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R C FISKEN

A leading figure in NZ light-harness circles a quarter of a century back, Mr R C (Bob) Fisken, formerly of Gisborne, passed away at Rotorua last Saturday at the age of 75. During the 1920-30 period he was a giant in the sport, not only in the North Island, but at Addington. An owner, trainer, breeder and driver, Fisken's name was honoured and highly regarded in the trotting arena.

Like other stalwarts of his period, the late Mr I R Corrigan (Hawera), and Mr J Lloyd (Hastings) he was a staunch supporter of country clubs like Poverty Bay, Hawkes Bay, Wairarapa, Wanganui, Manawatu, Hawera and Taranaki and his colours were popular for many years at these meetings. Over several seasons the three men mentioned helped at the smaller clubs with their teams.

But it was at major meetings where Fisken made his mark and from the time he imported the American trotting horse Peterwah (Etawah-Jenova) the Gisborne man, already well known at Epsom and Addington through Wild Lad and Ena Bell, further hit the high spots. Peterwah, a great trotter, became a public idol, and he will go down in history as one of the greatest square-gaiters ever raced in this country.

Wild Lad (Wildmoor-Miss Vera) won the Dominion Trot at Addington in 1921 and the same day Ena Bell (Gold Bell-Princess Ena) won the pacing mile. Both these won good races at Auckland, driven by W A McFarquhar, still resident in Gisborne, who was attached to the Fisken stable.

Peterwah won the Dominion Trot in 1926 and was the first trotter to get to 4.30 for that two miles event. On the same course he later attracted further attention by beating a rare field of pacers in the August Handicap. It was against the hoppled brigade the Peterwah made more history as at Auckland the same year he won the Summer Cup and the next season from 36 yards he was second to Gold Jacket (limit) in the Mark Memorial, and to Dalmeny (limit) in the Prince of Wales Handicap.

With Enawah, a daughter of Peterwah and Ena Bell, Fisken has the distinction of winning the NZ Sapling Stakes (1927) with the only one in the long line of winners bred and trained in the North Island. When Parisenne won for Mrs D R Revell, of Auckland in 1936 she was trained by the late R B Berry. Sir Vivian, winner in 1947 for Mr P V Flexman, of Waiuku, was trained by R Young, and last year's winner, Tobacco Road was trained by M Holmes for Mr N Simpson.

Mr Fisken has passed on but his records will long remain green in trotting history of the land. Right to the end he was staunch to the sport he loved and almost his last wish expressed to his son, H C Fisken, Pukekohe trainer, was that he would survive until Labour Week-end to back Knighthood at the Auckland meeting.

Credit: NZ Trotting Calendar 16Oct57

1926 DOMINION HANDICAP

The Dominion Handicap which is the most exclusive, contest in New Zealand for unhoppled trotters only, provided a thrilling finish after Master Audo had led for a mile and threequarters. The two big guns, Money Spider and Peterwah set to work and down the straight they came inch by inch and fought out the last part of the event. Peiterwah beat Money Spider by a neck. Five lengths away came Escapade, who was not quite herself.

It was a wonderful exhibition of trotting and Peterwah was given a rousing reception on returning to scale. Peterwah was bred in America, where he was purchased by R. C. Fisken, of Gisborne, who drove his good horse. Peterwah is by Etawah, 2.3, from Janava and is destined to prevail in the fastest classes in the Dominion.

Credit: NZ Truth 11 Nov 1926

Reta Peter winner of the 1920 & 1921 NZ Cups

1921 NEW ZEALAND TROTTING CUP

If Reta Peter's first win was popular, the second was controversial.

She was second past the post to Sherwood and F G Holmes, but a protest was lodged and officials deemed the interference at the top of the straight serious enough to reverse the placings.

It was serious enough for Reta Peter to return to the birdcage bleeding from her front legs anyway.

In this way, Reta Peter went into the records as the second and last trotter to win the Cup, and one of only two mares to win it twice, the other being Haughty.

**Credit: NZ HRWeekly 1Oct 2003**

The 1921 New Zealand Cup had an unprecedented climax when Sherwood, driven by F G Holmes, was first past the post but was relegated to second for crossing in front of Reta Peter at the straight entrance. The finish was an exciting one, and it was unfortunate that the race had to won on protest.

