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YEAR: 1965

J McLENNAN

Mr John McLennan, one of trotting's best known and most successful riders and drivers earlier this century, died last week. He was aged 82.

At the time of his retirement about 30 years ago, Mr McLennan held the record of having ridden the winners of 70 saddle races over one mile, and five of these were straight-out trotters. One of his most successful meetings was the 1920 NZ Cup meeting at Addington. On that occasion he and F (Free) Holmes, now in his nineties, each handled six winners, just half the programme between them.

McLennan was 16 when he trained and rode his first winner, at a Geraldine meeting. There were many good horses he drove and rode in this time but one of the best was Cello Sydney Wilkes. At the 1919 NZ Cup meeting he won four races with this Balclutha-owned stallion.

For many years Mr McLennan resided in Oamaru. While there he did all the riding and driving for the stables of J Henderson and R Logan, two highly successful trainers of that time.

Credit: NZ Trotting Calendar 22Sep65

 

YEAR: 1919

Trix Pointer & Free Holmes in the winner's circle
1919 NEW ZEALAND TROTTING CUP

Trix Pointer, selected and imported from America in 1915 by legendary horseman Free Holmes along with Bonilene and Logan Pointer, furthered the fine record of mares when she outstayed the pacemaking Moneymaker.

Not very big and not particularly pretty either, Trix Pointer is the only mare to win the Cup and leave a Cup winner (Wrackler,1930), and in fact established one of the best families in the Stud Book. She was a grandaughter of Charles Derby, the sire of Norice.

It completed a unique double for Holmes, who had ridden Manton to win the Cup at Riccarton in 1888, and who established a famous family all of his own.

**Credit: NZ HRWeekly 1Oct2003**

On a beautiful day and before a record crowd, the small six-year-old American-bred mare Trix Pointer, in the hands of Free Holmes, won the 1919 Cup in convincing style, by three lengths from Moneymaker (Andy Pringle), with four lengths back to Matchlight (James Bryce). Then followed Sherwood, Erin's Queen and Mintson. The winner, who was fifth favourite, paced 4:30 for the two miles.

Holmes bought Trix Pointer from her Californian breeder for a client of his Upper Riccarton stable, W H Norton, during one of his trips to the United States, and she proved to be a most consistent mare. With her Cup victory, Trix Pointer advanced her New Zealand earnings to £4399 15s from 11 wins, 11 seconds and seven thirds.

Trix Pointer was by Demonio from Bally Pointer. Demonio was by Charles Derby, the sire of Norice, who ran second to Monte Carlo in the inaugural NZ Cup.

After he retired from race driving in 1944, Free Holmes named Trix Pointer the best horse he trained and drove. After her racing days, Trix Pointer made a unique contribution at stud. To the imported Wrack she produced Wrackler, who won the 1930 NZ Cup and the 1932 Dominion Handicap. Of all the fine mares who have won Addington's big race, Trix Pointer is the only one to have later produced a Cup winner. Among the stallions, only Cathedral Chimes (Ahuriri and Kohara), Johnny Globe (Lordship, Spry and Globe Bay) and Lordship (Lord Module and Inky Lord) have produced Cup-winning offspring.

Holmes had Trix Pointer, off her handicap of six seconds, in fourth place from the start and never far away from the tearaway pacemaker Moneymaker, who started from nine seconds. Moneymaker and Erin's Queen were first into the straight followed by Trix Pointer, and under the whip she quickly gathered in the leaders.

Andy Pringle had Moneymaker in front by six lengths passing the stands for the first time and still had that advantage starting the last lap. However, as in so many of his distance races at Addington, Moneymaker failed at the business end. Matchlight, from two seconds, ran the best of the back contingent, finishing well for third. Sherwood ran a solid race for fourth, while Erin's Queen, always well up, ruined her chance for a place by losing her stride at the furlong post.

The disappointment of the race was the favourite, Author Dillon, who finished well back. In a field of 11, Author Dillon was asked to give a nine-second start to those in front. He did not get away well and was never near the leaders. In the back straight the last time he momentarily left his feet as he tried to improve. Before the race his trackwork had been excellent and, in September, when the club held a meeting to honour the visit of Viscount Jellicoe, he paced a record 2:41.4 for the mile-and-a-quarter.

Author Dillon made amends for his weak Cup performance by winning the Free-For-All on the second day. After two false starts in the race, Albert Cling, who failed to get up to the mark, was left when Author Dillon and the only two other starters, Cathedral Chimes and Admiral Wood, moved away from their flying start. Author Dillon, always in front, won by a length from Cathedral Chimes, with the other two coming in at 12-length intervals.

Trix Pointer was the season's top earner with £2635 and her owner, Bill Norton, was the season's leading owner, with £3135. Free Holmes finished the season with 16 winning drives and in fifth place. He had 22 training successes to be runner-up behind James Bryce. Only once in his long career did Free Holmes finish on top of these lists, when he trained 19 winners during the 1922-23 season.

His victory with Trix Pointer created a unique record for Holmes. In 1888, as a successful jockey, he had ridden Manton to victory in the New Zealand Galloping Cup at Riccarton. Before becoming interested in trotting, Holmes had been first a jockey, and then a trainer of thoroughbreds, and he was without doubt one of the great personalities of the racing scene in the last decades of the 19th century and the early decades of the 20th century. His other successes as a jockey included the Canterbury Cup, Grand National Hurdles and Great Northern Steeplechase. As a trainer, his successes included the New Zealand St Leger and Auckland Cup. Holmes' achievement of winning both New Zealand Cups was later equalled by Roy Berry, who rode Sinapis to victory in the 1913 New Zealand Cup at Riccarton, then trained and drove double winner Lucky Jack (1937 and 1939) and trained Bronze Eagle (1944) to NZ Cup victories.

In 1915 Holmes made his first trip to the United States, seeking new strains of blood, and bought Logan Pointer, Bonilene and Trix Pointer. In 1922 he made another trip and bought Rey de Oro, and in 1930 he returned with Grattan Loyal and Frank Worthy. The impact on these imports on the New Zealand breeding scene has been immeasurable.

Holmes had few peers as a trainer, owner and studmaster. His ability and expertise was obviously passed down to his three sons - F G, Allan and Maurice - all of whom were associated with NZ Cup victories. The family enjoyed seven Cup victories, with Trix Pointer(1919), Wrackler(1930), Harold Logan(1932), Gold Bar(1945), Chamfer(1950), Adorian(1953) and Lookaway(1957). Quite an achievement.

The Metropolitan Club offered record stakes of 11,000 sovereigns for the 1919 meeting. The big crowd on Cup Day wagered a record £76,291, and the amount invested on the Cup race itself, of £16,147 was a record amount for either a harness or galloping race in New Zealand. The 1919 meeting was a staggering success, with Show Day betting reaching £83,684 10s and an unsurpassed £218,723 for the three days.

The meeting had other highlights, with slow class pacer Cappricio and Cello Sydney Wilkes winning half the second-day programme between them. Cappricio won the Metropolitan Handicap over one-mile-and-five-furlongs in harness, and then later in the day won the Railway Handicap in saddle. Eugene McDermott handled him both times.

