YEAR: 1967 Mr V W (Vic) Alborn, whose death has occurred, was one of the most successful and colourful trainers and drivers in the Dominion until the mid-1950s. Vic reached the retiring age of 65 for drivers in 1953. By 1956 he had completed half a century of life with the trotter and pacer. Alborn was an infant when he arrived from Somerby, England. His father was a vehicle builder and set up business at Westport. Young Vic saw the old coaching days, and he was only about 16 when he had become a fine rider and driver. His first venture as an owner was his purchase for £10 of a pony trotter named Silver. He had a great run of wins with her. She was only a 'dot,' but often beat horses that could of carried her. In a few more years Alborn had become an owner and trainer of some substance and he laid down a training track at Inangahua. One of his best known winners from there was Dixie Lee, with whom he won the Westport Cup of 1919. The same year he won the Greymouth Cup with Red Prince, and he had other winners round about that time in Fernleigh, Armature, Woodland Rose, Rose Alma, Invictus, Neverwell, Adroth and Repington. At one Westport fixture he won four races on end. With Ringleader and Fore he had a 'trot' at Nelson and Blenheim meetings and carried on to win good money with Fore at Forbury. A little later Alborn did well with three trotters named Merryjigs, Cannonball and Peter Eyre, and with the pacer Denver Wood he won five races in his first six starts. Then arrived a bold pacer in Vesuvius, one of the greatest 'front-runners' we have ever seen in this country. Vesuvius was the Gold Bar of his day, a genuine racehorse who reached Cup class and was a close second in a heat of the premier event in 1931. He was a very popular horse with the public. Alborn, at the same period, had a great innings with a pacer named Linkman, a plain, heavy-boned pacer by the same sire as Vesuvius - Matchlight. He was a fine stayer, reaching NZ Cup class. Somerby kept the pot boiling for Alborn in the depression days. Somerby was a very capable sprinter, in saddle as well as harness. A few years before this Alborn had transferred his team from the West Coast to Addington and he greatly strengthened the training ranks at headquarters. In track work Vic could always be relied upon for some fireworks and members of his team invariably put up some of the best trials. He had a successful training arrangement with the late Arthur Cox for some years. Honeymoon was a brilliant trotter trained and raced by Alborn in the 1930s. The best of Honeymoon was not seen on the racetracks. He was unsound. When he could be sent along at speed he was as fast as any trotter - and most pacers - then in training at Addington. In 1938 Alborn paid £350 for Royal Romance. But she proved a rare investment, winning many races and finishing up in the top flight - her victory in the Dominion Handicap of 1939 put a seal on a splendid career. With Royal Suprise and Nationalist he won the Westport Cup, a race he took a sentimental pride in winning. Burt Scott, a decided moderate over a couple of seasons, and a positive 'ugly duckling' to look at, was purchased by Alborn at the close of his 4-year-old season for £300. Few greater bargains have been secured because Burt Scott, a novice in October of that season, 1941-2, won 10 races and was placed second in his other two starts in the very short space of six months, his final victory that season being in the Autumn Free-For-All at the NZ Metropolitan Easter meeting from a field of champions, including Nelson Eddy(second), Gold Bar(fourth), Bronze Eagle, Lightning Lady and Springfield Globe. Burt Scott carried on to win many more races for Alborn and was one of the biggest stake-winners of his time. In the pacer Native Scott Alborn also worked a tremendous improvement. So poor had Native Scott's form been that Alborn bought him for £150. He promptly won three races at Greymouth and carried on for many important successes, including the Canterbury Park President's Handicap. Yet another 'derelict' Alborn set on the road to fame late in life was Bulldozer, who cost hin £100 as a 9-year-old and with whom he won thousands. Bulldozer won five races in less than two months and finished up beating some of the greatest stayers and sprinters then racing in the Dominion. He ended up in Cup Company. Alborn's next star was Dundee Sandy, who had already won good races at Addington for his owner, Mr B Rushton, of Nightcaps, when Alborn was asked to train him. The combination was a lucrative one for five seasons and Dundee Sandy's final stakes total was £17,345. He was another Cup qualifier, his important wins including the NZ Metropolitan Ollivier Handicap and Auckland President's Handicap. But