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RACING HISTORY

PEOPLE

BILL LOCHHEAD

Bill Lochhead, a well-known breeder, owner-trainer in Mid-Canterbury, died in November, aged 83. After standing the American-bred horse Sonoma Harvester, who left some capable trotters, he had a partiality for the trotting horse and was recognised as an expert farrier.

Lochhead bred and developed the 1947 Dominion Handicap winner, Hidden Note from a mare by Sonoma Harvester, but it was the purchase of Cloudy Horizon as a 2-year-old filly in Southland that provided him with a host of winners over the years.

From Cloudy Horizon he bred, raced and trained Supervise (NZ Trotting Free-for-all winner), while other fine winners he bred and raced were Harvest Note, Lightning Note, Scottish Note, Betty Thorpe, Erin's Lad, Super View, Super Glow, Cloudy View, Dollarwise, Be Wise, Lord Zetland and his last winner, Wise Game, who won four.

His three sons, Noel, 'Kiwi' Keith, president of the New Brighton Club, and Ian, a committeeman of the Ashburton Trotting Club who has also enjoyed success as an owner-trainer of the Cloudy Horizon breed have all followed in their father's footsteps with interests in trotting.

Credit: NZ Trotting Calendar 1886

PEOPLE

Bill Bagrie & Orbiter

BILL BAGRIE

During the 1950s the Ohoka amateur trainer/driver Bill Bagrie and his wife, Elaine were farming in Southland. But after Bill suffered a haemorrhage he was told by his doctor he should give up farming and find a less physically exhausting job. Both Bill and Elaine came from farming families so when an alternative lifestyle had to be chosen it was difficult to know where to look so they decided to head north for Christchurch to see what life there had to offer.

Bill had an interest in harness racing and he had decided to buy a broodmare and begin breeding racing stock. So one of the first things he did when the family arrived in Christchurch was to attend a dispersal sale where he outlaid the considerable sum (in those days) of 450 guineas for the Dillon Hall-Tondeleyo mare Margaret Hall, a fine racemare who had won six races and was already the dam of the outstanding racemare, Rowan Star (now better known as the dam of the Australian pacer and now successful sire, Garry Rowan), and another winner in Rosslyn Rowan. Margaret Hall was in foal to U Scott but the foal was born dead. She was sent back to U Scott, the sire of her earlier winners, and in 1958 she foaled a filly whom Bill and Elaine called Kinsella.

At this time parking was just becoming a marketable commodity in Christchurch and so soon after Bill and Elaine arrived in the city they bought a parking centre - one of the first in Christchurch - close to Cathedral Square in the central city. They ran the centre - now known as the Avon Parking and Service Station Ltd - for five or six years before buying another central city business, Bennetts Shoe Store.

When it came time to begin working Kinsella, Bill leased facilities from Alan McKenzie in Harewood Road. Kinsella was the first horse Bill ever trained or drove, but she proved an outstanding introduction to harness racing, winning seven races and Bill drove her in all of them. Kinsella had given the Bagrie family a taste of success in harness racing but Margaret Hall's next foal - her 1959 colt by U Scott called Orbiter - was to achieve even better things on the racetrack.

Orbiter won 17 races in NZ including the 1963 Kaikoura Cup, the 1964 New Brighton Cup, the 1964 Hannon Memorial, the 1965 Allan Matson Stakes, the 1965 M G Pezaro Memorial, the 1965 Champion Free-For-All and the Dunedin Festival Cup Final in 1966. He also recorded a best mile time of 1:58.8 when he won the Flying Mile Free-For-All by three and a half lengths at Cambridge in 1966. From only 52 race starts in this country he finished further back than fourth in only 11 races, an outstanding record of consistency, particularly when the many miles he travelled during campaigns outside Canterbury are considered. Although he won only two races in the 1964-65 season, as a 5-year-old, he recorded four important seconds that year, three of which were at the NZ Cup meeting. He ran second to Lordship in the National Handicap at Addington in August, second to Cairnbrae in the NZ Cup, second to Lordship again in the NZ Free-For-All, and again in the Allan Matson Stakes on the final night of the Cup meeting.

Because Orbiter was racing so well, it was only a matter of time before somebody made Bill and Elaine an offer they could not refuse for the gelding. Early in 1966 the inevitable happened and an offer of $US120,000 was made for Orbiter by Noel Simpson, on behalf of a small grup of Americans. The offer did prove irresistable and Orbiter had his last race in NZ at Forbury Park on February 5, 1966 when he won the Dunedin Festival Cup Final. His American buyers wanted the gelding to race in the rich International Series at Yonkers that year and he was to be trained by Del Insko.

