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HORSES

 

YEAR: 1958

BURNS NIGHT

The death was reported recently of the 1949 NZ Derby Stakes winner, Burns Night. Burns Night died suddenly on the property of his owner, the Methven trainer, G McKendry.

Burns Night, a son of U Scott and Festival, was one of the best pacers of his era and won over all distances, being outstanding over a mile and five furlongs journey.

On the third day of the NZ Metropolitan Trotting Club's Easter meeting in 1953, Burns Night accomplished something unique in the annals of the light-harness sport when he created two world records in the one day. That day he won the Easter Handicap in 3.22 for the mile and five furlong journey and in the concluding event, the Au Revoir Free-for-all he paced the mile journey from a standing start in 2.02 3/5, both records. Those times have since been lowered, the first by Ribands and the second by Johnny Globe.

Burns Night was bought by McKendry for £500 when 10 days old and he won £18,020 in stakes. In all, Burns Night gained 16 wins and 25 placings, two of his wins being in free-for-alls. He may not have been an idol of the public such as Harold Logan, Highland Fling or Johnny Globe, but there is no doubting he was a grand pacer.

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Two world's records were broken by Burns Night at Addington on Saturday, the concluding day of the NZ Metropolitan TC's Easter Meeting. He won the Easter Handicap in 3:22 for the mile and five furlongs lowering the previous record of 3:22 3-5 standing to the credit of Vedette since 1951.

Three hours later Burns Night made short work of a great field in the Au Revoir Free-For-All, his time for the mile being 2:02 3-5, a world's record from a standing start. The previous record in harness was Walla Walla's 2:04 1-5, put up in the first of the Invitation Match Races at Addington in 1934. In saddle, from a standing start, Gold Bar won in 2:03 3-5 on the same track in 1942.

Burns Night won the Easter Handicap to the accompaniment of a noisy demonstration from a section of the crowd. It appeared, however, that there was as much clapping and cheering as booing. An inquiry was held into Burns Night's previous unplaced performances at the meeting and it was decided to take no action. Burns Night was never near the fence over the last mile of the Easter Handicap, and it was a great effort on his part to come from sixth - very wide out - at the home turn and win going away by a daylight margin. Burns Night's time, 3:22, is a 2:04 2-5 mile rate, a phenominal run from an exacting handicap and over a good deal of extra ground.

The mile free-for-all was just as easy for him. Drawn in the second line, about 6 yards behind the front row, he overcame this disadvantage with a fast beginning and he was soon racing close up on the rails about the middle of the field. He had Petite Yvonne and Johnny Globe measured off at the distance, and although Vedette finished well, he had no chance with Burns Night, who won most convincingly. This time the whole crowd cheered wholeheartedly. Burns Night gave a superlative exhibition of pacing and the fact that he went at least 6 yards more than a mile adds to the merit of probably the greatest sprint race performance registered outside America - it is certainly the greatest ever recorded the world over from a standing start.

Now a 6-year-old, Burns Night was out in strong juvenile seasons; among his contemporaries at two and three years were Young Charles, Van Dieman, Soangetaha and Morano. Burns Night was the hard-luck horse of the 2-year-old classics in the 1948-49 season. He made only four appearances, being beaten by a length by Morano in the Timaru Nursery Stakes, going under by the same margin to Young Charles in the Welcome Stakes, coming second, six lengths behind Young Charles,in the Oamaru Juvenile Stakes, and trailing along a poor fourth behind Farlena, Young Charles and Van Dieman in the NZ Sapling Stakes.

But things brightened up considerably for him when he turned three. At his second start he brought off one of the big surprises of the NZ Cup carnival by defeating the hot favourite Young Charles, with Van Dieman third and Soangetaha fourth, in the NZ Derby. He gave that form some endorsement by running Morano to a neck, with Vedette third in the NZ Metropolitan Challenge Stakes a week later and decisively winning the NZ Champion Stakes at Ashburton, from Van Dieman at his next start. Van Dieman beat him narrowly in the Charles Cross Stakes at New Year, but that was no disgrace as things turned out: Van Dieman developed into a NZ Cup winner.

