CLICK HERE TO GO BACK

1934 NEW ZEALAND DERBY

500 sovs: 3 Year-Olds: One mile & a half

The New Zealand Derby attracted the best field of pacers that has ever contested the three-year-old classic, and each one of the 13 horses was turned out well. As it was only to be expected in a field of baby pacers, there was some delay at the start, Donalda and Graham Direst breaking their overchecks, while Red Ranger also proved fractious. The majority were slow to begin, and even Red Ranger, Subsidy, and Gamble, who were first away, did not show much dash in leaving the barrier.

Gamble always appeared likely to take a hand in the finish, and while Subsidy and Red Ranger were in front of him over the early part, only three furlongs had been covered when M B Edwards shot the favourite to the front and held a lead of two lengths until half a mile from home, when with a great burst of speed he went right away from the field to establish a break of six lengths. With Subsidy in pursuit Gamble easily held his own and won by six lengths, with three lengths to Drag Harlan, who finished very fast. Then followed Ironside, Lord Axworthy, Graham Direct, Grace McElwyn, and Moana Tama.

Gamble won like a true racehorse, and was plainly better class than the rest. On this occasion he paced straight and true, and never appeared in danger of defeat. He is a quality looking colt, a good chestnut in colour, and though in some of his races he has performed in a coltish manner, it seems he only needs racing experience to make him into the ideal racehorse. His driver, Edwards, took no risks, and wisely got out of all trouble early in the race. Another race or two and Gamble may proceed to emulate the deeds of War Buoy, who won the race for Edwards last year.

Subsidy went a very good race, and though outclassed by the winner, he is likely to win good races before he is much older. He is well-mannered and honest. Drag Harlan was not among the leaders at the start, but his finishing run was one that should not be forgotten. He came with a great rattle of the last furlong, and showed the greatest promise. Lord Axworthy displayed a lot of speed, and is bound to be even more successful before the season is far advanced. Grace McElwyn, only a pony, showed a burst of speed half a mile from home, and her turn will come later. Donalda went away fairly well and showed speed, while the erratic Graham Direct exhibited all his well-known pace and bad-manners. Moana Tama disappointed his supporters; he tangled soon after the start and, losing ground, did not get near the leaders.

It was a race full of interest, and showed Gamble to be the outstanding colt of his age.

Credit: THE PRESS 9 Nov 1934

JACK POTTS

How do you go about paying tribute to a sire who achieved as much as Jack Potts?

His record almost comes into the category of awe inspiring. Nine times leading sire, all in succession from 1937 until 1945, is a record achievment, for U Scott who equalled the nine premierships had them spread much further apart. Jack Potts was also leading broodmare sire six times. Altogether he sired 271 individual winners of over $900,000 and his daughters produced over 320 winners, some of them great horses. At one time Jack Potts were sought after in much the same way as gold in the 1860s and when you examined what they achieved this is not surprising.

Foaled in 1920 Jack Potts was imported to this country as a 2 year old by Alex Anderson of Christchurch through Robert A Smith who had a hand in bringing out a number of stallions in those days. Jack Potts was a good racehorse if not a great one though a leg injury he suffered as a young horse always made him a dicky proposition. However from Ces Donald's stable he won nine races and $10,000. He was pipped on the post in the Auckland Cup and was twice placed in the NZ Cup. A very handsome horse and a fine mover Jack Potts's main track victories were the NZMTC Metropolitan, Victoria, Advance, Hagley and Mid-Summer Handicaps and two major handicaps at Auckland.

Jack Potts was 12 years old before his progeny first appeared in 1933-34 winning only $568 that season. By 1935-36 he was third on the sires' list and remained in the top three for 13 seasons. His list of winners has some impressive names. Among them were Emulous who won $45,000 and an Inter-Dominion, dual Cup winner Lucky Jack who won 14 races, Marlene an Auckland and NZ Cup winner, the juvenile champions Pacing Power and Horsepower who won 30 races between them with the former placed in the Cup, Inter-Dominion champion of 1938 in Pot Luck ($17,000), Fine Art winner of 15 races, King Potts winner of 12 including the Easter Cup, Auckland Cup winner Betty Boop, Cup placegetters and major winners in Plunder Bar, Knave of Diamonds and Countless.