The geldings new owners - keen to get the best out of their purchase - invited Bill to travel to the United States with Orbiter and Elaine joined him there later. They were given an all-expenses-paid holiday in New York to enable Bill to assist Del Insko to prepare Orbiter. But somehow things did not work out as planned. Insko had his own way of doing things and he did not appreciate advice from somebody else on how he should train his horses. To make matters worse, Orbiter contracted some sort of chill or virus soon after he arrived in New York and the morning of the big race he was in an oxygen tent - fluid streaming from his nose - and obviously a very sick horse. Elaine said that it had been "heart breaking" to see him in such a bad way and if he had been at home he would not have even been worked in such a condition let alone raced. But race he did and, needless to say, he was unable to show his true ability that day. However, a NZ bred pacer did win the $100,000 International that year. The Yonkers favourite Cardigan Bay proved much too good and won easily, five lengths clear at the finish in the near race record time of 3:04.4 for the mile. Bill and Elaine returned home to NZ dissappointed and disullusioned at the way things had gone on the trip.

Soon after their return, Bill decided that the rented facilities he was using to train from in Harewood Road were no longer sufficient for his needs, so he decided to invest some of his money from Orbiter's sale in land. He sold the shoe business and bought 133 acres on Smiths Road (now known as Bradleys Road), at Ohoka, near Rangiora. The property, which has since been increased to 260 acres in two blocks, was essentially a sheep and cropping farm but even 20 years ago it was considered to be only marginally financially feasible. So the first thing Bill did was diversify the property. A large chicken shed was built and a contract to supply chickens to General Foods was undertaken. This proved a great success and today the Bagrie family have a contract to supply 100,000 chickens annually.

About six years ago Bill decided to further diversify the farm and he bought 17 hinds in calf. They now run about 120 stags and 130 hinds on the property. The deer provide three sources of revenue - velvet, venison meat and live sales. Although all three can be lucrative, live sale had been the most profitable because of the demand and subsequent inflated prices. Farming the property has always been a family concern and never more so than now, for last April Bill suffered a brain haemorrhage from which he has still not fully recovered. While Bill is recuperating Elaine and their son Peter, have continued to run the farm. Their workload is simply an extension of what they were already doing before Bill's illness.

Bill had a small team of horses in work when he became ill and Peter, an amateur trainer/driver, has been able to work them for him in the meantime while Elaine has been taking care of the mares and foals. Peter has often driven his father's horses in the past and he enjoyed an outstanding run of success in 1978 with Bill's horse, Gentle George who died at stud in 1983. Gentle George, by Bachelor Hanover from the race-winning mare Orbette (a half sister by Hal Tryax to Kinsella and Orbiter), won eight races altogether but created a big impression when he won four races at the 1978 NZ Cup Meeting. The stallion won one race at each of the two day and two night meetings (a feat equalled by only two other horses, Cardigan Bay in 1963 and the trotter Tutira in 1969), surprising many people but nobody more than the Bagrie family. Cello Sydney Wilkes (1919) and Red Shadow (1933) also won four races each at the NZ Cup meeting but not one win on each day. "We thought he might run fourth on the first day," Elaine said. "Bill usually drove him but this time he told Peter he could." And so Peter ended up driving George in all four of the wins at the meeting.

Gentle George's win on Cup Day topped off what had already been an exciting day for the Bagrie family, for earlier on Trusty Scot had won the big prize, the NZ Cup. The stallion was trained, driven and part-owned by Bill and Elaine's son-in-law Henderson Hunter, who had only been training a short time and had prepared Trusty Scot for the Cup at his in-laws property at Ohoka. The run of luck continued for both Gentle George and Trusty Scot on the second day of the meeting when Gentle George won the Cashmere Handicap and Trusty Scot won the Benson and Hedges Free-For-All.

The Bagrie's are currently breeding from five broodmares - Kinsella, Kindalla, Patronette, Roshelle and Georgelle. Kinsella who is now 28 years old was bred with Niatrix last year but she did not get in foal. She was bred to him again this season and it is not known yet is she in foal but because of her age, hopes are not high. She has been a wonderful broodmare though and left a number of good winners including Morpheus, Dalestar, Halfield Star, Hallfield Dream and Trinity.

