| PEOPLE |
YEAR: 1985
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| Mawson MacPherson & Castleton's Queen |
Mawson Stanley Macpherson, one of NZ's best known amatuer trainers, died suddenly at his home in Ashburton last week. He was 68.
Mr Macpherson was first granted a trainers licence in March 1975. He was a keen enthusiast of the straight-out trotter and was best known as the breeder-owner-trainer of the champion trotter Sir Castleton, who has been off the racing scene for some time recovering from injury. The gelding has been a great crowd pleaser and Mr Macpherson delighted in campaigning "Sir" both here and in Australia.
Mr Macpherson bred Sir Castleton from Castleton's Queen, the 1982/83 season Broodmare of the Year, whose first foal was Castleton's Pride, the 1975 Inter-Dominion Trotters' Grand Final winner for Mr Roy McKenzie. Castleton's Queen has left two other winners to date, the trotters Miss Castleton who won eight races and Lady Castleton who won three. Both mares were raced by Mr Macpherson and are now at stud.
Although the stable star Sir Castleton was off the racing scene for much of this season, Simba Lodge was kept in the limelight with five wins from the talented young trotter Boy Castleton, two wins from his close relative Lord Castleton and one win from the pacer Uncle Hoki, who was sold recently and will do his future racing in America.
Most of Mr Macpherson's success in harness racing was with trotters. Uncle Hoki is one of only a relatively small number of pacers he raced. The speedy Tarport Coulter horse King Canute and the stallion Pacing Simba, who won three races for Mr Macpherson were others.
Mr Macpherson is survived by his wife Margaret, their daughter Rosemary and son Alick.
Credit: Shelley Caldwell writing in NZ Trot Calendar 16Jul85
YEAR: 1985
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The open class trotting free-for-all at the New Brighton meeting on September 13 turned out just as we'd come to expect. Off level marks Sir Castleton was just about unbeatable and so it proved, but little did we know then that his 44th career win was also to be his last. A little over a month later, the news broke, the champion trotter had been retired more or less over night by Mrs Margaret Macpherson when he showed signs of lameness in work. X-rays showed arthritic deterioration in a joint in his near-hind leg.
Mrs Macpherson, who with her late husband, Mawson, had derived so much enjoyment from the electrifying performances their diminutive dynamo turned in over the years, decided this was the end of the road for the 9-year-old. "He needed a good six months spell if we were thinking of racing him again, but I've decided he's finished. He's been too good to us to have him breaking down completely," she said. There'll always be an apple for him here every night, she said of Sir Castleton, who bowed out as NZ's greatest stakes-winning trotter.
The son of Game Pride and the 1982-83 Broodmare of the Year, Castleton Queen, raced in NZ 96 times for 39 wins and 34 placings for earnings of $255,902. He earned an additional $46,250 in two campaigns in Australia giving him a cpmbined total of $302,152.
Sir Castleton soon hit the headlines when he stared racing as a 4-year-old back in the 1980-81 season winning nine of his twelve starts (seven in succession) and being the subject of some lucrative offers. He was the quickest trotting graduate to open class in living memory, taking his open ranking in just 10 starts. Four wins in eighteen starts, including his second Ordeal Cup at Addington, were the fruits of his 5-year-old campaign, in which he finished third in the Rowe Cup to Stormy Morn and Kenwood Song after being forced very wide on the home turn.
As a 6-year-old, Sir Castleton's great potential was realised. He won a further 10 from 24 starts, including the NZ Trotting Championship at the Addington Easter meeting in a national record equalling 3:21.3 for the mobile 2600m, then blitzed his rivals in the 1983 J Rowe Memorial Gold Cup, winning easily by six lengths from Basil Dean, Thriller Dee and Jenner.
Sir Castleton, after winning an Inter-dominion heat at Alexandra Park that season and running third to Scotch Notch and Jenner in the Grand Final, went to Adelaide as a 7-year-old and defeated the champion Australian mare on her own soil in the 1984 $30,000 Inter-Dominion Trotters Final, this being the highlight of his career. Driven by Paddy Timmins, Sir Castleton was locked up on the inner for much of the running, then produced a blistering turn of speed to flash past Scotch Notch in the closing stages to win by three metres.
Sir Castleton also evened the score between the two great trotters at two apiece. Scotch Notch had earlier in the season again trekked to NZ in November and after Sir Castleton had beaten the mare in the NZ Trotting Free-For-All, she came out on top in the Dominion Handicap in a cunning battle of tactics. "Those races against Scotch Notch were our favourite memories," said Mrs Macpherson shortly after Mawson's death last year.
Sir Castleton had earlier started his 7-year-old season by winning from 40m and 50m behind respectively on both days of the National meeting in August, while after coming home from the Inter-Dominions, chased Basil Dean home in that rival trotter's brilliant 3:15.3 clocking in his unbelievable NZ Trotting Championship success. Sir Castleton trotted the second fastest time for a trotter over that distance with his 3:16.2 for second.
The performances of the half-brother to 1975 Inter-Dominion Trotters Grand Final winner, Castleton's Pride, during 1983-84 were enough for him to share Horse of the Year honours with the NZ Cup winner Steel Jaw. Sir Castleton was only the second trotter to have such an award bestowed upon him, joining No Response as recipients of their gait to win the Horse of the Year title.
Prohibitive handicaps again made things tough for the 14 hands gelding as an 8-year-old. He won a further six in NZ from 20 appearances. Winning first-up from 35m behind at the National meeting at Addington in a national-record equalling 3:21.1 for the 2600m, Sir Castleton also scored from 35m behind at Alexandra Park in October in a national record of 3:31.7 for 2700m for a colt or gelding, but still outside Scotch Notch's best of 3:28.7 for mares.
Winning the NZ Trotting Free-For-All at NZ Cup time for a second time, Sir Castleton was again out of luck in the Dominion Handicap making a mistake early but being timed post-to-post in 4:10, his last mile in 2:01.2 to finish sixth. Sir Castleton created history on January 22 to become the only trotter in modern times to win from a handicap of 55m behind at Addington, getting up to win in 3:21.8.
Taken to Moonee Valley for a rematch with Scotch Notch at the Inter-Dominions, the Tinwald trotter won a further two heats (again beating Scotch Notch in one of them) but after having a slight strain in a leg before undertaking the trip, Sir Castleton suffered a fissure fracture of a cannon bone in the Grand Final when finishing second to Scotch Notch.
Fully recovered a couple of months later, Sir Castleton was being readied for his 9-year-old campaign when owner-trainer Mawson Macpherson, died. The training of the grand trotter for his last three races and wins, was then entrusted to stable employee, Wayne Smart. Sir Castleton produced a sprint that only he could produce to win on the opening night of the National meeting, then gained a rather fortuitious win on the second night when run down late by Mendelspride, only to be promoted when his rival was disqualified for galloping over the closing stages. Win No 44 for Sir Castleton was achieved with the minimum of effort, despite being parked in the open throughout.
Doody Townley, who drove Sir Castleton in nine of his wins in latter years, rated him the greatest trotter he had driven. "He was the best alright - he never knew he was beaten and had such terrific speed," said the successful horseman.
Credit: Jeff Scott writing in 1986 Trotting Annual