YEAR: 1956
Gold Bar, 1:59.6, a champion pacer up till 1946, died at the property of his owner, A Holmes, Yaldhurst in November 1956. Gold Bar was the greatest individualist ever to wear harness in this country. It was all or nothing with him. He was a horse who strongly resented anything savouring of a "perfect trail." He loved the wide open spaces, and he annihilated many cherished conceptions of rating, pacemaking and driving tactics. Once he reached maturity, there was scarcely a dull moment in any race he contested. Never before in the history of trotting had we seen a horse capable of running the first half-mile, even the first mile and a half, at a speed that would win 99 races out of 100, and carry on to win over two miles. It was uncanny. Uncanny because mere flesh and blood had never achieved anything like that before; because all staying conventions were throw to the four winds by this machine-like marvel, this pacing Pegasus who left trail upon trail of burnt out carcases in his wake. From barrier-rise Allan Holmes put the trottle hard down on Gold Bar, who responded like Sir Malcolm Campbell's Bluebird. In a matter of seconds they would be away out in front, 50-80 yards, half a furlong clear of anything else. Far from spoiling a race, disorganising a field, or some other uncharitable comment, Gold Bar's lone flights, particularly in Addington's big races, charged the public pulse with an electric anticipation that made him the glamour horse of his day. Gold Bar first contested the New Zealand Cup in 1941. Until 1945 they caught him every time, but except in 1944, when he burst a blood vessel a long way from the finish, he still beat more than beat him, and in 1945 came his big moment, his greatest triumph: the only horse who so much as saw the way he went in the first £7500 Cup was Integrity. Gold Bar's "scorched earth" tactics proved the funeral pyre of many great pacers generally regarded as "truer" stayers than Gold Bar. Until the 1945 New Zealand Cup the jet-propelled pacemaker had invariably come back to his field, but that year those who sat and waited filed past the post looking for all the world like the remnants of a turtle Derby! Never had the defeat of a Cup field been encompassed with such complete disregard for staying technique, if there is any such thing. And if there ever existed any rules about how big two-mile races should be run, Gold Bar broke the lot of them. He drew up a new set of his own - total warfare from flagfall to finishing post. There were all sorts of windy perorations about Gold Bar's ruining the Cup as a spectacle. We would have none of this. Many of the same people who later called upon Gold Bar and Allan Holmes to adopt more "reasonable" tactics were just as loud (before Gold Bar put in his appearance) in their condemnation of the crawling pace adopted by pacemakers in big races. You can't have it both ways, and Gold Bar's way was "As You Like It" with the Addington public. Gold Bar's way left no room for the tattered excuse on the part of other drivers that the "got hemmed in" or "met with interference" in a close running field. And the old bogy of club executives of the premier events deteriorating into half-mile sprints was effectively disposed of as long as Gold Bar was on the premises; the sorry spectacle of one horse slowing the field to a jog until all those in attendance were literally climbing over one another and playing hide and seek on the turns was put to rout when Gold Bar was in full cry. The rest had no alternative but to go in pursuit or finish up in a state of total eclipse. Perhaps all this about Gold Bar has left you with the impression that such a horse, always in a desperate hurry, would naturally be a highly-strung temperamental bloke. Nothing of the kind. He was a docile, beautiful-natured stallion, with a head full of brains. In his yard at home he was as quite as an old sheep, and children could handle him or go into his box with perfect safety. Gold Bar was retired in 1946, with records of 1:59.6 for a mile, 2:35 for a mile and a quarter, 3:27 for a mile and five furlongs, and 4:14.6 for two miles. He raced from two years (finishing third in the Timaru Nursery Stakes in his only appearance that season), to 11 years, winning 22 races, including six free-for-alls. His stake-winnings amounted to £12,968/10/-. He was by Grattan Loyal (imp) from the Rey de Oro mare Imperial Gold. At stud Gold Bar's best winners have been Brahman (whose 2:02.2 against time as a two-year-old is likely to stand for some time as the New Zealand and Austalian record), Local Gold, Worthy Gold, Daisy Gold, Congo Song, Bronze Gold, Daisy Bar, Petty Officer, Gold Change, Flagship, Midday, Merry Gold, Regal Gold and Bartender. -o0o- 'Ribbonwood' writing in NZ Trotting Calendar 12June46 Gold Bar is the most sensational racehorse-sire of modern times, if not of all time in the Dominion. In the same season that he won the NZ Cup and £5922 in stakes, his son Worthy Gold, has earned £2680, and his daughter, Local Gold, champion 3-year-old filly of the season has won £2585. If any reader knows of a parallel case to this, of a sire and two of his progeny getting into the four-figure class in the same season, the Caledar would be pleased to hear about it. Credit: 'Ribbonwood' writing in NZ Trotting Calendar 14 Nov 56
