 | RACING HISTORY |
YEAR: 2008
FEATURE RACE COMMENT
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| Some of Tintin's Team |
The country's top juvenile pacers have now got a little bit more than just money to race for at Cambridge in 10 days time. Because the 2-year-old Pacer of the Year title will go on the line there, too.
It's been a season void of a real standout amongst the babies, with major race honours being evenly shared between heroes like Sir Clive, Highview Tommy, Stunin Cullen and now Tintin In America - who brilliantly won last Friday night's $200,000 Nevele R/Garrard's Sires' Stakes Series Final.
Aided by a classic big-race drive from David Butcher, Tintin In America occupied four different positions in the Group 1 event before pouncing from the last of them - the one-one - and surging clear to win in NZ record time. Boasting a super mile rate of 1.55.9, Tintin In America's latest victory sent out a clear warning that his preparation for Cambridge has been timed to perfection by trainer Geoff Small. And it suggested that although his bid for the 2-Year-Old Pacer of the Year crown is a late one, it's a very good one nonetheless.
Raced by the newest of the seemingly unstoppable ATC Trot syndicates, this the 2008 version. Tintin In America is a McArdle colt out of Zenterfold that Small specifically went to the Sales to get, with the syndicate in mind. "we owned half the mother," Small said, outlining how he and his wife Aria go 'foal about' with Beryl Pears now that Zenterfold is retired. Butcher actually described the In The Pocket mare as "Spastic fast, with no brains", saying she could run flat out the whole way and be competitive over a mile, but nothing longer.
So having bred her and trained her, Small needed no encouragement to line up ringside as the first of Zenterfold's progeny went under the hammer. Although, the syndicate's 'budget' of $30,000 got left behind somewhat when he had to go to $42,500 to secure Tintin In America - something he took a bit of a 'ribbing' for to start with, but you won't find any of the members complaining about it now. "He's just a nice, strog colt," Small said of Tintin In America. "He's got to mature a bitto be a racehorse yet, and I'd like it if he camp up another half hand or so."
Slightly more enthusiastic about singing Tintin In America's praises was Jeff Whittaker, who's providing a home away from home for the striking McArdle colt over the last six weeks or so. "I've worked a few with a galloping pacemaker before, but I've never seen a horse with as much sharp speed as him," Whittaker said. "And I mean even more than Changeover...we brought Tintin here to Addington one day, and I don't want to say what he ran a furlong in but it was phenomenal. And the other thing about him is he's lovely with it...a great gaited horse, lovely around the farm - a real pleasure to look after."
Cambridge is now the next target for Tintin In America, but missing from the large group of supporters there will be Brad
Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly 21May08
YEAR: 2008
FEATURE RACE COMMENT
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It might have looked a close call for Lizzie Maguire in the $130,000 PGG Wrightson NZ Yearling Sales Series Fillies Pace last Friday night, but one who knows says she was more than a half-head and shoulders above the others. Her performance to sit parked for the last lap and dig deep to hold off trailing snipers CC's Mademoiselle and Susie Maguire drew praise from Peter Ferguson. As the driver, he knew that Lizzie would pull out all stops if the occasion called for it. And this one did.
Attacked by Susie on the inner and CC's Mademoiselle on the outer, Lizzie fought them off and although the margin might have suggested a strained and unconvincing win, Ferguson said it was not. "She was going away at the end. She went a little bit fresh and got keen down the back, and then sprinted strongly over the last 300 metres. With Gareth's horses you know they are fit and they're not out there unless they are a chance. He is very professional, and the welfare of the horses comes first," he said.
As Gareth Dixon, Lizzie's trainer has gone beyond the ranks of up-and-comers for a place amongst the elite. "I've got to get the results and win races at this level," said Dixon. "Kerry" - whose daughter Helen races Lizzie Maguire - "is a big investor. He's a very big owner and spent more than $300,000 at the Sales last week...two Cullens, two McArdles, a Presidential Ball...wins like this are important," he said.
There was clear evidence again of the professionalism Ferguson speaks of by the manner in which Dixon has monitored Lizzie's career. He would have given her a quick holiday after winning the Jewels and had her racing for spring rewards. Instead, with his eye on the horse and mind on later objectives, he put her aside for 10 weeks. "We would not have been able to do these big races now, go on to the Jewels and perhaps have a longer season if she didn't have the longer break then. She's very relaxed and there is still some improvement to come," he said.
In only her fourth start, and her first since late December, CC's Mademoiselle has emerged as a player at the top level, and Susie Maguire was also a game contestant in the finish, edging past the pacemaker, Fight Fire With Fire.
Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 20Feb08
YEAR: 2008
FEATURE RACE COMMENT
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| Rosie & Robert Dunn, Rose Dakin and Scott & Barbara Plant |
Robert Dunn was right and he was wrong. He believed the night would come when Time To Fly would beat the best mares in the country; he also believed it would not be this year.
He could see One Dream, It's Ella and Foreal ahead of her, and perhaps even some others, and being five, he thought she would be ready for it at six. Within a week it had all changed. One Dream and It's Ella were absent, Foreal was so-so, and with young whiz Dexter Dunn able to pull tricks out of the air, Time To Fly was in the reckoning for the $100,000 Group 1 PGG Wrightson NZ Breeder's Stakes at Addington. Not that many thought so. Even after her gallant and close second to Port Courage the previous week, she was unwanted by the public, who must have been thinking along the same lines as her trainer.
But last Friday night, Time To Fly was hard and ready, and all Dexter had to do was put her on the pace and keep her strong at the end of it. The race was not easy for Smoke N Mirrors or Foreal, who both went for the lead early on, and Smoke N Mirrors had to work hard on two occasions to keep it. Foreal was in and out before settling in midfield, but she had done a bit of work by then. Time To Fly came forward with a lap to go, where Dexter settled her and hoped she had some grunt left when it got tough. At the 600 metres, he pulled the winkers, and Time To Fly kept working generously from there.
It was Dexter's 49th win for the season and his first Group 1. Earlier in the night, he had come up with a gem of a drive behind Wild Storm, who started from the outside of the front line in a stand, led after 300 metres, trailed the favourite Absolute Magic, and with the light, delicate coaxing that trademarks Dexter's style, the horse was encouraged to stay in the fight and eventually prevail by a nose. That is what Time To Fly did, but she had more of a margin on Smoke N Mirrors, and her stablemate Luckisaladytonight, who was last at the 800 metres and ran home strongly.
Time To Fly was bred by Graeme Iggo, by Sands A Flyin from Limuru, an unraced Oblivion II mare from the family of Petro Star. Iggo also bred Limuru, and sold her after breeding Time To Fly to Bill Hickey and Gwenyth Smith, who have bred colts from her by Armbro Operative, Presidential Ball and Badlands Hanover and this season she was due to Washington VC.
Robert bought Time To Fly for Scott Plant and 78-year-old Rose Dakin after she won a 2-year-old trial at Ashburton for Polly Cleave. Plant is also in harness racing in a big way, with five mares at stud including Molly Darling, Abbeybell and Sav Blanc For Mee. He also has a yearling filly by Grinfromeartoear with Dunn, and Dakin is one of 10 racing Bahama Breeze, a 2-year-old filly by Christian Cullen in the stable.