The interference in the final stages was obvious and the protest lodged by the mare's owner did not surprise the Addington public. The Judicial Committee, after considering the matter, resolved under part 25 of the Rules of Trotting, "as to keeping positions", that Holmes, the driver of Sherwood, had seriously interfered with Reta Peter. It placed Reta Peter first and Sherwood second, In addition, Holmes was fined £25. Reta Peter returned to the birdcage after the race with skin off her front legs, which were bleeding.

An appeal against the decision was immediately lodged by Holmes and accepted by the stewards. The Appeal Committee of the New Zealand Trotting Association decision met and, after studying the evidence, decided that the Judicial Committee decision was correct. Holmes never agreed with that decision, and took the opportunity when Adorian won for him in 1953 to remind officials of the grave injustice he alleged had been done to him 32 years previously.

The crowd around the birdcage in 1921 did not show much enthusiasm after the protest, and conjecture remains as to whether the interference was serious enough to warrant relegation. In the history of the race the only other disqualification from first place came in 1969, when Stella Frost, driven by Doodey Townley, was deemed to have caused a serious spill, which cost several horses their chances.

For trainer-driver Alf Wilson and Reta Peter, the 1921 victory was a triumph. Reta Peter had not raced earlier in the season, as she had been pin-fired, so her effort without lead-up races was a good one. She remains the only trotter to have won the NZ Cup twice and, along with Haughty, the only mare to have had double success.

The Cup stake was raised to 3000 sovereigns and the class tightened to 4:32. Reta Peter was opposed by 11 others, but a short limit of six seconds was set, with the Australian import Man O'War - for several weeks the race favourite - on the back mark. There was great controversy at the time about this handicap, because, by comparison with Reta Peter, he seemed badly off. Man O'War's best two-mile time was 4:29.4, yet Reta Peter, who had a best time of 4:28.6, had an advantage of five seconds over him at the start.

Trainer James Bryce was not pleased with Man O'War's trackwork and stated publicly before the race that his horse was not fit enough to run a gruelling two miles. And so it proved. Man O'War was slow away and always toiled in the rear of the field in a cloud of dust. His display was the subject of an official inquiry, at which Bryce stated he had not wanted to start Man O'War, because the horse had gone from bad to unmanageable in training the week before the race. He further stated that Man O'War bored badly during the race and struck a post coming into the straight, almost falling. Owner Joe Corrigan was bitterly disappointed with the display. "The horse will not race again at the meeting," he said.

Man O'War, a black stallion born in Australia in 1914, was a good horse, adept in bad going. Brought to New Zealand in 1920 as a six-year-old, he won the Auckland Cup for Bryce, from 84 yards. He won a second Auckland Cup the following year, from 96 yards, and was a good winner on New Zealand tracks, ending the 1921-1922 season as leading money-winner with £2935. At stud he produced the top-class mare Navy Blue, who included the 1938 Auckland Cup among her 14 wins. Man O'War's best son was Happy Man, who reached Cup class and later, as a 17-year-old, won a free-for-all in Western Australia. Man O'War mares produced Loyal Nurse, who won the Auckland Cup in 1946 and the NZ Cup in 1949, Soangetaha, who won the Auckland Cup in 1951 and 1952, and Parawa Derby.

Man O'War started second favourite behind Albert Cling, who again let down his supporters. John McLennan had him well placed all the way but he faded to sixth. the race start was not the best recommendation for the time system - there were two false starts and, on the second ocession, several horses were at top speed for three furlongs before they were pulled up. Reta Peter was first out both times. Eventually, the field was sent away at their correct bells, with the exception of Asturio, who broke, and Man O'War, who was slow away.

Gleaming (Bill Warren) and Vice-Admiral (Dil Edwards) led out from John Dillon, Sherwood, Trix Pointer, Albert Cling and Reta Peter. There was little change until the last lap, at which stage Gleaming began to tire and Vice-Admiral opened a lead of four lengths on Reta Peter, with Trix Pointer and her bracketmate, Sherwood, starting good runs. Sherwood passed Vice-Admiral and Reta Peter just as the straight was reached and, driven with great vigour by F G Holmes, appeared to have won a good race by a length from Reta Peter.

