enabled him to get up and win in a blanket finish between four of the best stayers of that time. The public could not believe the watch when the world's record race figures of 4.13 2/5 for two miles were hung up for his third placing in the Midsummer Handicap at Addington in 1931. The previous best figures were Peter Bingen's 4.18 4/5. Harold Logan was time in 4.11 from post to post. Already he was one in a million. His first victory in the NZ Cup came when he was nine. A brilliant win in the Weston Handicap at Oamaru pointed to success, but in the first division of the NZ Cup he was driven wide out practically all the way and just managed to struggle into fourth place and qualify for the final. He was allowed to go out second favourite in the final, but, more judiciously handled, he came away from Kingcraft in the straight after pacing his last half-mile in the sensational time of 58 2/5secs. The Free-For-All fell easy prey to him. Harold Logan had now reached ten years of age, and he celebrated his birthday by returning after a spell to down Red Shadow in the National Handicap. He set new record figures for a mile and a quarter when he finished third in the Avon Handicap at New Brighton in 2.38 2/5, and subsequently won the NZ Cup Trial, a prelude to his second victory in the NZ Cup, in which he set a new race record of 4.16 2/5. The following season he created a surprise at the August meeting by winning from a long mark over a mile and a quarter. His dividend was well into double figures and many and varied were the tales of people who 'let him go.' But now was to follow a period of eclipse for the champion. He failed to gain a place in the NZ Cup, was beaten by Red Shadow and Kingcraft in the Free-For-All, and it seemed that the new champion in Red Shadow was entitled to the crown. It was soon after this that the NZ Metropolitan Trotting Club made arrangements for the Australian champion Walla Walla, to appear in match races with Red Shadow, Harold Logan, Roi l'Or and Jewel Pointer - and tremendous interest was displayed by the public in the track work of all these horses weeks before the event. Such an impression Red Shadow made by his NZ Cup and Free-For-All victories, that he was a firm favourite over Walla Walla and Harold Logan. The first of the invitation races was run over a mile, and Walla Walla, beginning very fast, set a new world's record of 2.04 1/5 from a standing start and narrowly defeated Harold Logan, with Red Shadow a fair third. This was the only race in which Walla Walla was seen at his best, and in all but one of the other five - run at Auckland, Forbury Park, Oamaru and Wellington - Harold Logan was the victor. These highly exhilarating contests - they put new life and enthusiasm into the sport throughout NZ - were the crowning glory of Harold Logan's 12-year-old career. Enthusiasm knew no bounds when he opened up his winning account in the Avon Handicap, of a mile and a quarter, at New Brighton the following season. He started from the seemingly impossible mark of 84 yards. Those in front of him included such proven sprinters as Silver de Oro, Kingcraft and Craganour. Once again Harold Logan paid a large dividend; but winners and losers alike put their hands together and roared themselves hoarse when they realised that the irresistable Harold had bagged another world's race record. His 2.36 3/5 was then a world's winning race record. This would have been enough for one season for most champions, but just by way of variety Harold Logan gave the record roster another jolt by finishing third from 72 yards in the NZ Cup and clocked 4.12 2/5. This was a world's pacing record for two miles, with no reservations whatsoever, and it stood for thirteen years. For this meeting a special two-mile Free-for-all, with lap prizes had been included in the programme, and Harold Logan was equal to outstaying Roi l'Or decisively after taking the prize from the second lap and collecting an additional £50. The mile and a quarter Free-For-All was just as easy for him. Now wearing on for thirteen, Harold Logan was evidently at last beginning to take toll of his years, but his vitality still proved invulnerable, and he gained another victory in the NZ Cup Trial at Wellington. He did not contest the NZ Cup, in which his handicap would have been 84 yards. In the Free-For-All he was beaten out of a place. He again failed from a long mark at Easter, but one was still loath to write 'C'est finis' to a grand and glorious career. And just as well, because, without Dr Voronoff or anybody else, he came back as a 14-year-old, finishing fourth in the NZ Cup, third in the Louisson Handicap, and winning another Free-For-All. He was given an official farewell at this meeting, and enthusiasm ran high when a garland of roses was placed around his neck by Mrs J H Williams. The crowd went hysterical with delight. One dear old lady showered the 'horse that time forgot' with rose petals, and children round the birdcage gave him a warm 'hand.' Everybody loved this horse. His uncanny intelligence, unflinching courage, and perfect manners appealed to all. His terrific bursts of speed from rear positions