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FEATURE RACE COMMENT

 

YEAR: 1938

1938 NEW ZEALAND TROTTING CUP

SMITHS QUICK THINKING PREVENTED HOLOCAUST IN TROTTING CUP

Another New Zealand Cup has come and gone and the latest, having much in common with its immediate predecessor, was one few would encore. It was not a race as we understand the word - just a mad scramble with ability in any department counting for little. Lady Luck was in full charge, and outstanding qualities in both horseflesh and horsemanship were wasted talents which could not be brought into play at any stage of the two mile journey.

Trouble started with the release of the barrier, when Rey Spec, Bonny Azure and Ginger Jack - a third of the limit horses - refused to get into action and caused more ducking and dodging than any debt collector ever did. In ordinary circumstances the field would have settled down quickly, but there could be no settling down here.

With 20 runners, all of which had to be within reasonable distance of the leaders, it was beyond all expectations that there would be any real order. Horses went where circumstances put them, and drivers were puppets. Some were given hopeless positions close, or comparatively close, to the inner rail; others were forced to commit their Cup hopes to the deep by being made the outside edge of the moving mass. Not that it mattered a great deal which was their lot. The programme committee's idea of a suitable limit had effectively removed all prospects of good judgement entering the question.

The few drivers who were placed where they could alter their positions were frightened to advance or retract and all had to stay where they found themselves. For the greater part of the journey they were like an uncomfortably packed collection of sardines waiting for someone to produce a tin opener.

As was only natural, this scrambling and crowded field could not go the full journey without an accident. At a stage when desperate positions called for desperate measures, Fred Smith met trouble which caused the inner wheel of Ironside's sulky to collapse. In "Truth's" opinion the club should present Fred with a gold medal. Had Fred attempted to stop his horse, as instinct must have prompted him to do, there seems little doubt that Addington racegoers would have witnessed one of the worst smashes in the history of the sport.

One of the leading division and third from the rails, Ironside was hemmed in with no chance of escape. The collapse of his wheel came when he could not go ahead, pull out or pull up. Fred took one look behind him - the New Zealand Cup field must have presented a pretty picture to him at that stage - and his course of action was decided for him. With his broken wheel ploughing up the track, Fred did his best to keep Ironside at full speed ahead. With the leaders going at 2.8 gait, full speed was impossible, but he slowed down sufficiently to allow the scrambling field to flow around and past him without disastrous interference to any. Had Ironside stopped suddenly or had he been allowed to take the swerve his broken wheel would natuarally tend to give him, the Addington officials would have had all the material on hand for a first-class nightmare.

It is to be hoped that with this incident came the awakening that the indescriminate preference for quantity of a questionable class over quality of an undeniable class cannot, and never will be, a sound or sane policy. The race from start to finish, could leave little room for debate on this question.

In spite of everything, there had to be a winner, and Morello emerged from this scramble the apple of Lady Luck's eye. And he deserved his victory. He went away well; did his work like a tradesman and when he was asked a question in the final quarter he came away in a manner that left little doubt that he was built of the right stuff to survive the day and the conditions. Always handily placed, he enjoyed no luck, either good or bad, in the running, and it has to be admitted that his finishing run carried the hallmark of class.

At the same time, he was fortunate that the conditions attached to the Cup allowed him, a pacer assessed on 4.27 when nominations closed, and one which had failed to prove his merit in numerous opportunities, to take his place in the field. He had done little to justify his inclusion here, and this is his seventh season of racing, but the result proved his connections had solid grounds for their faith in him when they accepted the Club's invitation to parade. Although there are people who will claim that Morello had no right in the field, the Club stretched its imagination and the conditions to attract horses not regarded as being in town-hall society, and all had an equal right to share in the spoils.

Lucky Jack was definitely unlucky not to have made this his second Cup. Like all the backmarkers, he was made to work overtime to get handy to the leaders, and he was forced to cover a ton of ground. When Ironside got in the wars, Lucky Jack was sent back, and he had to start all over again. He finished gamely, but the cards were stacked against him, and he had to be content with second money.

The Aussie, Logan Derby, acted the gentleman and ran a solid race for some of the minor money, while Ginger Jack came from an impossible position to have his number hoisted in fourth place. With a decent beginning it looked as if the latter must have been the winner. Pot Luck, another to begin slowly was right up, while Parisienne, pushed off the face of the earth all the journey, was next and far from disgraced. King's Play, Plutus, Rocks Ahead, Evicus and King's Warrior all went well to a point.