Cello Sydney Wilkes won the main event, the Courtenay Handicap, and then the Royal Handicap. On the first day he had also won, and on each occasion the Harold Dillon stallion paid generous dividends. When he won the Christchurch Handicap on the third day, Cello Sydney Wilkes and his trainer-driver John McLennan carved their place in Addington's history, the horse becoming the first of only five to win four races at the November carnival. The feat has been equalled since by Red Shadow(1933), Cardigan Bay(1963), trotter Tutira(1969) and Gentle George(1978). John McLennan had an outstanding meeting, driving six winners.

**Credit: Bernie Wood writing in The Cup 2003**

Credit: NZ HRWeekly 1Oct03

 

YEAR: 1920

1920 NEW ZEALAND TROTTING CUP

Reta Peter achieved a remarkable feat when she beat 11 pacers, even allowing for the fact that she received a head start of nine seconds over Author Dillon and beat him by less than a length.

Confirming her status as the best trotter bred in New Zealand up to that time, Reta Peter outfinished most of the rest off almost level marks.

She was one of the outsiders to achieve this, but returned to a rousing reception from the appreciative crowd. Reta Peter then attempted to add the 1000 sovereign Dominion at the meeting, but a 16 second handicap proved a little too much to overcome.

**Credit: NZ HRWeekly 1Oct2003**

Seventh favourite Reta Peter, the only trotter in the field, finished brilliantly to edge out General Link and Author Dillon to win the 1920 New Zealand Cup.

Reta Peter, regarded as the best trotter bred in New Zealand to that time, was the second of her gait to win the Cup. Monte Carlo was the other. Although one of the outsiders in the 12-horse field, and paying a dividend of £20 11s, Reta Peter and driver Alf Wilson were given a great reception from the big crowd when they returned to the birdcage after covering the two miles in 4:30.4. Patrons were quick to recognise the merit of the mare's performance in beating such a strong field. In the previous 12 months, five horses - Reta Peter (who had achieved a record 4:31.6 for trotters), Cello Sydney Wilkes, Dean Dillon, General Link and Hal Junior - had qualified for Cup class. It became evident, however, that several of the 18 nominated would not make the starting post. Oinako and Agathos were early withdrawals, then John Dillon broke down, Cello Sydney Wilkes fell on the road while training and cut a knee, Hal Junior went amiss, and Moneymaker was pulled out on the eve of the race. John McLennan's Albert Cling was race favourite, with the James Bryce pair of Matchlight and Erin's Queen also strongly supported, but neither trainer had any joy. Albert Cling lost his chance when he broke badly at the start and the Bryce pair were outclassed.

Reta Peter's assignment against the top pacers was always considered difficult, even though Author Dillon was asked to give a nine-second start to the front four and, indeed, a huge start to all his rivals. The confidence of owner Frank Robson and trainer-driver Alf Wilson, who had his stables at New Brighton, was never misplaced in Petereta's seven-year-old daughter. Dean Dillon failed to begin smartly and Albert Cling broke, but the remainder of the field went away at their correct bells. Wilson had Reta Peter close up all the way, following the early leader Willie Lincoln and just in behind Erin's Queen, Mintson, General Link, Sherwood and Dean Dillon. General Link raced into the lead in the back straight the last time, pursued by Author Dillon, and the pair entered the home straight, waging a vigorous battle. Reta Peter then appeared and got up to win by a half-length from General Link, with Author Dillon a neck away third. Then came Sherwood, Erin's Queen, Willie Lincoln and Mintson.

Robson bred Reta Peter from his own mare, Tot Huon. The imported Petereta stood at Robert McMillan's Santa Rosa stud at Halswell for a fee of £10 10s. Reta Peter had her early education from Addington trainer Arthur Cox. She had several trainers before Robson asked Alf Wilson, who had just returned from the war, to take her in. She immediately impressed Wilson, whose association with harness racing went back to Addington's early days. He had driven Factory Boy in the inaugural NZ Cup in 1904 and Reta Peter was his sixth Cup drive. Reta Peter won three races for Wilson at two miles against the trotters in the 1919-1920 season, prompting Robson and Wilson to set their sights on the NZ Cup.

Runner-up General Link improved his time considerably, while Author Dillon, who came into the straight only a length behind him looked the winner, felt the strain in the last furlong. He had to run an Australasian record of 4:21.8 for his placing, beating Admiral Wood's record. Author Dillon's run deserved a better fate. Earlier in the season, he had won a treble at the August meeting, taking the International and King George Handicaps and the prestigious National Cup.

Reta Peter was made a warm favourite for the Dominion Handicap on the third day, a race that offered the trotters their first 1000 sovereign stake. However, she disappointed her connectioms, and army of supporters, by beginning badly from the back mark and had no chance of making up her handicap. The Auckland-owned and trained gelding Gold Boy, from 16 seconds, ran out an easy winner. The previous day Gold Boy had won the Sockburn Handicap.

Author Dillon made it a hat-trick of wins in the Free-For-All, taking this race without difficulty from four rivals, Trix Pointer, Matchlight, Cello Sydney Wilkes and Dean Dillon. Author Dillon started in the Christchurch Handicap on the third day, but Ben Jarden anticipated his bell and had to pull Author Dillon out of the race. The combination made amends later in the day, winning the aptly-titled Recovery Handicap, raced over a mile.

Albert Cling, the beaten favourite in the Cup, and the youngest horse in the race at six years, won the Courtney Handicap, also raced on the third day. His driver, John McLennan, and 18-year-old James Bryce junior(Erin's Queen) had first NZ Cup experiences. Bryce remains the youngest to drive in a NZ Cup. McLennan never won the NZ Cup, but he had a memorable meeting at Addington in 1920, driving three winners on both the second and third days, F G Holmes also drove six winners at the meeting, so between them they won half the three-day programme.

The totalisator handled £90,296 on Cup Day and betting on the big race rose almost as dramatically, to £20,506. Show Day reached a new peak for Addington of £91,814, and the three-day total was a record £259,076. the 1920 Show Day record turnover remained intact for 22 years and the record total turnover was not exceeded until 1943.

The outstanding driving feat of the season was achieved by Harry Gaskill who drove an unprecedented six winners on the same day at Greymouth in April 1920. It was 16 years before this feat was equalled.

Ben Jarden and John McLennan, with 25 wins each, shared the season's driving honours and for the sixth consecutive season, James Bryce was the top trainer, with 21 wins.

**Credit: Bernie Wood writing in The Cup**

 

YEAR: 1945

1945 NEW ZEALAND TROTTING CUP

Nothing looks quite so pathetic as to-day's Form at a Glance the night following the races: unless it is last week's Cup story. As a rule, caution and sporting writers are first cousins. A sort of animal cunning comes to the aid of most people who follow horses with a pair of binoculars and a pencil, but for once in a while it deserted the press gallery at Addington on Saturday.

Free Holmes, sage of the light-harness world, once delivered a homily from a sulky seat to the effect that "it is time enough to count any horse out of any race when it is dead." Free was dead right. Just how many times he has been right since he became trotting's philosopher No.1 we have lost count of. How the old general must have chuckled to himself when Gold Bar's Cup victory on Saturday came home as a crushing rebuke to all scribes and form experts(?) who rushed into print with such high-sounding phrases as "his stamina must be on the wane," "he is not likely at this late stage of his career to finish any closer than fourth," "his function is not to win Cups but to carry the field along at break neck speed"; and so on.