round the best of fields always sent the pulse doing overtime and brought thousands to their feet to do honour to the horse who proved time and time again that nothing was beyond him. At the barrier! He would stand there, the whole field in front of him, and, ears pricked and not a move out of him, he would watch the starter, as keenly as any driver ever watched him. And I heard one of his drivers admit that on more than one occasion old Harold was into his stride and full speed ahead before even his pilot realised that the barriers had been released. He has a sense of anticipation that would have lined up with Bert Cooke's! In training Harold Logan was also little short of human. He knew the training track from the racetrack as well as any trainer, and he would not go any faster than he had to. But if any strange horse was brought along to work with him, he would go like fun to beat it, just to prove he could, and once he had done so he would not bother his head about it again. Now, that's one for Ripley, because it is on record that Harold Logan could size up his opposition as well as his trainer or driver. At the races, however, he was just the opposite, becausehe never stopped trying, no matter how gigantic the task. They are not foaled better than Harold Logan. -o0o- Frank Marrion writing in NZ Trotting Calendar 8Feb84 Harold Logan was a gelded son of Logan Pointer and a non-standardbred mare in Ivy Cole, who was by King Cole (by Ribbonwood) from Wisconsin, she being out of a poorly performed thoroughbred mare. Harold Logan rose from total obscurity to become a household name in NZ, the idol of thousands. But it wasn't so much his perfect manners, devastating turn of speed nor undeniable will to win that saw him rise to such heights of popularity. It was his character. Harold Logan was virtually human, so intelligent he was known to train himself and run his own races. One famous instance was after one of his many wins at Addington, his driver commenting Harold Logan was into full stride before he realised the starter had let the field go. Nobody had heard of Harold Logan when he began his first serious campaign as a seven-year-old, having just been purchased by Mr E Hinds for £100 and joined the stable of R J (Dick) Hunphreys. However, after a North Island campaign in the winter of 1930, where he was unbeaten in four starts at Wanganui, Hawera and Taranaki in the space of a fortnight, he was already among the stars. After winning at Addington, Harold Logan travelled to Auckland where he scored a double, his final start of the season resulting in a five length win in the featured Adams Memorial Cup. He won his first three starts as an eight-year-old later finishing second in the Auckland Cup from 36 yards to Carmel (front) and winning the NZ Trotting Gold Cup at Wellington by four lengths. He was placed in his final three starts at Addington that season, including a third from 84 yards over two miles. Nobody could believe their eyes when his time of 4:13.4 was posted, the previous best being Peter Bingen's 4:18.8. He was timed from post to post in better than 4:11, figures unheard of and unequalled until Highland Fling appeared on the scene some 15 years later. As a nine-year-old Harold Logan won his first NZ Cup, coming off a 48 yard handicap to easily beat Kingcraft (front), Free Advice (12) and Wrackler (36). The stake of 1500 sovereigns was half what the Cup had been run for in the mid 1920s. He also won the Free-For-All on the final day pointlessly. Harold Logan returned the following season to win the National Handicap from 60 yards, set new figures for a mile and a quarter in finishing third at Addington in 2:38.4, win the NZ Cup Trial at Wellington, and win his second NZ Cup from 60 yards, beating Glenrossie (12), Roi l'Or (24) and Red Shadow (12) by two lengths in 4:16.4, a race record. Now trained by his owner at New Brighton, Harold Logan returned at the advanced age of 11 to win at Addington in August, beating Mountain Dell (front), and Red Shadow (36) from 60 yards over a mile and a quarter in 2:38 2/5. However, he was overshadowed by Red Shadow at the Cup meeting, finishing fifth from 72 yards in the Cup and being soundly beaten by that horse in the Free-For-All after uncharacteristically beaking in the run home. It seemed youth was about to be served, but Harold Logan still had other ideas. Thus when Walla Walla stepped into the Addington birdcage to do battle with New Zealand's best, the scene was unprecedented, or at least for 30 years when Fritz and Ribbonwood had set the trotting world alight. It is impossible to recapture the excitement of the day in words now, so for a while we will step back into history, remembering we are 50 years in the past, and let the noted scribe of those years, "Ribbonwood" (or Karl Scott as he was better known) recall the events. (Published April 5, 1934, NZ Referee). "From a very early hour the trams and taxis did a roaring trade. People were seen walking to the course from 9:30am and by 11:30 traffic control at the course entrances was a most difficult task. They continued to arrive in thousands until the appointed hour of