A break at the straight entrance cost Lawn Derby any chance he held. Up to that stage he had put in some great work from the back of the field and he looked like putting in a claim when he left his feet.

The hard luck stories that followed the Cup would fill columns, and none of them had to be invented. There could be nothing but hard luck for the majority of the runners in such a field.

As a race it was a failure, and as an indication of worth in horseflesh it was a farce.

Credit: NZ TRUTH 16 Nov 1938

 

YEAR: 1933

1933 NEW ZEALAND DERBY

Another record broken was that for three-year-olds, War Buoy now being credited with 3min 16 1/5sec, which gives him the honour of being the fastest three-year-old pacer ever raced in the Dominion. In winning the New Zealand Derby Stakes he reduced the record for the race by 4sec.

War Buoy is owned by Mrs E K Mauger, who has had the satisfaction of seeing her horse win every race he has contested, his score now being five. The Derby winner is a gelding by Man o' War from Little Kewpie, and he was bred by Mr J Mauger, who also had his dam, by Diadem from Little Alma. He is the most outstanding young pacer the Dominion has ever known.

All three horses in the New Zealand Derby Stakes made a tangle at the start and War Buoy swung right across Morello but then straightened up and went away in the lead, with Guy Junior bringing up the rear. Guy Junior then occupied second place until the mile post was passed by the leader in 2min 12 4/5sec, but shortly after was done with.

From there War Buoy had all his own way and he went on to win as he liked by six lengths in the race record time of 3min 16 1/5sec from Morello, who beat Guy Junior by 12 lengths.

It was only to be expected that the previously unbeaten War Buoy would retain his record, but the performance of Guy Junior was most disappointing in view of his excellent recent track work. On the other hand Morello, who was on this occasion driven by his trainer, showed to better advantage than was anticipated.

Credit: THE PRESS 10 Nov 1933

 

YEAR: 1938

Alf Lawrence owner of Morello & Maurice McTigue
1938 NEW ZEALAND TROTTING CUP

Australia's two best pacers, Logan Derby and Lawn Derby, were on hand in 1938, but the latter was hardly a chance in a controversial 20-horse field from 60 yards.

The event proved a triumph on debut for Methven's Maurice McTigue, who shot along the rails with the moderately performed Morello, which he trained and drove for Mr A J Lawrence, to beat Lucky Jack and Logan Derby.

But it was the majestic Lawn Derby who stole the show at the meeting when on the last day, he time trialled in 1:59 2/5 to become the first 2:00 horse outside America.

Credit: New Zealand HRWeekly 8Oct03

 

YEAR: 1957

SEA GIFT

The death was reported recently of the grand trotting mare in Sea Gift.

Sea Gift was champion trotter of her era; she raced with conspicuous success for eight seasons and she took a record of 4.21 2/5 for two miles which was a record for some years. One of her greatest performances was at Forbury Park on November 28, 1936 when she downed a good field of pacers in the President's Handicap, the principal event. Sea Gift won by three lengths and returned the good time of 4.26 for the two miles. Included in the field were such pacers as Gunfire(2nd), Grace McElwyn(3rd), Iraq(4th), Pot Luck, Rocks Ahead and Bonny Azure.

Sea Gift was bred by the late H F Nicoll, Ashburton when the depression was at it's height; horses were a liability, even the good ones, and Sea Gift went under the hammer at a Durbar Lodge dispersal sale at the gift price of 6gns. Her purchaser was Mr D McNeill, but she made her first race appearance in the ownership of J Bryce, who also trained her. Foaled in 1929, Sea Gift was by Wrack (who sired innumerable high-class trotters), from an un-named mare by Paul Huon. This un-named mare was also out of an un-named mare by Franz and nothing more in known about the pedigree of Sea Gift.

Sea Gift commenced racing as a 3-year-old in the 1932-33 season and at her first start she finished third in the Longbeach Handicap at Ashburton on June 10, 1933, when trained by J Bryce and driven by A Bryce. She was unplaced at her next attempt but quickly made amends in the Foxhill Handicap on the second day of the Nelson meeting in June, the same season. This was Sea Gift's third and last start as a 3-year-old and she won by a length, beating Alf Parrish and Sister Mary.