Lightning Lady the winner of 14 races, Ingle Belmer winner of 12, Clockwork the 1½ mile national record holder for some years and winner of 12 races, Checkmate (11 wins), free-for-all winner Indian Clipper (12 wins), Ferry Post (unsound, but still the winner of 14 races), Brucus, County Antrim and Accountant were other big winners for Jack Potts but by no means were they finished yet. Jack Potts produced a big number of top juveniles including the Derby winner Gamble and Sapling Stakes winner in Two's Loose, other Sapling winners in Frisco Lady and Sir Julien and G N Derby winner Free Again. Any number of his offspring reached tight assessments including Realm Again, Molly Direct, On Approval, Jack Peterson, Mighty Fine and War Guard. The stock of Jack Potts won four NZ Derbies and three NZ Cups. His offspring favoured the pacing gait and very few trotters by him ever appeared.

As a sire of broodmares Jack Potts was even more successful. Among the major winners his daughters produced were Tactician, our first two-minute racehorse who won 20 races including an Inter-Dominion and $40,000; Van Dieman winner of 18 and $42,000; Merval winner of 11 and holder for a time of a world's race record for a mare over a mile; the great Rupee winner of 14; Thelma Globe who won 17 races and also held a world mark over 1¼ miles; Globe Direct another record holder and winner of 14; Young Charles who won 11 races and would have won more if fully sound and a champion juvenile horse; Excelsa (10 wins) who ironically prevented Rupee from winning 10 successive tote races; Auditor, Lady Rowan, Trueco, Gough's Pride, Wayward Peter and Whipster who between them won nearly 70 races and Starbeam, Signal Light, Court Martial, Gay Knight (13 wins) were other big winners from Jack Potts mares.

Lottie Location an unraced daughter produced Local Gold who won nine and produced Arania (1:57, 12 wins) and Local Light, Sure Potts produced Florita who won nine. The unraced Anita Patch produced Patchwork (12 wins, Easter Cup) and Aladdin who won 8. Ingle Belmer, a Jack Potts-Purple Patch mare was the dam of Lady Belmer winner of 13. Lightning Lady produced six winners including Dresden Lady who won 10 and Ladyship the dam of Lordship. Kaulala, a daughter of Horotane produced Great Wonder winner of 10 while another daughter of that mare in Nightbeam (6 wins herself) produced the Broodmare of the Year in Nancy Lee in addition to those mentioned. Joan Potts produced the good racehorse and broodmare in La Fey while Aurie's Star in addition to Young Charles produced Ohio who won seven for Sir John McKenzie. Windermere produced Johnny Guitar who won nine including the Wellington Cup, Santa Anita produced eight winners and a daughter of the Jack Potts mare Suda Bay produced the grandam of Nigel Craig in addition to others. Kublai Khan, Genghis Khan, Impressario and Maharajah were some of the good winners produced from Jack Potts mares

In all the direct offspring of Jack Potts won more than 1200 races. For a number of years the stallion was a showring champion as well and he died in 1948 at 28 years of age. He was buried close to the Donald homestead. Apart from his first two seasons when he stood at M B (Dil) Edwards's Yaldhurst establishment he spent all his stud career at Donald's. His initial fee was seven guineas which seem ludicrous today. At the height of his career he stood at 25 guineas and later 50 guineas in his last year. Perhaps then it is not surprising that Ces Donald was quoted in later years as saying that the stud side of his operation did not make a significant profit. In his early years Jack Potts was not rushed by breeders either though he was fortunate to have the fine juvenile pacer Gamble from his first crop.

A number of Jack Potts sons were stood at stud including Gamble, Emulous, Lucky Jack, Pacing Power, Globe Direct, Realm Again (as a colt), Colossal and Tsana. Some of his sons including Gamble and Pacing Power did well in Australia and his daughters which went to that country also did well producing among others the West Australian champion Mark David.

Even though it was inevitablethat it would be superseded Jack Potts achieved a magnificent feat in siring the winners of nearly a million dollars, particularly as during the war years when he was king of the walk, racing was severely curtailed. His place in trotting is secure as one of the three greatest sires ever to have stood in this country.

Credit: David McCarthy writing in NZ Trotguide 19Jan77

Manny Edwards

EDWARDS: M B

M B Edwards, whose death occured last week, was one of the Dominion's most successful trainers and reinsmen over a long period. He headed the trainers' list in the 1926-7 season.

