CLICK HERE TO GO BACK

LADY DRIVER

'Extract from an article on Trotting and its Progress in South Canterbury.'

...The Gleniti Trot, the principal event at the Timaru meeting in 1895, was won by Fiddler, owned and driven by Miss Isabel Button, who figured at many courses until women were excluded...

Credit: 'Old Sport' writing in NZ Trotting Calendar 28Nov45

COMETH THE HOUR: COMETH THE WOMAN

Kerryn Manning's historic victory in last month's New Zealand Trotting Cup with Arden Rooney captured headlines around the Southern Hemisphere. As the first female driver to win the great race, the Australian native will forever remembered for her effort. The history of females driving in races in New Zealand runs a lot deeper than November 10, 2015.

BELLA BUTTON. Sounds a lot like a Saturday morning children's television character doesn't it? Maybe it's the alliteration of her name, which does it. After all, Dexter Dunn has a certain ring to it. You would think that might be where the comparisons between the two might stop. But it's far from the finish. You see, Button was setting records and creating history more than 100 years before Double D was born.

It was her, along with others, who set the wheels in motion for females driving in harness racing. And therefore it was Button who played a major part in the success of Kerryn Manning when she broke the New Zealand Trotting Cup hoodoo at Addington last month and became the first female to win the great race from the sulky.

Button created history in harness racing for the first time on record in 1890 when she and her trusty steed, Star, whom she also both owned and trained, rallied to success in the first race at the inaugural Ashburton Trotting Club meeting in Mid Canterbury. At a similar time Ethel Abbott was granted a licence by the Otahuhu Trotting Club at the ripe age of 16. Both were given one day club permits to drive at selected meetings but official licences were issued at a national level and despite a modicum of success for both, they were constantly refused.

Eventually the rejection drove Button away from the industry, although she did remain involved through her New Brighton establishment Brooklyn Lodge where it was reported she was in demand when it came to difficult racehorses. Despite her premature departure from trotting, Button left an everlasting mark, as did Abbott, and the presence of female drivers was forever a distant buzz in the ears of administrators who didn't see it fit for females to be competing against their male counterparts.

The issue wasn't just isolated to New Zealand though. Harness racing in all corners was having the same debate and archaic values were trumping every argument with comment being thrown from all sectors that women were not fit to compete in fully fledged races. Walter Moore who was a much regarded American harness racing journalist wrote the following in the Horse Review in 1918 and it underlines the battles females faced not only in America, but in Australia and New Zealand too.

He wrote..."I cannot refrain from giving my views on the situation which were formed after seeing one of the most prominent women drives in the central states drive in a number of races. Mrs Chas. H Deyo takes the position that as woman are at the present called upon to perform labour; they should be allowed to drive professional races against the men.

I think if trainers are so situated that their wives can accompany the stable of a campaign and act as bookkeeper, that is a very fine arrangement. Their work does not bring them into unpleasant situations, and they find it both healthful and interesting. They are splendid women, informed on all subjects, and are not horse bugs saturated with horse knowledge and conversation alone, but are better equipped in the finer things of the world than many ladies who have never been inside of a training stable.

But to see a woman get up and drive in a race in a big field of hoppled pacers, or trotters for that matter - probably the danger is no greater in one place than it is in the other - makes a real lady look entirely out of place to me. To see her beating and banging an old pacer through the stretch makes me think that the mothers of old are gone forever. I am thankful that I have never seen a bad accident in a field where there was a woman driver competing, but after seeing a good many spills, with half the field down, and half the drivers bruised up terribly, I have always felt very thankful that there were no ladies in the wreck.

I see no objection, and, in fact would enjoy much seeing a special event against time with a lady driver taking the leading role, particularly if she be a capable reins woman, and there are many of them, with only two horses on the track, the principal and the prompter; but in a big field of horses where men get excited and say and do things they would not think of doing in the presence of a lady, it make an entirely different situation.

I felt certain that the 'powers that be' would pass a rule, or amend one of the old ones, during the past winter of rule tinkering, that would prevent woman drives taking part in regular races, but it seems to have been neglected."

Oh how times have changed.

Had Mr Moore penned such words today, he would most likely be without a job - but at that time in history his article gives further credence to just how difficult it was for women to break through. As written earlier, despite the efforts of the likes of Bella Button and Ethel Abbott harness racing was a little slow on the uptake and it was more than 70 years later before equality between male and female drivers was finalised.

On the 20th November 1971 the first penalty bearing race for women who raced on special one day licences was held. Dubbed the Hip Hi Stakes and run for $550 at Addington the event was won by Lyn Smith, driving Derryhill. Other prominent names in the race included Barbara May, Noeline Ferguson, Denise Nyhan, Elizabeth McGrath, Carol Deuart, Una Anso, Allison Murfitt, Vi Mercep and Robyn Negus.

It took another eight years following that race for some serious change to take place and in 1979 the waters were finally broken when three women, Lorraine Grant, Dorothy Cutts and Anne Cooney, were granted licences by the NZ Trotting Conference to compete against the men. Cutts was granted a full professional driver's licence while Watson was given an amateur licence and Cooney, a probationary licence. Interestingly the press release at the time in the NZ Trotting Calendar closed with the statement that the criteria laid down by the Conference for the granting of licences to women is exactly the same as that which applies to men.

Mrs Cutts went on to win a non-TAB race at Matamata a few weeks later on Kenworthy while Mrs Watson was the first woman to drive a winner when she piloted Hydro Bird at a complete TAB tote meeting in March of 1979. To say that there were others waiting in the wings for their chance to join in on the action might be an understatement as come the end of 1979, there were 1,600 licence holders and more than 50 of them were female.

The arrival of a female presence in the sulky in full blown races created a media frenzy at the time. Lorraine Watson, or Grant as she was latterly known, was quoted following her first drive as a fully licenced driver at Methven as saying the most nerve wracking part of the day was immediately after the race when amid the flurry of well-wishers and friends there the inevitable television and radio interviews. "That was worse than the race.

I suppose I was a bit shy and worried about what I was going to say. Thank goodness, it only happens once." Watsons presence on the track was also well received by most of her male counterparts and she said many had wished her well. "Of course there will always be those against women drivers, but I was surprised by a lot of the others. Driving is all in the hands and feet, sex makes no difference."

Watson of course went on to make history and become the first female driver to compete in the New Zealand Trotting Cup when she drove her own horse, the standout chestnut, Rainbow Patch in Il Vicolo's 1995 edition of the great race. Since that history making day, there have only been eight other occasions where a female has competed in the Cup - showing just how significant Lorraine Grant's, as she was then known, achievement was.

Jo Herbert drove in it three times in 1998 (There's A Franco 4th), 2000 (Chloe Hanover 8th) and 2001 (Annie's Boy 12th) but it wasn't to be until Natalie Rasmussen arrived on our shores that the prominence of a female reinswoman in the Cup would become an every year occurrence. Rasmussen drove Vi Et Animo to finish 10th in 2011, then Sushi Sushi into 3rd in 2011 and was joined in that race by Kate Gath who finished 9th with Caribbean Blaster. Gath returned with Lauren Panella in 2013 and finished 5th with Caribbean Blaster while Panellawas 15th with Suave Stuey Lombo.

Rasmussen was the sole female representative in 2014 finishing 9th with Hands Christian before both she and Kerryn Manning flew the flag in 2015. Rasmussen was 5th with Messini and Manning of course broke the hoo doo and became the first female to win the race with Arden Rooney.

The funny thing about history though is that its sole purpose is, put simply, to be made. It's something people strive for. They yearn to be history making. And then when it's achieved it's on to the next mission, working full circle once more. The issue often with it though is that once achieved, history can sometimes be easily forgotten.

Manning doesn't have to worry about that. A history making female reinswoman since the day she first put her feet into the stays of a sulky - the Great Western native threw her into harness racing immortality. What Manning achieved, and less importantly to us, what Michelle Payne achieved at Flemington a week earlier - will forever change the face of horse racing. No longer are there those lingering doubts of whether or not females can be regarded in the same breathe as some of our leading male drivers - it's all, once and for all, equal terms and open slather with wishes that either the best man, or woman, win.

It sounds a little archaic to speak of sexism in horse racing considering that a large proportion of success in both codes has fallen the way of females, whether they be jockeys, drivers or trainers. But the truth of the matter is that in some circles it still exists - even to this day with one hardy soul daring enough to suggest to me prior to the Cup that Manning's best chance to win the Cup was to let one of the "boys" do the driving as the Cup isn't a race for a female to win. Negatively intended or not. That one small sentence still hammered home the viewpoint of some. And only further underlined the significance of what Manning achieved.

Not all that long ago it was uncommon to see female drivers out competing on the big stage. Nowdays, here in New Zealand, surnames like Rasmussen, Chilcott, Donnelly, Barclay, Tomlinson, Neal and more recently Ottley, Neilson and Butt have become more and more prominent. In Australia it's more prevalent. Manning leaves the charge, but is ably chased by the likes of Panella, Quinlan, Weidemann, Gath, Turnbull, Miles and Seijka. All totalled here in New Zealand we have 52 licenced female drivers. That number isn't all that dissimilar to what it was back in 1979 but the future is looking bright with a large proportion of those coming through Cadets and Kidz Kartz, being females.