Vice-Admiral, a black gelded son of the three-year-old Cup starter of 1907, Advance, and the best of his offspring, held on for third, just ahead of Willie Lincoln, Trix Pointer and Albert Cling. Manvers Edwards, known as Dil, was a son of Manny Edwards, and had his first Cup drive behind Vice-Admiral.

Surprisingly - even for those early days at Addington - Asturio ran again on Cup Day, finishing third in the final race, the Recovery Handicap. Just as significant on this occasion was his driver, Ossie Hooper, soon to leave an indelible mark on the Addington scene. Drum Withers was also prominent among the successful new drivers at this Cup meeting.

Albert Cling, who disappointed for a second consecutive time in the Cup, ran a New Zealand race record for the mile of 2:09.6 when winning the Free-For-All from three others, Trix Pointer, Willie Lincoln and Marie Tempest. The final day of the meeting belonged to Trix Pointer, who showed why Free Holmes held her in such high regard. She won the Christchurch Handicap over two miles, her first winning run since April 1920, and later in the day ran third to Ena Bell and Chid over one mile. In the process she registered 2:08.6, breaking the race record that had been set by Albert Cling the previous day. Ena Bell was trained and driven by Gisborne's Bob Fisken, who also produced the Dominion Handicap winner Wild Moor.

The only dual winner at the meeting was the trotter Whispering Willie, who beat the pacers in the Courtenay Handicap to win in 4:29.4 and the trotters in the Middleton Handicap.

**Credit: Bernie Wood writing in The Cup**

Credit: NZ HRWeekly 1Oct03

HAROLD "CHAPPY" FISKEN

Memories of Dominion Handicaps run over 60 years will flood back for the now 78-year-old Harold "Chappy" Fisken when on Saturday night he sits at his home at Pukekohe, watching on TV the 77th running of this prestigious event.

Many outstanding trotters have won this time-honoured feature, but few among them would measure up to the mighty American-bred horse Peterwah, raced, trained and driven by "Chappy's" father, the late Robert Fisken, to win in 1926 from 72 yards behind. The Dominion was run the same day as the NZ Cup that year, and, according to newspaper reports of that meeting, although the Cup winner Ahuriri was repeating his victory of the year before, the large crowd was ever bit as generous with its applause of Peterwah's outstanding success.

Bob Fisken - all the way from Gisborne - had become a star harness horseman on the NZ scene. On earlier southern forays, he had won the 1921 Dominion Handicap with Wild Lad and the 1924 NZ Trotting Stakes at Forbury Park with Peterwah, while in 1927 he was to win the NZ Sapling Stakes at Ashburton with Petewah's daughter Enawah.

As he recalls those halcyon days when he was just a lad, a sparkle returns to "Chappys" eyes. It is typical of the man that he retains his zest for living, despite the loss of his son David in an auto accident in Mexico about eight years ago, a stroke then rendered him almost totally paralysed 18 months ago and the death of his wife earlier this year.

As he shuffles on a stick around the silos, crushing machines and conveyor belts of the thriving animal food processing plant that has been his primary vocation for a good many years, he quips: "You'd never think I was for three years Poverty Bay and Hawkes Bay champion runner over a mile and three miles, would you? But I'm coming right; you should have seen me a while ago. I guess I haven't got much more time to go, but I'll get better before I get worse," he insists, adding: "I haven't had a licence to drive a car for a few years, but I've still got my trotting trainer's licence. I've got a couple of old nags out there in the paddock, and I'm causing a bit of havoc threatening to put them back in work." The "nags" are the trotting geldings Zakariah (winner of 6 and now noe 14) and Go Hi (a now-white13-year-old with two wins to his credit).

"Chappy's" father, greatly successful as a stock agent and meat exporter and uncrowned king of the trotting sport at its peak in Poverty Bay, was ruined by the Great Depression of the 1930's. That experience made "Chappy" ever careful not to let his love of horses undermine more reliable means of survival. From small beginnings, he built his food-supply business at Pukekohe into one that last year topped $8 million in sales. "Not bad for an operation with a staff of six and no sign on the gate," he proudly observes. "That figure could be much higher, but you can get too big and go under. We just service Pukekohe and Takanini in the main - it's all I want to handle." "Chappy's"interest in harness racing these days is mainly in the process of Iwanago, a useful Nat Lobell four-year-old pacer being prepared at the Pukekohe centre by his son-in-law Barry Lockyer (formerly associated with the outstanding trotter Highland Flight).