Free, by the way, is "next of kin," to the owner, the trainer, the driver and the winner of this year's Cup. He is, as everyone knows, Allan Holmes's father; and Gold Bar's sire, grandsire and great-grandsire were all imported from America by Free. Gold Bar is by Grattan Loyal, who came from Ontario, Canada, in 1930. Gold Bar's dam Imperial Gold, is by Rey de Oro, who left Los Angeles, USA, for this country in 1922; and Imperial Gold's dam was Imperial Pointer, who came from California to the Dominion in 1915.

What a trotting saga! Nat Gould would have revelled in it. But Nat Gould is dead, so you will just have to put up with the vapourings of the scribe who told you in all seriousness last week that Gold Bar had about as much chance of winning the Cup as Hirohito has of becoming President of the United States. The influence of Free Holmes's importations on the Cup field did not end with Gold Bar, because Integrity, the second horse, is by Trevor de Oro (by Rey de Oro-Logan Maid, by Logan Pointer) and Integrity's dam, Cheetah, is by Grattan Loyal. Furthermore, the fourth horse, Countless, is out of Purple Patch, by Rey de Oro.

The unrestrained enthusiasm that greeted Gold Bar and Allan Holmes when they returned to the birdcage was a richly earned tribute to a horse and a driver who have been leading actors in the principal events of the Dominion for five years or more. Most people will agree that Gold Bar has 'made' the Cup race ever since he joined the select circle. It would be difficult to name his parallel in light-harness history. Vesuvius is the nearest approach to him most can remember; horses that stand out as individualists, pacemakers whose acceleration to top speed from barrier rise led to the survival of only the fittest in each and every race they made, or disorganised, whichever you will.

It was in an atmosphere charged with enthusiasm, and pervaded with a glamour Addington has never known before, that the official party, led by the president, Mr C S Thomas, foregathered in the birdcage after the race for the presentation to A Holmes of the Gold Cup. Thousands of wildly-excited people literally broke all barriers and crowded round the enclosure. Mr Thomas paid a richly earned tribute to Holmes and Gold Bar for the part they played in the Cup race for the last five years. He referred to Saturday's race as "probably the greatest light-harness contest ever staged in the Dominion" and to Gold Bar and Holmes as a champion combination that had consistently provided thrills for the trotting public. Mrs Thomas decorated Gold Bar with a garland of flowers and deafening cheers attended the ceremony.

Gold Bar, who is nine years old, has now won 21 races and £12,078/10/- in stakes and trophies, which places him second to Great Bingen as a money-winner. Of Great Bingen's total of £14,120, £13,320 was earned in the Dominion, and £800 in Australia. If Gold Bar should win Friday's Free-For-All he will have topped Great Bingen's Dominion total, and he now looks likely to become the biggest light-harness stake-winner of the Dominion and Australia. A bloodstock agent made an offer of £5000 for Gold Bar towards the close of last season. The offer came ostensibly with a view to Gold Bar's stud value, but, as Holmes remarked at the time, Gold Bar, apart altogether from his racing career, was worth "a thousand a year at the stud." The thousand a year is now safe as long as Gold Bar lives, and since the offer was made he has earned an additional £5525 in stakes. So it would have been a bad sale, after all.

Gold Bar, after fighting off his only serious challenger, Integrity, won the 1945 NZ Cup by three lengths from Integrity, with Shadow Maid ten lengths away third and Countless a poor fourth. At the start Integrity broke and lost about 30yds, and Indian Clipper would not settle down, being soon out of the contest. Gold Bar went to the front practically from barrier rise and at the end of half a mile had opened up a break of ten lengths on Double Peter, who was followed by Dusky Sound, Shadow Maid and War Guard. Gold Bar increased his lead to 15 lengths with six furlongs covered, and reached the mile in 2:07 and the mile and a half in 3:10. There was still no sign of his weakening. Integrity went after Gold Bar with three furlongs to go, and he reduced the gap to five lengths by the time the home turn was reached, but from that stage Gold Bar fought on too well, and Integrity was not gaining on him at the finish. Happy Man, who led the attack on Gold Bar in the middle stages, tired and came back on Haughty three and a half furlongs from home. Haughty made several futile attempts to get through on the inside of Happy Man, but he eventually came over on her and she put a foot through his sulky wheel. This eliminated both horses just before they reached the quarter post. The mishap probably robbed the race of a good deal of interest, as Haughty appeared to be full of running at the time. Bronze Eagle and all the others had every chance. Bronze Eagle reached third place just after entering upon the final quarter, but he broke in the straight. The fifth horse was Dusky Sound, followed by War Guard, Loyal Friend, Double Peter and Bronze Eagle. The last mile occupied 2:09 1-5, and the last half-mile 1:06 1-5, indicating that Gold Bar's speed again became progressively slower.

Investments on the race were £34,955 and on the day £182,086/10/-

Full Result

1st: A Holmes's GOLD BAR. Trained and driven by the owner at Riccarton, started off scratch.

2nd: V Leeming's INTEGRITY. Driven by M Holmes, started off scratch.

3rd: G Chemar's SHADOW MAID. Driven by C C Devine, started off scratch.

4th: P A Watson's COUNTLESS. Driven by J McLennan Tnr, started off 24yds.

The winner won by three lengths, with 10 lengths to third and 10 lengths to fourth.

Times: 4:16 1-5, 4:16 3-5, 4:19 1-5, 4:19 3-5.

Also started: Double Peter scr, Dusky Sound scr, Happy Man scr, Indian Clipper scr, War Guard scr, Loyal Friend 12, Bronze Eagle 36, Haughty 48.



Credit: 'Ribbonwood' writing in NZ Trotting Calendar 7Nov45

 

YEAR: 1945

1945 THE GREATEST CUP OF ALL

The mastery of Cardigan Bay? The stoutness of False Step? The brilliance of Johnny Globe? The personality of Robalan? Was one of these Cups hailed as the finest ever run: or was it perhaps the third win of Indianapolis, the second by Haughty or even the great run by old Monte Carloin 1904?

Well strangely enough those who have seen a lot of Cups always come back to one sooner or later which gave them a special thrill. And that Cup was Gold Bar's winning run in 1945 when the Grattan Loyal bay finally lasted the distance and defeated a high-class field.

The middle and late forties were the peak of trotting's popularity and the 1945 NZ Cup was the richest horse race ever run in this country and it was also billed as the richest trotting handicap in the world which, when you think about it, doesn't mean much. But during the war years huge crowds always attended the Cup and ever since 1941 when Gold Bar first started in the event they had watched him burn off his rivals in the middle stages only to get run down near the end. In 1945 they finally saw what they had waited years to see - the brillant bay getting too far in front for the others to catch him.

Gold Bar had unique appeal for his racing style has never been seen before or since in big races in this country. There was none of this business of tucking in on the rails in the big staying races and waiting for the last run. Gold Bar went flat stick from the start no matter how far the race and it was up to the others to catch him. In 1945 for example he went his first quarter in 31.4, first half in 62.8 and the first mile in 2:06.8 by which time he was firteen lengths clear of the field.