the Invitation Match, and by this time grandstand accommodation was at a premium. Inside and outside the course every possible vantage point was taken. The Showgrounds fence, and the back fence of the course, cattle trucks and carriages in the railway yard, the workshops roof, and the roofs of private houses adjacent to the course were loaded with humanity. From the crowd covering the lawns came a steady drone that could be likened to the roar of an Eastern market place. "But the crowd round the totalisator dispersed much earlier than usual, and five minutes before closing time the totalisator was being patronised by only a few stragglers who were probably imbued with purely gambling instincts, and who were not particularly desirous of obtaining the best possible view of the race. It is safe to say that many thousands did not make any investment on the race. They went solely to see the champions in action, and monetary interests became a secondary consideration with many of the 22,000 present. "The CJC as well as retailers, hotel keepers and bording house keepers have benefitted by the enterprise of the Metropolitan Trotting Club in arranging the match races. One incident will give some idea of the tremendous interest it has engended. Of nine men staying at one hotel, six admitted that it was the first trotting meeting they had attended. That is a large percentage and does not hold good in all cases. But one can safely assume that the increase of £11,985 in the totalisator investments on the first day was represented by the drawing influence of the Invitation Match. Walla Walla was the first horse to enter the birdcage and when he was driven round by his owner, unstinted applause came from the dense crowd around the birdcage. It had an unsettling effect on Walla Walla, who got on his toes immediately and showed nervousness during the preliminary that his owner stated was due to the surroundings and a multitude his champion had never seen before. When Harold Logan appeared, prancing along to the plaudits that only a public idol receives, the hero of 'ten thousand' fights was given the warmest reception of all the contestants. He has gained a place in the estimation of the sporting public that will never be surpassed, even when his memory is dimmed with time. Red Shadow, the best conditioned horse of the field, made a marvellous impression in his 'Sunday waistcoat' as he was enthusiastically received. Roi l'Or, who, perhaps, did not look as though he had all his medals on, also came in for a tremendous round of applause, and little Jewel Pointer was received as a battle-scarred old veteran with a runner's chance. "Walla Walla and Roi l'Or were both restive at the start, and they held up the despatch for nearly two minutes. Harold Logan stood like a statue, and Red Shadow and Jewel Pointer gave little trouble. Walla Walla continued to rear up and back out, but eventually they were all caught nearly in line. Walla Walla began ver fast and was soon showing out from Harold Logan and Red Shadow, while Roi l'Or and Jewel Pointer were slow to muster their speed. Walla Walla drew out by two lengths clear of Harold Logan at the end of a quarter, and Red Shadow was about the same distance back, and then Jewel Pointer and Roi l'Or at close intervals. Jewel Pointer moved up to be almost on terms with Red Shadow three furlongs from home, but from this stage the race was a duel between Walla Walla and Harold Logan. Walla Walla reached the straight with Harold Logan challenging on the outside of him. "The crowd had cheered wildly from the outset, but when Harold Logan drew up to Walla Walla a furlong from the post, the mingled advice and exhortations were deafening. 'Harold Logan wins' came from thousands of throats and halfway down the straight the New Zealander certainly appeared to have the measure of the Australian. About 50 yards from the post they drew level again, but Walla Walla had a little in reserve, and gradually drew out from Harold Logan, and passed the post a neck in front. Red Shadow, flat out, was three lengths away, Jewel Pointer four lengths farther back, and Roi l'Or about two lengths away. "The crowd literally went mad with delight. They would have liked to see our champion beat Walla Walla, but the fact that the Australian came again when apparently beaten, and won the most hair raising duel ever witnessed at Addington, left them hoarse but satisfied. It took the police all their time to prevent a section of the crowd from mobbing the winner when he was returning to the birdcage, but more was to follow. On their way back to the sheds, Walla Walla and Mr Martin were effectively mobbed. Police protection had to be availed of, and, before the crowd dispersed, several volunteers had to be called upon to protect the police, or assist them. 'My greatest hope has been realised,' stated Mr Martin. 'The demonstration fairly staggered me.' 'The best horse won,' said Mr E F C Hinds, owner of Harold Logan. 