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BILL DENTON

Bill Denton's grandfather (also Bill) ran the popular Triggs and Denton leather and harness store in central Christchurch in the 19th century. Both Denton's son, John, racecourse manager at Addington Raceway, and daughter Julie De Filippi, who trains with her husband Colin, are ensuring the horse tradition continues. Bill Denton, at 78 a gentleman of racing, talks to David McCarthy about his own era.

Were you always going to live with horses?
Well, my grandfather was president of the New Brighton Trotting Club at one stage but my father, Lionel, went into the pub business. I think he was the youngest ever licensed in Canterbury. He had the Kirwee and Kaiapoi hotels and the Mitre and Canterbury at Lyttleton. He bought a small property (15ha) on Russley Road, next to where Mark Purdon was. Maurice Holmes was there then. After I left Boy's High I did a couple of years working in Sargoods warehouse, but the horses were what I wanted to do.

Was the place meant for training?
Breeding. Standardbred stallions were hard to get then. You couldn't get permits to bring them from America because of the dollar restrictions. We had Medoro for three or four years. He was an American-bred, but Noel Simpson had brought him in from Italy which beat the system. We had some thoroughbred stallions too. Cassock (sire of Great Sensation) and Newton Pippin. But they were fill-ins until we could get out own trotting stallion. There was just a row of boxes there then. Peter Jones trained gallopers there later, but we had to sell for a railway from Hornby to the Styx planned there. They are still talking about it. So we moved to a bigger place in Pound Road.

Maurice Holmes is a legend. How did you find him?
He was my hero. Kids have heroes playing football or other sports but mine was always Maurice. I wasn't the only one either. I got quite close to him. I would get through the fence and help out there every chance I got, jogging horses and that. He would tell you what to do but in a different way. He would say "I wouldn't do that if I were you" or "I would just do such and such if it was me", but you got the message.

Garrison Hanover was the stallion you were most closely associated with. How did you get him?
Jack Shaw had a commission to go to America to buy Flying Song for Clem Scott, and Dad went with him. The permit situation had eased by then. Dad was advised by Jim Harrison, of the United States Trotting Association, who wrote that great book on training standardbreds. He recommended Garrison Hanover.

Why?
He was by Billy Direct, who was all the rage then and fairly well-bred. Because of that he got a good reception right from the start. There was no AI (artificial insemination) in the first few years. It came in later. We would do 75 to 80 mares most seasons. Bob McKay helped out with the AI. He had studied it in America and was right up with the play.

Was success instant?
More or less. From his first crop came Sally Boy. We never saw the best of him but he showed a lot of ability as a young horse and we were sort of right after that.

Good horse to handle?
A lovely horse. Not very big - about 15 hands - but kind. Anybody could do anything with him. He left some great horses (Cardinal Garrison, Apres Ski, Game Adios, Garry Dillon, Waitaki Hanover, Dandy Biar, etc). Near the end of his life when we shifted to Tai Tapu, I served a few mares with him for friends and we had to build up a mound for him to do the job. He took it all in his stride.

And the "Russley" fillies and mares started there?
Yes, and now one (Russley Song) features in the line of Auckland Reactor.

Why shift from Pound Road?
We had two blocks there and they were not connected. It was always a disadvantage. I bought land at Tai Tapu. I had had my eye on it for quite a few years because it seemed to handle rain well and I bought it when it became available. It was bigger and well-situated and we moved everthing there in the late 1970s. It was good, but I would have to say horses did not do as well there as they did at Yaldhurst. The ground is a bit colder and wetter, and it affects them.

Did you have other stallions?
My word. We had an exchange deal for a time with Clem Scott and stood Flying Song (the sire of Russley Song) for a while. Lumber Dream. He was getting the overflow from mares who couldnot get into Garrison for quite a while. He was a top sire. He was a free-legged pacer, which was unusual then, and he left a champion free-legged horse in Robalan. He was sent out by Marty Tannenbaum of Yonkers Raceway, who had a lot to do with the International series they had in the 1960s. Marty struck problems and the horses were sold up. I think Clarrie Rhodes got Lumber Dream for $2000.

Brad Hanover?
An Adios horse. I remember when he got off the plane the first thing I saw was white ankles and stockings. I thought 'what have we got here?' He looked like a Hereford. He was a fertile horse but not easily aroused, which made things difficult. He left Brad Adios early on. The Adios horses did better in Australia than here. I thought they weren't tough enough for our racing. Tony Abell had him later.