Peter said that while they were "farmers first and foremost," his interest in horses has taken him to the United States three times working for Charlie Hunter and Brian Meale. He worked in Califoria and Chicago - at Sportsman's Park and Hawthorne. His first trip to the States was in 1972. That was in the days when horses were shipped regularly by boat. "I went on the last boat load that went," Peter said. The idea of a relaxing cruise with only a few horses to look after had instant appeal. "They thought they were going to have a leisurely trip," Elaine said. But once the trip was underway, those thoughts were soon shattered.

The trip took 22 days and the weather was rough. "We were as sick as dogs," Peter explained. But their illness was not the main problem. The horses were stabled during the trip in lightweight boxes located up on the deck and one morning, during a particularly bad storm, the grooms were told that they were not able to go up on deck too feed the horses because it was too rough. The command could not have suited them better bcause they were feeling too ill to move anyway, but they were only spared a short time. Not long afterwards they were given an urgent call to get up on deck immediately. They had two horses loose. "A big wave had smashed the boxes and left the horses starting in a heap of kindling," Peter said. The First Mate made a quick alteration of course in an attempt to "level things out" so the frightened horses out on the deck were able to be caught and put into shared quarters with the other horses until the ship's carpenter had completed replacement boxes. "We were lucky we didn't lose any over the edge," Peter said. Fortunately the rest of the trip was less eventful and all arrived at their destination safe and sound.


Credit: Shelly Caldwell writing in NZ Trot Calendar 4Feb86

INTERDOMINIONS

BRISBANE - VILLAGE KID
Like Preux Chevalier, bred in New Zealand, Village Kid equalled his feat of going unbeaten through all four nights of the 1986 Brisbane Inter Dominions. He was the eighth pacer to do this, while his 30-year-old pilot Chris Lewis became the fifth reinsman to win two pacing grand finals having reined Carclew to victory in 1976.

HORSES

TUFT

Veteran sire Tuft, who made a tremendous impact on the NZ breeding scene during his 20 years at stud in this country, died recently at Weedons.

The top trotting sire in NZ on six consecutive occasions from 1974/75 to 1979/80, Tuft was 24 at the time of his death, which according to Karehana Stud proprietor Dennis Moore , occurred because of "old age".

By the outstanding trotter and sire of trotting sires, Star's Pride out of the Dean Hanover mare, Tassel Hanover, Tuft has sired 225 winners to date, including the top trotter Tuteena (1:59.8). In all, he sired 14 in 2:00, the other 13 being pacers and including the good dual gaited winner Hoquard (1:59.8), Miracle Mile winner The Scotsman (1:56), My Melody Queen (1:56.8), Memphis (1:54.8), Doctor Voss (1:58.2), Mighty Tuft (1:57.8)and Pinkafled (1:59). His broodmares have produced the 2:00 performers Alba Wings (1:58.6, Queensland Derby) and Stardell Lad (1:57.8).

But it was as a sire of trotters that Tuft really made his mark, and with some small crops tp represent him during his last ten years at stud. His best performer currently racing is the champion mare Tussle, winner of the 1985 Rowe Cup and with $184,000 in stakes the greatest stake winning trotting mare raced solely in New Zealand and Australia.

His other top winner include Rowe Cup winner Framalda, Trotting Stakes winners Black Miller and Edis Nova, Inter-Dominion Grand Final winner Castleton's Pride, Now, Spartan Prince, Ilsa Voss, Tough Girl, Mighty Lee, Mister Square and Marsha Donna.

Tuft was imported to NZ by Mr Dudley Moore of Templeton, who shared in the ownership of the great little champion pacer Caduceus.

Credit: NZ Trotting Calendar 22Apr86

HORSES

ATOMIC LASS - Mystery Mare

Nobody would have been ready to put the knock on Atomic Lass as her breeding career unfolded but it would have been a lot harder to predict she would produce a horse like Auckland Reactor.

Atomic Lass was then 18years old, had missed the two previous years and had already had 10 foals, some smart, some useful but none memorable. One of her early ones, Taupo Tiger, had won a couple for Mark Purdon but was moderate in Australia. Waitaki Warrior followed a similar path winning the Bankstown Guineas. Taihape Tickler was another who showed good form early on(6th Great Northern Derby) and ran in some good races in Australia though ending his days in claimers in Perth.

