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BILL FARRELL

Bill Farrell, the South Canterbury farmer who bred the brilliant pacer Happy Sunrise, died last week aged 82.

He was a versatile and knowledgeable horseman who trained, drove and bred standardbreds for more than 20 years, many in partnership with Graham Trist.

It was Trist who got him started, and together they bred the winners Winning Choice, Meesha(2.06), top youngster Winning Glimpse(2.03), Haughty Choice and Hunter Hanover(2.06) from the Bachelor Hanover mare Bachelor's Choice, and two winners from the Johnny Globe mare, Apollo Globe. All told they bred 14 horses, and nine of them were winners.

Later, he stood Steven Stock at the stud, and among the mares he had assembled for the horse to serve was Happy Gift, by Johnny Kawa.

In due course, he found himself with too many horses, and he told Trist on Sunday afternoon that he was sending some to a dispersal sale at Ashburton. Trist told him he wouldn't get much for them, and he was right - the Steven Stock-Happy Gift 2-year-old was sold to Brian Saunders for $350. Happy Sunrise went on to win more than $100,000 and take a mork of 1:57.8.

Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 6Jun02