Thirty-two thousand spectators watched in amazement as the flying stallion and owner-trainer Alan Holmes made an almost lonely sight nearly half a furlong clear of the Cup field. "Of course he'll stop," they were saying. "He always does." But deep down they were hoping that today it just might be different. And it was. Going past the old five furlong pole (1000m) Gold Bar still had a big lead and back in the field the other drivers were putting off the decision which would cost them the race. No mug field either. Included in it were Integrity who would win the following year, Haughty already the winner of two Cups and the first two-minute mare in the Southern Hemisphere, Bronze Eagle who had won the previous year, Countless, Shadow Maid and Indian Clipper a free-for-all winner.

The drivers back in the field were remembering one important thing. Almost inevitably in previous years the horse which had first bridged the gap to Gold Bar when he set up his long leads found that the effort exhausted him and he was no longer a challenger. The previous year none less than Springfield Globe had spent his resources trying to catch Gold Bar. This memory made the drivers hesitate and the hesitation gave Gold Bar the race. Finally Maurice Holmes driving the little chestnut Integrity decided to lead the chase. The gap between the tiring Gold Bar and the challenging Integity narrowed and it seemed once more that Gold Bar would falter.

Approaching the home turn Integrity had drawn up to the leader and it looked a formality for him to pass. History repeated itself however and the effort of the chase had tired Integrity. Gold Bar managed to hold on in surely the slowest quarter in recent Cup history as the two exhausted pacers struggled to the finish. Much further back was Shadow Maid in the hands of a youthful Cecil Devine who would later write his own Cup history and Countless driven by Jack McLennan. Gold Bar who had paced his opening 1¼ miles in 2:39 and the 1½ in 3:10.4 came his last half in 65.6, the last quarter taking about 34 seconds.

Integrity may have been a shade unlucky as he had been slow away but it was definitely Gold Bar's day. His reception was fantastic. Before he could return to the birdcage hundreds of well-wishers had jumped the rails and surrounded Alan Holmes and his champion heaping congratulations on them. It wasn't as if they had all backed him either because he was fifth win favourite, Integrity and Bronze Eagle sharing the favouritism. People who had probably not even seen much of the race because of the crush cheered him to the echo on his return to scale.

The impossible, it seemed, had happened. One reporter began his story the next day 'Never in the history of trotting...' and the excitment took several hours to die down. There were critics. Some said that Gold Bar's tactics were ruining the NZ Cups as true tests of staying ability. Others said that had Haughty not been checked at the turn she would have won her third Cup. There are always critics. They were golden days in trotting about that time. Totalisator records the day Gold Bar won the Cup were smashed and the day's turnover was only $10,000 less than the turnover for the entire meeting five years previously. A quarter of an hour before the Cup the queues at the tote were over 60m long and many people had to miss races in order to bet on the Cup. More money was invested on the big race itself than had been spent on all eight races a decade before.

Gold Bar was a personality horse of the first water and many will tell you he was the most brilliant horse they have seen. He was the first NZ-bred to break two-minutes and he scored a number of spectacular victories one in the Ashburton Cup being even more thrilling than his NZ Cup win. He started in two further Cups adopting the same tactics but didn't win another one before being retired to stud in 1947. He was quite successful siring over 80 winners, the brilliant Brahman probably being the best and a number of his daughters bred on well.

He was owned throughout his career by Alan Holmes who purchased his dam from her breeder Mr J Cooper of Cheviot. In all Gold Bar won 22 races over nine seasons earning nearly $26,000. There have been no Gold Bar's since his time. Big races since then have been won by more orthodox means. Perhaps one day another will come along so that a younger generation can see the excitement that such a run can engender. I don't know about staying techniques but Gold Bar's 1945 Cup run must have been a wonderful spectacle. No wonder some say it was the greatest Cup of all.

Credit: David McCarthy writing in NZ Troguide 4Nov76

 

YEAR: 1947

J S Shaw holds Native Prince
J S SHAW

J S Shaw, talented reinsman and trainer of champions, breeder of bloodstock and one of the most consistent buyers of 'bargain' yearlings at Trentham over a long period; for nine years a stipendiary steward to the NZ Trotting Conference, has purchased a half share in the trotter Not Quite, whom he will race in partnership with Mr W Hosking. Shaw has also taken out a driver's licence, and he may hold the reins over Not Quite at the New Brighton Trotting Club's meeting on September 6, for which the trotter is being trained by C Fairman. Shaw had his last drive in a race behind Tempest at the Metropolitan meeting on 1937. He won, and is naturally hopeful of bridging a decade with success on either side. (Note: Not Quite finished fifth)

"I am certain, if conditions had been ideal that day she would have trotted two minutes." J S Shaw was discussing his champion of 13 years standing, Worthy Queen, a trotter who made history on a windy, dusty day at Addington in April, 1934, by trotting a mile against time in 2.03 3/5. "It was partly my own fault. There was a gale blowing, and it was the first time she had ever had a horse galloping beside her. I was under the impression I could trail the pacemaker, but was told I couldn't. Over the first three furlongs she was trying to beat the galloper, trying to go faster than she could. She was pulling hard and trotting all in a heap. She was hitched to a short sulky and round the showgrounds bend her hock was hitting my leg. It wasn't until she reached the back straight that she flattened out to really trot. But the first half in 61 1/2 took as much out of her as 58 or 59 would have if she had been trotting kindly.

"She was a really wonderful mare. She didn't know what it was to do anything wrong. She never broke in a race unless something took the legs from under her, which happened on only one occasion to my knowledge. She had her funny little ways," continued Shaw. "On race day you had no chance of driving her on the roads or on to the tracks. She had to be led, and even then she insisted upon stopping now and again to gaze at things. Nothing would thwart her."

Worthy Queen's 2.03 3/5 is not her only record that remains unassailed after 13 years. Her 3.14 1/5 in a race was also established in 1934, and she was clocked from post to post on that occasion in 3.09 - and round the field.

Worthy Queen, by Worthy Bingen from Queen Chimes, a Coldstream Bells mare from Vanquish, was bred by the late J R Corrigan, of Hawera, and sold as a yearling to Mr T Agnew, of Hastings. "A mutual friend of both, the late Harry Jones, saw her trotting in the paddock and told Mr Corrigan what a wonderful filly she was," related Shaw, "with the result that Mr Corrigan leased her back. For him she won several races under the direction of Alex Corrigan and afterwards, when I shifted from Auckland to Christchurch he sent her down to me. That was in 1931. I won several races with her for Mr Corrigan. When he became ill and restricted his racing activities he sold the mare's racing rights to me, and she continued to win races."

"Although Worthy Queen was the best trotter up to a mile and a half ever seen in this country, she was not a top-notch two-miler. The best two-mile trotter I ever had was Peter Dean, by Petereta-Ivy Dean. Mrs Sweetapple and I bought him five minutes before a race on the third day of the Auckland Christmas meeting of 1932. He was 144yds behind in a mile and a half race, and although I had never driven him before, he won; and he also won a two mile race the same day. He cost us £1000, but in the first three months we owned him he won £1025. He won three times and was second in his first four starts for us. Shortly after I brought him to Christchurch he kicked at another horse in an adjoining paddock, injuring himself behind, and although he won races afterwards, he was never sound again. His action changed altogether. I consider he is easily the best two-mile trotter I have ever seen. In a trial before leaving Auckland he came the last half-mile in 61sec and the last quarter in 29sec. When I make this claim I am not forgetting Hardy Wilkes, Electrocute, Bellflower, Submarine, Muricata, Quincey, Whispering Willie, Sea Gift, Trampfast, Wrackler, Huon Voyage, Moneyspider and other great staying trotters."