Matuki took a 1:53.2 time in the US which was pretty much run of the mill. A dose of Direct Scooter through Mach Three seemed to transform the situation and whatever the odds being against Atomic Lass she produced a $1.9m record smashing superstar.

Credit: David McCarthy writing in Harnessed June 2016

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

Master Mood, Frank & Stephen Wong & the Williams family.

1986 TOYOTA NZ TROTTING CUP

A chance meeting in a Dunedin fruit shop 12 years ago came to an unbelievable conclusion when Master Mood romped away with the $275,000 Toyota NZ Cup. For it was there the Wong family first met the Williams family and sparked an association which led to their partnership in the pocket battleship from Pebbleton.

After seizing the initiative with a courageous front-running drive and streeting his Cup rivals, part-owner and trainer Kevin Williams told the NZHRW about the random rendezvous back in 1974.

"Dad (former trainer Laurie Williams) was campaigning a mare called Lily Chase down in Dunedin, and went into a fruit shop to buy some carrots for her. He got talking to the guy behind the counter, who was keen on harness racing and wanted to find out what horse he had. He said he'd always wanted to race a horse of his own and it went from there." The man behind the counter was Frank Wong, and the merger between the two families was born.

From humble beginnings - Kevin Williams and Frank Wong won a race with a smart pacer called Avenge later that year before unsoundness claimed his promising career - the partnership blossomed into a deep friendship which has been crowned with their success with Master Mood.

They bought his dam, the Lordship mare Moods, for a paltry $3000 in the late 1970's, and a mating with the then unheralded colonial sire Noodlum produced Master Mood in 1981. And with Kevin's wife Bonnie and Frank's son Stephen in on the action with quarter shares, they've had some great times: the first juvenile to break 2:00 in a race in Australasia, the winner of nine straight races and the Horse of the Year title last season and now his prestigious NZ Cup success. "It's every owners dream to win a New Zealand Cup, but I honestly thought he'd be a race short," an overcome Stephen Wong said. Frank Wong spontaneously expressed his delight by hugging Kevin Williams upon his return to the birdcage.

The race was a personal triumph for Williams, who defended his horse after several ordinary performances in Cup preludes, and maintained throughout he had the horsepower to win the gruelling two-miler. "Although his preparation lacked racing, it was a good preparation, and I thought he was as good or better than anything in the race. He's a great little stayer, he just grinds and grinds, and he's a horse that races really well in front." So when Williams found himself challenging for the lead two laps from home, he didn't hesitate. "He's that sort of horse - he's a mug drivers' horse in that can't drive him pretty. He loves doing it tough in front, rather than trailing in behind."

The future months for the compact little stallion look exciting, and lucrative races here and in Australia will give him the opportunity to exceed $500,000 in stakes. Master Mood's four length Cup win hoisted his lifetime earnings to more than $350,000, and he'll have the chance to add to that later in the Addington spring carnival before possibly winging to Sydney for a crack at the $A140,000 Miracle Mile on December 5. "A guy rang me from Sydney three weeks ago and made a tentative approach, and there's a reasonable possibility he may go," Williams said.

Master Mood already has a dazzling mile time on Australian soil to his credit - a 1:56 Inter-Dominion heat win in Brisbane earlier this year.

In winning the Cup Master Mood went within a tick of matching Steel Jaws 3200m race and national record. Aggressively driven he thundered over the extreme distance in 4:05.56 - little outside Steel Jaw's mark of 4:05.3.

Williams didn't premeditate any tactics for the Cup, but once he had Master Mood pacing kindly in front with 2400m to travel, he was determined no horse would get past. So when fearless Southland stayer Malaz and his trainer-driver ranged up in search of the lead at the bell, they were out of luck. "Hamish tried to talk me into giving the front away, but I was having none of that," Williams said. "Master Mood races really well in front and I didn't want to get stuck on the fence. He's a horse that has to be in front rolling along and he loves doing it tough in front rather than trailing in behind. It's a funny thing, but the Cup is nearly always won by a horse that is cherry-ripe on the day, the horse that's peaking."

Few punters who saw Master Mood's impressive Cup trial last Thursday - he sat back before moving off the fence a lap from home to face the breeze and drew clear in the stretch - took heed and the 1986 Harness Horse of the Year went to the post a 16-1 chance.

Williams had no qualms about forcing such a strong clip in front, despite the calibre of some of his rivals. "I felt, whether he'd won it or not, it was a race run true and everybody had a shot." But most of Master Mood's opposition fired blanks when the speed cracked on at the 800m peg, after an opening mile in 2:04.4 and 2400m in 3:08.2.