'I am quite satisfied.'" The best horse had won and in world record time for a standing start mile of 2:04.2. The subsequent invitation races at Addington, Alexandra Park, Forbury Park, Oamaru and Wellington were understandably anti-climatic, with Walla Walla failing to reproduce his best. The second day of Addington's Easter meeting saw Walla Walla, Harold Logan, Red Shadow, Jewel Pointer and Ces Donald's Lindbergh return for a clash over a mile and a half. Harold Logan won easily after Walla Walla had put his foot through Jewel Pointer's cart with about a mile to run. Walla Walla had begun slowly and was trying to get out of a pocket on the rails when the incident occurred. A youthful Maurice Holmes who drove Harold Logan throughout the series, received some criticism for "walking" the field in the early stages. With Harold Logan reeling of his last half mile in close to 59 seconds, he gave nobody a show, beating Red Shadow by a length with Lindbergh and Walla Walla six lengths away. Harold Logan recorded 3:16.4 for the journey, more than two seconds slower than Worthy Queen took in the main trot later in the day, recording 3:14.2 from 60 yards. Worthy Queen's time was to stand as a record for almost 20 years, Dictation reducing it in the early 1950s. The third and fourth rounds of the invitation races were held at Alexandra Park. Harold Logan was an easy winner of the first, leading throughout to beat Auburn Lad and Red Shadow, but in the second he drifted off the rails at a vital stage and allowed Impromptu and Red Shadow through to beat him narrowly. Walla Walla had not travelled north but he and Harold Logan clashed at Forbury Park where the track was so bad they were forced to race in the centre of the course. Walla Walla set a strong pace in the early stages but had no answer when challenged by Harold Logan in the straight. The concluding invitation events at Oamaru and Wellington also fell easy prey to Harold Logan, with Walla Walla struggling. However it was later revealed that the stallion had been suffering from a severe cold. For Harold Logan the series with Walla Walla could easily have been his crowning glory, but still there was much more to come. He returned the following season and stunned the trotting world when he won the mile and a quarter Avon Handicap at Addington from 84 yards. Eleventh favourite in the 13 horse field, Maurice Holmes got him home by a length in 2:36.6, a record which stood until the suicidal Gold Bar clocked 2:35 in 1942. Starting from 72 yards in the 1934 NZ Cup, he found Indianapolis (12 yards) and Blue Mountain (front) impossible to beat, but on the second day he easily won a free-for-all over two miles, beating Roi l'Or and Red Shadow, and on the final day he won the mile and a quarter free-for-all by three lengths over Roi l'Or. In the Cup that year Harold Logan recorded 4:12.4, a record which stood for 13 years. He was back again the following season to win the NZ Cup Trial Handicap at Wellington by three lengths after starting from 60 yards over a mile and a quarter, but did not attempt the Cup. Some idea of the ridiculous handicaps now imposed on Harold Logan was in evidence when he lined up on the second day, starting from 72 yards in a mile event. Indianapolis won fron 48 yards. He was a close fourth on the final day in the free-for-all won by Indianapolis over stablemate Tempest and Roi l'Or. By now one could easily have been excused for writing "C'est finis" to a grand and glorious career but still Harold Logan had other ideas, returning as a 14-year-old in 1936 to finish a fine fourth in Indianapolis' third NZ Cup, then win the free-for-all on the final day over Tempest, Red Shadow, Roi l'Or and Indianapolis. This was finally Harold Logan's crowning glory and gave rise to a highly emotional scene when he was decorated in the birdcage afterwards. It was his last start for the season and seemingly he was retired with a record of 29 wins and 20 times second or third in 108 starts, earning just over £10,000. But, incredibly, Harold Logan was leased and brought back into work as a 16-year-old, recording a couple more placings before the curtain fell on the career of a horse who really defied description. Appropriately Harold Logan's final start also brought to a close the career of his remarkable sire Logan Pointer, having been foaled only a year or so before Logan Pointer was fatally kicked by a pony, dying at the age of 15. Credit: 'Ribbonwood' writing in NZ Trotting Calendar 21Apr48 YEAR: 1934
What would you say to a match race between Lord Module and Popular Alm, on a nice roomy track like Addington, with Delightful Lady, Bonnie's Chance and Armalight thrown in for good measure? Obviously such an event would be virtually impossible, to frame or to imagine, but that's just what happened exactly 50 years ago. It was early in 1934 when the NZ Metropolitan Trotting Club completed arrangements for the glamour Australian pacer Walla Walla to compete in a series of match races throughout NZ, against the best pacers New Zealand could assemble. Considered worthy of taking on such an illustrious foe were dual NZ Cup winner Harold Logan, in the twilight of his magnificent career as an eleven-year-old, most recent NZ Cup winner Red Shadow, ten-year-old Roi l'Or and Jewel Pointer, the latter representing the North