Edwards was the son of the late M Edwards, who was also a leading trainer and driver. When he set up on his own account about thirty years ago, M B Edwards met with early success with Phil Smith, Homeleigh Dick and Vice Admiral. Many of his early winners came fron the 'Willowbank' Stud, Southland, among the good ones sent to him from that successful nursery being Dalmeny, Black Admiral, Dalnahine, Harold Thorpe, and Shine Soon. Another Southland pacer with whom he won important races was Mate o' Mine.

For a period Edwards enjoyed outstanding success in the classic field, his juvenile winners including War Buoy (NZ Sapling Stakes, NZ Derby, etc), Frisco Lady (NZ Sapling Stakes and NZ Champion Stakes), Twos Loose (Timaru Nursery Stakes, NZ Sapling Stakes and NZ Derby) and Gamble (NZ Derby).

Credit: NZ Trotting Calendar 5May48

1967 NZ DERBY STAKES

Good Chase proved a class above his rivals in the NZ Derby Stakes. He was well driven by the young reinsman D G Watson, who trailed Royal Walk (one out from the rails) till the home turn. Good Chase was taken fairly wide in the straight and mastered Cardinal Garrison after a short sharp struggle and went on to win going away by a length and a half from Cardinal Garrison, who was the only one to offer any serious opposition to Good Chase.

The race was one of the best contests for years and vindicated the Club's decision to restrict the field to 12. Good Chase paced the mile and a half in the smart time of 3:12.6. He looks headed for the heights.

Good Chase is a sturdy black colt of commanding proportions and looks every inch of what he is - a Derby horse. His sire, Light Brigade (imp) has now sired four New Zealand Derby winners - Free Fight (1946), Fallacy (1951), Bon Ton (1956) and Good Chase. Torlesse, the dam of Good Chase, is a member of a family bred from by the Watson family, of Annat, Canterbury, for many years. The foundation mare of the family was Mary Wood, by Wildwood Junior. Mary Wood produced Peggywood to Parkwood, and Peggywood mated with Gamble, produced Rosewood, who became the foundation of the Watson family's now famed Rosewood Stud. Torlesse, the dam of Good Chase, is by U Scott (imp) from Rosewood, the dam of eight winners herself, and ancestress of Avante, Red Chase, Rosy Morn, Twig, Garry Brigade, Suntrap, Light Patrol, Spring Chat, Zadios, Easydale, Adarato, Pampean, Rosedale, Wee Doll, Forlesse and others.

Rosewood was a full-sister to Lady Ngaio, a particularly good pacer bred and raced by Mr O J Watson who, with his sons, J O Watson and D G Watson, runs the Rosewood Stud. Lady Ngaio was a fine stayer and took a two-mile record of 4:17.4 about 20 years ago. Unfortunately, she died before she could be bred from. Gamble, sire of Lady Ngaio and Rosewood was a pacer of the highest class. He won the NZ Derby in 1934 and finished second to Lucky Jack in the NZ Cup of 1937. Gamble was a strikingly good-looking chestnut horse by Jack Potts (imp) from Princess Ann (imp) and was of all-American blood.

Credit: 'Irvington' writing in NZ Trotting Calendar

O J WATSON

Mr Oscar Watson, whose death occurred at his home at Annat, Canterbury, last week, was a well known breeder of standardbred horses, a club executive and farmer.

He came into trotting more than thirty years ago with a pacer named Country Jack, who was bred by the late M B Edwards. By New Derby from a mare by Jack Potts, Country Jack was a winner for Mr Watson.

Peggy Wood, a mare bred at Spreydon by the Rushton family, was bought by Mr Watson at 'hack' price (something around $100), and this mare, by Parkwood-Marywood, became the foundation of his Rosewood Stud, which was established more than 30 years ago. Peggy Wood, to Gamble, left a high class pacer in Lady Ngaio, a good winner for Mr Watson - Lady Ngaio took a two miles record of better than 4:18 more than 20 years ago. Unfortunately, she died young, and it was left to her unraced full-sister Rosewood to carry on the line that is now in the forefront of standardbred families.