Later you had Honkin Andy?
John Lischner, Paul Davies and I went to America to look for a horse. About that time Good Chase had had one stud season here and done exceptionally well. I think he got 19 winners from 21 foals. Then he had gone to America to race and whenhe came back, his stock were not nearly as good. We all suspected that some of what he was fed over there had been a factor. So we were looking for a lightly raced horse which had not been messed around with. He had only had about five starts Honkin Andy and had run 1:58. I think he cost us about $100,000.

What did you make of his stud career?
He left some very fast, very good horses (Honkin Vision, Really Honkin) but in the end I rated him a disappointment. He was the first Albatross stallion to come to New Zealand too.

You have had some big training and driving moments with Superior Chance. I think he chased Armalight home in that Free-For-All when she smashed all the records and her record stood for years. How did you get him?
He was a free-legged horse which Tom Leitch, who lived nearby and worked for me at times, owned. Superior Chance took a lot of sorting out - he could kick believe me - and I tried various things before we got it right. He used to choke-down easily. In races like the Free-For-All, he wore not one tongue-tie but two and various other bits and pieces. He collapsed and died one day on our track. We were doing an easy 3200m. He was a bit wobbly when I pulled him up, then he just collapsed.

You have developed a bit of a lean over he years. How bad was the back problem?
It is better now than it has been. I just couldn't straighten the spine and spent a long time sleeping on Bib Softees. It was inoperable, being caused by joints in the spine. Exercises have helped me a lot in recent years. I had to give up the horses in the end because of it. I had trouble getting in and out of the cart and they told me I would be in a wheelchair if I damaged it any more. One day I fell getting out of the cart and that was that. We sold up the horses and moved to Halswell. John carried on for a while but wanted to do something else. He does the track at Addington and does a good job too. Ray McNally had quite a lot of success as a junior driver with us too.

Have you missed it?
Well I go to Colin and Julie's most mornings now and jog a team and have done a bit of fast-work without problems. I got a great thrill when they won the Cup with Kym's Girl. I had quite a lot to do with her build-up and actually got a bigger thrill than anybody. A really super little mare.

Looking at young drivers making their way over the years, do you often think of (grandson) Darren?
(Darren De Filippi, a highly promising horseman, was killed in a road accident beyond his control returning from the Orari races some years ago).
It was a terrible thing. Young Darren was such a great person. You have to accept what life serves up but it was very tough for a very long time. Yes, he is always with us.

I suppose Maurice Holmes was the best you saw?
Yes, but the standard was high in that era. F G Holmes, Gladdy McKendry, Bob Young, great drivers to watch. Now we have Dexter Dunn rewriting the record books. What a great young driver he is.

Best horse you have seen?
Johnny Globe. For what he was and what he did and the people (Don and Doris Nyhan) who were associated with him. They were lovely people and he was a great hero in his time.

The breeding game. Has it changed a lot over the years?
Yes. Not always for the good. Greed has come into the game now, I'm afraid. For us it was a good living for three of four months hard work and you were grateful for it. You did a lot of the work yourself. Anybody can stand a stallion now. The vets are there all the time, doing most of the work and some horses serve ridiculously large numbers of mares because of that technology. A lot of the personal touch has gone.

And the famous colours now you don't have any horses?
They have found a good home. I said to Mandy (De Filippi, granddaughter) one day recently she might like to have them and she lept at the chance. So they will be around.

Credit: David McCarthy writing in The Press 17 March 09

DARREN DE FILIPPI

Last Saturday night, on a stretch of road between Ashburton and Hinds, harness racing lost a youth of great character; a horseman of immense potential. Driving alone, 19-year-old Darren De Filippi was involved in a three-car accident that cost him his life.

The last of his 264 career drives was on Stambro, who died in a separate accident on the same road, on the same day.

To say Darren De Filippi was a role model, a bright light amongst the apprentices in th industry, was a fact. He was bred to be nothing else. His father Colin has long been at the top of his profession and his mother Julie is the daughter of the highly-respected trainer and mentor, Bill Denton.

Right from the start, Darren made his career plans obvious. As a 13-year-old, in the holidays and weekends he would bike off to the stables of Robert Dunn where the education started by his parents would continue. He told Robert he had better horses than his father. He got away with that. When he was old enough, he asked Robert for a job. "He just sat in the cart like a natural. He had a lovely set of hands. And he had an easy rapport with owners, trainers and all those he had dealings with," he said. Employed ever since then by Robert, Darren won his first race behind Judicial at Addington in September, 1994, and finished with nine wins. This season, from 70 drives, he had driven six winners.