Island. Trotting in NZ has seen many changes since the turn of the century and the days of Ribbonwood and Fritz. Growth was the key word, checked momentarily by events of World War I, trotting had made splendid progress in NZ. Addington Raceway, undoubtedly the mecca of the sport in this part of the world, had seen many personalities, horses and men. Names such as Monte Carlo, Wildwood Junior, Author Dillon, Trix Pointer, Reta Peter, Great Bingen and Wrackler, the Bryces, Holmes, and numerous others had well and truly carved their niche. The period was also significant for the importation of stallions who reshaped the industry - the likes of Nelson Bingen, Harold Dillon, Logan Pointer, Rey de Oro, Wrack and Jack Potts. While economies had plunged into the depths of depression, trotting in the 1930s was little short of spectacular, spurred on by great horses and packed grandstands. One of those horses was Harold Logan, a gelded son of Logan Pointer and a non-standardbred mare in Ivy Cole, who was by King Cole (by Ribbonwood) from Wisconsin, she being out of a poorly performed thoroughbred mare. Harold Logan rose from total obscurity to become a household name in NZ, the idol of thousands. But it wasn't so much his perfect manners, devastating turn of speed nor undeniable will to win that saw him rise to such heights of popularity. It was his character. Harold Logan was virtually human, so intelligent he was known to train himself and run his own races. One famous instance was after one of his many wins at Addington, his driver commenting Harold Logan was into full stride before he realised the starter had let the field go. Nobody had heard of Harold Logan when he began his first serious campaign as a seven-year-old, having just been purchased by Mr E Hinds for £100 and joined the stable of R J (Dick) Hunphreys. However, after a North Island campaign in the winter of 1930, where he was unbeaten in four starts at Wanganui, Hawera and Taranaki in the space of a fortnight, he was already among the stars. After winning at Addington, Harold Logan travelled to Auckland where he scored a double, his final start of the season resulting in a five length win in the featured Adams Memorial Cup. He won his first three starts as an eight-year-old later finishing second in the Auckland Cup from 36 yards to Carmel (front) and winning the NZ Trotting Gold Cup at Wellington by four lengths. He was placed in his final three starts at Addington that season, including a third from 84 yards over two miles. Nobody could believe their eyes when his time of 4:13.4 was posted, the previous best being Peter Bingen's 4:18.8. He was timed from post to post in better than 4:11, figures unheard of and unequalled until Highland Fling appeared on the scene some 15 years later. As a nine-year-old Harold Logan won his first NZ Cup, coming off a 48 yard handicap to easily beat Kingcraft (front), Free Advice (12) and Wrackler (36). The stake of 1500 sovereigns was half what the Cup had been run for in the mid 1920s. He also won the Free-For-All on the final day pointlessly. Harold Logan returned the following season to win the National Handicap from 60 yards, set new figures for a mile and a quarter in finishing third at Addington in 2:38.4, win the NZ Cup Trial at Wellington, and win his second NZ Cup from 60 yards, beating Glenrossie (12), Roi l'Or (24) and Red Shadow (12) by two lengths in 4:16.4, a race record. Now trained by his owner at New Brighton, Harold Logan returned at the advanced age of 11 to win at Addington in August, beating Mountain Dell (front), and Red Shadow (36) from 60 yards over a mile and a quarter in 2:38 2/5. However, he was overshadowed by Red Shadow at the Cup meeting, finishing fifth from 72 yards in the Cup and being soundly beaten by that horse in the Free-For-All after uncharacteristically beaking in the run home. It seemed youth was about to be served, but Harold Logan still had other ideas. Red Shadow was by no means a slouch himself, in fact trainer James "Scotty" Bryce, who prepared no less than five individual NZ Cup winners, considered him the best. The chestnut was a six-year-old when he beat Harold Logan in the Free-For-All and had already won 22 races, including nine and the Great Northern Derby as a three-year-old. Red Shadow's sire Travis Axworthy, a chestnut himself imported from America as a two-year-old in 1924, was a fine upstanding individual and a pacer of top class, actually beating Harold Logan on more than one occasion a few years earlier. Red Shadow was one of those great "lucky to be alive" stories. Bryce had arrived from Scotland in 1913, presuming his two mares Our Aggie and Jenny Lind would be waiting for him. He had shipped them off two weeks before departing himself. However, their ship had soon gone aground, forcing it back to port, and the mares had to be transshipped to another vessel, the Nairnshire. Two months after Bryce had stepped on to the Wellington wharf, the Nairnshire arrived. It had been a particularly rough and hazardous journey and Bryce's mares were strapped to the deck, the mate having suggested they be thrown overboard. Bryce had already shifted