From Rosewood and her daughters has sprung a prolific winning family, including Good Chase, Red Chase, Bluff, Adorato, Avante, Rosy Morn, Spring Chat and Garry Brigade, besides a number of good winners in Australia.

Oscar Watson and his sons John and Denis, who ran the Rosewood Stud, sent top yearlings to the National Sales over a number of years, and at the last sales their colt by Local Light from Torlesse (U Scott-Rosewood) set a new record for the sales when he was knocked down to Mr A Jones, of Sydney, at $9500.

Mr Watson a foundation member of the Hororata Trotting Club, was it's president for a number of years, and he was the Club's delegate to the NZ Trotting Conference on several occasions.



Credit: NZ Trotting Calendar 13Nov68

GOOD CHASE

Successful racehorse and sire Good Chase was humanely put down the Thursday before last at Rosewood Stud, Annat, age having finally caught up with him. "He was rising 29," said Dennis Watson, who drove the good son of Light Brigade, owned and trained by his father, the late Oscar Watson, to his 9 NZ wins. "He served a couple of mares this past year and got one of them in foal, but just recently he had been having difficulty breathing and getting up on his feet."

From a prolific winner-producing line nurtured over the years by the Watsons and widely recognised as the "Rosewood family", Good Chase was from the unraced U Scott-Rosewood mare Torlesse. Like Rosewood before her, Torlesse left a string of winners.

Rosewood, by the Jack Potts horse Gamble (winner of the 1934 NZ Derby and second to Lucky Jack in the 1937 NZ Cup), was unraced. She was one of only two filly foals bred by Oscar Watson from Peggywood, an unraced non-standardbred daughter of 1909 and 1910 NZ Cups winner Wildwood Junior. Lady Ngaio, Rosewood's full-sister, was trained at Yaldhurst by Basil Lynskey for Oscar Watson to win six races in the 1940s, but died before she could be bred from.

Oscar offered Good Chase as a yearling in the 1964 National Sale. The Reid brothers, Leo and Robert, of Waiuku, were about to buy him on the recommendation of the late Jack Shaw - a renowned judge of horseflesh - but shied off when Shaw detected a filling in one of the colts legs. The Reids instead paid 1000 guineas for the Garrison Hanover-Miranda Scott filly, which, as Miranda Bay, founded them an outstanding line of winners headed by Luxury Liner ($1.7m) and Christopher Vance ($1.5m).

When bidding ceased at 950 guineas on Good Chase, Watson, who wanted at least 1000 guineas for him, took him home. Good Chase became the top youngster of his day, winning eight races at two and three, including the Welcome Stakes and NZ Derby, then one of two starts at four, the National Handicap. At this point, with earnings of $13,330, Good Chase was secured in a lease arrangement by prominent American breeder-owner Allan Leavitt.

In America, Good Chase measured up to the best. He was placed in all three races of the 1970 International Pace Series at Yonkers Raceway, while his victories included the Provincial Cup in Canada and Dan Patch Aged Pace in New York. An injury to a leg, that necessitated an operation, forced Good Chase's retirement, and - with a career record of 37 starts for 25 wins, five seconds and two thirds - he returned to NZ to stand for Dennis and brother John with a full book in 1973.

Before he had left NZ for the States, Good Chase had served 20 odd mares, from which there were 11 winners. These include Willie Win (NZ Derby), Hardcraft (Welcome Stakes)and other excellent performers in Big Chase (Cambridge Gold Cup), Free Chase (placed third in the NZ Derby)and James Hadley (a big winner in America). Not able to duplicate that initial success with his first small crop, Good Chase quickly fell from favour, and over the past decade served very few mares. His daughters have bred on, among them being Millie's Choice, dam of the outstanding duo Smooth Millie and Millie's Brother.

"Good Chase was like a Rolls Royce to drive," recalls Dennis. "He actually died on the anniversary of Dad's death, which we did not realise until after he was put down. It's as if the old fellow might have him back again."

Credit: Ron Bisman writing in HRWeekly 26May93

CES DONALD

Ces Donald was among the rare breed who became a legend in his own lifetime.