"Hardy Wilkes was a phenomenal horse, too. He broke five times in a NZ Cup when competing against the pacers and then finished just out of the money. He was especially good in bad ground, but was a very difficult horse to control. He was trained by A Fleming when I was in his employ. I was still in my teens when I trained my first horse. This was none other than Whispering Willie. He won many races, including the Auckland Summer Cup among the pacers at Auckland. For his inches he was a super horse. The sulky he raced in weighed 86lb, compared with the average of 35lb today. What was most remarkable about Whispering Willie was that he won races for every person who trained and drove him, among the number being J Wilson, G Murfitt, J Bryce, R W Mills, W Orange and myself."

Native Prince was a pacer who still stands high in Shaw's regard. "He was a really beautiful-looking horse," he said. "He was bred in Hastings, and sold as a yearling by Ben Shadbolt to C Rokkjer. He won races in Australia, and was bought back to Auckland by Peter Riddle and sold to Mrs Sweetapple. I trained him to win many races, and he finished up by running a great race in the NZ Cup, although he was unplaced. He was a really genuine horse."

"Jewel Pointer was the best all-rounder I ever had. He was good in saddle or harness, he won from a mile to two miles, he was equally at home on grass of clay, mud or dry, and any class of mud to boot. Besides being foolproof at the start - which was a great asset with him - you could always afford to take a risk and get a position before a race had been long in progress. I bought Jewel Pointer for Mr Moodabe for about £300, and he won thousands. One of his best feats was to win three £1000 races within eight days, besides three seconds. He had to travel from Auckland to Christchurch, and it has to be remembered that stakes were then less than half what they are today."

"Carmel must be included among a number a really good horses I had the good fortune to train and drive. The Richmond brothers, friends of mine, bought Carmel among some draught horses at a sale for 14gns the vendor being A Cameron. They leased him to me and I developed him and won several races before selling him to Mr J W Murphy. He went into C S Donald's stable, and under his guidance he won the Auckland Cup and many other races. Torpedo Huon, a good-looking well-bred horse from Australia, was a good winner under my direction, but he did not breed on," continued Shaw. "Western King was also bought in Australia for Mr Moodabe. Unfortunately, this grand pacer got hurt and I thought he would never race here. Even under this severe handicap he went 2.07 4/5 round a field to win, and he had a good two-mile record as well. This horse might have been capable of anything if he had not been injured. Florrie Bingen was one of my favourites. She was bought by Mrs Sweetapple and myself for £150 and she won numerous races, including two over two miles at one meeting in Christchurch towards the conclusion of her career. This was the first meeting at which a limit was put on both ends of a race. One of the races she won was 4.40 to 4.35."

In August 1930, after a run of successes with Warplane and Native Chief, I went out of racing and bought a partnership in a gymnasium in Auckland. A year later I came to Christchurch with Peter Pirate, setting up as a public trainer. It was then that I received Impromptu to train. He was not doing any good at that stage. The first time I started him he won at New Brighton. The following week he won the leading event at Wellington. He ended up by going 3.13 and winning very easily at Ashburton and beating Harold Logan in a free-for-all at Auckland. On his day it took a really good horse to beat Impromptu over any distance; but he was a bad-gaited horse and one of the hardest to train I ever had anything to do with. When I received Royal Silk to train he had one miss and then won five on end, including the big race at Dunedin, the Auckland Cup, the big sprint on the second day, and the big two-miles on the third day of the Auckland meeting; and the NZ Trotting Gold Cup at Wellington."

Koro Peter, champion 2-year-old trotter of the late 1920s, and the only horse of his age and gait to win in open company in the Dominion during the last 20 years, was another celebrity who passed through J S Shaw's hands. This big, overgrown gelding by Peter Moko from Koro Ena, trained and driven by his owner, T Cooper, astounded the trotting world by winning the Introductory Handicap of a mile and a half, from a big field of all ages at Cambridge in May, 1928. Shaw immediately opened negotiations on behalf of Mrs Sweetapple to buy Koro Peter, and secured him for £500. "The same season, a 2-year-old trotting filly named First Wrack, bred and owned by Mr H F Nicoll, had finished third in open company in the Allenton Handicap, of a mile and a half, at Ashburton a month before Koro Peter won at Cambridge. These youngsters were the only 2-year-old trotters to have shown any form for many years. In fact, it is the exception rather than the rule, even up to the present day, for a 2-year-old trotter to race, let alone perform with any degree of success," said Shaw.

"Koro Peter and First Wrack created such Dominion-wide interest that the upshot of it all was that their merit was recognised by the Auckland Trotting Club, which matched them over a mile and a quarter at their June meeting, 1928. The totalisator was opened on the event, and Koro Peter was made favourite. It was a terrible day. The going was fetlock deep in slush, and the two horses had to frighten thousands of seagulls off the track as they went along. These birds frightened First Wrack more than they did Koro Peter, and Koro Peter managed to win after a great struggle all the way up the straight. After the match Koro Peter was sold to Mr G McMillan for £1000 and entered R B Berry's stable, from which he met with a lot of success, First Wrack also reached the top flight of trotters."

"Man o' War was the greatest stayer I ever had," continued Shaw. "He was so clean-winded that he would race on less work than any other horse I have trained. In addition, he had a splendid disposition and was most intelligent. I only had him for about 12 months. He was previously trained by J Bryce, for whom he won two Auckland Cups. The last time I drove Man o' War was a very memorable occasion. It was at Addington when a special day's racing was put on in honour of the American fleet. Man o' War rose to the occasion and won the HMS Hood Handicap, the leading event of the day. This was the worst day that I have ever experienced on a racetrack. There was hail and sleet all day and the races could not be postponed, as this was the only day the fleet could be in Christchurch. Of this particular race I saw only about half; Man o' War came from the back mark and did the job himself. I was absoutely blinded with the slush that was flying everywhere. This may soung incredible, but there are many of the old drivers who will vividly remember it. Some of our mounts had to be led back to the birdcage, as we were driving blind. The morning after the races I woke in daylight but everything was still black. It was hours before my eyesight returned to normal. Most of us had driven all day and our eyes had to be attended to in between races by the doctors present at the meeting. Warplane was a son of Man o' War bred by the late James Pettie, and sold to Mrs Sweetapple for £250. He was a very successful performer over all distances. On the last occasion I brought him to Christchurch - August, 1930 - he won two races in good company, his only two starts at the meeting."

"The Abbey was a good horse I trained, but he had to be humoured. He won several good handicaps for Mr Moodabe. One of his wins was the Whangarei Cup. The Abbey was one of those horses who suffered by the old system of handicapping. I remember one meeting in Christchurch, I won a 4.40 class with him on the first day in 4.29, and he was handicapped the next day in the big race on 4.28 in a 4.29 class, going back 11secs for winning a race which from memory was worth £250 to the winner. He ran second from a 4.28 mark and the found himself in NZ Cup company. Cases such as these," said Shaw, "must make the present-day owner thankful for the existing system of penalties."