to Christchurch and was soon making "Oakhampton Lodge" at Hornby the most modern training establishment seen up to that time. Only months after arriving, Our Aggie was winning races for Bryce and later she produced Red Shadow. Only three years after his arrival in the Dominion, Bryce was the leading trainer, a position he retained for seven consequtive years, then again in the 1923-24 season. He was also leading reinsman on five occasions. Apart from his NZ Cup successes with Cathedral Chimes (1916), Great Hope (1923), Ahuriri (1925,1926), Kohara (1927) and Red Shadow, Bryce won six Auckland Cups, three Sapling Stakes, three NZ Derbies, four Great Northern Derbies, four Champion Stakes, four Dominion Handicaps and a Rowe Cup, a record unapproached to this day. Other top class performers shaped by him were Admiral Wood, Man o'War, Shadow Maid, Taurekareka (the first horse to win the Sapling Stakes, NZ and Great Northern Derby), Whispering Willie, Moneyspider, Matchlight, Alto Chimes, Taraire and Whist. Bryce was meticulous in detail, his horses were always fit and healthy, inside and outside, and he was one of the first horsemen to introduce swimming as a regular part of training. Bryce had arrived in NZ with his wife and five children. Two of his sons, Andrew and James junior, were also noted horsemen for many years while his daughter Rona was an accomplished horsewoman at shows and gymkhanas and was associated with the training of several galloping winners. The 1930s saw a succession of champion performers and the 1933 NZ Cup meeting was no exception. In the event before the Cup, top four-year-old Indianapolis had come from a 36 yard back mark to win the mile and a quarter Empire Handicap by four lengths, while later in the day Huon Voyage won the Dominion Handicap from 60 yards. The Cup itself went pretty much as expected, with Mrs M Harrall's Red Shadow and Royal Silk finishing comfortably clear of the rest. This is the only occasion an owner has quinellaed the Cup. Red Shadow also won the final event of the day over a mile and a quarter. The meeting was also significant for the success of the six-year-old are Worthy Queen, who won twice on the second day and again on the third, beating top trotters Todd Lonzia and Huon Voyage. The NZ Derby was won by the unbeaten Man o'War youngster in War Buoy. The M B "Dil" Edwards trained gelding was out by six and twelve lengths over subsequent NZ Cup winner Morello and Gay Junior, the only other pacers that bothered entering the event. War Buoy who went on to win his first ten races, set a new race record for the mile and a half of 3:16.2. So devastating had Red Shadow been at the meeting, winning all four principle races, that he was installed favourite over Walla Walla and Harold Logan for the first round of match races on March 31. However, everyone knew Red Shadow would be produced in his usual immaculate condition, so most of the attention was focused on the "veterans", Walla Walla and Harold Logan, who were both virtually twice Red Shadow's age. Roi l'Or and Free Holmes had beaten Harold Logan on his merits in their younger days, but his form was indifferent now and he was thought to be past his best. Twelve-year-old Jewel Pointer had been one of the north's best performers for many years, but with advancing years was only given a runner's chance. Walla Walla was really something of a mystery, in fact most had not even heard of him, paying little attention to events across the Tasman. However, when some of his performances around the tiny Harold Park circuit were related, suddenly he took on awesome stature. Walla Walla's career had been along parallel lines to Harold Logan. He made his first appearances as a five-year-old in Sydney in 1928, winning the Gunning Show Cup and the Tooth's K B Lager Handicap. Hopples or no hopples, it made no difference to Walla Walla, and in July of 1928 he won his first registered start in Melbourne, unhoppled. It was the start of a record breaking career, culminating in his 2:02.4 mile at Harold Park in May of 1933, a time which was easily the fastest outside America. The NZ record for a mile was Acron's ten-year-old mark of 2:03.6 at Addington, while Harold Logan's best mile time was a 2:04.4 effort at Forbury Park, a track considered seconds faster than Harold Park. Walla Walla was bred, owned and trained throughout his career by Les Martin, a grazier and storekeeper of Dalton, New South Wales. Martin had been a great admirer of an outstanding pacer of the 1910s in Globe Derby, and when that horse was embarking on a stud career, purchased two mares in Princess Winona and Purple Ribbon to breed to him. Princess Winona, an unraced trotting mare by imported parents in Dixie Alto and Winona, duly produced a particularly handsome colt. However, as a two-year-old the colt was "all head and legs" and Martin lost interest in him. He was untouched until a late three-year-old and for a while fiercely resisted being handled. However, Walla Walla was soon proving himself a class above anything else in Australia and often so long were his handicaps, he was to become immortalised by the saying "further back