Burns Night, as a 4-year-old, opened the 1950-51 season with a flourish, winning at his first appearance, the Geraldine Cup. He looked a coming young stayer the day he won the Moorhouse Handicap at the Canterbury Park New Year Meeting, 1951, in the good time of 4:19 4-5 in this 4:40 class and, following a lapse of form for the next two months, he came into his own again with a slashing victory over a seasoned field in the Timaru Centennial Cup in March, 1951.

During the 1951-52 season Burns Night developed into one of the finest handicap horses in the land. He made a somewhat timid opening with his third placing behind Te Maru and Realm Again in the Heathcote Handicap at the Metropolitan August Meeting and a poor showing in hs following race at New Brighton, but at his next appearance he rang rings around Star Rosa and Palava in the Methven Cup. In successive starts at the 1951 NZ Cup Meeting he finished second to Laureldale in the Empire Handicap, won the Australasian Handicap from Adorian and Mundanity, and the Flying Mile from Adorian and Mighty Song in 2:05 2-5. His next three runs resulted in a meritorious third from 48 yards in the Boxing Day Handicap at Ashburton, in which he registered 3:10 3-5 for a mile and a half, and wins in the Canterbury Handicap and the Mason Handicap at New Year, 1952. In these latter two races he defeated such high class pacers as Van Dieman, Vedette and Parawa Derby.

Came the NZ Metropolitan TC's Easter Meeting, 1952, and Burns Night, after finishing third in the Rattray Handicap to Maori Home and Johnny Globe, proved much too good for Zulu and Maida Dillon in the Williams Handicap on the second day and, started in the Electric Stakes, of a mile and a quarter, later the same afternoon, he gained his first free-for-all success, the minor placegetters being Zulu, Vedette and Van Dieman.

This season Burns Night's form has not been easy to follow. He took some time to reach his best in the early part of the season. He had a profitable time at Forbury Park in January, finishing second in the Forbury Free-for-All to Soangetaha on the first day, and winning the principal event, the Irwin Handicap and finishing second to Johnny Globe in the Champion Free-for-All, on the second day.

He was one of five champion pacers to go to Timaru for an exhibition mile race last month, but he went very poorly indeed. Again on the first two days of the Metropolitan Easter Meeting his performances were abject in the extreme, and the public were scarcely prepared for his sharp recovery on the concluding day, hence the annoyance of some of the onlookers.

Burns Night was bought by G McKendry from his breeder, Mr N G Mason, before he raced. Burns Night has now won 15 races and £16,430 in stakes. He is a good type of brown entire by U Scott from Festival, a mare picked up on the bargain counter by Mr N G Mason, of Rangiora, who has bred Burns Night and Gay Piper from her. Mr Mason bought Festival at the late E C McDermott's dispersal sale in 1938 for a few pounds. Dunmore one of Festival's earlier foals bred by McDermott, was a good performer for McKendry as far as he went - in his first season on the racetrack his record was six wins, five thirds and three fourths in 16 starts.

Festival was a tidy stake-winner for McDermott in depression times when £100 to the winner was quite a pile of money. She began racing as a 3-year-old and won her first two starts, both at Nelson. At four she started ten times for the very creditable return of four wins and a second. She won two races and was once second in 15 starts as a 5-year-old. She was more than useful over all distances, and in training she could reel off a mile and a quarter in 2:41, which was well above average in the early 1930s. Festival was got by the American horse Sonoma Harvester, from a mare by Prince Imperial. It is one of the shortest pedigrees in the Stud Book, but the calibre of her progeny - all of her five foals that have raced have all been winners - indicates that there must have been a good deal more behind her than these meagre details suggest. She was certainly no nondescript herself, being a clean-gaited, level-headed pacer, and her two sons, Gay Piper and Burns Night, both show breeding.