While Time To Fly looks the lady on the track, she is not so lovely at home, where Robert is the only one who drives her. "She can get a bit snotty. She came with funny traits, and she's kept them. I work her in block blinds all the time, because she could just turn round and work the other way, and I always work her in front. I just keep her away from the others in case she does something silly." he said.
Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 7Feb08
YEAR: 2008
COMPETITIONS
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Dexter (18 years) was first licenced in the 2005/06 as a Trials Driver and in 2006/07 as a fully licenced driver with a Junior Licence.
His early involvement was with father Robert Dunn also having a period in Victoria with leading trainer Andy Gath and he is currently working for Cran Dalgety.
The Maurice Holmes Trophy relates to all Junior Driver races conducted by the NZMTC Club at Addington and Dexter has won this award convincingly with 24 points from fellow Junior Shane Walkinshaw with 18 points.
However his greatest achievement has been winning the NZ Drivers Premiership as a Junior Driver in his first full season, a feat never achieved previously. He drove two Group 1 winners during that time namely Time To Fly and Rona Lorraine.
Final Points Standings were as follows :-
Dexter Dunn 24 points
Shane Walkinshaw 18 points
Nathan Williamson 15 points
In addition to the Trophy which he hols for the year, Dexter has received, courtesy of New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club, a return trip to Australia with spending money plus $500 worth of clothing.
Credit: Tony Lye
YEAR: 2007
BUILDINGS & FACILITIES
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| A model of the proposed complex |
The NZ Metropolitan Trotting Club has received word from the NZ Racing Board approving funds for a new stabling area at Addington Raceway. This was received by the club's Chief Executive Officer, Mike Godber, on Monday.
The L-shaped complex will run along the front of the Twiggers Stand as far as the old Showgrounds boundary, and the right towards Lincoln Road. It means the Lindauer Lawn will be raised, the Pavillion removed and rebuilt once the stabling area has been constructed.
Godber said the work would not start until after the NZ Cup meeting in November. "But there is a lot of work that will happen between now and then, starting with resouce consents, permits, tenders and much else," he said.
Godber said the Club had been assisted with their planning by licenceholders Anthony Butt and Dave Anderson, and it would have room for 160 horses. "It is 5000 square metres, so it is a huge building," said Godber. The front section, in front of the stand, will cater for 70 horses, and there will be 70 in the Showgrounds wing. Provision has been made for the greyhound kennels on the Showgrounds bend. There will be a 1.2 metre walkway between the track and the front of the stand stabling area. As well as a swabbing area and washes, there is a 'secure' area for 15 horses.
The Lindauer lawn will not have grass as it has at present. That has to go, but exactly what will take its place is uncertain. "It could be artificial grass, or it could be a coloured rubber surface. That's something we will have to face later," he said.
The float park will shift to an area close to the stables, somewhere between the back of the Twiggers Stand and the Raceway offices. For the Cup Meeting, where parking is sold in that area, the floats will be quartered in the showgrounds.
Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 27Jun07
YEAR: 2007
SECRETARIES & EXECUTIVE STAFF
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After initially being employed at the then NZ Trotting Conference as the Accountant, Rowley was appointed Secretary in 1960 and later the Chief Executive Officer before retiring in 1985. During his tenure he was instrumental in bringing many changes to the NZ racing industry. In the early 60s he was part of a group that formed the TAB as we know it today, while identification of horses by way of freeze branding, artificial insemination, judicial procedures, public relations and computerisation were other innovations he oversaw.
Rowley represented NZ at World Trotting Conference and is the only person to have held the office of Secretary General twice, continuing in this role after his retirement. During his 32 years, Rowley made many great friends, including Gordon Blaxall who was the Conference Treasurer. Many a problem was solved by the two of them over a gin or two in the boardroom at the end of the day.
He commenced his career as an office boy with the Christchurch importing and wholesale firm of Fairbairn Wright during WWII. After the war he joined the Registrar's Office of the Canterbury University, from where he went to a small firm making ties and later managed the factory. He then joined the Canterbury Manufacturers Association where he managed an 'Industries Fair' and from where he learned of a vacancy in 'trotting'. After seven years of club administration, Rowley was offered the job of the Trotting Conference Accountant.
In honour of his retirement, a testimonial dinner was held and attended by racing dignitaries from all three racing codes and members of parliament. Retirement wasn't to last long however. A new organisation was set up in the early 1980s to administer age group racing, and Rowley had been instrumental in the approval of Sires' Stakes racing. In August 1988, he was asked to join the NZ Sires' Stakes Board and in 1993 he was elected Chairman, a position he held till he resigned in 1997.
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NZ Trotting Calendar 13Aug85
Thirty-two years of harness racing administration came to an end when John Rowley retired as Chief Executive Officer of the NZ Trotting Conference on July 31.
Fittingly, leading racing administrators - harness, thoroughbred and greyhound - joined with distinguished guests in farewelling John at a Testimonial Dinner in Christchurch on the very evening of his retirement. It was during that "Farewell Speech" at that dinner, and at a later interview, that John Rowley revealed some of his thoughts on the Industry - "I must call it that now" - which he has served so diligently.
John Rowley did not come into harness racing administration dedicated to the cause at an early age - it was a circuitous route which saw him occupy the most powerful chair in professional administration in NZ trotting. He commenced his career as an office boy with the Christchurch importing and wholesale firm of Fairbairn Wright during the Second World War, leaving briefly to complete three months basic army training. Though he returned to Fairbairn Wright after basic training, he did not last long there, volunteering for the Royal NZ Navy and going off to fight the war as an Ordinary Seaman. John did most of his sea training aboard the British cruiser HMS Dauntless, which was based in Scotland, but he was not to remain an Ordinary Seaman for long. He ended his 18 months' service as a Sub-Lieutenant aboard the minesweeper, or Bird class Corvette as they were known, HMNZS Tui, based in Auckland.
Returning to Fairbairn Wrights after the war, John filled the post of costing clerk. But greener pastures beckoned and he joined the Registrars Office of the Canterbury University. A "change of hierarchy" saw John leaving the University and going to work for a young firm called Corinthian Ties "Where I learned to make ties and manage a factory". Unfortunately, the factory fell on hard times - "There was a depression at the time" - and John joined the Canterbury Manufacturers' Association, where he managed an Industries Fair.
It was through meeting some members of the Manufacturers' Association who were involved in trotting - "In particular Ces Peate" - that he heard of the vacancy which became available in trotting administration with the death of Harold Goggin - who was then secretary of the three Christchurch trotting clubs. "I applied for the job and got it, and I've been in trotting ever since," John said.
John was understudy to Des Parker, who was promoted to take the late Harold Goggin's job, and stayed for seven years. The break with club administration came after seven years when he was seconded to run a three night meeting at Hutt Park when the Wellington Trortting Club was suddenly left without a secretary. "I went in there cold, right from scratch and had to run a three night meeting. At the end of that meeting, I was offered the job as secretary of the Wellington Trotting Club. At the same time, the job of Conference accountant became vacant and as my wife Shirley had no desire to go to Wellington, I applied for the job with the Conference and got it. "So I moved upstairs," John said, referring to the fact that in those days, the Conference and the three Christchurch trotting clubs shared the same office building in Oxford Terrace.