And although nowdays it is considered normality there was a time, not that long ago as mentioned above , when the thought of a female out on the track competing against her male counterparts in the sulky seemed an impossible dream.

Thankfully we are past that now and some of the best in the business are of the female variety - as Manning showed on the second Tuesday in November and as the likes of Rasmussen shows us week in and week out. So perhaps it's time to change the old saying, cometh the hour, cometh the man. Surely in this day and age , cometh the hour, cometh the man...or woman seems more appropriate?

Credit: Matt Markham writing in Harnessed December 2015

Jack Litten with Caduceus and Our Roger

JACK LITTEN

Jack Litten, whose colourful career in harness racing concluded with his death aged 81 in Christchurch last week, had many attributes. These included a sharp wit and a keen sense of humour. Several notable incidents in his life showed him also to be a man of principle.

Litten, as will be reiterated to eternity, "made" many top horses. He will best be remembered, of course, for Caduceus, that little bombshell he nicknamed "Charlie" because he stood in front with his feet turned out, a la Chaplin.

With Caduceus in 1960, Litten became the first "Down Under" representative in international competition in America - programmed by Yonkers Raceway, New York. Fourth in the first race of the $150,000 three-leg series, and third in the second leg, Caduceus dead-heated for first with Canadian rep. Champ Volo in the final leg, only to be disqualified from that placing after an inquiry into interference allegedly caused by Jack by crossing over too acutely in the early rush. Litten accepted the decision with a grace that made him forever and a day 1-1 favourite with his American hosts. Caduceus had also proven his point and endeared himself to harness racing buffs in what was to be his new home. Pushing his career record to 53 wins and earning $329,937 - in those days a record for a horse bred in Australasia - Caduceus sparked an American demand for NZ standardbreds that has since proved the life-blood of our sport.

The two other most outstanding horses made by Litten - who made a belated entry into the sport after early experience with the famous Button family and their horses at New Brighton followed by some years as a bush-whacker - were Vedette and False Step.

Moulding Vedette into great shape for Christchurch breeder Charlie Johnston and his racing partner Mick Jenkins, Litten gained four wins, five seconds and three thirds with him in his first campaign as a 4-year-old in 1949-50. Knowing Vedette to be a budding topliner, but disturbed by the things Johnston was telling him to do with the gelding, Litten came in after finishing third with him when hot favourite at Hutt Park in February, 1950, and told Johnston he wanted nothing more to do with him, and he could take the horse away. Top horseman Maurice Holmes "inherited" Vedette, who wound up winning 19 races including the 1951 Inter-Dominion Grand Final at Addington and £27,710 - a national record, racing or trotting.

Litten educated and trained False Step for 18 wins before owner Jim Smyth complained about Jack appointing Bob Young to drive him at the 1957 Auckland Cup meeting. Litten had been suspended, along with contemporary Cecil Devine, from driving for six months for their infamous whip-slashing duel in a mobile free-for-all at the 1957 NZ Cup carnival. Unplaced in th Auckland Cup, False Step had finished third and fourth in the other tight-class races at the Alexandra Park meeting. Litten would not be shaken in his faith in Bob Young. Again it was a case of Litten letting go a top horse to stand on his rights. False Step, handed on to Devine, went on to win three NZ Cups, came within a whisker of an Inter-Dominion Grand Final win at Addington and also starred in America.

Litten possessed great humility. Whilst nobody doubted his educating and conditioning skills, he was often criticised for his driving - and just as often announced to those around him that he knew he was "no Maurice Holmes." Yet when Caduceus won that epic encounter over Australia's Apmat in the 1960 Inter-Dominion Grand Final in Sydney to the roars of a sardine-tight crowd of 50,346 (where have they gone to today?!), it was with Litten at the helm in Caduceus' sixth Inter-Dominion attempt. He had been piloted in earlier unsuccessful bids by such top flight reinsmen as Australia's Frank Kersley and Jack Watts and NZ's Doug Watts.

The writer first met Jack Litten in the flesh immediately after he had won the 1951 NZ Derby with his own great pacer Fallacy. A green 18-year-old cadet in the racing room of "The Press" in Christchurch, I was asked to do a leader-page feature on the Derby winner for the following day's edition. Jack was so helpful that the article earned me a letter of commendation from the chief reporter of the time, the late Charlie Powell, from whom praise to the lowly such as I was almost never elicited.

I found Jack no less helpful for the rest of his life - to the day, only a few weeks ago, when, with Fred Freeman, I went to get for the "Weekly" a few lines from him and a photo to go with them (and to see him, of course) as he lay waiting for it all to end in Princess Margaret Hospital. Even then the sense of humour had diminished not a fraction. Suffered gangrene of the lower legs, doped to the eyeballs to allay the pain, and his feet encased in fleece-lined hug-boots up to his shins, he told us: "I think I'll get a patent out for these shoes - I think you could win a race or two with them."

Finally, a story from Jack that will live for all time: The approach to him on the eve of his 1960 Inter-Dominion Grand Final win with Caduceus. The mystery caller to his hotel room in Sydney said it was "worth the stake to get beaten with Caduceus in the Final." Jack informed the briber: "No business. One or two of my friends in NZ have put a £ on his horse, and I would hate to let then down; and I would hate to let the horse down." I can close my eyes and picture Jack, as cool as a cucumber, saying exactly that.

-o0o-

(Article by Frank Marrion writing in NZ Trotting Calendar 19Jun84)

The Jack Litten story began in February of 1906.

Born John Duncan Litten at Little River, he has been known as Jack for as long as he can remember. He was one of six children. As is so often the case, it was Jack's father James who was to introduce him to the world of horse racing. His earliest recollection of the sport, "I think I was about six", was attending a local meeting at Motukarara to see his father's horse Wai Rakau race. Wai Rakau was no more than a passing interest for James Litten, leasing him at an advanced age, but he had some success.

His father owned a team of bullocks, and more often than not this was the mode of transport for the Litten family. Jack easily recalls the occasion his family moved to Burwood. "We drove them all the way from Little River to Burwood. It was quite a spectacle," he said. His father had been employed to haul timber from the felled Burwood tea gardens, a well known land mark in those days, to the sawmill. It took about 18 months to complete the job, and then the Littens went into the saw milling business themselves. It was soon after shifting to Burwood that Jack remembers getting "hooked" on trotting. He would quite often attend meetings at the nearby New Brighton racecourse and there were a number of horses being trained in the area. "I remember a horse called Sunrise winning at New Brighton one day. It made quite an impression on me," he said.

When about ten years old, Jack began working with horses at the nearby stable of Miss Isabel Button. "Bella" Button was something of a celebrity in those years, through her exploits with show horses and racehorses. "She was a wonderful horsewoman, a great side-saddle rider," Jack recalls. However after a few years Miss Button was tragically killed in a freak accident. The accident occurred the day before they were due to take a team of horses to a Dunedin Royal Show. "I was to have ridden a horse called Patience at the show, but that day Miss Button said she would ride him. She was sitting on top of him when he threw his head back. It stunned her and she fell off backwards and broke her neck," said Jack. "The funeral was quite an event of the day. She must have requested to be carried to the service by horses. There were three each side," he added.

Jack competed at many shows and among his rivals was none other than Bill Doyle. They were the same age. He was also involved with a number of trotting trainers in those days at Burwood, among them the leading New Brighton horseman "Manny" Edwards. "It was tough then. The trotters were always rather shortly bred, being out of variously bred mares. They were rough going things. You really had to work at making a racehorse. Not like nowdays. You can just about qualify any horse as long as it has four legs," said Jack.

When the depression arrived, the first people to feel the effects were those involved in the building industry. Jack could see there was no future in sawmilling and began making ends meet by breaking in young horses. In the 1920s the family moved to Addington. Jack worked his horses at Addington and became good friends with the top horseman Vic Alborn. Alborn's home, directly opposite the main entrance to Addington on Lincoln Road, is now dilapidated and surrounded by barbed wire, being occupied by "bikies".

In 1931, Jack made his first venture into standardbred breeding, securing the Logan Pointer mare Logan Lass at an advanced age and mating her with Native King (Dominion Handicap). Jack named the resulting filly Royal Romance and she was to give him immense pleasure. At her third four-year-old start, Royal Romance won at New Brighton in December of 1935 by six and 15 lengths. She was officially trained by Morrie Holmes, but Jack was doing all the work with her. Royal Romance continued to win races for Jack in following seasons but as a seven-year-old he sold her to Alborn. "I was ofered a bit of land next to our place and I badly wanted it. I sold her to Vic on the understanding that I could have her back as a broodmare, though," said Jack. Royal Romance won the 1939 Dominion Handicap for Alborn and retired the winner of 10 races. She left a couple of minor winners for him, while one of her daughters, Sure Romance, produced Royal Mile (NZ Trotting Stakes)and another in Royal Triumph left the Cup class pacer Junior Royal and a fine broodmare in Vignon, although Jack did not breed those foals fron Royal Triumph.