When he trained his 1000th winner in NZ - Forest King at Addington in February, 1972 - he was the first horseman to reach that milestone and in thoroughbred circles, it is a feat only matched in recent years by Rex Cochrane. To put this achievement into perspective, one has to appreciate that when Donald was in his prime in the 1930s and 40s, there were approximately 50 meetings per season, plus the odd races held at galloping meetings, and often eight races per meeting. Even towards the end of his career in the 1960s there were still only about 120 meetings a year with nine races - it was the early 1970s when licences began to be despatched like the Allies were dropping 'windows' along with bombs over Germany in WWII.

The most successful trainer in modern times is Roy Purdon, who joined Donald in the 1000 Club in 1985 when the majority of his winners came after a 15 year period when well over 200 meetings a season were the norm. This is not obviously in anyway meant to belittle Purdon, who when he retired in partnership with son Barry in 1995 had moved on to a staggering 2021 wins.

When Donald won his ninth Trainer's Premiership in 1963, he bettered the record held by James Bryce, whose eight titles were in the formative years of trotting. Purdon won three and tied for another on his own account, and another 17 along with Barry. A more appropriate yardstick is perhaps Derek Jones, who has now been training for about the same length of time as Donald's career. A two time Premiership winner with Jack Grant, Jones is presently sitting on 977 wins.

Donald's story is the stuff that books are made of - the names that passed through his famous Belfast stables read almost like a who's who of trotting annals - and one cannot do it full justice here, but we will attempt a condensed form.

Born in the Heathcote Valley, near Christchurch, to Joseph and Florence Donald, who emigrated from the Gurnsey Islands in the English Channel, Donald was practically riding bareback before he could walk. First taking out a licence in April, 1922, Donald had his first win as a trainer/driver later that year when the trotter Mangoutu won at Addington. A Galindo mare, Mangoutu had won twice in five seasons and had not won in 18 months when as a 10-year-old, Donald took her over and produced her to win the two mile Seaview Handicap from 36 yards by four lengths as eighth favourite. She won another five races for Donald, including the Forbury Park T C feature, the Dominion Handicap, from 72 yards.

In his first full season of training, Donald also won the Greymouth and Westport Cups and the 500 sov. Liverpool Handicap at Addington with Harbour Light, a son of Wildwood Junior who had been around the traps prior to Donald buying him for himself. People were already starting to sit up and take notice, but half way through the 1924/5 season, Donald was suspended from driving for 12 months when Wharepiana, after winning at Ashburton by five lengths, staged a dramatic form reversal at the Forbury Park Summer meeting. The Hal Zolock filly had failed to show up on the first day, but won easily on the second and was disqualified.

After serving his time, Donald bounced back in dramatic fashion when the newcomers to his stable in the 1926/7 season included the imported American pacer Jack Potts and the Author Dillon mare Auditress, both from other stables. They were to prove a decisive turning point in the young Donald's career in more ways than one - not the least of which was later combining to produce the NZ Cup winner Marlene.

Despite being troubled by unsoundness, Jack Potts proved a top class pacer. At the 1927 Auckland TC Summer carnival, he was beaten a head by dual NZ Cup winner Ahuriri (both off 36 yards) in the Auckland Cup and won the President's Handicap from 60 yards, beating among others Jewel Pointer, Peterwah, Kohara and Sheik. Line-bred to two of Hambletonian's famous sons in Dictator and George Wilkes, the aristocratic Jack Potts, who was owned by Alex Anderson after arriving as a 2-year-old, did however have a fair degree of non-Hambletonian blood in his pedigree, such as the 'Clays' and 'Hals.'

With five crops racing, Jack Potts was leading sire in 1938 and occupied that position for nine consecutive seasons, only being dethroned by the arrival of U Scott and Dillon Hall. Jack Potts sire numerous Cup class and classic winners, among them Inter-Dominion champions Emulous (48) and Pot Black (38), NZ Cup winners Lucky Jack (37,39) and Marlene (40), NZ FFA winners Pacing Power (NZ Derby), Indian Clipper, Knave of Diamonds, Fine Art and Clockwork, Sapling Stakes winners Frisco Lady, Twos Loose (NZ Derby) and Sir Julian, Horsepower (GN Derby) and further NZ Derby winners in Gamble and Air Marshall. His daughters were to produce the likes of Van Dieman, Tactician, Thelma Globe, Lady Belmer, Patchwork, Thunder, Rupee and Young Charles.