At four years, Sea Gift started 15 times and gained four wins and three places. At her fifth start at that age - in the ownership of Mr T Smith - she won the Summer Handicap at Greymouth, beating Wahnooka by three lengths, Worthy Star being third. By this time Sea Gift was being trained by the late E J Smith, who drove her in the Summer Handicap. Sea Gift's other three successes that season were in the Peninsula Handicap at Forbury Park, the Winter Handicap at Wellington and the Progressive Handicap at Canterbury Park. These three wins were gained in succession and Sea Gift had passed into the ownership of the late Mr C M Archer and Mr D McFarlane, for whom she was still being trained by E J Smith. She was driven at Forbury Park by M Holmes, but E J Smith held the reins in her other two wins.

The 1934-5 season was a very succesful one for Sea Gift. In all, she won seven races and was placed once for £1049 in stakes, a small reward on today's standards. Her most important successes that season were in the Autumn Handicap at the Metropolitan Easter meeting and in the Elevation Handicap at Canterbury Park. In the later event, Sea Gift started from 72 yards and beat Explosion, who was on 60 yards, by a length, and ran the two-mile journey on a heavy track in 4.40 2/5. Teviot Downs, driven by J Fraser, Jnr was third and Standby was fourth.

As a 6-year-old in the 1935-6 season, Sea Gift won the Steward's Handicap on the first day of the NZ Metropolitan Trotting Club's August meeting and followed this success with a clear-cut win by two lengths in the Dominion Handicap. This event was then run over one mile and a half and Sea Gift, driven by her trainer, E J Smith, started from 36 yards and won by two lengths. Runner-up to Sea Gift was Stanley T(24 yards), who was driven by R Young. Lough Guy(Limit), driven by owner R Townley was third. Sea Gift was also placed on two occasions that season, finishing third to First Wrack in the Middleton Handicap, from 84 yards and third in the High Class Handicap on the second day of the Easter meeting at Addington.

Her first appearance in the 1936-7 season as a 7-year-old resulted in a win for Sea Gift. This was in the Steward's Handicap at the August meeting at Addington. She started from 84 yards behind and beat Teviot Downs by a short head, running the mile and a half journey in 3.37 on a holding track. Sea Gift was now forced to race from long marks against those of her gait and her chances were becoming fewer and fewer. At her third start for the 1936-7 season she was beaten into second by Wrackler in the Addington Handicap and she then took on the pacers in the James Buchanan Handicap at Forbury Park. This was her first attempt against the pacers and she was beaten into second place by a good pacer in Willow Wave, driven by O E Hooper.

Despite her good showing in this event, Sea Gift was allowed to go out 8-7 in the betting in the President's Handicap on the second day, which she won by three lengths. Her next two starts resulted in two third placings and in the latter she beat all but Lucky Jack and Village Guy in the Timaru Handicap, trotting the two miles in 4.29 3/5. Sea Gift's last success as a 7-year-old was in the Halswell Handicap at the Addington Easter meeting. A field of high-class pacers lined up for this event, including Morello, Rongomai, Pot Luck, Big Author and Rocks Ahead. Trotting in her best style, Sea Gift beat them all, having a neck to spare from Morello at the post with Rongomai in third place. She ran the two-mile journey in 4.27 3/5.

This gallant little mare had 17 starts as an 8-year-old and although she failed to win a race, she was placed four times. She finished third to King's Play and Nervie's Last in the Canterbury Handicap at Addington, third in the Burwood Handicap at New Brighton to Pot Luck and Isabel Derby, second to Parisienne in the Lyttleton Handicap at Addington and second to Isabel Derby in the Timaru Cup. It was no disgrace for Sea Gift to have to go under to pacers of the calibre of those who beat her that season.

Sea Gift was nine years old in the 1938-9 season and 'father time' combined with a busy career was beginning to catch up on her. She was not a spent force however. At her second start for that season, she took her place in the National Challenge Stakes, run on the second day of the August meeting at Addington. This was a special event for trotters and pacers and was run over two miles. The field comprised King's Warrior, Sea Gift, Wahnooka, Peggoty, Waikato Prince, Ginger Jack, Lucky Jack and War Buoy. The trotters in the field started from the limit and the pacers were handicapped on 72 yards. Sea Gift trotted a gallant race and led into the straight from Wahnooka, Peggoty and King's Warrior. In the run to the judge, King's Warrior, driven by the late F J Smith, proved too good and he beat Sea Gift by two lengths with Wahnooka in third place.

Two more minor placings came Sea Gift's way that season before she managed to run home a winner. She finished fourth to Logan Derby, Southern Smile and Morello in the President's Handicap at Forbury Park and fourth in the Forbury Handicap at the same meeting to Logan Derby, Morello and Renown's Best. Before the season closed, Sea Gift returned to winning form in the James Memorial Handicap at Forbury Park, a race in which she beat Marsceres and Marlene, in the smart time of 4.24.