Rather unusually, John was born, raised, educated (Christchurch West High School and Christ's College) and completed his entire working life in Christchurch. He married soon after the war and fathered three children, two girls, Belinda and Melanie who both followed nursing careers, and a son, Simon, who now manages Dalgety Crown in Rakaia.
John was with the Conference just over twelve months before the then secretary, W H (Bill) Larcombe, retired, and John was appointed to his position in 1961. Encumbent president then was Charles Thomas, a leading Christchurch criminal lawyer, a former prsident of the NZ Metropolitan Trotting Club and a prominent figure in the Scottish Society. Stories of Charlie Thomas abound in trotting - "Many of them true" - according to John. "He was a man dedicated to the job. There wasn't a day when he didn't come into the office." Charles Thomas was the first of seven presidents John was to serve under, Bill Roche succeeded him, then being followed by Dick Rolfe, Arthur Nicoll, George Cruickshank, Sir James Barnes and the present encumbent, Dewar Robertshaw.
Twenty four years as the top professional administrator in the country sees a lot of change, and John Rowley has played a major part in that change. "I would have to say the major changes have been in the area of horse identification - freeze branding - the creation of the International Trotting Association, artificial insemination, the changes in judicial procedures, and the vital area of public relations," John said. "You know, people seem loath to give gredit where it is due, but we actually led the world in the introduction of freeze branding and only now are the Racing Conference looking at doing it."
"The International Conferences are considered in some quarters to be just jaunts, but people don't realise that is was because of the creation of the International Trotting Association, and the contacts and personal trust built up by these meetings, that we got the NZ standardbred accepted overseas. You know, we had a terrific battle with the Americans to get our mares accepted into their Stud Book as standardbreds. What that would have meant, of course, if we had not been successful, is that the progeny of mares like Robin Dundee would not have been recognised as standardbred by the Americans, and she of course left world record holder Genghis Khan. I also like to think NZ can contribute to these International Conferences. It has been said we get very little out of them, but I prefer to think that we are not only looking to get something out - which we do - but we can put something back as well," he said.
John may have finished as CEO of the NZ Trotting Conference, but he is still busy as Secretary General of the International Trotting Association which holds it's next biennial conference in Brisbane in October, which will coincide with the World Driver's Championship. NZ Trotting Conference president Dewar Robertshaw will succeed USTA president Joe McLoone as chairman of the ITA in Brisbane. John admits the current system of having a floating secretariat for the ITA is not the ideal one, and feels a permanent secretariat based in one country would achieve a great deal more. "Let's face it, everone at the Conference is busy when they return home, and there is the danger that the follow up, which is so important, gets put to one side. With a permanent secretary that would not happen, and the International Trotting Association could be of so much more value to everyone."
Concern for human rights and natural justice have led to changes in the judicial system in recent years, particularly in cases involving investigations by the racecourse inspectors. "One of the biggest changes relates to the work done by the racecourse inspectors, which used to be, in the old days, referred to the full executive with recommendations. In due course, the executive would adjudicate on the case. Today, the only person to see the reports is the CEO of the Conderence, and it is he, normally after taking legal advice, who decides whether or not charges will be preferred. All the executive now know about the situation is that they have to set up a panel to hear the charges, and they don't know anything about the matter until they sit down to hear the case. That is natural justice, and, in my view, is the correct procedure," John said.
Hand in hand with judicial control, in John's view, goes the integrity of harness racing. "Over the past three decades, we have become a force to be reckoned with, and during that time what we have tried to show is the integrity of harness racing. "I'm a firm believer that you can spend all the money in the world in advertising and promotion, and provide the best facilities in the world, but if your patrons, particularly the new ones, have any suspicion of dishonesty, then you have lost them for ever."
Closer co-operation between the Racing and Trotting Conferences and Greyhound administrators is a pleasing development, but John reports it was not always the case. "In the good old days, a small sub-committee of the Trotting Conference would appear before the Racing Conference executive in what used to be called a Combined Committee Meeting, where the odds were about 14 to 4. We would be summoned into the room like small boys going before the headmaster and we would be asked what our problems were. These would be discussed, we would be given a drink, then sent on our way after about an hour. Today of course we have got equal representation at Combined Conference level, where we discuss all matters pertaining to racing, and together make representations to the Racing Authority, the Minister and I think the system works very well. I think it is indicative of the progress we have made and the mark we have made in the industry. There is no doubt we have all had our problems, many of the inter-code, and will continue to do so. However, I believe we should all genuinely acknowledge that we are all members one of another, and whoever deliberately attempts, for whatever reason, to sabotage the efforts or reputation of it's co-partners in reality damages his own code, and weakens, if you like, the strength of the whole chain of racing's continued progress. I would also add that the same applies within harness racing. Destructive criticism of sabotage within the industry only harms us all."
Credit: HRWeekly 19Sep07
YEAR: 2007
PEOPLE
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Steve Edge was involved in all aspects of harness racing, and did so at the highest level.
He was on the Executive of Harness Racing NZ as the representative of the Standardbred Breeders' Association, and supported the Motukarara Workouts Association and Banks Peninsula Trotting Club. He was also a long time member and committeeman of the Canterbury Trotting Owners Association, at one stage being the Vice-President.
He drove Invicta, raced by his father-in-law Les Duff, to beat Patchwork and Scottish Command in the 1961 NZ Cup, and stood at stud the seven win Lordship horse, Light Lord.
Aged 76, Edge was a colourful character and contributed to harness racing in a huge way over a long period.
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Farm politics was a passion for Little River farmer Steve Edge. His efforts in advocacy, campaining and lobbying for changes in primary industries brought benefits for many people in the wider farming community. The large gathering from throughout Australasia who attended his funeral was testament to this.
While he was at the forefront of reforms in the meat and wool industries, he was especially proud to represent the 'real grass-root farmers'. He believed in influencing change 'from the ground up, rather than the top down'. This approach brought him a strong following among farmers, which translated into high polling for places on various boards. Edge received a Community Service and Commitment to the Farming Industry Award, recognising his outstanding work in the Bank Peninsula district over many years. He served on many farmer boards and committees and was active also in community, racing and sports groups.
Speakers at his funeral talked of Edge as a man of the people who was not afraid to speak his mind. He stood up for what he believed in, at any cost, and fought for those he believed did not get a fair deal or were less fortunate. He was a man of integrity, honesty and passion. He was hard-working, dedicated and wise. He could be volatile but he enjoyed life and people, his friends and his family. He was interested in those around him and their achievements, and therefore commanded their love and respect. He worked single-mindedly for whatever cause or project needed his assistance - and there were many over the years - the speakers recalled.
Edge was born in Gore, the fourth of eight children. The family shifted to Canterbury, first to Belfast, then to Lincoln and then on to Te Pirita. The family was always associated with the land and stock - sheep, horses, cattle, cropping. Edge became an astute stockman with a tremendous work ethic. After a short time at high school in Ashburton, he left to work on the family farm. He then worked as a shearer all over the South Island. With his younger brother, Ralph, he headed for what would now be called their OE, although he liked to call it his university training. The brothers worked in coal and gold mining, on oil rigs and in shearing sheds. The fought in boxing rings. The worked building roads and major monuments, the Flying Doctor Monument north of Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory being one project. All sorts of occupations were undertaken with zest to make a quid. They developed a special bond with the Aboriginal people and on the frequent trips taken back in recent years, this association and respect were still evident.