Many of the fine performers sired by Jack Potts came from Donald's spacious and immaculate 30 acre property at Belfast - now a wasteland situated between the Styx River bridge and the Pentland subdivision. Donald would later relate how Jack Potts initially stood in the Depression years at £7 and many breeders would pay the fee off at a pound a time when they could afford it. Even when leading sire he still only stood for 25 guineas and it was only towards the end that he commanded an appropriate fee. He was never really rushed by breeders at any stage.

Donald's stables were into top gear by 1930, the year he first won the Trainers' Premiership with a record 45 wins, and over the next decade he occupied that position seven times. Among the horses who reached the very best classes, or close to it, during this period, were Plutus (17 wins, Inter-Dom Heat), Lindberg (14 wins, NZ Cup division), Kempton (Dominion, Rowe), Royal Silk, Carmel (Auckland Cup),Bessie Logan (NZ Cup trial), Sir Guy (11 wins), Writer (Dominion), Great Way, Accountant, Baron Bingen, Blaydon, Brook Pointer, Clockwork, Dilnon, Ferry Post, First Flight, Grand Canyon (Australasian Hcp), Morning Sun, Night Beam, Quality, Pearl Logan, Pluto, Real Light, Ron, St George, Sir Author, Village Guy and Blondie, the latter a distinctive cream pacer.

Tonic, Stand By, Tan John (Dominion), Ambition, Biworthy (2nd Dominion), John Mauritius, Wahnooka and Mr Penalty were all high class trotters. Wahnooka, among many who arrived from other stables with little apparent future, had looked promising as a pacer, but was a notorious knee knocker. Donald discovered his trotting ability however and won 13 races with him - shod as a pacer. The trotter Captain Bolt and the pacing filly De La Paix were fondly remembered by Donald for their ability, but who failed to realise their ability. Captain Bolt, who won eight and would have won many more if he had been at all reliable, beat the champion mare Sea Gift in a match race, while De La Paix was considered better than Marlene before she contracted strangles.

Along with Jack Potts in the 1930s, Donald also stood his son Gamble, the imported sires in Lusty Volo and Calumet Axworth and the thoroughbred Airway at Belfast and at the height of his breeding activities the broodmare band numbered around 90. Dabbling with the odd galloper, Donald owned and trained along with others Crash, a sprint record holder at Riccarton for a time. Donald had also seen the potential in dairy farming in the 1930s and purchased a rundown sheep and cattle station at Bullock Hill near Okuku which he transformed into a showplace holding. He made various sizeable investments in this area - some of which were to practically bankrupt him on occasions over the years - and at one point controlled over 3000 acres of farm land. He was a regular at the Addington sale yards with truckloads of fat cattle and in later years also ran a pig farm.

Donald was very much a three meals a day man, a philosophy he took to the stables. "Meat three times a day" for the men and "the best of oats," crushed on the premises, for the horses. "If you don't feed them, they can't work" was a well known quote. Donald would also later relate that horses were not treated "as a mob." "They are all individuals. They are all different. Some want to be alone. Some go haywire if they are left alone. Each one is handled with understanding, no matter how nervous, or mad, or bad it may be when it first arrives here. None of the head lads or stable boys are allowed to hit a horse. We don't molly-coddle them, of course, but the rough stuff is out. Firmness, by all means; cruelty never. I only allow three horses to each lad."

If the 1930s were pretty much a Donald benefit, he showed no signs of slowing down in the following decade. In fact, it began with perhaps his finest training feat. Marlene, who had won the Auckland Cup the previous season, had for all intents and purposes broken down after winning twice at the Met's August meeting and had not raced for three months going into the 1940 NZ Cup. Noticeably lame prior to the race, and afterwards, she won in a ding-dong struggle with Dusky Sound over the closing stages with Donald's brother Ron at the helm. Ron Donald was generally regarded as a better driver than his brother - in fact a quite brilliant all-round horseman - but his light was to fade as he lost his battle with the bottle. Marlene only raced a handful of further times without winning and then only left three named foals. Donald also won the Free-For-All with Plutus and the Dominion with Tan John, beating Captain Bolt, while Superior Rank and Repeal were also successful at the meeting.