Credit: NZ Trotting Calendar 12Nov58

 

YEAR: 1953

BURNS NIGHT

In winning the Easter Handicap, Burns Night covered the mile and five furlongs in 3.22, a world race record. He won going away from Lady Rowan and Soangetaha.

After he won that race there was one of the worst demonstrations yet seen at Addington. Failing dismally on the first day, Burns Night started ninth favourite in a field of twelve. But when he created his second record of the day in the Au Revoir Handicap the cheers were deafening.

Burns Night covered the 'flying mile' in the world record time of 2.02 3/5 from a standing start. Vedette was second ahead of Petite Yvonne.

Credit: NZ Hoof Beats Vol 3 No.8

 

YEAR: 1978

'GLADDY' McKENDRY

Mr Daniel Gladstone 'Gladdy' McKendry, a prominent trainer and reinsman for the better part of 45 years, celebrated his eightieth birthday in Christchurch last week.

Born in Lauriston in 1898, McKendry became involved in horses from an early age through his father who he describes as a 'great horseman'. Dennis, his father, had a 2000 acre farm at Lyndhurst and McKendry began working the horses when about 18 years old. It was just a hobby at that stage but about three years later he was persuaded by a friend, Bert McCormick, to take out a trainer's licence himself. "In those days about all you needed was a recommendation from a JP and this I acquired from Walter Good, a friend of the family who lived closeby," said McKendry last week.

A major problem for McKendry to begin with was finance but with a little help from friends he raised enough to take Epigram, an unsound horse he leased from Fred Jones, to Hutt Park for a saddle trot. With McKendry in the saddle Epigram duly won the event and hence started a long and successful career for him. Apart from his father, other members of the family had a great deal of success with trotters. His brother Dennis trained and drove many winners but the main help for McKendry came from a cousin, Frank.

Burns Night, which he owned himself, was undoubtedly the best horse he ever trained. McKendry's father had considered the Prince Imperial blood to be the best about and it was due to this assumption that McKendry came about buying Burns Night. Mr Norman Mason, from Rangiora, bought a mare named Festival at a dispersal sale of the late E C McDermott along with her colt foal Dunmore, by U Scott. Festival, who cost him £4 was by Sonoma Harvester from a mare by Prince Imperial. Dunmore had been passed around more than one trainer by the time McKendry decided to take him on, and it proved to be a worthwhile venture. "He (Dunmore) was very rough in the legs where he had kicked cart shafts and gone through sheep yards and I had to more or less break him in again. But once I got him going he won five or six races for me," he said.

Mr Mason bred two more foals from Festival by U Scott, Gay Piper and Burns Night. It was when McKendry had Gay Piper in work he decided to buy Burns Night. "I knew Gay Piper was ready to win so I offered Mason about £500 for Burns Night, when he was just a foal, thinking the price would go up if Gay Piper was successful." Burns Night developed into a top flight racehorse winning 16 races and £18,020 for McKendry, including the NZ Derby and NZ Champion Stakes, before fashioning a fine record at stud. Burns Night could possibly have downed Adorian in the 1953 NZ Cup, according to McKendry, if he had not broken down on the eve of the big event. "He had been slightly lame but I lined him up and under the circumstances he did remarkably well to finish fourth," he reflected.

Burns Night showed exceptional class at the NZ Metropolitan Easter meeting in 1953 when he broke two world records in one day. He won the Easter Handicap in 3:22 for the mile and five furlongs and three hours later won the Au Revoir Free-For-All over a mile in 2:02.6, then a world record from a standing start.
McKendry feels that it is very hard to make a comparison between the likes of Johnny Globe, Van Dieman and the other great horses of yesteryear to the present day champions. "Horses might be going faster now but tracks, especially Addington, are a great advantage. Generally the horses are very little, if any, better," he remarked.