than Walla Walla." Among his numerous successes were wins over 12 furlongs at Goulburn from 168 yards and at Harold Park from 180 yards, while his longest handicap was 288 yards in the 1929 Goulburn Cup when he finished third. Thus when Walla Walla stepped into the Addington birdcage to do battle with New Zealand's best, the scene was unprecedented, or at least for 30 years when Fritz and Ribbonwood had set the trotting world alight. It is impossible to recapture the excitement of the day in words now, so for a while we will step back into history, remembering we are 50 years in the past, and let the noted scribe of those years, "Ribbonwood" (or Karl Scott as he was better known) recall the events. (Published April 5, 1934, NZ Referee). "From a very early hour the trams and taxis did a roaring trade. People were seen walking to the course from 9:30am and by 11:30 traffic control at the course entrances was a most difficult task. They continued to arrive in thousands until the appointed hour of the Invitation Match, and by this time grandstand accommodation was at a premium. Inside and outside the course every possible vantage point was taken. The Showgrounds fence, and the back fence of the course, cattle trucks and carriages in the railway yard, the workshops roof, and the roofs of private houses adjacent to the course were loaded with humanity. From the crowd covering the lawns came a steady drone that could be likened to the roar of an Eastern market place. "But the crowd round the totalisator dispersed much earlier than usual, and five minutes before closing time the totalisator was being patronised by only a few stragglers who were probably imbued with purely gambling instincts, and who were not particularly desirous of obtaining the best possible view of the race. It is safe to say that many thousands did not make any investment on the race. They went solely to see the champions in action, and monetary interests became a secondary consideration with many of the 22,000 present. "The CJC as well as retailers, hotel keepers and bording house keepers have benefitted by the enterprise of the Metropolitan Trotting Club in arranging the match races. One incident will give some idea of the tremendous interest it has engended. Of nine men staying at one hotel, six admitted that it was the first trotting meeting they had attended. That is a large percentage and does not hold good in all cases. But one can safely assume that the increase of £11,985 in the totalisator investments on the first day was represented by the drawing influence of the Invitation Match. Walla Walla was the first horse to enter the birdcage and when he was driven round by his owner, unstinted applause came from the dense crowd around the birdcage. It had an unsettling effect on Walla Walla, who got on his toes immediately and showed nervousness during the preliminary that his owner stated was due to the surroundings and a multitude his champion had never seen before. When Harold Logan appeared, prancing along to the plaudits that only a public idol receives, the hero of 'ten thousand' fights was given the warmest reception of all the contestants. He has gained a place in the estimation of the sporting public that will never be surpassed, even when his memory is dimmed with time. Red Shadow, the best conditioned horse of the field, made a marvellous impression in his 'Sunday waistcoat' as he was enthusiastically received. Roi l'Or, who, perhaps, did not look as though he had all his medals on, also came in for a tremendous round of applause, and little Jewel Pointer was received as a battle-scarred old veteran with a runner's chance. "Walla Walla and Roi l'Or were both restive at the start, and they held up the despatch for nearly two minutes. Harold Logan stood like a statue, and Red Shadow and Jewel Pointer gave little trouble. Walla Walla continued to rear up and back out, but eventually they were all caught nearly in line. Walla Walla began ver fast and was soon showing out from Harold Logan and Red Shadow, while Roi l'Or and Jewel Pointer were slow to muster their speed. Walla Walla drew out by two lengths clear of Harold Logan at the end of a quarter, and Red Shadow was about the same distance back, and then Jewel Pointer and Roi l'Or at close intervals. Jewel Pointer moved up to be almost on terms with Red Shadow three furlongs from home, but from this stage the race was a duel between Walla Walla and Harold Logan. Walla Walla reached the straight with Harold Logan challenging on the outside of him. "The crowd had cheered wildly from the outset, but when Harold Logan drew up to Walla Walla a furlong from the post, the mingled advice and exhortations were deafening. 