"Peter Pirate was one of the best mud horses I ever drove," he continued. "I leased him for Mr Moodabe towards the end of his career, and he won several races. I drove him in four events at an Auckland meeting, for which he was trained by Edgar Kennerley, and he won three and was third in the other. One of his wins was the Adams Memorial Cup. I bought Ironside from Mr H F Nicoll for Mr Hosking for £500. I didn't get on well with this horse, although he won his first race for me, but under G Robertson and later F J Smith, he won good races and stakes running into several thousands. Among his successes were the Ashburton Cup and Adams Memorial Cup."

"The last horse I trained before I was appointed a stipendiary steward was Golden Eagle. She was a really sweet trotter and I was sorry to have to give her up. I bought her from J T Paul on his recommendation for £250 on behalf of Mr Hosking. She won several races, and when I parted with her she was sold to Mr G J Barton for £500. For him she also proved a good winner. Sold to a West Australian owner, she continued to win races in Perth. It was also on J T Paul's recommendation that I bought Not Quite for Mr Hosking and myself," said Shaw.

"The first horse I ever rode in a race was Bribery. He was a wonderful saddle horse, especially over two miles. At that time I was head lad for Mr T G Fox, one of my first employers. Mr Fox was a really considerate boss, and one whose advice I found very valuable in later life. I would like to make some reference to saddle races, particularly straight-out trotters' saddle races. The men who shone in this department some 30 years ago were A Pringle, T Annat, W Orange, J McEwen, F Holmes, and a bit later J McLennan, D Bennett and F G Holmes. In those days when men used to ride in trotting races they were in much better health than they are today, when you very seldom see a horse worked in saddle. I won a lot of saddle races with straight-out trotters and enjoyed them very much though I was never in the first flight of saddle horsemen and had to waste hard to get down to 10st."

"I remember once winning a two mile saddle race on a trotter called Rothmoor giving away starts of up to 28secs. When the limit horses went away I was on the ground putting a martingale on. I had 28secs in which to complete this, mount my horse, and travel down to the starting post to catch my clock under the old system of starting. The present system of starting is far ahead of the old system of the clock. And there is no doubt that the present system of handicapping is also a great improvement on the old order, under which there was a definite encouragement to wait for slow tracks."

Shaw recalled that he won the first Taranaki Cup with Overate, a trotter competing against pacers; and the first Adams Memorial Cup with the imported American stallion Ballin, who had just been converted fron a trotter to a pacer. Another Taranaki Cup winner he trained and drove was Jewel Wood, who also won the Nelson Cup and the first Hawkes Bay Cup in the same season. "The Squire was a trotter I had more than average success with in Auckland," said Shaw. "Mr G McMillan came by him in exchange for a mare named Bingen Jean, and the exchange proved a very good one from our point of view, as The Squire won the two big trotting events at the first Auckland meeting at which we raced him."

Asked about the standard of driving, Shaw said he considered there are equally as many, if not more, expert reinsmen today; but there are considerably more of those who, in his opinion, have not had sufficient experience before being granted a licence. "I think the grading of horsemen a big mistake," he said. "Either a man is capable of driving in any class of race or he is not. The races that we found the hardest to drive in were the maiden races, because here you have the large fields of green horses, and it is in these events that the inexperienced horsemen of today, classified 'C' grade, are found in the largest numbers. I always found it advisable in a race to trail the man, not the horse," said Shaw. "By this I mean that you will invariably get a better run behind an experienced horseman than you will get behind an inexperienced one who in the majority of cases cannot stay put for any length of time. The old hand knows the shortest way round and retains that little in reserve until the right end of the race."

"One of my regrets," continued Shaw, "is the complete dissappearance of the unhoppled pacer. At one time this class of horse was catered by the Auckland Trotting Club by the inclusion of a race for unhoppled horses, which embraced straight-out trotters and free-legged pacers. I won several of these events with a little horse called Nipper. The late A J Julian had a good unhoppled pacer in Haricot, and the late W J Tomkinson won more than his share with that good free-legged mare Pearlie Chimes. But easily the best of this class of horse was Don Wild, who held his own among the best hoppled pacers in the Dominion. I think that if this class of horse was catered for again, so would they be developed. In fact, the way pacers are bred today,they should have less need for straps, and I see no reason why the number of unhoppled pacers should not be considerably multiplied until there are as many of them as there were in Don Wild's day."

Amaris, Fairyland, Gay Paree, Halgana, Arachne, Sal Pointer, Ben Lomond, Warspite, Great Change, Jimmy Richmond, Meritorious, Prinzora, Rustle and Mr Penalty were some of the many other winners of both gaits Shaw trained and drove up to the time he was appointed stipendiary steward to the NZ Trotting Conference in 1937. He held this position with credit to himself and the sport until last year, when he resigned. As stated previously Shaw may return to trotting as an owner and driver with Not Quite (in whom he holds a half-interest with Mr W Hosking), at the New Brighton meeting on September 6. He is assured of a warm reception from the public an his fellow reinsmen.



Credit: 'Ribbomwood' writing in NZ Trotting Calendar 20Aug47

 

YEAR: 1965

Reta Peter with Trainer-Driver A G Wilson
RETA PETER

She was only a slight little thing of 15.1 hands. She had found out a string of trainers before she pranced into a stall at Alf Wilson's New Brighton stable one fine day in the year 1919: but she earned a place among the square-gaited immortals by defeating fields of pacers two years in succession in the NZ Cup.

Do you have a youngster in your family who wants to know why we call our premier event the NZ Trotting Cup when trotters no longer appear in it; haven't for years, in fact? And are you, like us, sometimes left wondering what a marvel of trotting speed, solidity and staying power Reta Peter must have been?

To the moderns it sounds almost like a fairy tale; bewildering to the younger generation who now so rarely enjoy the exhilarating spectacle of a trotter competing successfully against any sort of pacers. Reta Peter won the NZ Cup in 1920 and 1921, and she is the only trotter with two NZ Cups to her credit.

The late A G Wilson trained and drove Reta Peter for both her successes in the premier event from his famous training establishment, 'Myosotis Lodge,' New Brighton. The story of Reta Peter is set down here in Alf's own words:

"I had just returned from World War I and was not keen on starting training horses again," said Wilson. "In fact I had decided to give it up. But it wasn't to be. Frank Robson came to me and begged me to take Reta Peter to train. I said I'd give her a trial. The first thing I did was to have a look at her feet; she had 8oz shoes in front and 4oz toe-weights and I realised her feet were just murdered by too much weight. I decided on 5oz bar shoes and threw her toe-weights out altogether. When the late Bernie Fanning first examined her feet for me he drew my attention to her weak heels, which opened right out. After I had got her shod to my liking I sent her a mile on the grass track at New Brighton and she went 2:14, real time in 1919, when she did it, and she did it on her own. I got her about 15 months before the 1920 Cup, and that trial decided me - I was still a trainer."

"And she stood to me like the beauty she was; she won three two-mile events against horses of her own gait the first season I raced her. She was six then and already a champion. I remember one day she was giving away 16 seconds - they were handicapped by the bell then - and she was in front at the end of half a mile. Jack McLennan was driving one of the front horses and when Reta Peter passed him so early he shouted out to me, 'Where the hell did you come from'?"

"I realised I had something phenomenal in Reta Peter. I felt confident I could beat the best of the pacers and we thereupon set our caps at the NZ Cup," continued Wilson. "Reta Peter continued to increase our confidence. She did everything I asked of her, and more, and as the big day drew nearer I told everybody I would win. But most of them laughed. They couldn't imagine a trotter, something of a cast-off before she came to my stable, beating the pacers in the Cup."

