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LAWN DERBY

LAWN DERBY FIRST TO GO TWO MINUTE MILE

New Zealand saluted her first two-minute pacer last week when the tremendous crowd on the final day of the Cup meeting rose on its feet to give the Australian speed merchant, Lawn Derby, one of the greatest ovations in the history of the sport.

Lawn Derby's attempt against the record was regarded by many as little more than an exhibition of unhoppled pacing, but when he reached the end of the first quarter in 0.28 3/5 and the first half-mile in 0.57 3/5, the crowd began to get to its feet.

With six furlongs gone in 1.27 4/5 and the achievement of something never before seen outside America in sight, the Addington fans let loose in a truly amazing fashion.

Outside the demonstration winessed when Harold Logan won the Free-For-All in his "final appearance" two years ago there has never been a scene on Addington to compare with Lawn Derby's reception. The hoisting of 1.59 2/5 for the full journey was the signal for renewed outbursts, and the mobbing of horse, owner, and driver.

New Zealand has waited a long time for a horse capable of such speed, and last Friday will be a day that will never be forgotten for those fortunate enough to see Lawn Derby in action. Even had he failed in his objective, Lawn Derby would well have been worth going a long way to watch. A bright bay carrying plenty of quality, he is a pacer in every meaning of the word.

Boots, hopples and overcheck know no place in his wardrobe, and he moves with a precision that is attractive to an extreme. In short, he is the finished article, and he could not be improved upon as a pacer.

Conditions were as near to perfect as they could be on Friday, but given similar condition again there is little doubt that Lawn Derby would improve his 1.59 2/5.

Driver W J O'Shea was at a great disadvantage in that he is practically a stranger to the track and the various posts. The result was that his horse was asked for too great a speed in the first half-mile. The first four furlongs in 0.57 3/5 would have found most horses even of Lawn Derby's calibre, collapsing, and no greater proof of his wonderful speed and stamina could have been given than his final half in 1.1 4/5. More favourably rated, he would have reached, or bettered, 1.59.

The Aussie will now remain in New Zealand for several months, making a further attempt over a mile at New Brighton next month, and possibly at Epsom over the Auckland Cup fixture. He should be a wonderful attraction in both centres.

He is the greatest pacer ever seen in New Zealand or Australia and there is little need to say more than that.

Credit: NZ TRUTH 16 Nov 1938

Alf Lawrence owner of Morello & Maurice McTigue

1938 NEW ZEALAND TROTTING CUP

Australia's two best pacers, Logan Derby and Lawn Derby, were on hand in 1938, but the latter was hardly a chance in a controversial 20-horse field from 60 yards.

The event proved a triumph on debut for Methven's Maurice McTigue, who shot along the rails with the moderately performed Morello, which he trained and drove for Mr A J Lawrence, to beat Lucky Jack and Logan Derby.

But it was the majestic Lawn Derby who stole the show at the meeting when on the last day, he time trialled in 1:59 2/5 to become the first 2:00 horse outside America.

Credit: New Zealand HRWeekly 8Oct03

LAWN DERBY became the first horse outside the USA to break two minutes for the mile when he recorded 1:59.4 in a Time Trial during the Cup Carnival at Addington.

April 20 - First Inter-Dominion trotting Championship held at Addington Raceway. Originally scheduled for Easter, the contest was postponed by flooding throughout the city. Further flooding after the first races delayed the finals until May 4.



Credit: Ch-Ch City Libraries

1938 NEW ZEALAND TROTTING CUP

SMITHS QUICK THINKING PREVENTED HOLOCAUST IN TROTTING CUP

Another New Zealand Cup has come and gone and the latest, having much in common with its immediate predecessor, was one few would encore. It was not a race as we understand the word - just a mad scramble with ability in any department counting for little. Lady Luck was in full charge, and outstanding qualities in both horseflesh and horsemanship were wasted talents which could not be brought into play at any stage of the two mile journey.

Trouble started with the release of the barrier, when Rey Spec, Bonny Azure and Ginger Jack - a third of the limit horses - refused to get into action and caused more ducking and dodging than any debt collector ever did. In ordinary circumstances the field would have settled down quickly, but there could be no settling down here.