Returning to New Zealand after eight years, Edge met and later married, Kathleen Duff, of Dunedin. Around this time he was training a small team of standardbred horses at Rakaia, and it was from this base that many winners came, of special note being the unsound pacer Invicta. Edge trained and drove the 11 year old to win the 1961 New Zealand Trotting Cup. The morning Edge died, he had been busy on the farm with broodmares from the same family as Invicta. As his funeral service ended Dave Clarkson's commentary of the 1961 NZ Cup was played and, as the pall-bearers arrived at the hearse with the coffin, draped with a sheepskin, his racing colours and his battered old hat, Invicta crossed the finishing line.
Edge moved his family to their much-loved farm, Waikoko, in 1970. This property consisted of beautiful hills and valleys nestled between Little River and Kaituna on Banks Peninsula. One of his legacies there is a forestry block which he planted, thinned, pruned and sprayed almost single-handedly, on a rugged 25-hectare piece of hill-block unsuitable for other uses.
Edge overcame many serious illnesses and diseases over the years, but attempting to fight a fire on his farm proved too much for him. He managed to get the local fire brigade, back-up engines and other services called out, and they eventually controlled the blaze, but they arrived too late to save him.
A colourful and vibrant character, he died as he had lived, with action all around him, on the farm that he cherished.
Stephen Desmond Edge, born Gore, July 2, 1931, died Waikoko, December 21, 2007. Survived by wife Kathleen, daughter Lesley, sons David and Murray and four grandchildren.
Credit: NZHRWeekly: 9Jan2008
YEAR: 2007
PEOPLE
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Doris, who had been in private care in recent years with failing sight, would have been 95 next month, but she is survived by husband of 70-odd years Don, 97, and sons Barry 70 and Denis 68. Barry's son Grant has a young daughter, but whether the Nyhan name in harness racing continues beyond the sons and daughters of Barry and Denis remains to be seen. Grant drove a bit in his younger days but is no longer actively involved in the game, while Kim is a licenceholder at Motukarara and has the maiden Spiderman racing at the moment, and Margot is well established as a trainer with partner Peter Davis, but has no children.
Whatever the future holds in that respect, the Nyhans will be forever associated with two of the greatest names to have graced the sport - Johnny Globe and Lordship. As per usual, luck played a large part in the purchase of the first, but Doris owned Lordship after borrowing the U Scott mare Ladyship from the Haslett family and breeding her to Johnny Globe, at a time when the champion pacer was hardly getting a mare in his initial years at stud.
Johnny Globe would be leading sire in NZ for four consecutive years in the early 70s however, and Lordship would continue in the same vein and make the Nyhans' Globe Lodge at Templeton an influential and successful nursery for over three decades and through the 90s. Denis drove Lordship to win 45 races including two NZ Cups before becoming a successful trainer in his own right, with another champion Robalan among others, while Barry managed Globe Lodge for much of Lordship's many years at stud.
Doris was born in Petone to German immigrants, George and Louise Hublitz. "George managed the Gear (freezing) Works at Petone, and I'd say that's where Doris got much of her business acumen from," said Denis. "She was a very well-organised and strong-willed person, and provided the structure to the partnership, which allowed Dad to concentrate on being a horseman without worrying about the peripheral concerns. She provided the backbone of the family and the whole show - she was a quiet achiever while us fellows got the limelight. Behind the scenes she could work with horses as easily as she could give us orders. When it came to raising us, fair to say she was a very no nonsense mother, but she was also very fair," he added.
Don was the son of trainer Dan Nyhan, who won the 1909 Auckland Cup with his own horse Havoc and drove the 1913 winner Jewel Chimes. As a young man Don was working hard to get ahead at Ashurst in the Manawatu in the 1930s when he met Doris and married her in 1936. They soon had two sons, and to 'make ends meet' as a horse trainer Don would get up at 1.30am and do a milk run around Lower Hutt before training the horses at Hutt Park. Doris had no experience with horses when they met, but would often also make the journey to Hutt Park, which would involve her driving the horses over a narrow bridge 'with no sides'.
Their first big break came when Pahiatua breeder F E Ward gave Nyhan a horse to train called Gold Flight. He was a son of Rey de Oro and Slapfast, a mare who had taken a yearling record in America of 2.22 1/4 in 1925 and had been imported soon after by Sir John McKenzie. Slapfast never grew and proved of little account however, and McKenzie sold her for a princely 12 guineas and she wound up with Ward, who had a bad back and needed a driving horse to get around as opposed to a motor vehicle.
After having some success with Slapfast at shows, and given her imported pedigree, Ward was encouraged to breed her to the successful sire Rey de Oro, who had moved to a Central Districts stud in his twilight years. "Gold Flight was a really good, fine looking horse and won around £3000 which was a lot of money during the war years," recalls Denis. Long-time NZ Trotting Calendar editor Karl Scott had been the agent in selling Slapfast to Ward, and subsequently held the little-known sire Sandydale on lease for a season at stud. After persuading Ward to send his mare to Sandydale, Slapfast produced a filly Sandfast which showed Nyhan a promising mile in 2.10 as as 2-year-old in 1942.
Nyhan decided she was worth putting aside to strengthen, but she got out of her paddock and into a nearby swamp, and was discovered buried in a bog up to her neck. After enlisting the help of some boys to get a rope around Sandfast she was saved, but she was never the same after the strain, and she was retired after one unforgettable race. Sandfast first had a colt by the Jack Potts horse Conflagrate, but she killed that one, before producing a colt by the supremely tough Globe Derby horse Logan Derby, who had also moved into the area to stand at stud not long after retiring from a long and grand racing career.
When Ward's wife passed away and he decided to return to his homeland of England, he offered the Logan Derby-Sandfast colt to the Nyhans. Don was not at all impressed with the pot-bellied and worm ridden weanling though, and also in the back of his mind was a desire to move his family to a new property in Canterbury. Out of sentimentality spurred by Gold Flight, Doris decided to hand over £50 she had been saving towards a fur coat, or "so the story goes, according to Don".
Intending to build the colt up with a view to selling and recouping the outlay, Don had a change of heart when he broke the colt in at 10 months and he showed him a half mile in a remarkable 66. The Nyhans had moved to Templeton by the time Johnny Globe won the 1950 Timaru Nursery 2YO Stakes, and the rest as they say is history. While troubled by his feet for much of his career, the legacy of standing around in swampy ground as a foal, Johnny Globe careered away with the NZ and Great Northern Derbys and almost tore off the NZ Cup the next season, at a time when only two other 4-year-olds had even attempted the race, some three decades prior. Johnny Globe was the leading stakewinner that season though with 8 wins and over £9000, and the stake for his close second to Van Dieman in the £7500 Cup alone was more than enough to build a good house.