THE MILE RECORD YEAR: 1909
Wildwood Junior, having his first and only race of the season, gave the other contenders a pacing lesson in the 1909 New Zealand Cup. By the time the post was reached, Bill Kerr's brilliant but unsound pacer was 40 yards ahead, winning in 4:39. The margin remains the most decisive in the history of the race. In 1895 Kerr bought the three-year-old colt Wildwood for £500 on one of his trips to the United States. Two years later he bought the mare Thelma from her breeder, J Todd, of Lincoln, for £50. She turned out to be a great New Zealand-bred foundation mare. Wildwood Junior was the second foal of their mating. A five-year-old black stallion, Wildwood Junior was the eigth favourite of the 10 starters, mainly because he had not raced that season. On the same day, Willowood, Wildwood Junior's full-brother and the result of the first mating of Wildwood and Thelma, won the Au Revoir Handicap after losing several lengths at the start. Unlike the Cup winner, whose victory was unexpected, Willowood went out favourite. He was retired unbeaten in three starts, recording a win in each of the 1907-08, 1908-09 and 1909-10 seasons. The 1909 Cup was raced at a time when the country was divided on the gambling issue. The 1908 Gambling Act, passed by Sir Joseph Ward's Government still had bitter opponents. A day or so before the Cup, more than 100 people waited on the Prime Minister in Wellington, protesting at the increase "almost beyond belief" of the gambling evil. Sir Joseph Ward, from all accounts, gave them a sympathetic hearing, but it did not prevent him attending the Show Day racing. Certainly, as the momentum of Cup week gathered in Chrischurch , the country had its agitators seeking a change in the legislation to reduce racing permits. That enormous strides had been made in harness racing in Canterbury was evidenced by the opening day of the meeting. The Metropolitan Club offered stakes of 5502 sovereigns. The Cup stake, increased to 700 sovereigns, was the richest offered for a harness race in New Zealand or Australia. The Cup card was regarded as the best offered by a harness club with the qualifying time of the race tightened to 4:45. For the first time the race carried a restricted handicap, which was set at 10 seconds and designed to give the backmarkers a better chance of victory. The Cup was raced on the first day, Tuesday, setting a pattern that existed for many years. An exciting newcomer, King Cole, a son of Ribbonwood from the Rothschild mare Kola Nut, was the favourite, but, along with Durbar, he boke at the start and was out of the race. Albertorious, bracketed with Revenue (driven by Manny Edwards), was the next-best supported, but for the third time he let down his backers, finishing well back. For a lap John M, Verax, Imperial Polly and Master Poole formed the leading group. Further on, Wildwood Junior got within striking distance of the leaders and, with a mile behind him, burst into the lead. From that point the outcome was never in doubt. The further they went the greater the lead became for Wildwood's speedy five-year-old son. There was a great contest for second, with Terra Nova finishing half-a-length ahead of Lord Elmo, a duplication of their 1908 placings. Then followed Revenue, Imperial Polly and Master Poole. Imperial Polly, unsuccessful in the Cup on three occasions - 1909,1910 and 1911 - was by Prince Imperial. Later, at stud, when mated with Logan Pointer, she produced Imperial Pointer, who to Rey de Oro produced Imperial Gold, dam of tha amazing Gold Bar. Lord Module, the star of the 1979-80 season, traces back to Imperial Polly. Bill Kerr's association with harness racing stretched back into the previous century. In 1887 he bought a block of 50 acres on Wainoni Road, halfway to New Brighton, and established his stud, later appropriately named Wildwood, and private training establishment. He and his brother Charles trained numerous horses there. Later, the brothers dissolved their partnership, Charles setting up as a public trainer and Bill concentrating on breeding and training his own horses. Wildwood Junior first raced as a three-year-old in the 1907-08 season and soon worked his way into the best circles. As a green colt he won the Progressive Handicap at Addington in 