| PEOPLE |
YEAR: 1992
 |
| Driving Farlena to win the 1951 Cheviot Cup |
The death occurred recently of Albert Fairbairn, a prominent Canterbury trainer in the 40s and 50s. He was 80. Albert was employed by two trainers, Dick Humphreys and Roy Berry, before setting up his own stable at Hornby.
His most notable win was in the 1949 NZ Sapling Stakes with Farlena, a King Cobra-Quite Evident filly raced by his brother Ossie, and later to win the Cheviot Cup.
Mont dÓr was one of his first winners, winning three in the 1937-38 season, and he trained and drove Scapa Flow to win the Nelson Trotting Cup. He drove Margin - later to win the Dominion Handicap for George Cameron - in his early wins, Quite Evident to win four in one season, and he bred, owned and trained Jackie Guy, by Jack Potts, to win nine races.
His last winner was Arneb, a son of Stormyway trained by Ossie, which paid £67/10/- winning at Motukarara in 1965. Ossie said: "Arneb, Margin, Mont dÓr, Punctual and Appreciate all paid big divvys when they won. That was our wages. It was the only way we could get any money then."
Albert was the uncle of Doyleston trainer Kevin Fairbairn.
Credit: NZ HRWeekly 29Jul92