Freightman, a determined stayer with a reputation for never flinching, couldn't keep up in the trail. Neither could favoured northerner Placid Victor, who enjoyed a perfect trip three back on the outer but couldn't sprint when the speed came. And any horse futher back than midfield faced an insurmountable deficit as Master Mood tore into a 57.4 last 800m.

"There was no way I could have beaten Master Mood when he ran a half like that," Skipper Dale's trainer-driver Patrick O'Reilly Jnr said. The Cup favourite, who led out then took a trail three back on the fence, slipped off the rails when Placid Victor began to pace roughly around the final turn. And Skipper Dale stretched out gamely in the straight, running home strongly for third, just a long head from runner-up Luxury Liner.

"At the 400m I thought he might win it, but the other horse was just too good," Luxury Liner's handler Brent Mangos said. "He went a great race and tried hard all the way down the straight." Luxury Liner followed Malaz one out in fourth spot from the 2400m pole, made all the right moves but couldn't cover Master Mood's explosive acceleration in the stretch.

Apart from the winner, the eye-catching performance came from Malaz, a typically gutsy effort which Hunter described simply and succinctly: "he's got awesome courage and stands up like a soldier." Malaz sat on the leader's wheel two laps from home, attempted tp forge past Master Mood at the winning post with a round left, and was still fighting proudly down the stretch. At the post Malaz was less than a half-length from second, and his raw courage was a talking point with the huge crowd afterwards.

Freightman battled hard for fifth, but didn't seem to enjoy the race, and Spry Joker defied his odds of 70-1 with a solid sixth after making up several lengths in the straight.

Leading reinsman Maurice McKendry didn't recognise the Placid Victor he sat behind during the $275,000 Cup. "He didn't feel himself today, and he had to pick today to do it. When they quickened up front he was battling to come home." The handsome son of Vance Hanover landed the worst marble in tomorrow's $75,000 Benson & Hedges Free-For-All (2000m mobile), and regardless of how he performs he'll fly back to Auckland on the weekend for the $50,000 BASF Franklin Cup (3200m) on Saturday week.

Master Mood drew the outside of the front line in the Free-For-All, but Williams expects the rugged little entire to emulate his Cup form. If he should complete a double for the meeting, Master Mood will join such top pacers as Robalan, Lord Module, Hands Down, Armalight and Bonnie's Chance, all of which bagged the two classics in the same year.


Credit: Matt Conway writing in HR Weekly

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

Tussle and her constant companion Sally Marks

1986 TAUBMANS DOMINION TROTTING HANDICAP

The theory of wind resistance played an important part in Tussle's courageous Dominion Handicap win. Moments before "Shorty" moved away from the shelter of the birdcage and into the uncompromising 14 knot easterly on the track, her owner-trainer Dr Cliff Irvine untied the dust sheet on the sulky and tucked it under his arm.

Irvine successfully tried the tactic at Addington 25 years ago when Light Mood took third in the President's Hadicap at long odds. "It was blowing a gale that day, and Doug Watts said to me in the birdcage 'why don't you pull the mud sheet off?'," Irvine recalled.
the 65-year-old Lincoln College veterinary professor "hasn't had occasion" to use the ploy in the last quarter of a century, but after consulting Tussle's driver Peter Jones, and his old cobber Derek Jones, he had no hesitation. "Derek told me he had done it when Soangetaha won one of his Auckland Cups, and Peter said he didn't mind getting gravel in his face, so we took it off as quickly as we could in the birdcage. On a very windy day it acts like a sail and it would have a retarding effect - it is tough enough for her with Peter in the cart, being a little horse, let alone having a spinnaker out there."

And Irvine's snap decision was vindicated when Tussle, after her familiar beginning to land in fourth place, was left straining into the wind with still 1800 of the 3200m heartbreaker left. By then comeback hero and 1984 Dominion winner Basil Dean had his rivals struggling to stay in touch with his eager front-running, which reminded some of his awesome 2600m world record two years ago. "When he was attacked by Admiral Soanai down the back he got fired up and on the bit, so I thought it best to let him bowl along," driver Kerry O'Reilly said. "I could see Basil Dean was serious," Jones said, "and she's just as good parked as anywhere else in the field...but she was struggling to keep up with him."