"It certainly looked a tall order with Author Dillon in the field, but I never had any doubts about the result. Now I will try to go over the race for you again. She was on 9 seconds (the limit under modern handicaps)and began well for a trotter. She was in the middle of the field early. The last time round she was about seventh. She moved up for me at the half, and at the quarter post she came round wide out and won without being knocked about by the best part of a length from General Link and Author Dillon. The backmarker was Author Dillon, and Reta Peter's 4:30 2/5, forced him to go 4:21 4/5, a record for many years. When Author Dillon passed me with half a mile to go his driver, Ben Jarden, turned his head and said: 'Goodbye, Alf.' I replied: 'I'll see you later,' and sure enough, I did," chuckled Alf.

"The following season Reta Peter had no opportunity of a race before the Cup. She had been pin-fired in the meantime and I had to go very carefully with her. For her second Cup - 1921 - the limit was 4:32 and she was on the same mark as Sherwood, 7 seconds. Others in the field included Man O' War, 2 seconds; Albert Cling, 3 seconds; General Link, 6 seconds; Trix Pointer 6 seconds and John Dillon, 7 seconds. There were two false starts and she was first out in both of these. Eventually she got away well. With a round to go she ran up behind the leaders, Vice Admiral and Gleaming. Dil Edwards om Vice Admiral turned round and said to Bill Warren on Gleaming: 'Go on, Bill, here comes the bloody trotter.' She had he skin taken off both her front legs in the last half-mile and after finishing second to Sherwood she was given the race after an inquiry into Sherwood crossing her. I want you to put it on record for the benefit of those who don't know the full story that I didn't enter a protest against Sherwood. The Stipendiary Steward, Mr Mabee, took it up himself. Mr Robson showed Mr Mabee the mare's bleeding legs, and it was the 'stipe' who took up the case," asserted Wilson.

The NZ Trotting Register has the following: "Sherwood finished two lengths in front of Reta Peter, with Vice Admiral two lengths away third and Willie Lincoln a length and a half further back fourth. Sherwood, 4:29, Reta Peter, 4:29 1/5, Vice Admiral, 4:31. A protest was lodged by the owner of Reta Peter (F H Robson) against Sherwood for crossing Reta Peter in the straight. After consideration the stewards upheld the protest, placing Reta Peter first and Sherwood second and fining F G Holmes, driver of Sherwood, £25." This incident is still hotly debated by people who saw the race.

It was about this time that the bell system of starting gave way to the yards system and the standing start. Reta Peter's two-mile mark in the August Handicap, of 1922, a 4:34 class, was 60 yards; or 4:29. A third Cup victory was considered within her powers by Wilson, who related how well she was going in her training until a few days beforehand. "She actually broke down four or five days before the Cup," said Wilson. "She went behind, and there was no chance of mending her again. One of the most relieved men was Nelson Price, trainer of Agathos. Not that he wished Reta Peter any harm; but he rang me up and said his chances had improved since Reta Peter had gone out. He added that Reta Peter was the only one he was afraid of. Agathos duly won and only had to go 4:33 2/5 on a good track, so it certainly looked as though Reta would have been hard to beat again," said Wilson.

Alf describes Reta Peter as "Just a little slight thing, 15.1 hands." He remarked that she did not put up phenomenal times because she did not have to. He claims she trotted her last quarter of her first NZ Cup in 29 seconds, and that under the present system of handicapping she would have won a great fortune and improved her record by several seconds. "She had a lovely temperament," he said. "My grand-daughter used to brush her hind legs and was never in the slightest danger. She was a perfect and a treat to do anything with. Some idea of her quality will be given by the fact that the night before her first Cup I was entertaining some of my friends, including A J McFlinn, the well-known steeplechase jockey. When I showed him Reta Peter he said: 'Put a saddle on her, Alf, and she would not be out of place in the galloping Cup field.' She certainly had great quality and refinement for a trotter." added Wilson.

"You don't see many American sulkies on the racetracks today," remarked Wilson. "Reta Peter raced in a real American sulky, which is pounds lighter than most of the so-called speed carts in use here today. I contend the American sulky, which sits feet closer to the horse than a speed cart, is seconds faster. To begin with, the weight of the driver is not a dead drag or dead weight as in the speed cart. The weight of the driver in the sulky actually pushes the the cart under the horse, so to speak. The speed cart has to be pulled all the way, but the centre of gravity with an American sulky is actually forward of the driver's seat. That's the best explanation of the difference between the sulky and the speed cart I can give you. I hope it's fairly clear, because I think it's most important. I've taken particular notice of many good horses racing in speed carts of recent years and I feel more and more convinced that these carts are a dead drag on the shoulder or mouth of a horse."

"I do think that our best horses would improve up to 2 seconds on their times if they were trained and driven in American sulkies," continued Alf. "At the same time, I'm well aware of why the sulky went out of favour - the sulky, being a forward-weighted vehicle with it's centre of balance in front of the driver, frequently went underneath a horse when the horses reared at the start. There was a lot of this with sulkies. Speed carts do not run under a horse so easily, which is probably one of the main reasons why they have almost pushed the American sulky off the racetrack. The standing start also had a lot to do with this change. Under the old clock system of starting, horses were constantly on the move, and there was little fear of a horse rearing and over-balancing. The standing start altered all that and made the speed cart a safer vehicle for horses having to line up at the barrier. For all that, I think our champions would be able to do a lot better in American sulkies."


Credit: 'Ribbonwood' writing in NZ Trotting Calendar 3Nov65

 

YEAR: 1987

BRUCE WOODS

A gap will be created at the top NZ harness racing administrative level that will be extremely hard to fill when Bruce Woods of Prebbleton follows his plans to move with his wife Colleen to live in Queensland. Due to depart in April, Bruce is relinquishing his posts as Treasurer of the NZ Trotting Conference, director of Addington Raceway and committeeman of the New Brighton Club, not to mention various positions on harness racing-affiliated organisations. He first joined the Conference executive six-years-ago; he is a past-chairman of Addington Raceway; he is a past-president of New Brighton and has been chairman of its programme committee for some 15 years.

"I haven't got a horse left, I have sold the lot," said Bruce. "I've had this move in mind for years. There's not a lot more I can do here - I've been involved with the sport every which way, and I want now to try a change of pace. I don't intend to drop my trotting interests, and, possibly, I'll become embroiled in it all over there - not that I'm going out of my way to do this. But I've a feeling that is what could well happen."

On the practical side, Woods was licensed as a stablehand in 1943 before getting his amateur trainer's licence, while he has contributed greatly to the installation and improvement of various harness racing tracks.

Born next to the Addington course, Woods grew up with the sport. He remembers crawling through a hole in the fence as a 9-year-old to see Pot Luck and Maurice Holmes win the first Inter-Dominion Final at Addington in 1938. Soon after, Bruce lived at Templeton with Dick Humphreys - "a great horseman" - who let him take his first horse into the birdcage. That was Cantata, who finished second to Lucky Jack in the 1939 NZ Cup. Cantata's stablemate Blair Athol finished third.