perhaps his greatest chapter was with Maori Home. Veterans both at the time, Alborn and Maori Home proved an outstanding combination in the 1952-3 season, and for some seasons before that, too. Besides winning the Dunedin Cup a second time, they were successful in the Electric Stakes, the latter race bringing Maori Home's free-for-all to three in two successive seasons. Maori Home had won 17 races and £18,725 in stakes up till July, 1953, more than £10,000 of it after being operated on for a throat affliction. Following the second of these operations, Maori Home was turned out for a long spell - well over a year - and he did not return to racing until he was a 10-year-old. His recovery and eventual development of champion form was the more note-worthy for a horse at one time 'gone in the wind'. A record Alborn made, and which may stand for all time, was that of winning three races in the one day with the one horse - Colonel Axworthy at the Reefton Trotting Club's meeting on December 11, 1937. Alborn was the first owner to win a five-figure sum in stakes in the one season. He topped the list in 1945-6 with £10,015. He was also the leading owner in the 1941-2 season with £3,940. Alborn was his own farrier: he shod his own horses practically all the time he was a trainer. -o0o- NZ Trotting Calendar 7Dec49 GENEROUS ACTION OF CHRISTCHURCH TRAINER Returning from the Reefton Trotting Club's Annual Meeting on Saturday, a party of four racegoers had the misfortune to have their car damaged at the summit of the Lewis Pass about 9.30pm. As not much traffic can be expected over the Pass at this hour, the party settled down, not too hopefully, to await assistance. After about half an hour a welcome pair of headlights pierced the gloom of the mountainside and these proved to belong to V Alborn's car. Hopes of obtaining a lift however, were dashed when it was seen that Alborn's car had a full compliment of passengers. V Alborn, however, generously offered to tow the stranded vehicle with its four occupants back to Christchurch - a distance of about 112 miles over tortuous roads - and the offer was gratefully accepted. One of the stranded party said that the unruffled and pleasant manner with which Alborn met all the irritating delays through breaks in the tow rope and so on, impressed upon him that here indeed, was 'courtesy of the road.' The driver of the damaged car added that he had the unique experience of 'getting the perfect trail' behind Alborn for 112 miles. Credit: NZ Trotting Calendar 22Nov67 YEAR: 1951 1951 NEW ZEALAND DERBY STAKES YEAR: 1955
In 1951 the West Melton trainer, J D Litten, paraded his own champion three-year-old colt, Fallacy, to win the NZ Derby Stakes by 12 lengths in the race record time of 3:12.2 for one mile and a half. Four years after that success Litten produced the first of Fallacy's get, Mr J Smyth's False Step, to win the coveted event narrowly, but gamely, in a time only .4 of a second slower. In the interim, Litten had won the 1953 contest with Caduceus. There is a colourful background to this feat of sire and son winning the classic in the space of four years; and perhaps the most appropriate starting point to this background is the year 1932. That was when the late W J Morland, a master horseman and student of breeding, bred Diversion. Diversion was by Rey de Oro from the Nelson Bingen mare, Escapade, who left a long line of winners, both pacers and trotters, who will be well remembered by many light-harness enthusiasts. Diversion was sold as a youngster to Mr A Johnston, of Wellington. Mr Johnston, 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 became so named. Diversion won one race and gained several minor placings for Mr Johnston, and in 1939 she was purchased cheaply by Litten, who raced her in the early part of the 1939-40 season, gaining one win and three minor placings. Her lone win under Litten gave him his first winning drive. That was in the Gothard Handicap at the Westport Club's annual meeting. Mr C L Rhodes made an offer for Diversion during that season, and Litten sold her on the 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. Mr Rhodes got the first and third foals, Fallacy, by Light Brigade was the fourth. In February 1951, Litten decided to sell Fallacy, who was then a two-year-old, and when at a Nelson meeting, mentioned his intention to the Addington trainer, V Alborn. Returning from Nelson, Alborn went out to Litten's stables at West Melton, but Litten had not returned 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 arrived home, he carried on working Fallacy, who began to show marked ability in his training. Litten then decided against selling him, and it is now history how Fallacy developed into the