Soon after, Donald produced the brilliant trotter Rangefinder, whom he believed was 2:00 material at a time when pacers had only just achieved the feat. The son of Frank Worthy beat the best trotters around and on one occasion easily accounted for a field of 23 pacers in the mile and a quarter Strowan Handicap at Addington. Bayard was just a pony pacer and well past his prime when he entered the stable, but Donald gave him such a new lease on life that he finished third from 12 yards in the 1942 NZ Cup when Haughty went a record 4:12 4/5 off the front. Steel Grey was a superb grey trotter that arrived from Auckland late in his career who won the 1946 NZ Trotting FFA for Donald, while Checkmate was a top pacer in the late 40s with 11 wins.

In the early 50s, Ben Grice's brilliant Brahman joined the team as a late 3-year-old and Donald won 10 times with him, including a defeat of Caduceus in the two mile Ollivier Handicap at the 1956 NZ Cup meeting, before he broke a sesamoid the following year on the eve of the Cup, a race Donald was sure he would win. After one of his bad patches in the 1957/58 season where he registered just one win, Donald bounced back with a number of good sorts, none better than the Southland mare Lady Shona. She won 10 races and finished fourth in the 1959 NZ Cup behind False Step, Gentry and Caduceus. Not far away were Falsehood (Dunedin Cup), King Hal, Dandy Briar (Auckland Cup over Cardigan Bay), Gildirect, Urrall and Cairnbrae (NZ Cup), all Cup class pacers for him around the same time and who often formed a formidable bracket - sometimes five of six of them in the same race.

Donald had three starters in the 1964 NZ Cup and opted to drive Ted Lowe's 8-year-old U Scott gelding Cairnbrae himself. After taking over at the mile, they left the likes of Orbiter, Lordship and Vanderford in their wake. In the latter part of the 1960s, the brothers Chief Command (NZ FFA) and Indecision -"who was twice the horse if he'd had any legs"- and Rauka Lad (New Brighton Cup) also raced and beat the best.

While he won with Cairnbrae, Donald was a rare sight in the sulky towards the end, preferring to employ the likes of Doug Watts, Doody Townley, Derek Jones and - when he could - Maurice Holmes. His last driving win was On Probation in April, 1966 - a horse he owned - and appropriately it was the Farewell Handicap at Hawera. He was for many years a keen supporter of the Club and a great friend of Club stalwart Alex Corrigan. Almost to the day, On Probation's win came 44 years after he first took out a licence.

It was in October, 1963, that Donald approached a youthful Bob Nyhan, who was engaged to his daughter Pat, and would marry her the following year, to become his stable foreman and No.1 driver. Ron Donald had long since departed and Kevin Holmes had left to set up his own stable. "Some of the owners had been complaining about having a different driver every week," recalls Nyhan, who had been briefly training on his own account after a stint with Jack Litten. While Nyhan jumped at the chance, he has some mixed emotions about that part of his life.

"Ces had always loved the challenge of a gamble, but towards the end, he really had a passion about stitching up the bookies. there were times when they came unstuck rather badly, and a lesser person might have given the game away, but he always bounced back. There were some horses that had been pulled up that often, when you asked them to go or hit them, they didn't know what to do. I well recall one day - I used to have a bet myself in those days - that I had got a mate to put the money on this horse I was driving, as I was sure it would win. When I arrived in the birdcage, Ces says to me 'you are not to win today'." Asked what he did, Nyhan said "I always did what I was told. You couldn't ask the outside drivers like Holmes and so forth not to try, so I always got the one that wasn't supposed to win. It didn't exactly help my career much at that point," said Nyhan.

Nyhan recalls Donald as being a terrific host, but he never once saw him drunk. "Often, it was when we had lost that he would shout all the boys after the races - and there were six or seven of them. He figured though that when we had won, there was no need to." Then there were the infamous boot parties in the carpark after the races. "Ben Grice, who was a great mate of Ces, often arrived full of gin and Ces would give him water because he didn't know the difference."

Nyhan says that a lot of Donald's horses had unsoundness problems due to the nature of his training track. "It was very fertile ground, but with any rain it became very puggy and hard on the legs. "I recall at times putting a truckload of sawdust on the track four to five times a day for a week just to give it a bit of binding. There was one day where out of 40 horses that were in work, I had to put bandages on 28 of them."