In 1939, Jack also bought the aged mare Diversion for £70 from Billy Morland, of Country Belle fame. Diversion had already won races and was to credit Jack with his first success as a trainer-driver in December of 1939 at Wesport. Jack has fond memories of the trip. It was his first race day drive. "I went over there with Bob Young, through the Lewis Pass when it was just being completed," he said. Later that season Jack was approached a Addington one morning by Alborn, who was interested in buying Diversion. Another friend, Clarrie Rhodes, overheard the conversation and also wanted to buy her. "Clarrie ended up with her, but under the same understanding that I would get her back for breeding," said Jack. But Clarrie wasn't so keen on that idea, and Jack agreed to take alternative foals from the beautifully bred mare. Diversion's second foal for Clarrie was the Light Brigade colt His Majesty, while Jack sent her back to the champion sire the next year and she again produced a colt, which he named Fallacy. In his debut as a three-year-old at Ashburton, Fallacy won the Second Eiffleton Handicap, beating His Majesty. Fallacy went on to sweep all before him that year, winning seven of his ten starts including the 1951 NZ Derby in 12 lengths in record time.

In 1940 he married his wife Iris. "I used to see him running to catch the trams," Iris recalls. Jack had moved to his present property in 1945 and left him almost penniless. There was just a little farmer's cottage and the bare land," Jack recalls. "We had a lot of work to do for a couple of years," he added. The property, which was already called Preston Farm, was soon being knocked into shape however. A five furlong track was laid, which would have few equals even to this day. With lengthy straights and perfectly curved bends, it served the purpose of getting young horses 'organised' admirably.

Jack didn't have much time for training horses, but luckily success came quickly. The first 'outside' horse to arrive at Preston Farm was a youngster by Gold Bar. "Allan Holmes dropped him off soon after we settled in one day. There weren't any stables, he just tied him to a tree," said Jack. The youngster was a colt called Congo Song and Jack produced him as a juvenile in 1947 on three occasions for two placings including a second in the Sapling Stakes. The following season Congo Song finished second at Addington in August, and had made such a suitable impression that even as a maiden he was considered the favourite for feature 3-year-old events at NZ Cup time. However, less than a week before the big meeting, Jack was injured on an incident on the track at home and was unable to continue training Congo Song. Allan Holmes took him home and won the Riccarton Stakes on Cup Day, the Derby on Show Day and the Metropolitan Challenge Stakes on the third day, starting favourite on each occasion. Jack was not credited with training Congo Song in those events, but Holmes gave him his percentage. Iris remembers the occasion well. "Allan wandered into the kitchen and put £50 in my hand. I had never seen so much money in all my life," she said.

The following season Jack produced another promising juvenile in Preston. Part-owned by him, Preston was placed at two and won twice as a 3-year-old, but later broke down. There were many other training successes for Jack in the early years of Preston Farm, about 30 by 1950, but it was Fallacy who really sent him on his way. Tragically, at the beginning of his 4-year-old campaign, Fallacy dammaged his back in an accident in training. "We tried to patch him up, but he was never the same," said Jack. Retired to stud, Fallacy was to initially suffer the fate of many locally bred horses. That was a crippling shortage of mares, and any quality. "I remember Allan Matson coming out one time when Fallacy had just begun his stud career. He had a browse at the mares Fallacy was serving and said he would never leave a winner," said Jack. The first foal born by him was False Step and the following year he produced Dignus (NSW Derby).

Fallacy went on to become one of the most successful New Zealand-bred stallions ever, also siring True Averil (NZ Cup), Junior Royal, Falsehood, Allakasam, Rain Again, Happy Ending, Kotare Legend, Doctor Dan, Doctor Barry and Individual among his 240 winners. He is now a leading broodmare sire, with around 360 winners and 30 in 2:00 to date, including Hands Down, Graikos (1:56.6PL), Royal Ascot, Mighty Me, Shavid Skipper (US1:55f) and Whispering Campaign among his credits. "He was foaled right outside the kitchen window and is buried there as well," said Jack.

Fallacy's outstanding 3-year-old form was only the beginning, however. That season, 1951/52, he prepared 17 winners and entered the 'top ten' in the trainer's premiership for the first time. That was a position he was to maintain for the next decade, winning the premiership in the 1959/60 season.

In the early 1950s, Jack had also been educating a couple of promising geldings in he shape of Our Roger and Vedette. He won races with Vedette as a 4-year-old, but that son of Light Brigade was to be passed on to Morrie Holmes, who won the 1953 Inter-Dominion Final at Addington with him. Holmes has always maintained that Vedette was the best horse he ever sat behind. Our Roger was to win a New Zealand Cup in 1955 under Jack's guidance, but there was still so much more to come.

Early in 1952, a diminutive U Scott colt had arrived at Preston Farm to be educated. This youngster looked far from inspiring, he stood in such a way that he was soon being called Charlie, after the legendary comedian of earlier years. But he was a blood brother to Highland Fling, so Jack needed little encouragement to let him show his paces. Caduceus, was originally the name of the rod carried by Mercury, the messenger of the gods, but to the trotting world he was to be known as the 'Mighty Atom'.

Jack found that the U Scott colt had ample speed in his early education, and as a juvenile he was registered and made his debut in the Timaru Nursery Stakes. However, he attracted little attention in finishing down the track and was put aside to develop. Caduceus had his first 3-year-old start at Nelson in October, 1953, and in Jack's hands won by three lengths. He was on his way. He won again on the second day of that meeting and went on to take the NZ Derby and the Champion Stakes and Futurity Stakes at Ashburton.

As a 4-year-old, Caduceus again won six races, including the All Age Stakes at Ashburton in October from 30 yards, beating Tactician (60 yards), Johnny Globe (60) and Young Charles (60), the NZ Metropolitan Challenge Stakes at Addington on Show Day, the Auckland Cup, and a heat of the Inter-Dominions at Alexandra Park. His Auckland win came on the first day of the Championships, with Jack also handling Our Roger to win the other heat. Caduceus finished third on the second day to easily qualify for the £10,000 final, but that event was to be the beginning of a long and frustrating search for Inter-Dominion honours that would end after no less than six attempts. Handled by Doug Watts, Caduceus set all the pace but broke for no reason when in front 100 yards from the finish. "It was just one of those things," said Jack. It was a dramatic contest, Tactician and Morrie McTigue holding off the gallant back-marker Johnny Globe to win by a head.

That season Jack also produced the first of Fallacy's progeny in False Step, winning the Methven Stakes with him before running second in the Sapling Stakes. Caduceus could win only one race in NZ as a 5-year-old, but False Step and Our Roger more than made up for that. At the NZ Cup meeting, Our Roger won the Cup in the hands of Doug Watts and False Step won the Derby by a head over the fine filly Glint, recording 3:12 3/5 for the mile and a half, which was 2/5 of a second outside Fallacy's race and NZ record. Caduceus had enjoyed no luck in the running of the Cup, but straight after False Step's Derby, came out and won the Ollivier Free-For-All by six lengths over Rupee and Johnny Globe, recording a brilliant 3:04 2/5 for the mile and a half from a standing start. "That was one of his best efforts," recalls Jack. False Step won three of his remaining four starts that term, including the Champion and Futurity Stakes at Ashburton, emulating the feat of Caduceus two years earlier.

Caduceus was in the meantime in Sydney for the Inter-Dominions, but in the care of Jack Watts had to be content with two placings in the heats and a third in the Final to Gentleman John, finishing a little over a length from the winner after starting from 36 yards. However, soon after he trounced a similar field in the Lord Mayor's Cup at Harold Park.

The next season Caduceus won the Ashburton Flying Stakes, beating False Step, but was no match for Ces Devine's rugged stayer Thunder in the NZ Cup. Jack won later in the day with False Step, the first of three successive wins at the meeting. Caduceus won the mile and a quarter Express Handicap from 30 yards on the second day and downed Johnny Globe in the NZ Free-For-All on the third day to wrap up the Cup Meeting, which was run over four days that year. A fortnight later the NZ Metropolitan Trotting Club held a Summer Meeting and, after finishing second to Ces Devine and Captain Sandy in the NZ Pacing Championship, Caduceus won the last race, the mile and a quarter Shirley Sprint, by six lengths from 36 yards. False Step and Our Roger were unplaced in each event, but it was indeed a formidable bracket.

At Easter that season, Tactician beat False Step by a nose in the mobile mile Rattray Stakes in 1:59 4/5, the first occasion 2:00 had been bettered in a race in Australasia. On the second day False Step downed Tactician under free-for-all conditions and Jack also handled the smart Fallacy 3-year-old Dignus to win. Meanwhile, Caduceus had been in Perth for his third Inter-Dominion under the guidance of Frank Kersley. A free-for-all win at Gloucester Park elevated him into favouritism for the final, but it was obvious even a horse of his undoubted quality was going to be hard pressed from the backmark. Starting from 36 yards in the series, Caduceus was the equal top points scorer with eventual winner Radiant Venture after two wins and a second in the heats, but had to settle for fourth in the final, run in front of over 30,000 people.

The next season the NZ Cup proved a showcase for Clarrie Rhodes' brilliant 4-year-old Lookaway, who was out by five lengths at the finish over Thunder, with Jack and False Step fourth and Caduceus unplaced from 30 yards. Caduceus was placed on the second and third days of the meeting but really came into his own on the final day, winning both feature events, the NZ Pacing Championship and the mobile mile NZ Flying Stakes by five lengths in 2:00. On each occasion Jack was second with False Step. While Caduceus sped away with the Flying Stakes, Jack and Ces Devine (Don Hall) staged their infamous 'whip lashing' battle. "It was just one of those things that happened in the heat of the moment. They do it all the time in rugby, but because it happened in trotting, it was all blown up," said Jack. Both Jack and Devine were suspended for six months.