His qualities were again recognised off the track at the annual cadet night prize-giving at Addington on Monday night, where he won three awards - the J S Dalgety prize, the second prize for third-year cadet, and the cadet representative prize. In his first year as a cadet, he won the prestigous Regional Training Officers prize. "He had human qualities well beyond his years," said Cadet Director, Jack Mulcay. Everwhere you turned, everyone had the same opinion."

Along with his renowned politeness - his seniors were always addressed as "Mister" - Darren had the ambition to reach the top as a driver. "He asked me at morning tea on Wednesday if I would let him drive down south because he wanted to have a real crack at the South Island junior drivers title. I said he could, and we would sit down and work out the best way to go about it," said Robert.

Bill Denton said Darren loved all sport, but lived for his horses. "He was a super kid," he said. That was a quality about Darren that made him the fine, young man that he was. He touched the lives of many with his open, engaging and cheerful manner; his ability to enjoy the success of others as much as his own. His grandfather, who so enjoyed his company, and could see the future he had, is thankful for the times they had together..."but it's something I wanted more of."

You speak for us all, Bill.


Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 29Nov95

DANNY CAMPBELL

Daniel Campbell had never been happier in his life than the last six months says his partner of the last four and a half years, Gael Murray. Campbell died instantly in a freak accident after being kicked in the chest while handling a couple of yearling fillies at their West Melton property late last Tuesday afternoon. He was 30.

While he was best perceived in the public eyes as the driver who expertly partnered Christian Cullen in his most memorable moments, in hindsight Campbell actually regretted only being recognised by people for that association, and took much more satisfaction from being accepted by his peers for his all-round ability as a horseman. One of those was Bob Cameron, who recently re-employed him to help out in the mornings.

After stints with Bill Denton while at school, Jeff Whittaker and Frank and then Mick Murfitt, briefly entertaining the idea of being a jockey, Campbell blossomed into the country's leading junior driver with the guidance and opportunities from Cameron in the 1995/96 season with a 23-11-9 record from 136 drives for a UDR of .2361. He won the same number of races in his next and last season as a junior, before teaming up with the Brian O'Meara stable and Christian Cullen on 16 occasions (beaten just once in the GN Derby) and 14 consecutive wins. These included the Round Up 1950 over open class pacers Anvil's Star and Brabham as a three-year-old at the 1997 NZ Cup meeting, the Yearling Sales 3yo Open, Superstars, Ashburton Flying Stakes, NZ Cup, NZ FFA, NSW Miracle Mile, Treuer Memorial, Auckland Cup, a still-standing NZ Record mile at Cambridge in 1:54.1 and a heat of the 1999 Inter-Dominions in Auckland before the In The Pocket entire again went amiss. It was a stunning unbeaten 4-year-old season where they won 12 races and $757,675, and every accolade imaginable.

Campbell, known to family and friends as Daniel, and merely dubbed Danny by the media, was later dismissed from the O'Meara stable over personal differences and had since seemingly been on the outer in the industry. But Murray says he did actually prefer being out of the limelight and keeping a low profile. And contrary to suggestions, he had no ambitions to return to the fore as a reinsman. "He would have liked to have driven one more winner for Bob, and just one drive in the US, but he was becoming increasingly interested in breeding and just loved being around the broodmares and working with the youngsters," said Murray.

"He was a lot happier dealing with horses than some people anyway. He loved being around horses, but he accepted that they were also just a job at the end of the day and not your entire life, and he had a passion and dedication for everthing around him," she added. Murray will remember Campell mostly for his spontaneity and generosity, someone who never did things in halves. Whenever he bought someone a present, it was always a really big one. And he always had to do things himself and quickly, even when he didn't really know what he was doing." Murray accepts that Campbell was a shy and private sort of person, and that some probably found him quite hard to get to know at first, but says he had a wonderful sense of humour when at ease.

Christchurch breeder Les Donald, who had got to know Campbell well in recent years and had three youngsters in work with him, agreed that he was often misunderstood. "I was led to believe initially that Danny might be difficult to get to know, but right from the start I found his help, advice and communication to be second to none," said Donald. "What I actually admired most about him though was his honesty and integrity. He would always try and do the best thing by people," he added.

David Whittle knew Campbell from school in the Addington and Hoon Hay suburbs from when they were only seven, and recalls how along with Nigel McGrath the trio progressed into careers with horses. "I think we were about ten when one day we caught this kid throwing stones at horses in Hoon Hay, and we went to sort him out," said Whittle. "We made him go and pick up all the stones - that was Nigel, and we then became mates," he said.