"He was ahead of his time though and was always experimenting with different types of feed. A lot of horses joined the stable that were not known to be very good stayers, but Ces was a great believer in feeding them glucose and they became good stayers. Long before swimming pools were thought of, Ces would stand a lot of horses in cold water. We always used to wash then in buckets of warm water - Ces said to me one day 'would you like a cold shower in the middle of winter?' He was the only one in those days too who would water the track in summer. He did not believe in automation though. Even when walking machines came along, he still preferred to have the staff walk the horses to cool off. I said to him one day that you could save a lot of money on staff with a walker and he just said don't be lazy."

Donald was still training when, literally, he was on his last legs - he had crook hips and was a familiar sight at the track with his walking sticks. A few weeks before he died in August, 1973, he had been told by his doctor that he would had to go into hospital for at least three weeks for complete rest. He only stayed a week - "he wanted to die at home."

Ces Donald presented himself to most, including his family and staff, as being gruff and difficult to approach. But Nyhan says he was amazed at the number of people who said to him at Donald's funeral how much he had helped them. "If someone was short, he had given them money, or if it was a young fellow trying to get started, he had given them gear and equipment. He did untold good for lots of people, but he never wanted anybody to know about it."


Credit: Frank Marrion writing in HRWeekly 5Jul00

Viscount Galway presents the Cup to Bill Lowe

1937 NEW ZEALAND TROTTING CUP

With Indianapolis back on 72 yards in a 16-horse field and given no chance the next year, particularly when his preparation was badly affected by a stone bruise, the Cup was a relatively tame affair as Lucky Jack won easily from fellow frontmarkers Gamble and Tempest.

Owned by his breeder Bill Lowe and driven by trainer Roy Berry, Lucky Jack was however a fine stayer in his own right and repeated two years later in a close and exciting finish over the stablemates Cantata and Blair Athol. He was unlucky not to match Indianapolis' feat, finishing a fine second in 1938 from 48 yards.

Roy Berry had ridden Sinapis to win the New Zealand Galloping Cup at Riccarton in 1913, equalling Free Holmes feat in that respect, and would win another Trotting Cup with Bronze Eagle in 1944, while the Lowe family had further success with Cairnbrae and Humphrey in the 60s.

Lucky Jack's second triumph was overshadowed though by the death of Eugene McDermott after leading with Colonel Grattan just two furlongs from home in the Cup. The popular horseman had shot clear in the backstraight, but fell from the sulky soon after and died on his way to hospital from the heart attack.

Credit: New Zealand HRWeekly 8Oct03

1935 OLLIVIER MEMORIAL HANDICAP

750 sovs: Two miles : Winners time 4min 26 4/5sec

The Ollivier Memorial Handicap provided one of the most spectacular races seen at Addington for many a day, for the whole field raced in a bunch for the length of the journey and a battle royal between the champion four-year-olds had the crowd worked to a great pitch of excitement.

Gamble did not begin with any brilliance, and the trotter Todd Lonzia was quickest to find his feet, just ahead of Vesuvius, Graham Direct, Wrecker, Avernus, and Taxpayer, with Gamble next. Before half a mile had been covered Wrecker went to the front with Graham Direct, Vesuvius and Avernus racing together just ahead of Gamble.

The last-named made a forward move and raced up to Wrecker, and the pair carried on from Sunny Morn, who had come fast, Graham Direct, Todd Lonzia, Tempest, Avernus, Taxpayer, Evicus, Wrackler, and Worthy Light.

As the final run was commenced Graham Direct made his effort and a furlong from home the four-year-olds settled down to a battle royal. Every inch of the ground was contested, and with both horses under the whip Gamble held his own to win by a very narrow margin, which only the judge could tell. Tempest secured third place with one of his brilliant bursts after being nicely placed all the way. Following closely were Vesuvius, Todd Lonzia, Worthy Light and Evicus.

In his victory Gamble proved himself a brilliant pacer, for after doing most of the pace-making he fought the issue in the gamest manner possible and he was finishing better than his rival. In defeat Graham Direct proved his gameness and his challenge was a very determined one. Tempest was always handy and finished with a rare burst, while Vesuvius was always in the picture. Sunny Morn did not finish too well after making a great run in the middle stages, but both Evicus and Worthy Light showed staying powers.

Credit: THE PRESS 16 Nov 1935