Caduceus was handled at the meeting by the young Australian Tony Vassallo, who often handled the stable runners during a two year working holiday with the Littens. Vassallo, who was originally from Malta, had met Jack through his good friends in Australia, the Kersley family. Caduceus and False Step then travelled to Auckland for an unsuccessful bid on the Auckland Cup, Bob Young being engaged to drive False Step, with Vassallo handling Caduceus. Although placed, False Step raced below his best and owner Jim Smyth returned home in a somewhat disillusioned state, insisting that Young had "driven for another horse". Everybody knew that Bob Young was a man of principle, and so was Jack "Take him away. Not tomorrow, today," were Jack's sentiments.

Of course it is now history that 11 months later Caduceus and Jack gave the NZ Cup their best shot, and were beaten a head by False Step and Ces Devine, the first of their three successive wins in our most prestigious event. In between times, Vassallo and Caduceus were in Adelaide for another Inter-Dominion, but after a simple defeat of most Inter hopefuls at Wayville, their luck was all bad. Caduceus finished fifth on the first night and pulled up sore. He returned to NZ without racing again. False Step was also in Adelaide that year, with the Kersleys, but after a second night heat win was unable to make any immpression in the Final, won narrowly by the local horse Free Hallover the bonny mare, Sibelia and Jack Watts.

When the 1958 NZ Cup meeting rolled around, Caduceus and False Step were arch rivals (at least in the eyes of the public) instead of stablemates, and predictably the champion pacers dominated proceedings. In the Cup, False Step started from the front and Caduceus from 30 yards, and after neither had enjoyed any luck in the running, they drew clear to fight out a desperate finish over the closing stages. As was so often the case, the predominantly black colours of Litten and Devineflashed across the line together, with False Step in front by a head. Caduceus won his second Ollivier Handicap, from 48 yards, on the second day, with False Step unplaced, and then they shared the honours on the second day of the meeting. False Step (30 yards) won the two mile NZ Pacing Championship over Caduceus (48) in 4:11 1/5, while Caduceus was clearly the better sprinter in the NZ Free-For-All later in the day.

The Inter-Dominions were in Melbourne that season and Caduceus took his tally of heat wins to six when unbeaten on the first three nights in the hands of Frank Kersley, much to the delight of the big crowds which turned up at the Melbourne Showgrounds. By now long overdue to win the title, Caduceus received a shocking run and flashed home late for fifth. There were thoughts of retiring him. But Caduceus returned as a 9-year-old and produced magnificent form, winning six of his nine outings here, and at last, that Inter-Dominion.

Wins in the Ashburton Flying Stakes and Hannon Memorial led to another NZ Cup meeting, but a 48 yard handicap and a trained to the minute False Step (24) saw him a well beaten third in the Cup, Devine winning by eight lengths over Gentry that year. Thunder and a youthful Derek Jones did little to help his cause, attacking him hard once Caduceus reached the lead. Sharing the back mark of 48 yards in the Ollivier on the second day, False Step was again an easy winner over Caduceus, but the Mighty Atom took his revenge later in the day, winning his third NZ Free-For-All. Driven by stablehand Ray Morris, Caduceus won the Allan Matson Handicap from 48 yards on the third day in a near record 3:21 3/5 by three lengths. In that event, False Step had faltered soon after the start, gone down on his knees and broken a front carrier strap. With a hopple daggling around his legs, he bolted for three furlongs before choking and collapsing on the track. False Step suffered no serious physical injuries, but was often fractious at the start from that point. On the final day of the meeting, Caduceus went against time in an effort to better Highland Fling's mile record of 1:57 4/5, and earned £500 in clocking 1:57 3/5. At Addington on January 2, Caduceus set another record when he won the appropriately named mile and a quarter Au Revoir Handicap from 66 yards in 2:31 4/5. It was to be his last start in NZ.

He was set one more task, the Inter-Dominion in Sydney. Cheered on by an amazing 50,000 plus crowd, Jack got Caduceus home in the Final by half a length over Apmat, survived a protest and tasted the success. Jack has always played himself down as a reinsman, but he had worked the oracle where others had failed. The Inter-Dominions that year were a chapter in themselves, but needless to say it was 'J D' and Caduceus' crowning glory. On hand to see Caduceus take his 46th win (28 in NZ) and his earnings to a record £68,000, were Yonkers Raceway president Martin Tananbaum, publicity director Irvin Rudd and secretary Ted Gibbons. Prompted by Noel Simpson, they had made tentative arrangements for a three race International Pace series in New York, and needed the Down Under stars. "Marty approached me soon after the final, but I told him I wasn't very interested. But he asked me if I would meet him for breakfast. I'd never been invited to breakfast before so I agreed," Jack recalls. Jack explained to Tananbaum that he simply couldn't afford to make the trip, but the American was to make him an offer he couldn't refuse. "In the year I was lucky enough to be leading trainer, my accountant told me the only money I made was from the sheep. And I didn't have many sheep," said Jack.

Farewelled at Addington in April, Jack and Caduceus arrived in New York, only to find Tananbaum was too ill to complete his arrangements. "I never even saw Marty on that trip," said Jack. But it wasn't long before he was approached by another Yonkers official. "The Americans always honoured their word. I can't speak too highly of them." Caduceus and Jack were celebrities in New York, appearing on television and doing radio interviews. After placings to Widower Creed and Bye Bye Byrd in the opening legs of the series. Caduceus deadheated for first with the Canadian representative Champ Volo in the final race, only to be relegated for interference. Taken over by a New York stable and Billy Houghton, Caduceus continued to race boldly for a couple of years, endearing himself to the American public. Seemingly racing against horses twice his size and half his age, he took his earnings to around $US320,000, a record for a standardbred or thoroughbred bred in Australasia, and paced the fastest mile of his illustrious career as a 12-year-old, 1:57.4 in California. Caduceus eventually returned to Southland for a stud career, but died after only one season from a haemorrhage, the result of a chest injury.

Jack returned to NZ and began 'scaling down' his training activities, preparing horses on a more personal basis. In 1964, he trained his fourth NZ Derby winner with Doctor Barry, while in 1972 Black Miller credited him with his fourth NZ Trotting Stakes win, following on from General Lee (1952), Royal Mile (1955) and Highland Glen (1956). He also dabbled in the thoroughbred world and struck up a friendship with world renowned Irish horseman Vincent O'Brien. David O'Brien, who trained the winner of the recent English Derby, beating his father's horse, was a guest at the Litten household in his younger days. Vincent O'Brien was instrumental in Jack importing the Irish stallion Aristoi to NZ.

There have been numerous talented performers produced by Preston Farm since the golden era of the 1950s, the likes of Westland King, Bravine, Peerswick, Harlequin Parade and Junior Royal, and the West Melton establishment is far from finished yet. One of Jack and Iris's four daughters, Jackie, married Robin Butt in the mid 1960s, and the Butt winners have continued to flow at a regular rate in recent years. Robin and Jackie's son, David, has proved himself a highly competent young horseman also during the present season. David has his ambitions for the standardbred world, and presently Jack's old shearing shed is being converted into a separate stable.

Jack has no intention of severing his life long love entirely. His offsider in recent years, the very capable Brian Kerr, will continue his training activities from a stable on an adjacent property of Jack's, and prepare the handful of youngsters Jack has bred in recent years. One of those is the appropriately named juvenile trotter Borrowed Time, a son of Game Pride and the Fallacy mare White Plains. He has revealed exceptional ability in his brief career, but has enjoyed little luck on raceday. White Plains is also the dam of a yearling filly by Plat Du Jour, and Jack's admiration for the standardbred is most evident as he describes her capabilities. "I saw her trotting full steam over the paddock the other day. They still send a shiver down the spine," he said.

As he casually strolls the impressive surroundings of Preston Farm, the admiration of family and friends is also not hard to gauge. "Hello there boss," says a passer-by. And as usual, Jack is only too happy to pass the time of day. "Giving them corns in their ears," as he often says.



Credit: Ron Bisman writing in HRWeekly 9Dec06

ORIGINS OF QEII PARK

Before its purchase by the Christchurch City Council in 1963, Queen Elizabeth II Park, was, for almost 70 years, the home of the New Brighton Trotting Club, all the time boasting that rarity - a grass track at a metropolitan course. And, even before the 1890s, it was an area of some interest.

More than a century ago the land was occupied by Maoris, who built their camp which they called Orua Paeroa. It was by no means a perfect dwelling place as strong east winds beat in from the sea. But its advantages outweighted its drawbacks - the neighbouring Travis Swamp abounded with eels and birdlife.

By 1862 the Maoris had abandoned their camp. In that year Thomas Raine bought from the Government rural sections 4738, 4832 and 5155, which cover the great bulk of the area of the modern sports stadium and reserve. He burned the whares which the Maoris had left but it is doubtful whether he carried out many improvements.