Campbell lost his mother Carmel to cancer in November, 1996, and his father John in September last year. He had trained a winner at Addington in August, 2000 in Nuclear Sight, who was raced by a family syndicate along with friends. Campbell is survived by an older brother Keith and sisters in Karen and Nicola.



Credit: NZ HRWeekly 7May03

2001 CADUCEUS CLUB OF CANTY NZ STANDARDBRED BREEDERS STAKES

Colin De Filippi had been thinking about it all week. Thinking about how he was going to turn the tables on Flight South. After all, he and his wife Julie had lined Kym's Girl up in the NZ Premier Mares Championship knowing she was at the top of her game; they didn't expect to win, but they did not expect her to get beaten the way she did either. Fully respecting that Kym's Girl only deserved second prize that night, De Filippi wanted a different result in the Caduceus Club of Canterbury NZ Standardbred Breeders Stakes.

The first part of the plan fell into place when Kym's Girl drew two and Flight South five, but he kept quiet about how he was going to play it on the night and even those closest to him did not know. In the end, history will show it to be just another classic 'CJ' drive. Flash Tactics and Ricky May speared away from their 'ace' draw so quickly that it gave De Filippi and Kym's Girl all three options...Take a trail, sit parked and wait for cover, or push forward. When nothing came around De Filippi opted for the latter, probably smiling that he had not needed to use too much petrol getting there. From in front the race was theirs for the controlling, and when De Filippi took a sneaky peek around with 800 metres to run he could see he had Flight South right where he wanted her - last. A furlong later Flight South was inching forward ominously with cover like she had done the previous week, but De Filippi still had a handful of his own mare and wasn't going to be outsprinted this time. He asked Kym's Girl to go rounding the home bend and they stole the show; last half in 56.6, quarter in 27.4, I'll take this one thanks. "The race was always going to come down to a battle of tactics, especially when it dropped down to a nine horse field," De Filippi said afterwards.

It was Bill Denton, the stable's most respected employee, that planted the seed in his son-in-law's mind about taking Kym's Girl to the front, because he had driven the mare that way in lead-up work and said she had felt good being there. "She had been tried that way in races before without much success, but she is stronger this season and we have been trying to teach her to find the line," De Filippi said.

Apart from co-training the fourth mare in history to win back-to-back Breeders Stakes, joining Lento (1995,1996), Blossom Lady (1991,1992,1993)and Bonnie's Chance (1982,1983,1984), De Filippi also had the satisfaction of proving a point about his mare's ability after finishing second the previous week. "I heard someone say this year's Breeders Stakes field was weaker than past years, but when you have got an Auckland Cup winner, a Hannon Memorial winner and a previous winner of the event it can't be all that weak. Kym's Girl would definitely rate up with the best mares I have driven; horses like Idolmite, Quiet Touch and Adio Routine," he said.

Kym's Girl was entrusted to the De Filippi stable by her owners David Miller, Bill Marra and Graeme Trist. She developed unsoundness in a hoof following her game run for third in last years' NZ Cup, and it was thought that having access to a pool would help her training and she has responded well to it. Kym's Girl will start once more before the Easter Cup, after which she will have a spell and be aimed again at the NZ Cup.

Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly 21Mar01

GARRISON HANOVER

A trotting identity, who will long be remembered for the contribution he made to the industry - Garrison Hanover - had to be put down at Bill Denton's property at Tai Tapu last week. Garrison Hanover, who was 34, complied a memorable record as a stallion and, even as recently as last month, was represented by a yearling at the National Selected Sale.

Garrison Hanover was described by Bill Denton as "just like one of the family - he was older than any of our own children by quite a bit." He sired 984 foals in NZ and was represented in this country by 459 winners, for an average of 46.6%. Some of the top pacers he left included Cardinal Garrison (Auckland Cup, Great Northern and NSW Derby), Game Adios (NZ Derby), New Law (NZ Derby), Speedy Guest (G N Derby & NZ Messenger), Waitaki Hanover (G N Derby, Auckland Cup), Main Adios (NZ Derby), Apres Ski (1:56.2 the fastest of his 16 2:00 performers), Helen of Tara, Royal Count, Whispering Campaign and many more. Garrison Hanover was leading sire for three successive seasons form 1966-67 to 1968-69 and has proved a great success as a broodmare sire.

Garrison Hanover was imported to NZ in 1955 after being selected by Bill's father and Jack Shaw and apart from two seasons at Clem Scott's in Southland, stood all his life at Russley Lodge Stud, first at Templeton then at Tai Tapu. "He just got to the end of the road - his old machine gave out." Bill said last week when describing how Garrison Hanover suffered the heart attack which led to him being put down. "I knew he wouldn't come out of it and we wouldn't prolong his life any longer."