With 20 runners, all of which had to be within reasonable distance of the leaders, it was beyond all expectations that there would be any real order. Horses went where circumstances put them, and drivers were puppets. Some were given hopeless positions close, or comparatively close, to the inner rail; others were forced to commit their Cup hopes to the deep by being made the outside edge of the moving mass. Not that it mattered a great deal which was their lot. The programme committee's idea of a suitable limit had effectively removed all prospects of good judgement entering the question.

The few drivers who were placed where they could alter their positions were frightened to advance or retract and all had to stay where they found themselves. For the greater part of the journey they were like an uncomfortably packed collection of sardines waiting for someone to produce a tin opener.

As was only natural, this scrambling and crowded field could not go the full journey without an accident. At a stage when desperate positions called for desperate measures, Fred Smith met trouble which caused the inner wheel of Ironside's sulky to collapse. In "Truth's" opinion the club should present Fred with a gold medal. Had Fred attempted to stop his horse, as instinct must have prompted him to do, there seems little doubt that Addington racegoers would have witnessed one of the worst smashes in the history of the sport.

One of the leading division and third from the rails, Ironside was hemmed in with no chance of escape. The collapse of his wheel came when he could not go ahead, pull out or pull up. Fred took one look behind him - the New Zealand Cup field must have presented a pretty picture to him at that stage - and his course of action was decided for him. With his broken wheel ploughing up the track, Fred did his best to keep Ironside at full speed ahead. With the leaders going at 2.8 gait, full speed was impossible, but he slowed down sufficiently to allow the scrambling field to flow around and past him without disastrous interference to any. Had Ironside stopped suddenly or had he been allowed to take the swerve his broken wheel would natuarally tend to give him, the Addington officials would have had all the material on hand for a first-class nightmare.

It is to be hoped that with this incident came the awakening that the indescriminate preference for quantity of a questionable class over quality of an undeniable class cannot, and never will be, a sound or sane policy. The race from start to finish, could leave little room for debate on this question.

In spite of everything, there had to be a winner, and Morello emerged from this scramble the apple of Lady Luck's eye. And he deserved his victory. He went away well; did his work like a tradesman and when he was asked a question in the final quarter he came away in a manner that left little doubt that he was built of the right stuff to survive the day and the conditions. Always handily placed, he enjoyed no luck, either good or bad, in the running, and it has to be admitted that his finishing run carried the hallmark of class.

At the same time, he was fortunate that the conditions attached to the Cup allowed him, a pacer assessed on 4.27 when nominations closed, and one which had failed to prove his merit in numerous opportunities, to take his place in the field. He had done little to justify his inclusion here, and this is his seventh season of racing, but the result proved his connections had solid grounds for their faith in him when they accepted the Club's invitation to parade. Although there are people who will claim that Morello had no right in the field, the Club stretched its imagination and the conditions to attract horses not regarded as being in town-hall society, and all had an equal right to share in the spoils.

Lucky Jack was definitely unlucky not to have made this his second Cup. Like all the backmarkers, he was made to work overtime to get handy to the leaders, and he was forced to cover a ton of ground. When Ironside got in the wars, Lucky Jack was sent back, and he had to start all over again. He finished gamely, but the cards were stacked against him, and he had to be content with second money.

The Aussie, Logan Derby, acted the gentleman and ran a solid race for some of the minor money, while Ginger Jack came from an impossible position to have his number hoisted in fourth place. With a decent beginning it looked as if the latter must have been the winner. Pot Luck, another to begin slowly was right up, while Parisienne, pushed off the face of the earth all the journey, was next and far from disgraced. King's Play, Plutus, Rocks Ahead, Evicus and King's Warrior all went well to a point.

A break at the straight entrance cost Lawn Derby any chance he held. Up to that stage he had put in some great work from the back of the field and he looked like putting in a claim when he left his feet.

The hard luck stories that followed the Cup would fill columns, and none of them had to be invented. There could be nothing but hard luck for the majority of the runners in such a field.

As a race it was a failure, and as an indication of worth in horseflesh it was a farce.

Credit: NZ TRUTH 16 Nov 1938

Ribands and P J Hall

RIBANDS

Ribands, in becoming the world's champion pacer over one mile and five furlongs with his record of 3.21 3/5 in winning by a wide margin the NZ Pacing Championship ar Addington on Saturday, paralysed his opposition and left struggling in his wake two other world's record holders in Rupee and Johnny Globe.