At that time Raine was a major purchaser of land at New Brighton. Perhaps he hoped that the district would become a seaside resort to rival Sumner, then Christchurch's chief watering place. It was not until the establishment of a tramway service in the 1880s that major development took place; and it is doubtful whether the pioneer landowner made any fat sums out of his property. By trade Thomas Raine was a manfacturer of aerated water, being popularly known as "Gingerpop" Raine. A verse, punning on the name of the pioneer Christchurch businessmen, includes the lines: "And strange as it may seem, from Raine we get good soda water."

By the 1880s arrangements had been made for the running of horse races at New Brighton. But the venue was not the Queen Elizabeth II Park site - it was the beach. The beach racing club ran under very primitive conditions, an exceptionally high tide would delay the start of proceedings, and it was sometimes quite dark before the last event was concluded.

Eventually the beach was abandoned, Tom Free, licensee of the Bower Hotel, having laid out a 3/4 mile course at the Queen Elizabeth II Park property. There was then a mixed trotting and racing programme, and the first race on the site was held in 1886. At first conditions were only marginally better than on the foreshore. The judge had to carry out his duties from atop a beer barrel. And the grass having not yet consolidated the sandy soil, the latter could "wander at its own sweet will, and the majority of the visitors retuned to town half hidden in a canopy of dust."

But worst of all was the mountainous sandhill which stood in the centre of the paddock. As one man later recalled: "When horses got behind this they were utterly lost to view from the other side of the course, and here sometimes the riders would take a bit of a pull if they were not anxious to win or run prominently. I recollect that on one occasion the front markers practically all pulled up and the back marker presently came along. He was quite angry and called to the waiting squadron: If you fellows don't go on, I'm going to go back. The race was then resumed.

Still, there were compensations, Tom Free was more than a patron of the turf; as well, he provided the punters with excellent food. Free ran the course through, a business concern, the New Brighton Sports Club. After this had been wound up one of the directors, Harry Mace, took over. He called the place "Brooklyn Lodge" and established there his home, stables, training track and stud. Artesian bores were drilled, and the track top-dressed and graded. It was in Mace's day that the New Brighton Trotting Club was established on the property, the first race being run on March 16, 1895. The sum of £190 was paid in stakes, and the totalisator turnover amounting to £1648.

Like Thomas Raine, Harry Mace was a manfacturer of aerated water. The label on his wares showed a St Bernard dog, the myth being that this illustration was chosen to recall how one such beast had saved Mace from drowning. Maces Road, Bromley, commemorates Mace's service on the Heathcote Road Board, the ancestor of the present Heathcote County Council. An imposing figure in grey frock coat and top hat, Mace played a prominent part in the history of trotting. He was on all deputations urging the Government recognition of the sport; and encouraged Seddon to place a tax on totalisator receipts. This was to counter the strong opposition to the sport by the anti-totalisator section of the public.

Harry Mace died in 1902. The New Brighton Trotting Club continued to function on the Queen Elizabeth II Park land, but the ownership of the property stayed with a single individual, Robert Button, an elderly timber miller who had grown rich through cutting out the totara logs at Mount Peel. Button is, however, best remembered as the father of Bella Button. Indeed, it was for the pleasure of Bella, his favourite daughter, that he invested his money in the park.

Bella was a practitioner of Women's Lib 75 years before the phrase was invented. In the 1890s she was taking part in trotting events within a wide radius of her parents' South Canterbury home and letting them know of any victories through messages attached to carrier pigeons. Her greatest honour came the day that the Governor and his wife, Lord and Lady Ranfurly, having heard of her skill at breaking in the worst of mavericks, visited the family home for lunch and a tour of inspection.

By the time the Buttons bought Queen Elizabeth II Park, women had been excluded from trotting events. Thus Bella never had a chance to try out the New Brighton course at a fully-fledged meeting. Her activities were confined to breaking in the beasts and training them. Sometimes she had a chance to show her prowess, such as at O'Neill's buckjumping show (a rodeo-style attraction) at the grand International Exhibition in Hagley Park in 1906-07. The newspapers described this "tallish woman approaching middle-age" who was "perfectly fearless when handling the biggest outlaws they bring along" and who could not only handle steeds superbly but also "build a trap or nail a shoe on a horse as necessity requires."

In later years Bella married a man named Moore. But her equestrian interests remained unabated. Then, in 1921, she was thrown from a horse named Patience and killed. She was 58 years of age.

Credit: Richard Greenaway

FINAL MEETING AT NEW BRIGHTON

The New Brighton course would now become Queen Elizabeth II Park and in 20 years time or so it could develop into the Hagley Park of the seaside suburb, said the Deputy Mayor of Christchurch (Councillor H P Smith) who was speaking at the closing ceremony of the club at its final meeting on its own course on Saturday. Cr. Smith said the New Brighton Club's gesture in offering the property to the City Council at much below the sub-divisional value was a magnificent one. The 'City Fathers' would be 'just as jealous of every square yard of it' as they were of Hagley Park, he continued. People would be able to enjoy recreation on the new park "for time immemorial".

The crowd of nearly 10,000 which attended on Saturday far exceeded expectations, and the £104,625 handled by the totalisator on-course was £32,000 more than last year. The main event, the A E Laing Handicap, carried a £50 trophy presented by Mr Laing, a former president who has been in hospital for some weeks. Five other presidents are still active officers of the club and races were named after them on Saturday's programme. They are Messrs W E Desmond, O Hutchinson, A G Jamieson, A McDonald and S J Moore.

Mr W F Stark, the president, in introducing the Deputy Mayor, thanked the public for their generous support in the past and extended to all a warm welcome to the club's future meetings at Addington. Queen Elizabeth II Park would be "real value for posterity" he said , and he was thankful that sub-division of such a fine place had been avoided. Officers of the club gathered in the birdcage for the ceremony, at which 'Now Is The Hour' and 'Auld Lang Syne' were sung.

A long list of champions, notable among them Wildwood Junior, Reta Peter, Adelaide Direct, Willie Lincoln, Agathos, Onyx, Peter Bingen, Great Bingen, Harold Logan and Josedale Grattan, were trained, at one time or another, on the New Brighton track. Between 25 to 40 years ago New Brighton was one of the busiest training centres in NZ, and trackwork was covered by the Christchurch daily papers - particularly when there were two morning and two evening papers - just as fully and prominently as the training activities at Addington.

Back in the late 1920s J N (Jim) Clarke trained a large team from Brooklyn Lodge (now occupied by George Cameron), and Peter Bingen, Great Bingen and Willie Lincoln were among the horses who occupied stalls in his stable. Contemporaries of Jim Clarke who come readily to mind included A J (Alf) Wilson, who trained and drove Reta Peter, twice winner of the NZ Cup; W (Bill) Warren, N L (Nelson) Price, J D (Doug) Smith, H (Harry) Frost, H(Harry) Aker, G (George) Robinson, A E (Arthur) Bussell and E R (Ernie) Husband.

Much earlier, the brothers W (Bill) and C (Charlie) Kerr, won renown with Wildwood Junior, Admiral Wood and others; M (Manny) Edwards took Adelaide Direct to the top; C Channing's Agathos was among the top flight of pacers in the early 1920s and Onyx, trained by J (Jack) Messervy, was the champion mare of the Dominion about the same period. Much later Pot Luck, trained by his owner H (Bert) Stafford, was a headline pacer trained at New Brighton, and F J ('Wizard') Smith used to quarter his team there on his regular visits to Christchurch meetings - Josedale Grattan and Nell Volo were among his great ones who had their final trials ay Brighton before important wins at Addington. W ('Tiger') Barron, was a prominent seaside trainer of over 30 years ago with horses owned by Mr D Rodgers.

There were others, many of them: the Jardens, the younger Kerrs and Smiths and Messervys, R (Dick) Motz and his son Arnold, E F C (Ernie) Hinds, D (Dan) Mahoney, E (Ernie) Hawtin, T H (Tom) Gleeson, G L (George) Mitchell, L C (Lester) Frost, F R (Fred) May, L (Lester) Davidson; and coming right down to the present day G (George) Cameron and A (Alf) Rhodes are among those still holding the fort along with A Richards, A Kendall, G Tisch, A L Mugford, W Ireland and a few others.

New Brighton at one time was as fast as any track in the country - Happy Voyage's 2.04 1/5, which stood as the NZ and Australian mile record for a season, was established on the track in 1923. In 1925 the champion mare Onyx, a lovely piece of horseflesh, went 3.13 against time for a mile and a half, which stood as a NZ and Australian record for a number of years. And on more than one occasion the peerless Harold Logan broke records from long handicap marks there - his 2.36 3/5 in winning the mile and a quarter Avon Handicap from away back on 84 yards (then a 'world's winning race record') will live on in the writer's memory as one of the greatest displays of good manners, brilliance and courage ever seen anywhere.

According to the late F C Thomas, a well-informed trotting historian of the early days, New Brighton is one of the oldest courses in NZ used solely for trotting meetings, and it is now more than 90 years since the first trotting event was held in the district. The New Brighton Club did not exist in those early days and was not formed until about 1890. For some time before that the New Brighton Racing Club held trotting meetings and mixed galloping and trotting meetings on the course. The New Brighton Trotting Club did not hold it's first meeting until 1895, when £190 was paid in stakes and totalisator turnover amounted to £1648.