Sally Marks, Tussle's faithful companion and strapper, watched dejectedly as the pack bounced down the stretch with a lap to travel. "She's hanging badly - I think she's had enough," Marks said, pulling in another lungful of Pall Mall and walking aimlessly towards the outside rail. Tussle did look beaten as the 800m peg came and went, her trotting action unusually scratchy and her head bobbing from side to side.

With a fierce tail wind down the back straight for the final time, Basil Dean punched three lengths clear and the murmurings of the crowd sensed an emotional upset. "But he wasn't quite up to it," O'Reilly said. "I knew half-way down the back he was struggling. He's still got the speed, and he's sound, but he didn't quite have the race fitness." Basil Dean's ground-devouring stride began to shorten on the last bend, and tiny Tussle quickly gathered him in and scooted two lengths ahead. And as first the sturdy warrior Jenner, who had followed Tussle throughout, and handsome favourite Melvander (who had tracked Jenner) balanced themselves before attacking, she lowered her head, flattened her ears and cut through the wind to the post. With 100m left, both Jenner and Melvander seemed poised to gun down 'Shorty', but with her new found strength this season she determinedly held the pair outto score by a long neck.

Veteran Christchurch horseman Jack Carmichael could not quite cap his successful Cup carnival, settling for second and $20,000 with Jenner. "I thought half-way down the straight he might get to her, but she was just too good," he said. Melvander finished a further long neck behind after almost exploding into a gallop 50m off the line. "I was smiling around the corner, but then he started to trot roughly and I had to take hold of him," driver Jack Smolenski said. South Auckland mare Landora's Pride rattled into fourth ahead of Simon Katz, while the others struggled home victims of a punishing last 2400m of around 3.04. "She simply outstayed them all," Jones said of Tussle later. "She can really fight them off now, and had them covered all the way down the straight."

When asked if he considered removing Tussle's dust sheet made the vital difference between winning and losing, he replied: "It was blowing quite hard and I suppose it's got to make a difference. She was battling into the wind from the 1800m, she had the worst run of all the horses that figured in the finish, but she kept going right to the line."

Irvine described Tussle's Dominion Handicap win as one of her two greatest performances, the other being her dazzling 2:31.9 national record for a flying 2000m which she set fresh-up in September. "She always surprises me how well she goes and how she keeps on improving, even this year as a ten-year-old," he said.

There are few mountains now left for the champion daughter of Tuft to climb. She has captured the two most prized trotting crowns in New Zealand: the Dominion Handicap and the Rowe Cup (1985). Her 3200m time, despite the ravaging gale, was 4:13.81, which lowered Indette's national record for a trotting mare. And the $65,000 winner's cheque bumped Tussle's earnings to $268,055 in New Zealand, making her the greatest stakewinning trotter in history.


Credit: Matt Conway writing in HR Weekly

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

1986 NEVELE R NZ OAKS

Free's Best caused one of the biggest upsets in the history of the time honoured New Zealand Oaks, but the least surprised person on the course afterwards was her West Melton trainer-driver Eddie Cowie. "For a long time I've thought this would be her race and she has been set for it," Cowie said soon after the shock win. "I have always thought she was a better filly than Time's Up," he added.

Time's Up was the horse that put Cowie on the map in the 1979-80 season, winning nine races for him as a juvenile. Taken over by Jack Smolenski for her three-year-old campaign, Time's Up recorded a rare New Zealand/ North Island Oaks double.

While her form on paper was nowhere near as impressive as the favourites for the $35,000 Nevele R Stud New Zealand Oaks, Free's Best has long been considered the most unlucky filly racing this season. "I have been meaning to count the number of second row draws she's had, and of course, she was wiped out last week," Eddie said. Free's Best was 'wiped out' in the DB Export Fillies' Final and her luck did not look like changing when she drew barrier 14 for the mobile 2600 metres Oaks. With Gina Rosa, Michele Bromac and Kiwi River drawing handily on the front row, Free's Best was a forgotten filly and at odds of 61 to 1 when she settled down at the start with only a couple behind her.

But over the first lap, the race played right into Cowie's hands. "She's good because she sticks so well. A fast run race was just what I was hoping for," Eddie said. While Koobecar was keeping Michele Bromac parked three wide with virtual 2:00 speed up front for all of 1300 metres, Cowie was biding his time, waiting for the right moment to make his move. Free's Best was the first to challenge three wide from the rear with a lap to run and just as Michele Bromac finally reached the lead, Cowie was beside her to maintain the seemingly suicidal pace. Free's Best surged past Michele Bromac on straightening and had a winning break as far as 150 metres out. Gina Rosa, after enjoying a good run three back on the inner and issuing a challenge at the top of the straight, finished powerfully but found Free's Best too strong, falling short by three quarters of a length. Michele Bromac was hardly disgraced when she finished three lengths away in third, four and a half lengths ahead of third favourite Kiwi River, who ran on late from back on the rails.