'Harold Logan wins' came from thousands of throats and halfway down the straight the New Zealander certainly appeared to have the measure of the Australian. About 50 yards from the post they drew level again, but Walla Walla had a little in reserve, and gradually drew out from Harold Logan, and passed the post a neck in front. Red Shadow, flat out, was three lengths away, Jewel Pointer four lengths farther back, and Roi l'Or about two lengths away. "The crowd literally went mad with delight. They would have liked to see our champion beat Walla Walla, but the fact that the Australian came again when apparently beaten, and won the most hair raising duel ever witnessed at Addington, left them hoarse but satisfied. It took the police all their time to prevent a section of the crowd from mobbing the winner when he was returning to the birdcage, but more was to follow. On their way back to the sheds, Walla Walla and Mr Martin were effectively mobbed. Police protection had to be availed of, and, before the crowd dispersed, several volunteers had to be called upon to protect the police, or assist them. 'My greatest hope has been realised,' stated Mr Martin. 'The demonstration fairly staggered me.' 'The best horse won,' said Mr E F C Hinds, owner of Harold Logan. 'I am quite satisfied.'" The best horse had won and in world record time for a standing start mile of 2:04.2. The subsequent invitation races at Addington, Alexandra Park, Forbury Park, Oamaru and Wellington were understandably anti-climatic, with Walla Walla failing to reproduce his best. The second day of Addington's Easter meeting saw Walla Walla, Harold Logan, Red Shadow, Jewel Pointer and Ces Donald's Lindbergh return for a clash over a mile and a half. Harold Logan won easily after Walla Walla had put his foot through Jewel Pointer's cart with about a mile to run. Walla Walla had begun slowly and was trying to get out of a pocket on the rails when the incident occurred. A youthful Maurice Holmes who drove Harold Logan throughout the series, received some criticism for "walking" the field in the early stages. With Harold Logan reeling of his last half mile in close to 59 seconds, he gave nobody a show, beating Red Shadow by a length with Lindbergh and Walla Walla six lengths away. Harold Logan recorded 3:16.4 for the journey, more than two seconds slower than Worthy Queen took in the main trot later in the day, recording 3:14.2 from 60 yards. Worthy Queen's time was to stand as a record for almost 20 years, Dictation reducing it in the early 1950s. A few days later Walla Walla, along with stablemate Auburn Lad and Worthy Queen, was back at Addington for a special attack on a 2:00 mile. Auburn Lad, also by Globe Derby, was owned, trained and driven by Bill McKay, who had accompanied Martin to NZ to drive Walla Walla. Auburn Lad had won well on the second day of the Easter meeting, beating Roi l'Or and Kingcraft over two miles. Several thousand enthusiasts were on hand to witnessthe time trials, but any chance of Australasia's first 2:00 mile were extinguished when one of those infamous Canterbury easterlies blew up. Walla Walla was the first to trial and sensationally raced up the Addington straight, into the wind, to pass the first quarter in 28 seconds, carrying on to the half in 58.4. Not surprisingly, he tired noticeably over the final quarter, taking over 34 seconds to complete the mile in 2:03.8. More sensibly handled by McKay, Auburn Lad went through the sections in 29.6, 60.8, amd 1:30.6 and stopping the clock at 2:02.4, equalling Walla Walla's Australasian mile record. However the star of the show was Jack Shaw's sleek little trotting mare Worthy Queen. Trotting in the style she had become so admired for, Worthy Queen passed each quarter in close to even time, and although tiring as she completed the journey, recorded 2:03.6, a mark which stood as the fastest in NZ for no less than 30 years. Worthy Queen failed to win a race afterwards, being handicapped out of most events and more often than not competing against pacers, where she was placed three times, including a third to Indianapolis at Wellington later in the season. She had her last start in the 1934 Dominion Handicap over a mile and a half, finishing fourth after sharing the back mark of 36 yards with the winner Trampfast, Huon Voyage, Olive Nelson and Wrackler, the latter three being past winners of the event. The third and fourth rounds of the invitation races were held at Alexandra Park. Harold Logan was an easy winner of the first, leading throughout to beat Auburn Lad and Red Shadow, but in the second he drifted off the rails at a vital stage and allowed Impromptu and Red Shadow through to beat him narrowly. Walla Walla had not travelled north but he and Harold Logan clashed at Forbury Park where the track was so bad they were forced to race in the centre of the course. Walla Walla set a strong pace in the early stages but had no answer when challenged by Harold Logan in the straight. The concluding invitation events at Oamaru and Wellington also fell easy prey to Harold Logan, with Walla Walla struggling. However it was later revealed that the stallion had been suffering from a severe cold. Walla Walla returned to Australia to enjoy a long and successful stud career at the property of his owner, dying in 1952 at the age of 30. He sired numerous top class performers, including Radiant Walla, Wirra Walla (grandsire of Apmat), Bruce Walla and the dam of Ribands, but unfortunately nothing anywhere near his own class. Credit: Frank Marrion writing in NZ Trotting Calendar 8Feb84 YEAR: 1914 BERTHABELL |