Anyone prepared to dispute this statement is referred to the NZ Turf Register, 1894-95, which details the "New Brighton TC Inaugural" meeting, Saturday, March 16, 1895, "weather fine, going rough". The first race was won by J Gallagher's Swinton by "300 yards" in 6.01 for two miles. The mile Dash Handicap and the two miles Avon Handicap went to T Walker's Mistake in 2.54 and 5.54 1/2 respectively. The New Brighton Handicap, run over two miles in saddle, was won by H Mace's FB in 5.34. Other winners were J P Martin's Toby II(two races) J Barrett's Lily, and W Kerr's Felix.

The property was at that time owned by Mr Henry Mace, who with the club's first president (Mr H McIlwraith) and secretary (Mr A I Rattray) first gained Government recognition of trotting through the old NZ Trotting Association, which had been formed in Christchurch in 1888. On the death of Mr Mace in 1902, the course became the property of Mr H Button, who had a stud and trained thoroughbreds from the Brooklyn Lodge stables. The club continued to prosper and bought about half the present block containing the track from Mr Button in 1909, the same year in which the club's first course superintendent (Mr R Davidson) was appointed. Mr Davidson's son, L Davidson, has trained horses on the New Brighton course until recent months.

The course was very rough in the early days, but it gradually improved under Mr Davidson's care until he retired in 1924. He was succeeded by Mr W Stevenson, whose son, Mr T Stevenson took over in 1936. Mr T Stevenson will complete 27 years as course superintendent on September 27, and will remain on the course when the Christchurch City Council takes over on October 1.

The club did not secure the remainder of the property until the early 1930s.

-o0o-

Vanderford had to be good to win the A E Laing Handicap. He made his usual fast beginning and was quickly up near the leaders. Vanderford followed Kingsdown Patch, one out, till rounding the turn into the straight. At that stage Kingsdown Patch could do no better, and it appeared as though Vanderford's driver, M Holmes, was forced to make a forward move earlier than he would have liked. Vanderford had to race very wide turning for home, but shaken up a little, he soon collared the leaders, and once he did the result was in safe keeping. Vanderford won going away by a length, to record his fifth success on end, and his fourth for the season. He now requires only one distance win to become eligible for the NZ Cup. Rustic Lad was second, Flying Blue third and Avante fourth.

-o0o-

To the consistent Master Alan went the honour of winning the last race on the New Brighton course, and his success was a popular one. Earlier in the season Master Alan had been runner-up to Cardigan Bay at Hutt Park and second to Doctor Dan at New Brighton a fortnight ago. Master Alan raced in about the middle of the field until the turn and joined the leaders about the furlong. Master Alan responded in grand style to record 2.08 4/5, the last half being run by the leaders in 1.02 4/5, the final quarter in 31 2/5 secs, on a track which was not fast. Junior Royal paced a little roughly early in the race and was doing his best work in the concluding stages. Robin Dundee paced a sound race and made up ground for third. Doctor Dan was next, followed by Lordship, who had every chance. He is obviouslt not at his best.


Credit: 'Ribbonwood' writing in NZ Trotting Calendar 25Sep63

DRIVERS COMPULSORY RETIREMENT

Harness marketing gurus would describe it now as the quaddie from hell. At the end of the 1970-71 season when Jack Litten, Doug Watts, Bob Young and Bll Doyle "four horsemen of the apocalypse" in their era were invited by the authorities to hand in their driving licences having reached 65 - an invitation it was impossible to decline. For many it was almost the harness equivalent of the Buddy Holly plane crash the "day the music died." Three years later when Maurice Holmes had to follow suit, it was.

-o0o-

JACK LITTEN -
was almost an "overnight sensation" for the times, having risen from relative obscurity just before the Second World War with horses like Suspanse and Firewater after having to sell his best star Royal Romance, to Vic Alborn just as she struck her best form. He was able to buy her back later to breed from. Within a decade the battler was a leader in his profession.

His famous training and breeding deeds, especially with young horses, was partly formed by his early association with Bella Button, then of Brooklyn Lodge in New Brighton, who while never officially licenced in either code won many races driving her trotters and produced outstanding gallopers at Riccarton in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Something of a phenomenon, Bella was especially skilled with young horses and the Little Rive'r-born Litten learned his lessons well.

Relative to scale, few have matched his achievements with youngsters in the generations since. But he was an all round champion producing Our Roger, a horse with a famously low heart score, to win a NZ Cup - though he would have dearly loved the "Mighty Atom", the champion Caduceus, to have shared that honour which he actually should have won that day.

On his retirement Jack rated Caduceus setting a 2000m record at Addington in 2:31.8 (it stood for a generation) as his biggest thrill though the 1956 Inter-Dominion Final when he took over the driving himself and won before a crowd we will never see at an ID final again must have been magic.

Royal Romance's daughter, Royal Triumph, would later produce Junior Royal. A granddaughter produced Royal Mile who set a 2-year-old Australasian trotting record for Litten at Addington in July of 1954 in a special time trial. A keen student of breeding "JD" also stood the thoroughbred stallion Aristoi, a brother to world champion Sir Ivor (sire of Sir Tristram).

The horse which established him in classic racing was Fallacy who was at 8/1 first up at three at Ashburton in the spring but paid £46 at his second start and then won the Riccarton Stakes and the NZ Derby. Only the 4-year-old Johnny Globe beat him at that Cup Meeting. His unexpected success at stud was notable. His granddam, Escapade had been an outstanding trotter in the 1920's and her dam (Country Belle) won the NZ Cup.

Like many of his era getting trapped in the field with the money on was a cardinal sin, Jack Litten was never a "pretty" driver (Cecil Devine, his nemesis, was much the same, as was Maurice McTigue) but when the pennies were down their horses could do that little bit more. No stylist, Jack used outside drivers more than most, further proof of his astute thinking. Once established "Litt" seemed to have a never ending string of genuinely outstanding horses.

-o0o-

BOB YOUNG -
was a quiet man who loved gardening; highly respected especially within the game but low key and he peferred it that way. He was especially a master with trotting horses. Unusually Young preceded his father Jimmy in emigrating from Scotland after Roydon Lodge trainer Bobby Dunn offered him a position in the late 1920's. His father arrived a few years later and set up first at Addington and then at the Spreydon terminus with a big team.

Jimmy Young was soon a leading trainer, famous for his colourful use of four letter words. Don Nyhan used to recall the string of well intentioned invective Young considered normal speech after Johnny Globe had gone close to two minutes on grass the message being the driver should have "tried harder".

Rather oddly Bob named Single Task as the best trotter he drove, one of his three Rowe Cup winners. He also drove the first two winners of the Inter-Dominion Trotting Championships. He had his first NZ Cup drive in 1932 and his last in 1967. He was largely a free lancer usually driving second stringers for big stables in major races or for owner-trainers who loved his "there is another day" style. He was hugely popular with punters because of his outstanding strike rate. Avante was the last big name pacer he trained.

-o0o-

DOUG WATTS-
came from South Canterbury where he went to school with Richard Brosnan's father, Jack. He was first a champion apprentice jockey in Wanganui also riding in Australia as a teenager in 1927.

After he won seven of the first eight saddle trots he competed in, Watts turned to harness driving with Jock Henderson at Oamaru. Few have been better at it. He won the NZ Cup with Our Roger(1955) and an Inter-Dominion final on Massacre(1961) both almost entirely due to the driver rather than the horse. He was largely with Vic Leeming at Prebbleton and rarely held a training licence though he raced fine pacers of his own like Valour and Historic.

Watts was a great "money" driver, cool under pressure and adept at finding the short way home. He is still famous for driving seven winners on an eight race card at Reefton in 1954, a feat never bettered. He recalled he only had one engagement when he arrived at the meeting. His longest dividend was over £4 and his shortest £2, three of his drives winning twice.

Doug was good at keeping his own counsel and once he and Leeming had to be escorted off Addington by the police well after the last when a loud demonstration by hundreds calling for their blood over a form reversal was only inflamed the longer Watts waited it out in the driver's room. Ironically, in later years Watts was an astute patrol steward at the course.

-o0o-

BILL DOYLE-
is generally regarded as the founder of a famous trotting dynasty but in fact he inherited much from his father, also W J Doyle who was a master of many trades. He stood thoroughbred, trotting and draught stallions at stud, played a major role in the founding of the Ellesmere Trotting Club; ran the Doyleston pub and a catering business, raced, trained and drove top horses and even gave musical recitals at local functions.

He died when his son was just 20 though both Bill Jnr who owned a Grand National Steeplechase winner, and his sister, Laurel, champion show rider and the first woman licenced to train gallopers in the South Island, retained the wider racing interests of their father. Laurel also trained a Melbourne Cup placegetter, Willie Win.

Bill Doyle's feats as a horseman - he was also one of Canterbury's leading stock dealers - and the success of the next generation as horsewomen are well known.

When, which descended from a borrowed foundation broodmare Violet Wrack who left When's dam Passive, was probably his favourite. He campaigned her with success in America and again on her return, rare in those days.
Gold Horizon, pound for pound, may have actually been his best trotter. He was amoung the pioneer patrons of European trotting stallions, a cause he was passionate about though the results were mixed to say the least.

For a part-time trainer Doyle had an enormous string of top horses, his pacers from earlier eras(Betty Boop, Reason Why, In The Mood, Wipe Out etc) often overlooked in favour of the many trotters which came later. He drove Pacing Power into third for trainer Roy Berry(who drove Springfield Globe his own horse) in the 1943 NZ Cup losing a winning chance when checked at the start.