But Garrison Hanover has not left Russley Lodge. "I've got a nice spot organised for him here and will erect something a bit decent to mark his grave. It's the least I can do - everything I've got I owe to him," Bill said. Harness racing in NZ also owes a lot to Gerrison Hanover.

Credit: Tony Williams writing in NZ Trotting Calendar 17Mar81

1981 BENSON & HEDGES NZ FREE-FOR-ALL

"I reckon someone must have pinched the motor out of my car and put it into that horse... and I've got a big car." With those few words John Noble probably summed up the feelings of the other drivers who, like him, had finished away down the track in Armalight's world-shattering Free-For-All last Friday.

There was something slightly unreal about the NZ Cup winner's performance in the $25,000 Benson and Hedges event. In winning in 2:23.5 she smashed the mighty Robalan's world record time for the mobile 2000 metres by 3.1 seconds. And yet all the way she just looked as though she was cruising.

Everyone remembers that day back in November 1974 when Robalan crushed a top field in the Free-For-All to set the new standard - and the effort Lord Module had to put up to get within a tick of that time a couple of years ago. But visualise those three running their times in an imaginary simultaneous race...and then think again about Brent Smith's champion mare out in front at the line, 16 lengths to the good of Robalan on his day. That's some feat of imagination. But that's how it would have been.

In actual fact on Friday, she had a 'mere' three lengths on Bonnie's Chance and Superior Chance. But the victory was as complete as her seven length win in the NZ Cup only three days before. "Yes, we were under a bit more pressure out there today. We only won by three lengths," driver Bob Negus commented as he came off the track.

But the pressure, in reality, was on the other thirteen starters right from the time the mobile gate took off. Negus hunted Armalight into the lead after a hundred metres and set about demoralising the others with a 1:54.2 first mile. She bowled along in front of Superior Chance on the rails, northerner John Tudor on his outer and Richard Brosnan and Bonnie's Chance in the perfect possie one out and one back. Trio, El Regale, Cyllarus and Gammalite, three wide, were next, their drivers probably wondering when Negus was going to relent a little and let off the pressure. In fact, he gave the mare a bit of a spell into the backstraight the last time...only a little breather, mind, but it was sufficient to enable them to sprint the last bit home in around 57 seconds with Negus using only the reins to tell her she was in a race.

Bonnie's Chance had to go around John Tudor soon after turning for home but, in spite of a big run, could get no closer than three lengths, with a half head to Superior Chance, who stuck to his hopeless task well. Daylight was next. Gammalite, all the way from Melbourne to meet a horse who must be unbeatable in her current form, battled away resolutely for fourth just ahead of Hands Down, winner of the event last year.

The first four all finished inside Robalan's record by at least a second, providing a spectacle not one of the 20,000 plus crowd at Addington will forget for a long time. The official mile rate for the event was a withering 1:55.6, sufficiently fast to just about win any of the major American races on the big mile tracks, and not much slower than Lord Module's 1:54.9 mile time trial. Staggering!

According to Negus, the track was perfect for the race. "It was lightning fast." And besides, "the race was only once round. I couldn't really make any mistakes, could I?" he joked, savouring the euphoria of the moment.

Richard Brosnan had no excuse for coming only second, in spite of driving a near perfect race. "How could you take anything away from the winner? You couldn't," he said. He never at any stage thought he could have caught Armalight with his mare. "We were flat all the way." Bill Denton was quietly chuffed with the way Superior Chance had gone. "His was a good honest race. He's always good from the gate, but it was a bit of a change to get a good run." Gammalite's driver Bruce Clark could only shake his head at the performance of the winner but confirmed the tough visitor had battled on well. Peter Jones, in the spotlight with Hands Down after their Cup - Free-For-All double last season, was pleased enough with the run of his horse. He'd stayed back until just after the 800 metres and "was still making ground at the end. But you haven't got a show when they go that quick up front," was his slightly understated assessment.

Lord Module was the other horse in the race to have taken out the feature double...two years ago when he himself was unbeatable. But on Friday, yet again, he gave his backers no hope of getting any sort of return by refusing absolutely to move off with the others. The stipendary stewards later advised a worried Cecil Devine his horse would have to trial twice before being allowed to start next in a mobile event. Those trials took place satisfactorily yesterday and he will probably line up in the Allan Matson on Saturday night when he will have Armalight to contend with again. If she does line up, she'll be after win number 15 from just 21 starts.



Credit: Graham Ingram writing in the NZ Trotting Calendar