Starting a hot favourite for the Cup the next year, Johnny Globe collapsed soon after the start and almost died, while the next year he was a certainty beaten when second to Adorian after losing 60 yards in an early skirmish. Having his fourth attempt as a 7-year-old in 1954, little 'Johnny' was given little chance from 48 yards with the likes of the brilliant Rupee off the front, but he would not be denied this day and returned to scenes never before or since witnessed at Addington. At the time wrote 'Ribbonwood' ..."World record pacing figures of 4.07 3/5 were returned by the indomitable dynamo of character and courage, Johnny Globe, in wrestling NZ Cup honours from Young Charles and Rupee after the most scorching and thrilling stayers' epic in harness racing the world over. And his trainer/driver, D G Nyhan, richly deserved all the compliments and congratulations showered upon him. Nyhan had come in for some trenchant criticism of his driving of Johnny Globe in some of his past races. Whether it was all merited is of no moment now. On Tuesday, Don's handling of 'Johnny' was in every sense a masterpiece: the perfect understanding and harmony between horse and driver was an inspiration."
Johnny Globe would retire as a 9-year-old as the winner of 34 races (including a record 15 FFAs) from 99 starts and £42,887, a record for a standardbred or thoroughbred raced solely in NZ. He was officially farewelled at Addington in December, 1956, when a huge crowd emotionally cheered and sang as a band played 'When Johnny Comes Marching Home'.
And as if one champion in a lifetime was not enough, not long after he sired another for the Nyhans in Lordship, who through the 60s would win two NZ Cups and rewrite many of his sire's records, including stakemoney and FFA races won. "Johnny Globe was not a very fashionably bred horse at the time - he suffered the prejudice against 'colonial-breds' even though his grandam was imported. He got four mares in his first season and sired (top 2YO and aged trotter) Au Fait and half a dozen mares in his second. But after siring Lordship and then when Adios came along, he started to earn some respect."
Sandydale was by Abbedale, the sire of Hal Dale, in turn the sire of Adios and grandsire of Meadow Skipper, while Logan Derby was by Globe Derby from a Logan Pointer mare and would sire other great pacers and trotters in spite of suffering similar prejudices at stud both here and in Australia. "He was really a horse born ahead of his time, and then you threw a U Scott mare into the picture to get Lordship, and it didn't really get any better. That's when horses were horses - I don't care what people say about the breed today."
Nyhan also recalls how easy it would have been for his Mother to sell Lordship to Australia "for colossal money" after he'd won his first race - the Welcome Stakes. There was a Captain Taylor buying up every good horse going at the time and he offered £6000, which would have been enough to buy the biggest and flashest house in Christchurch. Later there were lots of offers to go to Australia and America for that matter, but Lordship never left the country, because of her the best interests of the horse and the family came first."
Credit: Frank Marrion writing in HRWeekly 11Jul07
YEAR: 2007
PEOPLE
Russell Carter was 84 when he died last week.
An enthusiastic trainer/driver from his Springston farm, Carter's pride and joy was Miss Pert, a mare by Waratah he won nine races with. The biggest was the 1979 New Brighton Cup when she defeated Main Star and Timely Robin.
He drove her in all her wins, and her Inter-Dominion Heat second to Wee Win, but was not in the sulky for her Grand Final third to Rondel and Sapling, giving it instead to Jack Carmichael.
Earlier, he won eight races with Our Smokey, a son of Smokey Hanover who started with Felix Newfield but won his races for Carter. He drove Peterson's Pride to win her first two races for Trevor Mounce, and won two races with the ill-fated Sooties Delight, a Stand Together grand-daughter of Miss Pert's trained for him by Murray Edmonds.
Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 9May07
YEAR: 2007
PEOPLE
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It is his extensive contributions to the community, by way of both charity and time and in very much a hands on manner, along with his gentlemanly and principled conduct generally over many years that have won the most praise and admiration. Either aspect of McKenzie's life provide for ample material to fill a book, and in fact they have, but this is a harness racing publication so in this instance we will just reflect on his contributions and influence in that sphere.
McKenzie was still a young man in his early thirties when he effectively took over Roydon Lodge with the passing of his father in 1955. The original Roydon Lodge was established as a standardbred nursery in 1928 and following the importation of Light Brigade and U Scott for racing and breeding purposes during the depression years, it grew to become the longest running and most successful standardbred stud farm outside of Walnut Hall in America. Roydon Lodge will be celebrating its 80th anniversary next year, and while Sir Roy had scaled back his involvement in more recent years and left day-to-day operations to son-in-law Keith Gibson, he could reflect on over half a century of history at the helm.
The ill-fated Captain Adios was the first sire imported by McKenzie in 1956 and the likes of Scottish Hanover and Thurber Frost would soon follow and be joined by U Scott's son Scottish Command as successful sires at Roydon Lodge. In 1978 and the year of Roydon Lodge's 50th anniversary, Scottish Command was leading sire over Scottish Hanover with his progeny headed by NZ Cup winner Sole Command, and when Adio Star was judged the 10th Broodmare of the Year, she was the eighth by a Roydon Lodge sire. Others would follow such as Desilu and Black Watch and the influence of Roydon Lodge imports, with Light Brigade and U Scott in particular, is simply inestimable.
Game Pride and Smooth Fella kept Roydon Lodge very much to the fore during the 80s and more recently, Sundon has been McKenzie's crowning glory. Just recently he was named NZ Stallion of the Year for the third time in the last five seasons. Sundon came to be after McKenzie had gone looking for mares to breed to his world champion Arndon (3,TT1.54), a son of Arnie Almahurst and the Super Bowl mare Roydon Gal that he had bred and raced in America with Del Miller. Arndon fell from favour at stud during the Speedy Crown 'onslaught', but he did sire another world champion and significant siring son in Pine Chip (4,TT1.51).
Sungait Song actually came with a colt foal at foot by Arndon and back in foal to him - she was carrying Sundon at that point - and McKenzie bred her back again before sending the package to NZ in 1987. The foals on either side of Sundon were Arnsong (t,8NZ wins) and Roydon Arnie(t,9NZ wins). Despite being a late foal, Sundon was a horse 'born ahead of his time' from the moment he stepped on a racetrack as a January 4 2-year-old, still two months shy of his second birthday. He would not be beaten in 14 races over the next 14 months, and win 18 of his 19 starts, and he would also single-handedly advance trotting breeding in NZ by 'quantum leaps'.
Arania, a daughter of U Scott and the second foal bred by Roydon Lodge from the Gold Bar mare Local Gold in 1956, was a grand racemare in NZ and in the early 60s she was among those to 'blaze a trail' when she accompanied False Step and the Australian champion Apmat to America for the 1961 International Series in New York. Later that year under Billy Haughton's guidance, Arania time trialled at The Red Mile in 1.57 to become the fourth fastest female ever and only a tick behind Her Ladyship, Dottie's Pick and trotter Rosalind. Arania won a NZ Oaks and would produce an Oaks winner in Hurrania, and the family would lead to the likes of the Christian Cullen-Personality Plus colt which sold for $200,000 at this year's sales, while Roydon Dream, a mare who descended from one of Roydon Lodge's foundation broodmares in Parisienne, would be a Broodmare of the Year. Acquired as a broodmare in 1945 on the advice of George Noble, Parisienne would for Roydon Lodge produce the likes of Mary Wootton (dam of Scottish Command) and the top mare La Mignon, a daughter of Light Brigade who to Thurber Frost produced the brilliant Garcon Roux, the first 3-year-old to break 2:00 in Australasia when he time trialled at Hutt Park in 1:59.6 in 1969. Garcon Roux was the winner of the inaugural Horse of the Year Award as a 3-year-old, and daughters of Thurber Frost in Bonnie Frost (as a 3-year-old) and Stella Frost would be next in line and followed by his son Wag in 1973.