-o0o-

Losing four driving names of that stature one July 31st was certainly a bad day in harness history.

Credit: David McCarthy writing in HRWeekly 24Jul2013

Doug Watts, Owner Bill Newton & Trainer Jack Litten

1955 NZ TROTTING CUP

In 1914 the late Mr Etienne Le Lievre imported to New Zealand the American mare, Berthabell, and installed her as the grand dame of his already select "Oinako" stud at Akaroa. Berthabell proved a prolific broodmare. In the 1930's Mr Le Lievre gave Bertha Parrish, one of Berthabell's last foals to his son-in-law, Mr W A Newton, now the mayor of Akaroa.

Mr Newton mated Bertha Parrish with the imported Lusty Volo to produce Sea Gypsy. As a six-year-old the unraced Sea Gypsy produced her first foal, Our Roger, to Dillon Hall. Our Roger showed ability right from the start, but early in his career was considered a "write-off" when he developed a wind afflection. He recovered completely following an operation, won his way to the best class, and at Addington produced a grand display of stamina and determination to wine the 1955 New Zealand Cup from Rupee, Excelsa and Thelma Globe. It was Our Roger's day, he took all the honours.

Third out of the barrier, Our Roger was always in the first half dozen, and he clung to the rails for most of the journey. D C Watts was content to keep him in this handy position until rounding the home turn, where he moved up to share second placing with his stablemate, Caduceus, just behind the joint leaders, Rupee and Excelsa. Our Roger was abreast with Rupee and Excelsa at the furlong, and it was obvious that all three were tired horses. First, Rupee took Excelsa's measure, and looked likely to win, but Our Roger, under a vigorous drive, was not to be denied, and he gradually wore down J. Grice's six-year-old to win going away by two lengths. He paced his two miles in 4:12.2 - time which had previously been bettered by only nine horses in the history of the sport in New Zealand. Our Roger enjoyed one of the best positions in the running, but D C Watts was not without his anxious moments. The gelding had difficulty in working clear, and actually clipped the wheel of Rupee's sulky on the home turn. With less luck, he could have met his undoing at that stage.

The only excuse that could be offered for Rupee is that he pulled a punctured tyre from the home turn; but it is most unlikely that that would have any bearing on the result. He began brilliantly from the limit, and in the first few strides was two lengths clear. When Exselsa took over with one mile and a half to run, he received a perfect trail, which he enjoyed to the home turn. Driver D J Townley said after the race that when he pulled Rupee clear in the straight he considered he had Excelsa well covered, but knew the one to beat was going to be Our Roger. "I still though that Rupee would outstay him; but on the day Our Roger was the better horse," he said. Rupee finished one and a half lengths clear of Excelsa, who was far from disgraced. She made her best beginning for a long time, and set a true pace for the mile and a half. She did not give in until well into the straight and battled on gamely to the end.

If there are to be any excuses made, they are perhaps deserved by the grand mare, Thelma Globe, who, in finishing fourth from 36 yards behind, recorded 4:11, a world record for one of her sex. Thelma Globe was well back in the field from the outset, and with six furlongs to travel, she had only Merval, Single Direct and Aladdin behind her. She was still well back at the half, but she then commenced a run which carried her around the outside up to the middle of the field on the top turn. She was behind the first six turning for home, and continued her run right to the post for her placing, one and a half lengths from Excelsa. Thelma Globe's trainer-driver, J B Pringle, said after the race that when he attempted to give the mare a reminder with the whip at the top of the straight, the lash got caught in the shaft, and he could not free it until the race was virtually over. All he could do was to shake the reins at his charge in the final stages. In the circumstances, her effort was brilliant.

Two lengths back, Caduceus toiled on for fifth placing. The breaks were not with him on the day, and he was not disgraced. He did not hit out as well as could be wished for, with the result that to get into a prominent position in the running he was forced to cover extra ground. He moved up on the outside to join Rupee in second place with six furlongs covered, and from that stage was without the benefit of a trail. J D Litten, West Melton trainer of Our Roger and Caduceus, said when he returned to the birdcage: "Of the two, I was sure Caduceus would do the better today; but I caught a lot of back-wash early, and was never in a happy position afterwards."

Tactican finished sixth, close by Caduceus. He was slow away from the 42-yard mark, and in improving his position in the middle stages was forced to travel three sulky-widths out. He was eigth with six furlongs to travel, but did not look any real danger over the final round. Our Kentucky finished a disappointing seventh. He enjoyed a good position in the running, one sulky-width out, and trailing Caduceus, but from the half-mile was always struggling. Soangetaha, who was awkwardly placed, finished next, just behind Our Kentucky. Next were Denbry, Merval, who broke at the start, and was third-last with six-furlongs to travel, followed in by Poranui. Then after a gap of three lengths came Laureldale, who was seventh or eigth in the running. Petite Yvonne, who was near Laureldale throughout, finished next, ahead of Au Revoir, who broke at the half-mile, when in tenth place. Single Direct was several lengths back, and Aladdin brought up the rear.

In presenting the gold cup to Mr Newton, the Governor General (Sir Willoughby Norrie) disclosed that he and Lady Norrie "recently spent a very pleasant day at Akaroa and were entertained by Our Roger's owner. Mr Newton said that his horse had a good show in the Cup, and advised me to back him...which I did," said Sir Willoughby. Mr Newton, on receiving the Cup, said: "The credit must go to Mr Litten and his stable boys, and to 'Roger's' driver, Mr Watts." Later Mr Newton said he had been trying since 1924 to breed a winner of the New Zealand Cup. "The first horse I raced was Right Royal, who was a good one but did not get to the best class. Our Roger is my second horse," he said.

His Cup win was the fifteenth success of Our Roger's career, and his stake-winnings are now £14,999/10/-.

Our Roger's sire, Dillon Hall, who died in Mid-October at the age of 23, was one of the most outstandingly successful sires ever to stand in New Zealand. He has topped the sires' list four times since 1948-49, and is at this stage of this season well clear of any other sire. His 335 individual winners have won approximately 1150 races for a total exceeding by many thousands the £500,000 mark. He was by The Laurel Hall, a famous son of Peter The Great, from the Dillon Axworthy mare, Margaret Dillon.

Berthabell was a daughter of Peter The Great and Corona Mac, by Wilkes Boy, who earned immortality by siring Grattan. From her third dam, Lady Thorne Junior, descended Lou Dillon, 1:58.5, the world's first two-minute trotter. To Nelson Bingen, Berthabell left Great Bingen, Worthy Bingen, Peter Bingen, Bessie Bingen, Bertha Bingen, Great Peter, Barron Bingen and Great Nelson, all good winners. To Guy Parrish she left Great Parrish and Corona Bell, and to Travis Axworthyshe left Ringtrue. Her Progeny won a total of £34,535. Great Bingen being the main contributor with £14,120.

Of the sons of Berthabell who stood at the stud, Worthy Bingen sired the grand trotting mare, Worthy Queen, 2:03.6, and 30 other winners; Peter Bingen's 32 winners included Peter Smith (2:36, 3:11.4 and 4:15.6) and Double Peter, who also reached Cup class; Great Bingen's 44 winners included the classic performers, Taxpayer, Double Great, Refund and Great News; Great Parrish sired 31 winners; and Ringtrue about 23. Winners on the distaff side of the Berthabell family number well over 50, and descendants of the famous old mare, who died at "Oinako" at the age of 23, are spread through the Dominion and Australia.

Our Roger's success gave Watts his second winning drive in the Cup. He piloted Integrity home in 1946. It was trainer J D Litten's first success in the event. As a youth, Litten was associated with Miss Bella Button, whose parents owned the New Brighton racecourse. The Buttons owned harness horses, show horses and ponies. With the experience he gained helping with those horses, Litten has carried on to be an outstandingly successful trainer, and a master at educating young horses. Litten was responsible for the early training of Congo Song, the best three-year-old of his year; Vedette, winner of the 1951 Inter-Dominion Pacer's Championship Final and 18 other races for £27,650; Fallacy, a champion two and three-year-old; and he has prepared Our Roger and Caduceus throughout their careers.

Credit: Ron Bisman writing in NZ Trotting Calendar

1951 NEW ZEALAND DERBY STAKES

Three-year-old records for a mile and a half were shattered by Fallacy when he won the NZ Derby Stakes in 3:12 1-5 - the previous records for the age and distance were held by Novelda, who was placed 3:14 1-5 at Forbury Park in 1947, and Farlena, who won in 3:14 3-5 at Ashburton in 1950.

Fallacy not only won: he nearly distanced his field. The official margin was 12 lengths and he was timed to run his last mile in 2:03 1-5 and his last quarter in 29 3-5sec, phenomenal speed for a three-year-old. Forward's loss of about 24yds at the start cost him second place, but that was all. Black Wings outstayed him for that placing after Forward had had to give up his hopeless chase of Fallacy round the home turn.