But it wasn't so much the win by Free's Best, but the manner in which she accomplished it. The daughter of Besta Fella simply wore her rivals into the ground, something her time of 3:17.3 bore ample testimony too.
It bettered Hilarious Guest's race and New Zealand record by 2.8 seconds, and compared more than favourably with Roydon Glen's three-year-old record of 3:15.7 and the all-age record of 3:14.6 shared by Malaz and Freightman. Free's Best became the third New Zealand record holder from the first crop of Besta Fella, whose only other representative in the Oaks was Michele Bromac. Besta Fella's progeny set records because they are tough. Obviously, it was a fine result for the race sponsor Nevele R Stud, which imported Besta Fella.

It was also a real tonic for Free's Best's veteran owner-breeder Clarrie Rhodes, who admits to being in poor health these days. Clarrie, now 81, has often had a 'turn' lately and last Thursday night, it seemed unlikely he would make the Oaks meeting. But he was there to see his first win in an Oaks event, and also his first 'big' win since True Averil won the 1971 New Zealand Cup.


Credit: Frank Marrion writing in NZ Trotting Caledar

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

1986 JOHN BRANDON NZ DERBY

"He's a real racehorse. He let the other horse get to him, but there was no way he was going to get beaten," Morrinsville horseman Graeme Harris said. Harris had not long earlier reined his brilliant three-year-old Alba's Reign to a dramatic win in the $110,000 John Brandon New Zealand Derby, outstaying the Southland colt Trident in the final stages.

In a finish reminiscent of the spine tingling Hands Down - Delightful Lady New Zealand Cup on the track a few years ago, Alba's Reign came back from certain defeat within strides of the post, and furthered a remarkable record for trainer Harris, who races the gelding in partnership with his breeders Charlie and Dawn Elliott.

Already the leading two and three-year-old stake earner in Australasia before the event, Alba's Reign soared past $250,000 when he notched up win number 15 from 25 starts, and he still has the $150,000 Great Northern Derby to come. "He's a little bit better the other way round too," said Harris. "Down here he tends to lug in a bit," he added. Alba's Reign simply ran his rivals ragged for much of the mobile 2600 metre event and when an old foe in Trident attempted to have the last say, he found stamina and character which was not easily lost on the relatively small crowd on hand.

Happy Patron and Ricky May were the first to show out from barrier two, but Alba's Reign (four) was right with him through the first 200 metres in 13 seconds and soon after crossed over to lead. The first 400 was cut out in 27.7. Harris was able to back the pace off down the back straight to pass the first 800 in about even time, but soon after the challenges came from the back from Laser Lad and French Lord. With a lap to travel the field was racing in threes, but Harris had begun to let the hot favourite roll. Laser Lad got past Dream Lustre to sit outside the leader with 1200 metres to run, while French Lord then pressed on to apply the pressure starting the run down the back straight the last time. Alba's Reign obviously had the measure of French Lord and Laser Lad before the home turn, but coming into contention three wide was John Hay and Trident, who had been noticeably out of form on the first two nights of the meeting. Trident joined Alba's Reign quickly turning for home and seemed to have the better of him 150 metres out with his head in front. But Alba's Reign, wearing half winkers, wasn't letting him get away and drew level again about 50 metres from the post. It was only in the final few strides that Alba's Reign got his nose back in front, winning officially by half a head, going away.

"I had him beaten everywhere but the post," Hay lamented afterwards. Three and three-quarter lengths away was Happy Patron, who looked a big threat on the home turn but only battled in the straight. "He pulled the whole way and did well to finish where he did," Rick May said. "He's never done that before, maybe we were a bit easy on him during the week," he added. Happy Patron just held on to third ahead of Lea Vance and Sir Alba, who both paced fine races. Lea Vance, handled by Colin De Filippi, followed Trident throughout and, after losing a handy position with a lap to run, fought on well for his placing. Sir Alba, four back on the rails throughout and surrounded by horses 200 metres out, found racing room half way down the straight and finished fast when it was too late. Like Sir Alba, who drew the inside of the second row, French Lord (sixth) and Laser Lad (ninth) were victims of poor barrier draws.