4:50.8 and later, as a four-year-old, the Courtenay Handicap in 4:41. He eclipsed those times in his first Cup victory, clocking 4:39. Wildwood Junior, standing an impressive 16.1 hands, was described as a commanding and perfectly-shaped stallion. However, his racing days were restricted because he had unsound legs. His only races in the 1909-10 and 1910-11 seasons were the New Zealand Cups, an both times he was successful. In the latter season he was the top money-winner, solely from his 700-sovereign share of the 1000-sovereign Cup prize. As a two-year-old, Wildwood Junior served two mares, and the matings produced two good performers in Calm and Goldie, both of whom won their first three races. Calm was favourite for the 1913 Cup, but finished third. With earnings of £1656, Wildwood Junior was retired to Kerr's stud as a seven-year-old, but not before he had become the first double-winner or the New Zealand Cup. Prince Albert won the main race on the Thursday, the Christchurch Handicap, from King Cole and Lord Elmo. On the Friday, Al Franz, a speedy four-year-old, won the Courtenay Handicap from Albertorious and Aberfeldy. A total of 27 bookmakers operated each day, yet despite that opposition the totalisator took a record £45,018. The £3072 invested on the New Zealand Cup was only £86 short of the 1907 record. Credit: Bernie Wood writing in The Cup YEAR: 1945 1945 THE GREATEST CUP OF ALL YEAR: 1942 1942 NZ PACING SPRINT CHAMPIONSHIP YEAR: 1942
This is the story of the four pillars of Haughty - four mares whose names are cornerstones of trotting history - Princess, Norice, Regal Voyage and Haughty herself. This is the combination of champion mares whose united efforts have culminated in a new World's Champion pacing mare, Haughty, 4:13 4-5. The first link in this chain of champions was forged long before the NZ Trotting Cup was established. It all started away back in the 80's, because a young jockey found increasing weight forcing him out of the saddle. That young jockey was D J Price, who then turned his attention to trotting. Price related how he noticed a pacing mare showing a turn of speed on the side of a road, how he bought her for £20 and a £20 contingency, and how he called her Princess. She was said to be by Dexter, but there was some doubt about her breeding. However, she developed into an out-and-out champion, by far the greatest pacer seen in New Zealand up to her time, and she was much too good for the Exhibition Cup field at Dunedin. Later Princess went to Australia, where she produced to Hambletonian Bell Boy that good horse Prince Imperial, who became the sire of a mare that never raced, but which produced, among other winners, Thixendale, Lady Willings, Lough Neagh, Denver City, Glimpse and Logan Princess who, to Happy Voyage, produced Regal Voyage. Here is the second champion mare in the pedigree. Regal Voyage was a fine stayer, quite one of the best mares of her day, and in the Mid-summer Handicap at Addington in 1931 she beat a great field and registered 4:19 4-5 for the two miles, then a world's pacing record for a mare; in third place was Harold Logan, who was forced to do 4:13 2-5. Regal Voyage was bred by Mr B Grice, but she did most of her racing for the late R Wanden, of Blenheim, and was trained by D Withers. At the conclusion of her racing career, Regal Voyage was bought back by Mr Grice, and her first foal, to Nelson Derby, was Haughty. The remaining link in this chain of celebrated mares is imported Norice, and it is a matter of real interest that the first New Zealand Trotting Cup in 1904, and the latest contest, should be so closely connected. Norice finished second in the first Cup to Monte Carlo, and now her grand-daughter, Haughty, is enthroned as the 1942 winner and the champion two-mile pacing mare of all time. Norice produced a great line of horses, including Nelson Derby, Native King and Nelson Fame. The great store that Mr Grice places upon the potency of Norice is reflected in the number of her descendants he is using at his stud. He decided to breed from Nelson Derby when this fine racehorse was practically in the discard as a sire. That must have required a certain amount of courage, but it turned out to be nice judgement, for he has had several good winners by Nelson Derby, notably Haughty, Hardy Oak and Single Star. Mr Grice's interesting experiment in putting mares descended from Norice on the dam's side back to a son of Norice has met with happy results in the production of such good pacers as Hardy Oak and Single Star. Call it inbreeding, linebreeding, or what you will, it was done deliberately by a breeder whose great success over a long period places him in the forefront of breeders-owners-trainers. He has made a study of the Nelson Derby breed, refusing to over-race them at a tender