Fallacy's was one of the easiest wins of all time, in a classic race, or any other type of race. He is certainly an outstanding colt towering above all previous classic winners of his age. His facility of gait and freedom of action are deceptive. Fallacy did not race as a two-year-old, and he had not contested a classic until the Derby. He took what is generally regarded by experienced horsemen as a big step - from handicap company to classic company - in his stride and without turning a hair. Fallacy, by a narrow margin, was favourite over Forward. Fallacy carried £2196/10/- and Forward £2116/10/-. On the place, Fallacy had £1395 and Forward £1361. Third favourite was Black Wings, a long way off in public favour with £638 and £1148/10/-.

The Derby field was a credit to every trainer and driver concerned. Mr C S Thomas, president of the NZ Metropolitan Trotting Club, expressed his appreciation of the excellent condition of the field, and the meticulous manner in which horses and drivers were turned out. It was obvious, he said, that trainers and drivers took a great pride in their candidates, and he wanted them to know just how much their zeal and hard work was appreciated by the Club.

Fallacy very nearly slipped through J D Litten's hands. He was for sale in February, but Litten, who owns, trains, and drives Fallacy impressed by his ability in early training, decided to keep him. Litten mentioned to the Addington trainer V Alborn, when at the Nelson Trotting Club's meeting nine months ago, that Fallacy was for sale, and Alborn said he would go out to Litten's stables at West Melton to inspect the Light Brigade colt. On returning from Nelson, Alborn went out to Litten's stables, but Litten did not return for two days, and Alborn decided to let the matter rest for a few days. Alborn was then called away on business to the West Coast. When Litten returned home he carried on working Fallacy. Fallacy began to show ability in his training, and Litten decided against selling him. It was a most fortunate decision, for from seven starts Fallacy has won five starts and £2440 in stakes.

Fallacy's dam, Diversion, was bred by the late W J Morland, of Riccarton, who sold her on to the late Mr A Johnson, of Wellington. Mr Johnson, a businessman, had been in ill-health, and his doctor suggested he buy and race a horse as a diversion. That is how the mare got her name. Diversion raced reasonably well for Mr Johnson, winning one race and gaining several placings. Litten bought her in 1939 with the intention of breeding from her. He raced her in the early part of the 1939-40 season, and she won a race and gained three placings. Mr C L Rhodes made an offer for Diversion during that season, and Litten sold her on condition that Mr Rhodes returned her when her racing career was over, for stud purposes.

Mr Rhodes raced Diversion without much success, and when he returned her, Litten told him he would give him the alternate foals. Her first foal was a brown filly by Grattan Layal, which was named Sapience. Mr Rhodes sold Sapience to an Australian buyer. Diversion's next foal was by Josedale Dictator, and unfortunately for Litten, it died as a two-year-old. Mated with Light Brigade, Diversion left His Majesty, who although still in maiden class has shown much ability. His Majesty is raced by Mr Rhodes. Diversion's fourth foal was Fallacy. Her next foal was by Andy Derby. It is a two-year-old now, and also shows ability. Litten again suffered bad luck when Diversion's next foal, a colt by Grattan Loyal, died when only three weeks old, and a series of misfortunes reached a climax when Diversion died about two weeks ago foaling a colt to Light Brigade; the foal also died.

Diversion was by Rey de Oro from Escapade, who left a long line of winners, both pacers and trotters, who will be remembered by many racegoers. They were Tall Timber, Tam o'Shanter, Flying Scott, Milestone, Intrigue, Levity, Super Scotch and Daredevil. Escapade, champion trotting mare of her day, holds the distinction of being one of the few trotters to qualify for and compete in the NZ Cup. She started in the 1927 race, won by Kohara from Cardinal Logan, Man o' War and Great Bingen, so it will be gathered she was a champion trotter in every sense of the term.

As a youth Litten was associated with Miss Bella Button, whose parents owned the New Brighton racecourse. The Buttons owned harness horses, show horses and ponies. With the experience he gained helping with those horses, Litten has carried on to be a successful trainer, and a master with young horses. Litten was responsible for the early training of Congo Song, the best three-year-old of his year, and Vedette, winner of the 1951 Inter-Dominion Pacers Championship Final.


Credit: 'Ribbonwood' writing in NZ Trotting Calendar 12Nov51

New Tote Annex

RETURN TO NEW BRIGHTON

Spic and span with a brand-new £3000 coat of paint, the New Brighton Trotting Club's stands, totalisator houses and rails will present a beaming front to the thousands of old and new patrons expected to throng the roomy seaside course when the club, next month, holds the first meeting on its own grounds for more than six years; the last meeting held at New Brighton was in February, 1942.

The 'new look' manifests itself on all sides. The transformation from the drab dilapidation left by years of military occupation, to the clean, neat orderliness of today is a shining example of what faith in a tradition, loyalty to a cause and an appropriate admixture of sentiment can do. After all, it is only two years since the club decided to go back to New Brighton rather than race permanently at Addington, and in that short time, even though confronted with many difficulties and shortages of materials, it has worked wonders.

Not the least of these is the remodelling of the mile grass track, which has been banked, regraded and top-dressed and a new mile and a quarter start put down. This new starting point will give fields racing over the main sprint distance a straight run of over two furlongs before a bend is encountered. Previously races over this distance were started on a bend. The track at present bears a beautiful sole of grass, and it has never been in better heart. This opinion is giving it something to live up to, because a number of records were broken on it years and years ago.

In 1925 the great mare Onyx, against time, paced a mile and a half in 3.13, then a world's pacing record, and two years previously Happy Voyage, also against time, had set the NZ main for a mile at 2.04 1/5. A superlative performance registered at New Brighton was Harold Logan's 2.36 3/5 in winning the Avon Handicap, of a mile and a quarter, from 84yds in October, 1934. That was then a world's race record, and, from such a long mark, it still ranks as one of the greatest sprints of all time. About that time the claim was made that the New Brighton track was the best grass track in the Dominion, and racing may not be resumed on it for very long before such a claim is reaffirmed.

Training facilities at New Brighton are first class. The late F J Smith could never understand why there were not more stables in the New Brighton area; the easy sandy nature of the soil and training tracks greatly appealed to him and he always finished off the preparation of the teams he brought from Auckland at the New Brighton course.

The main totalisator house has been renovated throughout and now boasts a spruce annex of 13 new selling windows. These, it is hoped, will assist in handling the greatly-increased crowds now attending trotting meetings compared with 1942.

New Brighton is not the oldest trotting club in NZ - that distinction belongs to Wanganui - but trotting races were held on the New Brighton beach in the early 1870s. Later the New Brighton Racing Club conducted its meetings on a property owned by the late Mr Tom Free. Trotting races were introduced to help the club along, but the New Brighton Racing Club was eventually wound up and the ground leased to the Canterbury Sports Co Ltd, for athletics. This body also went into liquidation and the property purchased by the late Mr Henry Mace, who established 'Brooklyn Lodge' a breeding and traing establishment.

The New Brighton Trotting Club became tenants of the grounds in 1890, and from that year went on from success to success, ultimately purchasing the property from the Button family, who had bought it after the death of Henry Mace. Wise conduct of the club's finances resulted in New Brighton becoming the only freehold racecourse in Christchurch. It is quite unencumbered.

A red-letter day in the history of the club was March 15, 1927, when the other two Christchurch trotting clubs conceded it the privilege of holding the Royal Meeting at Addington in honour of the visit of the present King and Queen, then the Duke and Duchess of York. Great Bingen, a big public favourite at the time, rose to the occasion by winning the York Handicap from 108yds and putting up the then world's record of 4.21.

Not a few trainers, and a big section of the public, have a warm spot for the seaside course. New Brighton's carnival spirit, its public atmosphere, did much to popularise the club's meetings in the past. The present officials are alive to their rich heritage; if teamwork gets results, the future of New Brighton is A1 at Lloyds.



Credit: 'Ribbonwood' writing in NZ Trotting Calendar 18Aug48

Henry Mace

MACE MEMORIAL HANDICAP

This race, until recently, was run by the NBTC, and honours the late Henry Mace, one of thne benefactors of the sport of trotting. He ran a soft-drink business in Christchurch, and was always prominent in public affairs.

The New Brighton racecourse had been purchased from its original owner, Mr Tom Free, by the Canterbury Sports Co Ltd with the idea of encouraging athletics, but this body soon went into liquidation and the course was then purchased by Mr Mace, who established his home, stables and stud there. He called it 'Brooklyn Lodge.' He then set about improving the grounds, sinking deep wells, sowing grass, and erecting buildings, and the present position of the New Brighton Trotting Club, may, to a great extent, be placed to the credit of Mr Mace. Later the course was sold to the Button family, and was subsequently purchased by the New Brighton Trotting Club.

Henry Mace was always a leading light in the government of the sport and anything that would help its advancement. He was on all deputations urging Government recognition of the sport, and with the late Mr A I Rattray and Sir Wesley Percival waited on the Hon R J Seddon with a request that a tax be placed on the totalisator receipts. This, of course, was done to counter the anti-totalisator people, who were particularly strong in those days.

Mr Mace's stud soon developed, until he had about 80 sires, mares and young stock. These were all from the best imported strains and included such well-known names as Almont, Candidate, Mambrino, Abdallah, Brooklyn and Director.

Henry Mace was one of New Brighton Trotting Club's most enthusiastic workers and well deserves to leave his name enshrined in the annals of trotting pioneers and enthusiasts.


Credit: H E Goggin writing in NZ Trotting Calendar 5May48