McKendry feels that a lot of his training success can be attributed to the galloping pacemakers he used in work. "I'm sure the key to success is the use of a galloping pacemaker, making sure the horse pacing is always in front. This gives them a geat deal of confidence," he said. McKendry has a lot of derogatory remarks to make as regards trainers today. "In my opinion the average trainer today is damn poor and the majority of owners are getting a poor deal," he said. He made mention of the days when a trainer would have a horse ready to produce two top efforts on the one day. Now, he says, the owners are paying out for horses that aren't capable or ready for one honest run. He appreciates the problems for young trainers striving to make progress in the sport these days noting that only the discarded horses from 'name' trainers come their way. In McKendry's opinion Maurice Holmes was the best ever reinsman in NZ and went so far as to say that he was the best in the world. "Maurice would always be off a tight spot before the straight whereas today you see drivers waiting for an opening inside the last 100 metres," he said.

McKendry well remembers his last day on his home course of Methven when he produced No Trumps to win the first race and Pharoah to win the last. "I always lent a horse to the Clerk of the Course for the day and on this particular day he used Pharoah for half the day and then swapped to No Trumps while I got Pharoah ready for the last. Ever since he has gone round boasting about the two winners he rode in one day," McKendry said.

Credit: Rod Gardiner writing in NZ Trotting Calendar 1Aug78

 

YEAR: 1949

Gladdy McKendry & Burns Night
1949 NEW ZEALAND DERBY STAKES

Burns Night overwhelmed the unlucky favourite, Young Charles, in the last 50yds of the NZ Derby Stakes and brought off the first major upset in the blue ribbon event since Air Marshal won in 1944.

Until his Derby success Burns Night was a maiden, but last season he performed consistently in a number of the leading two-year-old classics, being runner-up to Morano in the Timaru Nursery Stakes; occupying the same position to Young Charles in both the Welcome Stakes and the Oamaru Juvenile Stakes; and finishing fourth to Farlena, Young Charles and Van Dieman in the NZ Sapling Stakes. These were Burns Night's only starts as a two-year-old and no horse of his age raced more consistently last season.

The reason he drifted to seventh favouritism in the Derby was no doubt due to his failure in the Riccarton Stakes a week earlier, when he did not get away well. Morano broke up badly at the start of the Derby, slewing across the track and stopping Young Charles who lost fully 50yds. Farlena lost more than that and Van Dieman and Te Maru were slow to settle down. Racing into the back Casacando was sent in pursuit of the leaders and he soon took over from Anitra and Soangetaha. Flight Commander was hemmed in on the rails, and he never looked like finding an opening, eventually going into a tangle in the run home when literally climbing over Casacando.

Young Charles set out in earnest after the leaders with half a mile to go, but he had no sooner got within range of Casacando than Soangetaha came out from the rails to meet the challenge, thus forcing Young Charles to race three out right round the far turn. It was a fine spectacle when Casacando, Soangetaha and Young Charles wheeled for home almost abreast. Casacando was the first to weaken, and Young Charles was under a hard drive to hold a small advantage from Soangetaha. Then Van Dieman joined in. Young Charles was doing a little better than these when Burns Night came from the clouds, right on the outside, to clinch victory by more than half a length.

Burns Night won a truly-run race (the mile was run in 2:13 2-5, the mile and a quarter in 2:42 3-5 and the full distance in 3:16 1-5, a little below Croughton's race record of 3:15 4-5) in decisive fashion, but on top of his early set-back, Young Charles was desperately unlucky. None of the breaks came his way during the running, either, and the manner in which he fought off all challenges except the winner's was recognised on all sides as the effort of a young champion.

The story is told that Mr N G Mason, breeder of Burns Night, did not deliberately set out to buy the Derby winner's dam, Festival. He just happened to be passing that way when Festival was put up for auction, and he only had to part with £7 to become her owner. He bred Gay Piper from her, and sold this good pacer to G McKendry for £500 as a yearling. Gay Piper turned out to be so good that McKendry paid another £500 for Burns Night when this colt was only a few days old. Gay Piper and Burns Night are both entires and may be given stud opportunities later on, as they are attractive individuals.

The Derby result was a distinct triumph for U Scott as a sire, the first three-fillers all being by him.


Credit: 'Ribbonwood' writing in NZ Trotting Calendar 9Nov49



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