Roydon Dream's eight winners included open class pacer Roydon Scott and Roydon Glen, a Horse of the Year as a 4-year-old in a season when he was unbeaten in 12 races for trainer-driver Fred Fletcher including the Auckland Cup and Messenger. The would also be the source of McKenzie's biggest disappointments in the game when they failed to win a NZ Cup after countless earlier attempts. For Roydon Lodge these dated back to Great Bingen, who was second way back in 1925 and who was quite clearly the winner in 1928, only to be placed second by the judge behind his brother Peter Bingen.
Roydon Scott was the pre post favourite in 1979 and 1980, but went amiss on each occasion, while Roydon Glen started the favourite in 1985 along with Preux Chevalier and was plain unlucky and a certainty beaten behind Borana. Preux Chevalier, like Roydon Dream by Lumber Dream, was from the Roydon Lodge mare Heather Frost, a daughter of Thurber Frost also tracing to Parisienne.
Roydon Glen would prove an abject failure at stud, but he did sire NZ's greatest trotter Lyell Creek. Those NZ Cup disappointments would rival the biggest in the game for McKenzie along with the demise of harness racing at Hutt Park, for which he donated Roydon Glen's Auckland Cup winning stake in order to glass in the public grandstand. Such generosity was no stranger to Sir Roy McKenzie.
The McKenzie family originally came from Ullapool on the north-west coast of Scotland and John Robert was born in Melbourne in August, 1876. As one of seven children life was not easy, and he left school at the age of 13 to do odd jobs which included newspaper deliveries. This led to buying a bicycle and later cycle racing where he won several trophies. McKenzie also encountered horses on a small farm of an uncle and this experience was put to good use when the Boer War broke out in 1899 and where he served for two years with the Victorian Bushmen's Regiment. In those days enlisted men were required to take their own horses and after securing one from his uncle, his experiences in South Africa deepened his love for them. On one occasion he was unseated when his horse took fright at gunfire, but the horse returned to be remounted and carried McKenzie to safety. Later his horse was killed and McKenzie was invalided home with a leg injury in 1901.
While convalescing McKenzie worked at times in a store and this led to plans to start up his own shop. In 1905, along with his 16-year-old sister Ella, they had saved £100 and opened up their own fancy-goods store in Collingwood, and within 12 months they had started a second in Richmond. In 1908 their main competitor, Edmonds Ltd, offered to buy them out which included an agreement to take possession in one month. McKenzie immediately organised an extensive closing down sale and before long they were virtually buying stock at the back door to sell at the front. A further offer from Edmonds to close within the week was declined.
Another condition of the sale however was that McKenzie was not allowed to set up the same line of business around Melbourne, and after setting up stores in Tasmania and Sydney, a decision was reached in 1909 to move to NZ after a tour using motor cycles. At the time there were no such things as fancy-goods stores in NZ and in 1910 the first of what became a chain opened in Dunedin. Before long a Head Office was required in Wellington and in 1918, the 42-year-old McKenzie married Miss Ann May Wrigley and they settled in Rawhiti Terrace. Their first son Don was born in 1920 and Roy followed 18 months later.
The 1920s were hectic years for 'JR', as he became affectionately known by friends and colleagues, and after observing a department store while on an overseas trip, within two years his 22 fancy goods stores had been closed down and 22 department stores had opened. During the 30s it was the largest organisation of its kind in NZ and in 1936 McKenzies (NZ) Ltd became a public company with further expansion taking place to 33 stores until the outbreak of the war.
1941 marked the year however when Don, having gained his 'wings' as a pilot in the Royal NZ Air Force, was lost over the sea near Marlborough only days before being posted. JR searched the area for days in vain and it was many weeks before he took an interest in anything. It was only after considerable effort from his wife, George Noble and Rotarian friends that he started working with horses again and he gradually recovered. He would gain great satisfaction from breaking in his youngsters and handing them over to Noble to be trained as 2-year-olds.
It had been in the early 20s when McKenzie had first taken up an interest in standardbreds and the second horse he purchased for good money was a young colt by the name of Great Bingen, a son of Nelson Bingen and the imported Peter The Great mare Berthabell who had been bred at Akaroa by Etienne Le Lievre. Great Bingen, raced with good friend Dan Glaville, became a champion and by 1926 McKenzie had purchased 100 acres with an old homestead at Yaldhurst and would name it Roydon Lodge after his sons. It was in 1928 when McKenzie moved his family to just outside Christchurch.
With the stores already well established and with a view to semi retirement, McKenzie planned to breed on a large scale and handle his own youngsters as a way of relaxing. During the 1930s and while on two business trips to America, JR purchased a few mares which included Airflow and Spangled Maiden and two young colts which were to prove two of the most influential sires at stud in Australasia ever - Light Brigade and U Scott. Airflow was a fine trotting mare and won nine races and she was the dam of top performers Aerial Scott (1948 Inter-Dominion in Auckland), Flight Commander, Highland Air (1957 Auckland Cup), Red Emperor and Slipstream (14 wins), but she only left one filly to breed on and the family died out in NZ, while Spangled Maiden proved the grandam of great Australian filly Argent and Inter-Dominion winner (for Sir Roy) Jar Ar and established a fine family all round.
Esprit, Slapfast and Widow Volo were other mares imported in those early years who contributed towards making Roydon Lodge the foremost standardbred nursery in this part of the world. And these were just some of the standardbred legacies which Sir John left to his son, with a Trust which was established in 1940 and which enabled one third of the dividends from McKenzies (NZ) Ltd to be distributed to various charities just another.
Sir Roy had casual acquaintances with the family horses while growing up and at school at Timaru Boys High, but in 1941 any of those interests went on the back burner when he went to Otago University to study accounting. There he played cricket and rugby and developed a love of tramping and skiing, which led to captaining the NZ team to the Winter Olympics in Oslo in 1952, although a broken bone kept him from competing, along with a successful ascent of the Matterhorn. He also enjoyed photography and playing tennis and the tramping led to a close involvement with the Outward Bound Trust as a patron. Over the years he was an active Rotarian and also gave significant support to many other charities, including Women's Refuge, Birthright, the Deaf Decade Trust, the hospice movement and the Nga Manu Native Reserve Trust. He was instrumental in setting up NZ's first hospice with Te Omanga in Lower Hutt, where he was later admitted as a patient.
In 1989 he was knighted for his services to the community and education, and was made a member of the NZ Order of Merit, while he held an Honorary Doctorate of Commerce from Victoria University and of Literature from Massey. In 1990, Sir Roy initiated Philanthrophy NZ, a regular meeting for a wide range of charitable groups. He was passionate about philanthrophy, but preferred to be as a "community volunteer".