Woods learned the rudiments of educating, training and driving not only from Humphreys but also a string of fine horsemen associated with Humphreys, including Jack Pringle, Howie Smith, Wes Butt, Doug Watts, Alan Fields, Jack McLennan, Gordon Collinson and Snow Upton. In 1943, Bruce began working full time for Methvem breeder-trainer Andy Wilson. "My first job there was taking Loyal Friend, who was owned and trained by Andy, up for the 1943 Auckland Cup. He won, with Bill Doyle at the helm. Andy had a top trotter in Royal Worthy. He used to be driven by Free Holmes or 'F G' Holmes, who seemed to get on with him best. A lot of times he never went away. He had 30-odd starts and won 15. He remains one of the best trotters I've seen and I'm sure he would measure up to today's best. Realm Again, a Jack Potts horse, was another fine performer of Andy's."

After four years at Methven, Woods returned to Halswell, just down the road from Addington, to work for Howie Smith, who was to the fore at the time with good pacer Navigate among others. On marrying, Bruce embarked on a more dependable vocation, general contracting in the earth-moving line, gleaning considerable expertise that would serve him in assisting with developing racetracks later on. "But I retained an interest in the horses. Over all the years until the present, I have been very closely associated with Felix Newfield. We went to school and worked a milkround together. He has trained and driven horses over many years for me.The best of these would be the trotter Power Cut, which I trained and either Felix or Fraser Kirk drove. The best horse I actually ever had was Lunar Chance, who I trained on lease from Keith Lawlor after he had won the 1975 NZ Cup. For me he was second in the New Brighton Cup (clocking 4:06.6) before going to the States."

Bruce in his youth at one point worked a stint with Jack Fraser, who often drove champion Indianapolis for Bill Tomkinson and subsequently trained gallopers. He was associated briefly with the top flat performers Bruce and Finalist, and the very good jumper The Vulture.

Another part of the Woods story is the chapter over the past eight or nine years in which he has built horse floats. He boasts that he has been responsible for something like 190 of these that are on the roads. In hotels for a few years (Avonhead Tavern, Esplanade, Black Horse, Blenheim Road Motor Inn), Bruce has led a more settled existence over the last 15 years at Prebbleton, where he has "bred and raced the odd horse or two". The best horse Bruce has seen? "Highland Fling"

For some 15 years, Woods has contributed his knowledge significantly to the development and improvement of tracks around NZ. He served as consultant to the Racing Authority in the establishment of the Ruakaka, Greymouth, Rangiora and Timaru tracks, and has also assisted in several other areas where advice was required, more notably at Manawatu.

In association with Addington course superintendent Charlie Anderson, he mastermined the reconstruction of the Addington racing strip around 1970. "We felt sure our work would make it a top track," said Bruce. "This has been proved. Vin Knight (Bag Limit, Alpine Fella), who is tops in his own right in Australia, told me Addington is two seconds faster than Moonee Valley - and that is saying something because Moonee Valley is pretty quick."

Credit: Ron Bisman writing in HRWeekly 26Mar87

 

YEAR: 1991

'TOM' ANNETT

Often the first person you encounter at Addington when you arrive for the races will be wearing a white coat.

Chances are regular racegoers at Addington over the years will have run into Gerald 'Tom' Annett, a veteran of the officials with over 45 years continuous service from 1945 when he started at New Brighton. In that time he has missed only "two or three" meetings. The next longest serving are Albie Keen and David Lyttle who have been working 34 years. Tom has progressed from being a carpark attendant to an inspector of the "men in white".

He is usually the first to arrive at Addington, motoring sedately around on his red motorcycle to open up all the gates for the influx of floats and private cars. Over the years Tom, now in his early 70s, has worked at most of the country tracks around Canterbury and has also served at Riccarton for 35 years, including attending the royal box when Queen Elizabeth was in residence. When he started out a couple of pounds were his reward, now he takes home nearly $70, extra money the likeable pensioner finds invaluable.

His interest in horses came from his father Tom, a leading saddle trot trainer and rider in the early 1900s. Annett Snr, who trained for Bill Lowe at Ashburton, was a highly respected horseman. Among his more notable achievments were taking out the Westport Cup three times in succession from 1904-6 with Federation, Juanita and Maid Of Perth. He was once described by master trainer Jack McLennan as the finest horseman he had seen, his best performers including Bush Ranger and Submarine.

At Kumara he trained and rode Pilot to win after conceding 105 seconds start and later developed the outstanding trotter Trampfast (by Logan Pointer) who was blind in his left eye. Lowe bought him from Annett and he went on to win 14 races, including three against the pacers for Roy Berry. His crowning achievement was in the 1934 Dominion Handicap when aged 14 years.

Unlike his father, Tom Jnr, one of 14 children (eight boys and six girls) has never owned or trained a harness horse. His sport was cycling and seven Annett brothers once took part in the Annett Handicap at English Park. They were regular competitors in the Waimate to Christchurch race and Tom still cycles regularly.

The spirit amongst his workmates at Addington has always been high. "There have been some real characters and I have made a lot of jolly good mates who are still friends today." He has never had any trouble with the men under his control thanks to what he describes as having "the right attitude" and describes the four Addington Raceway secretaries he has worked under as "very fine bosses." The days of parking over 2000 cars in regimented lines at the course are over but raceday is still busy.

"Some of the public have gotten a bit stroppy at times but you have got to humour them. You get nowhere by jumping on them." Being a vigilant chap while checking tickets in the Member's Stand he has noticed some people taking tickets out to friends and spiriting them in. "They usually back down when you have them on about it though and I've had no real trouble. The young people these days are very good towards us."

He has noticed that thefts from cars are on the increase and any trouble is referred to the police or higher ranking officials. He recalled a Mr Pocock, an old boss, driving a horse and cart in from Kirwee. "He carried a stick and sometmes used to thump a car with it to direct them. You would leave a bit of a dent if you did it these days." A year ago at Motukarara he was jokingly asked to remove a stubborn oppossum from the observation tower at the course. The lung bursting climb to the platform was declined and the intruder was eventually ousted from his perch, shimmying down the long ladder at a great rate of knots.

But it is the people he has met who stick in his mind. "The owners and trainers are some of the nicest jokers you'd ever want to meet. They are a lovely mob and I've never met a dud one yet. Ask them to do anything and they will do it."

And the great champions of the past bring a spark to his eyes. "Johnny Globe's NZ Cup (1954) was the best I've seen but I remember Gold Bar winning in 1945 when there were 32,000 people on course. The big fire in 1961 also sticks in my mind. We were told to get out of the stand quick but there was a guy who worked for the fire brigade who tried to fight it. The flames were getting around behind him and it took a policeman to carry him out."

Tom retired from the Post Office 10 years ago after 18 years service. Before that he worked in a flour mill for 20 years and is now happily settled in his Riccarton flat with wife Joan, a farmer's daughter from Dunsandel who he met through cycling. An avid armchair sports fan he is confident the All Blacks will retain the World Cup and follows the sporting careers of his four grandchildren closely.

His work at Addington and Riccarton will continue while he is fit. After 45 years he still enjoys the mteship and meeting new people. Next time you meet a man in white remember Tom Annett. Their contribution is rarely acknowledged but without him and hundreds like him the smooth running of racedays would be impossible.

Credit: Gary Birkett writing in HRWeekly 28Aug91



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