No excuses could be made for Rupee, who was skilfully driven by D Townley and went a brilliant and gallant race, and although Johnny Globe had obviously lost some of his fire and was checked in the early stages, he, too, might have met the same fate as Rupee if all things could have been equal. After all, it is no disparagement of any horse to give Ribands full credit for a performance that brought considerable weight to claims of Australian - and a sprinkling of NZ - admirers of Ribands that he is as fast as any pacer in the world today. And nothing but a world beater could reduce a field like Saturday's to minus quantities as Ribands did.

Ribands was allowed to stand at least a length back from the barrier at the start, which must have given him an advantage, because in his earlier races at the meeting he did not go away when required to line up on terms with other horses on his marks. Laureldale, from No 12 position at the barrier, raced across to take charge before a furlong had been covered, and at this stage he was closely attended by Zulu, Our Roger and Rupee, and Johnny Globe and Ribands were not far away.
Zulu broke with about two and a half furlongs covered, and Johnny Globe was among those checked. Ribands had to be swung out to escape serious trouble, and with a mile to go Laureldale was about three-quarters of a length clear of Rupee, with Our Roger and Petite Yvonne next, and Ribands moving up.

It was with half a mile to go that Ribands was sent around the outer with a burst of speed that had everything in difficulties within a furlong. It was not a case of catching anything unawares, either, because D Townley on Rupee obviously anticipated the onslaught of Ribands and was busy on his charge before Ribands actually passed him; but Rupee met more than his match on this occasion, and Ribands streaked clean away from him. Nothing ever looked like gaining on Ribands in the race home: Rupee could get no closer than four lengths to him, and Johnny Globe was three lengths behind Rupee, with Tactician a fair fourth. No more devastating run has ever been seen at Addington, and no victory could be more complete than Ribands's rout of some of the greatest pacers NZ has been able to breed.

There is no doubt that the presence of Ribands at the NZ Cup carnival made a big contribution to a very successful meeting - both sporting and financial - for the NZ Metropolitan Trotting Club. It was one of the Club's best meetings for some years, and it was a fitting climax that Mr and Mrs F P Kelloway should see their grand pacer's reputation so thoroughly vindicated, and their own confidence in their champion's ability to win in any company so roundly justified.

The Addington crowd gave Ribands a splendid reception. Cheering broke out long before Ribands reached the winning post, it increased in volume as the horse returned to the birdcage, and was renewed when the world's record was announced. It was obvious that losers and winners alike joined in the clapping and cheering, and Mr and Mrs Kelloway said they were very thrilled by the way the win had been received by the public, the officials of the club, and other trainers and drivers, in the race and out of it.

Occupying a pedestal in public acclaim in Australia to the same degree as Johnny Globe does in the Dominion, Ribands came to NZ Cup discussions when he paced the last half-mile of an exhibition run at Hutt Park a few days after his arrival from Sydney in 58 3/5sec. A very successful ex-trainer who saw that run declared without any reservations that Ribands was the fastest horse he had ever seen. Unfortunately Ribands broke badly at the start of the Cup, but he revealed a champion's calibre when he finished second in the NZ Free-For-All.

In the Cup and the second day Free-For-All Ribands was driven by J D Watts, who flew from Sydney to drive him. Watts had to return to Sydney before the third day, and M Holmes was Riband's driver in his next two races. Holmes needs no testimonials as a horseman: could there be a better one in any part of the world? Holmes certainly worked a revolutionary change in Ribands's starting manners in a couple of short weeks - there must have been some heavy homework between the pair of them between the pair of them between race days!

Mr and Mrs Kelloway and the horse's trainer, C J Muddle, all paid glowing tributes to Holmes's driving of Ribands. Mr Kelloway declared that Ribands made a better beginning on Saturday than ever before in his life, and Muddle acknowledged Holmes "is in world class as a driver." Muddle said Ribands was "really fit" on Saturday. in his previous races at Addington he had not been just right, and he had told Holmes before Saturday's race "not to be frightened to use him if he jumps away with the others - he is the equal of any of them." After the race Muddle, who took Ribands's success with remarkable nonchalance, struck a kindred spirit in Maurice Holmes. Muddle remarked to Holmes when the horse returned to the birdcage: "A pretty fair sort?" Holmes, who is renowned for a combination of wit and understatement, no matter how important the occasion, replied: "Might be alright!"