age, and that is one of the main reasons, probably, why Haughty is the champion staying mare of today; she was not taken to the races until she was four, and then she was started only twice, when nearly a five-year-old. That was in the 1939-40 season , so she is now only seven. The latest champion is just a plain, ordinary mare; she can make no pretence at look or style, but she can wag her head at the beauties and reflect that handsome is still as handsome does. There is a limit to speed; the torrid pace set by Gold Bar found out the backmarker, Josedale Grattan, but last year's winner was not disgraced. He was asked to register 4:10 3-5 to win, and it is doubtful if there is a horse in the world today, including Billy Direct and Greyhound, who could do such time on a six-fulong track. Greyhounds 4:06 against time was done from a flying start on a mile track, while Josedale Grattan, in addition to having more turns to contend with on a track two-furlongs shorter, had an additional 36yds to cover from a standing start. All these facts should be given full consideration, because there must eventually be a limit to the speed a horse can carry over any distance in harness. Time was when certain schools of harness racing thought that the day might arrive when a pacer or trotter would attain the speed of a galloper. That is ridiculous; but it proves this much: the limit of pacing and trotting speed must nearly have been reached. It proves that the trotter and pacer is possibly rapidly attaining its highest peak of perfection. And pacers in this country, racing under entirely different and more difficult conditions than trials against time in the States, have got remarkably close to the best times over the longer distances made in the home of the trotter and pacer. So much for the fact that there may be a limit to pacing speed. If anyone had suggested that a horse would go 4:14 3-5 off the limit of the Cup and get beaten, he would have received a very poor hearing. Yet it happened to Gold Bar. The official sectional times made Gold Bar go to the first half-mile in 62secs; the mile in 2:04 3-5; the mile and a quarter in 2:35 2-5; the mile and a half in 3:08 2-5. He took 65 1-5secs for the last half-mile, and had to lower his colours to three horses in the run home. It was a sensational performance, drawing unstinted praise from Mr A L Matson (president of the NZ Metropolitan Trotting Club) at the Cup presentation. He expressed great admiration for Gold Bar's wonderful achievement, and sympathised with the owner in having to accept fourth place after his horse's being almost totally responsible for the establishment of a new two-mile winning record. Another record was established which is liable to be overlooked. This is Bayard's time of 4:13 2-5 for third, representing a world's pacing record for a stallion. The ponified pacer was beaten for second only in the last couple of strides by Loyal Rey, whose 4:13 1-5 places him next to Harold Logan on the roster of fastest two-mile pacing performers. The unlucky horse in the Cup was again Peter Smith who had the job of overhauling Gold Bar, and actually gave Haughty the run of the race. Haughty was tucked in behind Peter Smith all the way to the straight, and by that time Peter Smith's desperate chase of Gold Bar naturally found him out. Loyal Rey drifted early, and his run over the last half mile was of a very high standard indeed. The world's harness record for two miles is held by the trotter Greyhound, who went 4:06 in 1939. The first mile took 2:03 and the second the same. The best pacing time for two miles in America stands to the credit of Dan Patch 4:17, who took his record away back in 1903. It is obvious that Billy Direct, 1:55, would greatly reduce this record, but, until a great American pacer does tackle Dan Patch's record of 39 years' standing, the world's pacing records for two miles stand to the credit of Harold Logan, 4:12 2-5 (for third), and Haughty, 4:13 4-5 (winning). Investments on the race totalled £18,350/10/- and for the day £99,419/10/- Full Result 1st: B Grice's HAUGHTY. Trained by the owner, Tinwald and driven by O E Hooper, started off scratch. 2nd: P A Watson's LOYAL REY. Driven by M C McTigue, started off 12yds. 3rd: H E Salter's BAYARD. Driven by C King, started off 12yds. 4th: A Holmes's GOLD BAR. Driven by D C Watts, started off scratch. The winner won by two lengths, with a neck to third and a length to fourth. Times: 4:13 4-5, 4:13 1-5, 4:13 2-5, 4:14 3-5. Also Started: Bronze Eagle scr; Clockwork scr & Ferry Post 12 bracketed with the third horse; Peter Smith scr; Colonal Grattan 12; Fine Art 12 bracketed with the second horse; Great Jewel 12; Josedale Grattan 36 Credit: 'Ribbonwood' writing in NZ Trotting Calendar YEAR: 1941 ADMIRATION - Classic Winner Producing Mare |