McKenzie was in training with the army when his brother was lost late in 1941, and later he transferred to the Air Force and did training in Canada before going on to England to serve in a Bomber Command squadron for the last six months of the war. Upon returning from England, McKenzie completed his accounting studies and in 1948 he joined the family firm. Within a few months he was then reluctantly on his way back to England however to gain further work experience, and while on the ship he met Shirley Howard and they married six months later. Returning to NZ at the end of 1949, McKenzie worked at the company's head office in Wellington as Executive Director for the next 20 years.
His first horse had actually been Scottish Air, a daughter of U Scott and the first foal from Airflow who won five races in a row at one point. However, this was when Sir Roy was 'underage' and she was not in his name. George Noble had been appointed by Sir John as his private trainer and the studmaster at Roydon Lodge in 1941. It was no doubt one of his best decisions and Noble would guide the overall operation until 1969. Noble had come fron NSW where he had trained to be an architect, but when work proved difficult to find during the Depression, he had turned his attention back to horses and become the leading horseman in the state. McKenzie, knighted in 1949, had selected Noble after recognising his ability with the anvil. With the blood of Light Brigade and U Scott and those imported mares to work on, Noble had Sir John at the head of the owners' list on three occasions and following his death at the age of 79 in 1955 after taking ill while on a voyage to England, Sir Roy was the leading owner for seven consecutive years.
From the early 50s and into the 60s, Noble built up a stable which included top performers in Adioway, Arania, Bonheur, Commander Scott, Flight Commander, Garcon D'Or, Garcon Roux, General Frost, Golden Hero, Highland Air, Highland Kilt, Jay Ar, La Mignon, Red Emperor, Royal Minstrel, Roydon Roux, Samantha, Scotch Paree, Slipstream and Valencia. When Roydon Lodge was moved to 150 acres at Templeton in 1970, Fred Fletcher also took over the training after earlier being in charge of the studmaster duties. It was during the 60s that Roydon Lodge suffered some crippling blows. The first of these was the loss of Captain Adios after only three seasons at stud, while U Scott and Light Brigade soon followed in 1962 and 1964 respectively as did Thurber Frost in 1968 at the age of 14.
Noble also reached the compulsory retirement age of 65 as a driver, and those duties were assumed by Doug Mangos and Noble's son John. Noble had driven 1944 NZ Cup winner Bronze Eagle for trainer Roy Berry and continued to train a small team at Yalhurst in his twilight years during the 70s. His career was capped by preparing the 4-year-old Stanley Rio to win the 1976 NZ Cup and later at the meeting, Rustic Zephyr to win the NZ Derby, both driven by John. Rustic Zephyr was by Armbro Hurricane, one of the sires at Roydon Lodge in the early years at Templeton along with Scottish Hanover, Tarport Coulter and Keystone Way. Stanley Rio also won the Inter-Dominion in Brisbane that season and Noble won the NZ Racing Personality of the Year Award.
In 1947, a visitor to the Wellington office had made a good impression on McKenzie and he would play a leading role in his future involvement with standardbreds in the city and the region. McKenzie would set up his own training facilities near Hutt Park within a couple of years upon returning and Jack Hunter would oversee the operation. As a young man in his late 20s, McKenzie was not inclined to listen to the advice of his father and his first standardbred purchase was a horse called Rocky Reef. A brother to top trotter Barrier Reef, Rocky Reef was a pacer with a known problem for knee knocking, but McKenzie and Hunter set him for a race on the big grass track at Wanganui and he prevailed by a neck, and won two more races as a trotter before being sold to Australia. Roaming was another early winner for the partnership with a double on the same day at Awapuni, when later found to be quite heavily in foal.
The association led to Hunter training full time from a 30 acre property at Moonshine in Upper Hutt, from where he won the Trainers' Premiership in 1964 with 31 wins, while three years later he won the title again with 33 wins while training in partnership with son Charlie. Jack had been assisted in this time by sons Charlie, Kevin and Ian. Charlie was the oldest and after experience as an accountant in a textile firm and undertaking an engineering course in Australia, he had decided in 1958 to rejoin his father in Upper Hutt and work with horses full-time. In 1967 and in the same season where they won the premiership together, Jack and Charlie won nine of 17 races over a two day meeting at Wanganui, with Charlie driving eight including a record five on the second day. Jack had to retire that year with health problems and Charlie won the premiership on his own account the next season with 35 wins, when McKenzie's Golden Sands and Dominion Handicap winner French Pass were stable stars. The latter also won the National Trot in Auckland and the Taranaki Cup beating pacers from 18 yards.
George Noble won the premiership the next year, while in 1971 Charlie Hunter made the important decision to move to the more central location of Cambridge. Seven acres were leased near the Cambridge track while Hunter set up his own property so he could train professionally. It was during the early 70s that Hunter built up the Central Standardbred Agency with Brian Meale and was handed the training of a rising star from Southland - Young Quinn. Hunter would have to watch from the grandstand after an accident on the opening night of the 1974 Inter-Dominions at Alexandra Park, as protege John Langdon drove Young Quinn to triumph in the Pacing Final after earlier winning the Trotting Final with Sir Roy's Castleton's Pride. Young Quinn was by U Scott's fine son Young Charles and would make Hunter a star on the international stage in America.
Another top trotter trained by Hunter for Sir Roy was Geffin, who won the NZ Trotting Stakes and the 1971 Inter-Dominion at Addington when a 4-year-old. Geffin had gone into that series as a six-win horse and won two heats, while he won five straight races afterwards before unsoundness ended his all too short career. Hunter rates Geffin as easily the best trotter he has trained or driven.
The best horse trained by Jack for McKenzie was Scottish Command, who won 16 races including the 1959 Auckland Cup from 60 yards when driven by Ian. Jack Hunter took Scottich Command to America in 1962, but he only raced fairly before returning to stand at Roydon Lodge. McKenzie would be on hand most Saturdays at Upper Hutt to drive work, but the Hunters were surprised the day he informed them he had procured a licence to drive on raceday. It was Scottish Conmmand who would provide him with his first wins at Hutt Park when a 3-year-old. Driving was an important aspect of Sir Roy's involvement, particularly the trotters, and he would win about 50 races over the years. This pleasure was without ever affecting the chances of Hunter's sons or later his trainer Martin Lees, as McKenzie would usually buy his own horses to drive in his own colours of white with a cerise sash. Towards the end of being allowed to drive, Game Yank was a useful trotter for him with three wins, while his last win in March, 1988, came at Manawatu with Argentina, a son of Game Pride who had been purchased out of Owen Quinla's stable.
Charlie Hunter has very fond memories growing up with Sir Roy around. "He was a very special man. He was absolutely loyal to and supportive of this staff and gave people like myself and brother Ian every opportunity by having us do the stable driving right from the beginning - in effect we learned to drive on his horses," said Hunter. "Roy was initially my employer, but since then I have regarded him as a mentor over the years and was especially grateful to be able to regard him as a dear friend throughout my adult life. He was a lovely man who will be sadly missed," he added.
Sir Roy's last big win came as a part-owner when Fiery Falcon won the NZ Sires' Stakes 2yo Final at Addington in May, while his last outright win was with the Fred Fletcher-trained mare Dear Diedre at Addington in July.