It is to be hoped that Ribands will be given the opportunity of attacking Highland Fling's mile record of 1.57 4/5 before his return to Australia. He should succeed, because he registered 1.58 7/10 on the half-mile Harold Park track at Sydney, and his connections are certain he has improved since then; and he is nearly a year older now - he is six, and may be just reaching his prime.

Present intentions are that Ribands will be eased in his training and perhaps race at Auckland at Christmas time - there may be some keen competition between the north and the south over this, because it would be a great attraction if the Canterbury Park Club could persuade Mr and Mrs Kelloway to send Ribands against the mile record at it's New Year Meeting. Ribands is no stranger to grass tracks. Mr Kelloway stated on Saturday that Ribands had raced only twice on grass tracks in Australia: his winning margin the first time was 12 lengths and the second time 15 lengths. So Ribands will be in his element at Epsom, whether he races there in December, whether he does not go there until the Championships come round in February, or undertakes both.

Mr and Mrs Kelloway bought Ribands as a young, unraced colt for £1000, and he has won more than £26,000 in stakes. He will win much more if he continues to begin as well as he did on Saturday. Muddle says that apart from his uncertainty at the barrier, due to nervousness, Ribands is "the perfect horse to train." Muddle took over the training of Ribands about a month before he came to NZ.

Ribands's breeding suggests that "you can't get too much of a good thing." He is by Lawn Derby (grandson of Globe Derby), from Marie Walla, by Walla Walla (by Globe Derby, and Marie Walla's dam was an unnamed Globe Derby mare. The Globe Derby tribe may yet be destined to dazzle other race crowds in the home of its ancestors - the United States, where Owyhee, grandsire of Globe Derby, was bred by John F Boyd, of Danville, California, in 1894, and imported to Werribee, Victoria, by D Taylor. Owyhee sired Mambrino Derby, the sire of Globe Derby, among whose innumerable distinctions are that his son, Robert Derby, sired Lawn Derby, 1.59 2/5, the first two-minute horse outside America; that Lawn Derby sired Avian Derby, 2.00, the first two-minute horse in Australia, and also Avian Derby's successor as the Australian mile record holder, Ribands, 1.58 7/10; that Lawn Derby is the only sire in NZ and Australia with more than one horse on the two-minute list; that four of the only seven horses in the two-minute list in the Antipodes are of the Globe Derby male line (the other not already mentioned is Johnny Globe, 1.59 4/5); and that two outright world's pacing records belong to the breed - Johnny Globe's 4.07 3/5 for two miles and Ribands's 3.21 3/5 for a mile and five furlongs, besides Johnny Globe's mile in 2.01 1/5, a world's record from a standing start, and the same horse's 2.33 3/5 for a mile and a quarter, also a world's record from a standing start.

And interest in America in the 'Globe' family - mares as well as sires - is already keen, and the prediction can safely be made that selected representatives of the breed will be going to the United States before very long. The Globe Derby saga of greatness began with himself. He was an out-and-out champion pacer on Australian tracks, and in training he could reel off half-miles in sensational time for his day. His grandson, Lawn Derby, made history in Australia and New Zealand; Globe Derby's son, Walla Walla, was an iron horse who came here late in life and paced an historic mile when he defeated the best horses NZ could muster in 1934 (Harold Logan, Red Shadow and Roi l'Or among them) in the first of an Invitation Match series at Addington, his time, 2.04 1/5, surviving as the world's record from a standing start for 19 years.

The rest of the serial is well known - we say serial advisedly, because there is no apparent end yet to the deeds of this line of succession of champions, of whom Ribands and Johnny Globe are the present incomparable banner-bearers.

Credit: 'Ribbonwood' writing in NZ Trotting Calendar 1Dec54

JACK O'SHEA

Jack O'Shea, one of Australia's best known trotting identities died recently aged 92.

He was associated with some of the best horses of the day prior to night trotting at Harold Park, and he had the distinction of driving the great Lawn Derby, when that pacer became the first pacer outside America to break through the two minute barrier. Lawn Derby achieved this feat just prior to World War II, when he ran 1:59.6 at Addington.

When night trotting commenced in Sydney, Jack O'Shea was employed by the New South Wales Trotting Club as a stipendiary steward, and supervised many country meetings throughout NSW. He was also closely associated with the Bankstown club and was always available to assist the trotting industry in any way possible.

Credit: NZ Trotguide 13Mar75