Sea Gift started three times at the age of 10 years, but her only glimpse of form was her fourth placing behind Marsceres, Horsepower and Silver Guy in the Queen Mary Handicap at the Addigton August meeting.

Sea Gift's record against the pacers must rank as one of the best compiled by one of her gait. She met and beat high-class pacers on three occasions and was placed nine times when racing against them. In all, Sea Gift won 18 races and was placed 21 times for £3889 in stakes. Of course stake money was microscopic then compared with 1952.

Retired to stud, Sea Gift produced Trade Wind to Lusty Volo in 1940. Trade Wind failed to win a race but on being returned to Lusty Volo, Sea Gift produced Sea Glory, who took a record of 3.58 for one mile and five furlongs as a trotter. Volo's Gift, also by Lusty Volo, was the 1942 foal of Sea Gift. He was also a useful trotter who took a record of 4.45 1/5. In 1945, Sea Gift produced Sandan to U Scott. Sandan was a good winner as a pacer in NZ, having a record of 3.18 1/5 for one mile and a half, and she has been a good winner in Australia as a trotter, where she is a record holder.


Credit: 'Irvington' writing in NZ Trotting Calendar 17Apr57

 

YEAR: 1992

MAURICE McTIGUE

Maurice McTigue, who died at Ashburton aged 85, was, in his heyday, NZ trotting's leading owner-trainer, with a remarkable strike-rate for a one-man band.

An electrician early in life, McTigue in the early 1930s bred Waress, a filly by dual Auckland Cup winner Man o' War from Ivy Mac, a little mare whose dam Manuka (a straightout trotter) was a sister to champion pacer of the turn of the century, Ribbonwood. A staying type, Waress won five races, and, with her and other good performers in Fine Art, Morello and the dual-gaited Dark Hazard, McTigue burst into trotting's headlines in the '30s. Morello in 1938 gave McTigue a winning debut in the NZ Cup.

Waress produced a line of winners for McTigue, all by Jack Potts. The best of these, Plunder Bar, won 12 races and was twice second in the NZ Cup. Other good performers from Waress were Indigo and Vimy Ridge. Putting unraced Jack Potts mare Berengaria, the first foal of Waress, to Springfield Globe, McTigue bred Tactician.

Racing until he was 13, Tactician won 20 races, highlighted by his victory over Johnny Globe in the 1955 Inter-Dominion Final in Auckland. In beating False Step and Local Light in the Rattray Stakes at Addington in 1957 in 1:59 4/5, Tactician recorded the first sub-2:00 race mile outside America.

The first president of the Mid-Canterbury OTB Association and a past-president of the Methven Trotting Club, McTigue was survived by five children, including National Government Minister Maurice McTigue.

-1993 TAB Harness Racing Annual-

-o0o-

M C(Maurice)McTigue, a prominent Methven harness racing identity, the first President of the Mid-Canterbury OTB Association, and a past President of the Methven Trotting Club, died last week, aged 85.

Mr McTigue, a former electrician and the father of the present Minister of State-owned Enterprises, gained his biggest triumph in 1955 when he won the Inter-Dominion Grand Final with Tactician. He bred Tactician from Springfield Globe, winner of the 1939 Inter-Dominion Grand Final and Berengaria, the first foal from his good Man O'War mare, Waress (9 wins).

Tactician did not race until he was four, and won his first two, at Hawera. Mr McTigue was against racing horses at two, after he saw Plunder Bar beaten on a heavy track in the Sapling Stakes at Ashburton. Plunder Bar, which he bred from Waress, later became a top horse and won 12 races, but it took him 12 months before he was properly right again.

Long before Tactician came along, Mr McTigue had struck in the big races, winning the 1938 NZ Cup driving Morello. Tactician raced until he was 13, won 20 races, became the first outside the US to better 2:00 for a mile in a race and earned more than £25,000.

Among the other fine horses he raced were Loyal Rey (12wins), Great Divide (11), Precious Metal, Maharaj, Black Surprise, Indigo (8), King's Play, Messala, Kubla Khan (8), Golden Fleece (9), Grand Canal, Genghis Khan, Fine Art (14), Dark Hazard (11), Play On, West Point, Peter Polo, Royal Worthy and Loyal Friend.

Always active around his farm, Mr McTigue enjoyed a game of billiards and a beer at the 'local' until a year ago when he was hurt in a car accident.

Credit: NZ HRWeekly 2Sep92



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