But there was no denying that Alba's Reign was a deserving winner of the 72nd running of the New Zealand Derby. The gelding had to twice force the pace into the teeth of a bitterly cold southerly and in the end recorded a fine 3:17.8 for the distance, a time seldom bettered by three-year-olds on the track. After running the first mile in just under 2:03, Alba's Reign paced home in 59.5, the last 400 in 28.6. They were sectionals which made the tasks of Laser Lad and French Lord impossible, while Trident would have easily bettered 59 after giving the winner at least half a dozen lengths with 800 to run.

Alba's Reign, who won the $100,000 B&H NZ Two-Year-Old Championship at Alexandra Park last season, has now raced four times at Addington for two wins and two seconds. Back in November, Harris made a hit and run trip south for the $125,000 Fay, Richwhite NZ Sires' Stakes Final and went down in the last few strides to Sir Alba, who clocked a New Zealand record of 1:57.4 for a mobile mile. Harris went home pleased with his showing but disappointed he had been beaten. He never saw the other horse until it was all over that day," Harris recalled. Stabling Alba's Reign and Lea Vance with Colin De Filippi for the Easter meeting, Harris became the second consecutive northern trainer to carry off the NZ Derby.

By Alba Byrd from the 1985 Broodmare of the Year Vice Reign, Alba's Reign became the third successive male line descendant of the great Meadow Skipper to win the Derby, following on from Naval Officer and Placid Victor. Like Placid Victor, Alba's Reign is a grandson of Albatross.

Credit: Frank Marrion writing in NZ Trotting Calendar

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

Master Mood scores easily in the FFA

1986 BENSON & HEDGES NZ FREE-FOR-ALL

Part-owner, trainer and driver Kevin Williams confirmed a start in the Miracle Mile at Harold Park after Master Moods dazzling New Zealand Free-For-All win. But before he crosses the Tasman, the "pocket battleship" from Prebbleton will attempt to become only the fifth pacer to capture the big three at the New Zealand Cup carnival - the New Zealand Cup, New Zealand Free-For-All and Travelodge (formerly Allan Matson) Free-For-All.

After his breath-taking Cup success, Addington fans sent Master Mood out a warm favourite for the Free-For-All, despite his tricky draw from the outside of the front line. Williams knew what he was going to do, and as the mobile sped away from the 2000 metre mark, the Christchurch milkman eased his nuggety entire to the tail of the field.

Luxury Liner sizzled past stablemate Comedy Lad to take the lead before the first turn. But entering the straight the first time, Luxury Liner shied at a discarded ticket lying on the track and galloped wildly, checking Borana, Skipper Dale and Our Mana. Rocketing past the 800m pole, Master Mood, after sidestepping the tangling Luxury Liner, surged up three wide to take over from Freightman, Comedy Lad and Our Mana, who sat three wide outside Placid Victor. Rounding the turn, Williams stoked "The Master's" bottomless boiler, and the little stallion scurried away to a winning break, leaving his 12 humbled rivals struggling behind. And no wonder, after scorching over the 2000m in 2:28.15, a mile rate of 1:59.2, his last mile in 1:57.6 and the last 800m in 57.7. Our Mana boxed on bravely for second, shading Borana, Comedy Lad and the fast-finishing Placid Victor.

After the race, Williams said, for once in his life, he was thankful of being three-wide early in the event. "The only reason Luxury Liner missed us was because we were three-wide at the time - it's the only time I've liked being three-wide," he said. Williams said the trip to Sydney for their premier mile shouldn't harm his minute masterpiece too much. "Fortunately he hasn't had too much racing, and a trip wouldn't do him too much harm," he said. "But it's a hard trip for a horse. Hopefully we'll be able to go over and get back and freshen for the Auckland Cup."

Beaten Northern drivers Tony Herlihy and Maurice McKendry were both pleased with their efforts for fourth and fifth. Herlihy said Comedy Lad lost his chance of finishing closer when he angled him off the rails at the top of the straight. "He just didn't feel as good this way round," he said. "When I hooked him off on the turn, he just did not want to go, but once he was balanced he came home quite well." McKendry said Placid Victor was a better horse than he showed on Cup Day, but the strong entire still paced roughly around the top bend. "That cost us vital lengths and you can't afford to do that," he said. "But having the speed on all the way today helped him."

Credit: Paul Biel writing in HR Weekly