champion three-year-old of the 1951-52 season, earning £3680 for his seven successes and two minor placings from 10 attempts. Apart from the Derby, he won the Riccarton Stakes, NZ Champion Stakes and the NZ Futurity Stakes. He beat all but the four-year-old, Johnny Globe, in both the NZ Metropolitan Stakes and All Aged Stakes. Fallacy trained off later and was given a long spell. Brought back into work again, he was giving promise of returning to his peak when misfortune intervened. In a work-out on Litten's track, a horse fell in front of Fallacy, and he was brought down, cracking his ribs. After that he was retired to the stud for good. It was earlier in his career, in 1952, however that he served Dainty Direct, who produced False Step from that mating. Dainty Direct was bred by Messrs Newdick Bros., of Auckland, in 1931, a year in which her sire, the imported roan, Dan Direct, was still racing successfully in New Zealand. Her dam, Queen Betty, was by Four Chimes, from Dot Robbins, by the imported Frank Robbins, from an unnamed mare by George M Patchen. Dot Robbins, False Step's third dam, managed to win three races, but is better remembered as the dam of Big Author, an upstanding Author Dillon gelding, who, in the mid 1930's, gained 12 wins and one second placing from 50 starts, eight of those wins coming in his first 14 starts. Big Author was trained during most of his career by O E Hooper for Mr E F Saunders, of Alexandra. Dainty Direct did not race and False Step was her only real success at stud. In 1949 she changed hands. Mr Smyth secured her (in foal to Jack High)from Mr Adams in exchange for an old hay rake. In 1950 she produced Tyrone Queen, missed in 1951, but in 1952 produced False Step. Litten produced False Step for the first start of his career in the Canterbury Park Juvenile Stakes. The colt began very slowly, but pleased by the manner in which he made up his self-imposed handicap to finish third to Pointer and Fiord. A mistake at the start put an end to his chance in the Geraldine Invitation Stakes, but he finished third to Phantasy and Siberia in the Timaru Nursery and filled a similar position behind Glint and Pointer in the New Zealand Welcome Stakes. At his fifth start he gained his first success, and his only one as a two-year-old, when he outstayed Glint in the Methven Two-year-old Stakes. Pointer proved his master in the Oamaru Juvenile Stakes, and at his last start last season, False Step had to be content with a second behind Lady Wexford in the New Zealand Sapling Stakes. At his first start as a three-year-old, False Step outstayed the others of his age in the Canterbury Three-year-old Stakes in August, wearing down Pointer in the run in to score by two lengths. Then, in September, he again showed his staying ability by coming away determinedly to beat Glint by a length in the T S Harrison Stakes. In October, he had his first test against older horses; and he was far from disgraced. Starting from 12 yards over a mile and a quarter at Oamaru, he came with a brilliant late run for a creditable third. He next raced on the first day of the Cup meeting at Addington ruining what must have been a good winning chance in the Riccarton Stakes by breaking badly at the start. He made up a long stretch of ground to finish fourth. On the second day he finished on from an awkward position on the home turn to again finish fourth, this time in the New Zealand Metropolitan Challenge Stakes. On the strength of his consistent record, he was made a hot favourite for the Derby. He made a much better beginning than on the first two days, and was sixth when the field settled down. Litten took him into the lead with just on seven furlongs to run, and set a fast pace from that stage. These tactics paid dividends, for most of his rivals were struggling from the half-mile on. He looked to have ended his run, however, when Glint moved up smartly to head him well inside the furlong; but when urged for extra effort he showed real courage to forge through on the inside again and gain the verdict by a head. Glint was not disgraced as she had to improve several lengths from the home turn to issue the final challenge to False Step. Ricochet finished on for a creditable third, five lengths away, with the more seasoned Lady Wexford only a fair fourth, a neck back. Pointer after losing ground at the start and covering a lot of extra ground, tired badly from the three-furlong post to finish well back, eighth. The honours were all with False Step on the day, and judging by his present form he may emulate the deeds of his sire, and perhaps even his brilliantly-performed stablemates, Our Roger and Caduceus. Credit: Ron Bisman writing in NZ Trotting Calendar YEAR: 1954 1954 DOMINION HANDICAP |