FOOTNOTES: In 1998, Sir Roy published his memoirs in a book entitled Footprint - Harnessing an Inheritance into a Legacy. In 2004 a short film was made about his life called Giving It All Away. One of his three sons, John, is today the chairman of the J R McKenzie Trust.
-o0o-
Tony Williams writing in NZ Trotting Calendar 29Mar83
Roy McKenzie sits in his Rangitira Ltd offices in Wellington's James Cook Hotel building talking horses - or more particularly his Roydon Lodge Stud horses. Two weeks later, he is named Trotting Personality of the Year by the NZ Standardbred Breeders' Association at their prestigious Dinner of the Year in Auckland. The following week, the NZ Trotting Hall of Fame chips in with its Trotting Celebrity of the Year Award. For the man who has guided the destiny of one of NZ's premier standardbred nurseries since the death of the stud's founder - Roy's father Sir John in 1955 - such awards are recognition of the contribution he has made to harness racing in this country.
Such is Roy's involvement and commitment to trotting, he actually took the time out to write and publish, in 1978, his tribute to all his father set out to achieve. That book - "The Roydon Heritage-50 Years of Breeding and Harness Racing" - was written to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the founding of Roydon Lodge Stud, then based at Yaldhurst. Now, because of Roy's decision that to operate successfully the stud had to stand four stallions, and to do that needed more ground, Roydon Lodge occupies 150 acres at Templeton, with a further 150 acres at Springston where the stud mares are grazed.
The past few years have been satisfying ones for Roy - last year his American-bred trotter Arndon, under the guidance of long time friend Del Miller, became the world's fastest ever with a 1:54 time trial at Lexington. He has seen Smooth Fella, a stallion he imported in partnership with Central Standardbred Agency directors Brian Meale and Charlie Hunter, quickly rise to a prominent place among the country's stud horses. And he has retired another outstanding stallion, Scottish Hanover, knowing that he was another Roydon Lodge stallion to make an everlasting mark on the NZ breeding scene.
Roydon Lodge is a name which has long been synonymous with success on the NZ breeding scene. A roll call of stallions reflects the influence it has had. Names like Great Bingen, the first stallion to stand in the stud's name, U Scott, Light Brigade, Captain Adios, Thurber Frost, Scottish Command, Scottish Hanover, Armbro Hurricane, Game Pride and Smooth Fella, to name but a few. Their past and present influence on NZ breeding has been, and will continue to be, felt for generations.
But even with sires like this gracing the record books at Roydon Lodge, even now, Roy McKenzie is heading the stud on a slightly different tack. Rather than try and import ready made stallions for stud - "It's getting too dear over there" - Roy's latest thinking represents a change of policy for Roydon Lodge. Now, he is setting out on the time consuming - though obviously more satisfying - policy of spending more time in making horses he believes to be stallion prospects. Evidence of this line of thinking can be found at Roydon Lodge already, where, alongside established stallions Smooth Fella and Game Pride, stand the horses of the future. They are Roydon Albatross, a son of Albatross from the Adios Butler mare Poppy Butler, and Yankee Reb. Roy purchased Poppy Butler in foal to Albatross from Del Miller and the resultant foal in NZ was Roydon Albatross. Roydon Albatross did not start racing in NZ until relatively late in his 3-year-old career because he was a very late foal by NZ standards, being foaled to American time, yet won three out of four starts after failing first time up. At four, he raced only nine times for two more wins, including a Nelson Cup in track record time of 4:16, for 3200 metres on the grass, and two placings.
Roy hopes Yankee Reb will be the eventual successor to Game Pride, the leading sire of trotters in NZ for the past two seasons and heading for his third season in that position. Yankee Reb is by the Speedy Scot stallion Speedy Crown (1:57.2) out of Brazen Yankee, a mare by Hickory Pride out of Hoot Yankee. Hickory Pride is by Star's Pride while Hoot Yankee is by Hoot Mon. Rich in trotting blood, Yankee Reb represents Roy's interest in the breed, an interest enflamed even further by the preformances of Arndon, whom Roy bred himself.
Another Roydon Lodge stallion, Meddlesome (Bret Hanover-Medley Hanover), is to stand at Tony Milina's property for the next two seasons after two terms in Central Otago, while at Mangaroa in the Hutt Valley, where Martin Lees looks after the Roydon Lodge training establishment there, Dreamover (Scottish Hanover-Roydon Dream), a brother to the brilliant but ill-fated racehorse Roydon Scott, is to stand the coming season. Dreamover was originally destined for sale to America, but developed a couple of problems when being trained by Ian Hunter at Morrinsville prior to his departure. "We decided to bring him home then, and, though he may race again, there is enough support around here for him to get 20 mares," Roy said.
Alongside Dreamover at Mangaroa will be the trotting stallion Game Shooter, who up until now has stood in the Manawatu. Game Shooter (Game Pride-Shooting High, by Sharpshooter, by Worthy Boy) received limited patronage in the Manawatu, but, according to Roy, has left some magnificent foals. "Those that have his foals are delighted with them, so he should get around 20 mares," he said. A smart racehorse himself, Game Shooter won six races against some useful trotters.
While it is unlikely Roy McKenzie will be buying stallion prospects in the United States on any scale in the future, this does not mean the end of imported stallions at Roydon Lodge, for in recent years he has been steadily expanding his breeding interests in the United States. "You are looking at paying a lot of money to import a top stallion now, and $200,000 is about the most you can contemplate paying these days with the stud fees that can be charged. Therefore, we now have a situation where we will be trying to make our stallions rather than buy them ready made." Such a policy, Roy admits, is assisted by having a stallion like Smooth Fella in the barn, but it is one he would have been pursuing even without that advantage. "Having an in demand stallion like Smooth Fella has helped to the extent that he can 'support' the other stallions," Roy said. "Even so, Roydon Lodge is run at a profit - we paid a bit of tax this year - and this is the way the operation is geared to run, with or without Smooth Fella."
Smooth Fella is to stand two more seasons at Roydon Lodge before returning to the North Island, where he stood his first season at stud. "He will probably go back to Peter McMillan at Yankee Lodge, Matamata," Roy said. "He has been in such demand - though we have kept him to around 120 mares - that we have had to restrict a little the number of mares we could take to the other stallions. This summer was a particularly dry one, of course, which made it a little more difficult."
Roy McKenzie takes a great delight in all aspects of trotting and later that night, at Wellington's Hutt Park, took the reins behind Milford Merroney, a trotter trained for him by Martin Lees. "Yes, I like driving, but don't get many opportunities." One such opportunity he grabbed with both hands was to win a race at Morrinsville that carried a $50 trophy. That trophy was donated by veteran Auckland horseman George Stubbs in 1972 "to help the battler" in trotting. While Roy McKenzie could hardly be described a battler in just about any other form of endeavour, he later wrote to George Stubbs explaining that the trophy meant a lot to him, as he considered himself to be a battler as far as driving goes.
It took Roy McKenzie 177 pages in his book to detail the history of Roydon Lodge and the stud's achievments. Those two recent awards are payment in small part for the part Roy has had in filling those 177 pages.
Credit: Frank Marrion writing in HRWeekly 12Sep07
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