Robert Fisken was a legend in his time in the days when Poverty Bay was one of NZ's strongest trotting strongholds and produced another great horseman in Tom Roe, winner of the 1920 Dominion Handicap with Gold Boy. Fisken fought hard to offset his area's isolation by subsidising by 50% the return rail fares for horses from around NZ to entice them to his local meetings. "Bill Lowe used to come from as far away as Ashburton recalls "Chappy". At one of the last Poverty Bay meetings, in 1926, he had Trampfast (who was to win the Dominion Handicap in 1934) and the pacer Carbine Direct both in the Poverty Bay Cup. Dad drove Carbine Direct for him, and won it, while Trampfast was unplaced."

"Chappy" was 11 when in 1921 his father won his first Dominion Handicap with Wild Lad. A gelding from the Wildwood horse Wildmoor from a Rothschild mare Miss Vera, he came off 12 yards to bolt in by six lengths. The following year, Bob Fisken accompanied Free Holmes and J D Piper to America in search of standardbred speed. Holmes' acquistions on that trip were Estella Amos (who left champion pacer Indianapolis and outstanding matron Tondeleyo) and Rey de Oro (who became a three-time champion NZ sire).

Fisken secured as yearlings Peterwah and Real Guy, the pair costing him a total of £500 landed in Gisborne. Re-sold to Albert Hendricksen, Real Guy, a Guy Axworthy horse, raced only twice, winning one of those starts at Auckland, before siring 69 winners and also becoming a successful broodmare sire.

Peterwah was by Etawah, in his time champion world two-year-old trotting colt with a 2:19½ mark on the half-mile, and Transylvania winner at four in a world record for three heats of 2:03¼, 2:03½, and 2:03½. Janeva, the dam of Peterwah, was by the immortal progenitor Peter The Great. Over 11 seasons, Peterwah had 12 wins between Auckland and Dunedin. In winning the 1928 August Handicap at Addington from 24 yards behind he beat a capacity field of good-class pacers in 4:23 4/5, a world trotting mark for two miles from a stand. Hailed at this point as the greatest trotter NZ had seen, he was the last of his gait before Scotch Tar (1982) to contest the NZ Cup, finishing unplaced in the 1828 event.

Peterwah once won from 228 yards behind at a Poverty Bay meeting. "He was handicapped out of trotting races, and had to compete against the best pacers," recalls "Chappy". Mixing his racing with limited stud opportunities before his owner was forced to sell him with the bulk of his big string of horses to Australia, Peterwah sired 22 NZ winners and a further 21 in Australia. One of these was Enawah, who added 11 other victories to her Sapling Stakes win. Another, Captain Bolt, became "Chappy's" first good horse, winning him four races before being sold to Mrs E A Berryman and becoming an even bigger success under Cecil Donald.

On moving to Rotorua and marrying, "Chappy" gave trotting away for long years, breaking 180 acres into a sheep and cattle farm, and freeholding a plush house on five acres overlooking the lake. "When someone gave me £6000 for it in the 50s, I thought I was made," he said. "It was re-sold for £65,000 and then £102,000 before we changed to dollars and I suppose it would be worth something like half a million dollars now."

One of the horses bought by Hawera trotting stalwart Alex Corrigan when the Fiskens sold up was Robert Earl. This son of Wrack and the Logan Pointer mare Ivy Pointer became a successful sire; and a free service given to him by Corrigan bought "Chappy" back into the sport. "I can't remember what the horse was that I bred, but I was into it again, and since then have always pottered around with a horse or two," he says. Apart from Zakariah, "Chappy's" best winners have included trotters Final Star, Five Star and Pukepoto and pacer Faux Pas. "I even got to Addington once, when I took a trotter Knighthood that I trained for an old bloke up this way after winning at Hutt Park with him; but we didn't get any money down there," he said.

"I reckon, however, that I made it a a sire. My son David, about four years before he was killed, finished 10th in the Boston Marathon." The trophy to mark that worthy accomplishment by David takes pride of place over everything else in the Fisken household.




Credit: Ron Bisman writing in HRWeekly 16Nov88