| HORSES |
YEAR: 1971
 |
| Mount Eden time trialling at Addington |
After watching Mount Eden's time trial in 1:56 3/5 at Addington on Saturday afternoon, I have no hesitation in naming him the fastest pacer the world has seen.
Given perfect conditions and rated well on Lexington's Big Red Mile in Kentucky, Mount Eden, providing he holds his form, will surely topple Bret Hanover's world record of 1:53 3/5.
And, under mobile start conditions at Yonkers Raceway, with Peter Wolfenden driving him (he has accepted this assignment, offered to him by Mount Eden's trainer Jack Miles), it is hard to imagine his rivals in this year's $170,000 International series living with him.
The six-furlong Addington track throughout Saturday morning received a thorough drenching by driving rain. Mount Eden's trial, scheduled for noon, had to be postponed for more than five hours until after the last race. Throughout the day the racing was affected by the 'off' track, and the final event, run about 20 minutes before Mount Eden's mile attempt, was won by Radiant Globe in the fastest time of the day, 3:27 for the 13 furlongs - a 2:07 mile rate.
The track was then scraped, but still remained quite damp - especially on the turn out of the front straight which occupied most of the second quarter-mile section of the mile. Miles, who drove Mount Eden, later likened this part of the track to porridge. Miles said: "I had to nurse him all the way around that bend, as I didn't want the horse to slip or knuckle over at speed and leave me with no horse, and I reckon that cost me a full second.
"Down the back the galloper was no use to me. I kept yelling to Jim (Jim Dalgety, driver of the galloping prompter, thoroughbred Maxwelton) to keep him up, but he shouted back he couldn't." Before the time trial, experienced horsemen agreed that Mount Eden would be lucky to break 2:00. To accomplish a time only 2/5 sec outside Cardigan Bay's NZ and Australian record in such conditions was phenomenal. There seems not much doubt that in the Miracle Mile in Sydney on Friday week, when Mount Eden will meet Stella Frost and Manaroa among others over mobile start mile conditions, given good conditions the remarkable 4-year-old will have little difficulty in breaking Halwes' 1:57 3/5 Australian record, accomplished in the same race in 1968.
Miles and his co-owner Bernie Ogden have also agreed to produce Mount Eden in Melbourne before he leaves for the United States and his Yonkers International bid. On the three-furlong Melbourne Showgrounds track, Mount Eden, for a $5000 incentive will attack the track record of 2:00 3/5, which seems at his mercy.
On Saturday at Addington my sectional times for Mount Eden were: first quarter 30 2/5 sec; second quarter 29 sec; third quarter 28 4/5; fourth quarter 28 2/5. It was the fifth time in 18 days, since he astonished trackwatchers with a casual 1:58 1/5 mile in his first serious workout in NZ, that Mount Eden had penetrated well inside the two-minute barrier; and each time his clocking was faster. His mightiest race here, though he finished only sixth, was in the third round of heats, when, over 13 furlongs, he lost three-quarters of a furlong at the start and was reliably timed to come his last mile and a half in an unheard of 2:56 4/5, his final mile in 1:56 4/5.
Mount Eden's $2000 for breaking 2:00 in the time trial (virtually appearance money) pushed his earning to only $21,160. His racing record is 13 wins and two placings from 20 starts. In the next few weeks in Australia he should double his bankroll, while when he reaches America his earning rate should really rocket. Mr Ogden said on Saturday night that several attractive offers have been made for Mount Eden, and that some are still being considered, but no deals have been made at this stage. Mr Ogden does not expect to go to America with Miles and Mount Eden, but said he might fly from Perth to New York to see him contest the $100,000 International Pace on June 4.
Mount Eden may be a freak but he is no fluke of breeding. He is by the imported Adios horse Morris Eden (p, 2:01 1/5 and $88,000), a three-quarter brother to the crack American 3-year-old of last year, Columbia George (p,3, 1:56). Owned by Noel Simpson, Morris Eden, after a successful stint in NZ, is now standing in Victoria, Australia, under Ron Hutchins. His place at Jack Hughes' Glencoe Stud at Pukekohe, has been taken by Good Time Eden, a half-brother by Good Time to Morris Eden.
Blankets, the dam of Mount Eden, was unraced. She was by the Light Brigade (by Volomite) horse Aksarben, who won eight races and had a big reputation but was restricted in his race career by recurring leg trouble. Blue Revue, the dam of Aksarben, was a fine producer. She also left Blue (2:09 1/5, world's record for a yearling; eight wins including the NZ Sapling Stakes, NZ Derby and NSW Derby) and several other less important winners.
Shepherd's Brook, the dam of Blankets, was by the good racehorse and sire, Nelson Derby. She won three races and apart from Blankets left Midday (6 wins), Midnight (four), Wallacetown (four) and Forenoon (four, and dam of Selena, 7 wins). Shepherd's Brook's dam, the unraced Queen's Treasure, produced Hardy Oak (12 wins), Jack's Treasure (four), Buccaneer (three), Single Star (six), Mareeta (five) and Manoa (four). And Single Star became the dam of a champion NZ filly of her day, Riviera, as well as Petro Star (six wins and dam of six winners including the latest NZ Futurity winner, True Temper).
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Ron Jenkins: Great Trotters
One of the most sensational pacers to race in Australia was the NZ-bred, WA-owned pacer Mount Eden who first gained attention as a 3-year-old in winning the WA Sires' Produce Stakes. In recording a mile rate of 2:04 in the mile and a half race from a standing start Mount Eden created a world record for a 3-year-old. In the following season he entered the world spotlight in harness racing. In little more than two months he recorded nine runs in less than two minutes for a timed flying mile.
Mount Eden contested the 1971 Inter-Dominion series at Addington, after recording 1:58 4/5 in a time trial before the series began. He failed to qualify for the final as he performed poorly at the start in each of his heats but was timed to run a flying mile in under two minutes in all three heats. Mount Eden's connections were later invited to run their pacer in a time trial on the day of the final and despite the damp conditions, he ran 1:56 3/5, just two-fifths of a second outside Cardigan Bay's Australasian record.
On his return to Australia, Mount Eden won the Craven Filter Miracle Mile by 15 yards in 1:58 4/5 after losing some six lengths at the start when he mixed his gait. He paced 1:56.7 in a time trial attempt at Harold Park, replacing Halwes' Australian record of 1:57.3. This was followed by runs of 1:59.8 in Melbourne and 1:57.8 at the Gloucester Park, WA, track in other time trials.
Mount Eden was sold to an American owner in April, 1971, for $268,000, making him the most expensive horse, galloper or trotter, to ever be sold in Australia. He left for America having won 14 races from 20 starts and $43,000 in prizemoney. After a time in which he was plagued with injury, Mount Eden was retired to the stud without contesting a race in America.
Credit: 'R B' writing in NZ Trotting Calendar 3Mar71
YEAR: 1904
MABEL & NORICE
There have been few more colourful tales of our harness world than that of Norice, arguably the greatest broodmare in its history, and her owner Mabel Duncan.
In the World War One years Norice was the breeding queen of New Zealand and Duncan kept her in suitably palatial surroundings at the country's plushest trotting stud, Coldstream Lodge in Fendalton. The present homestead at the end of Chilcombe St - the property originally fronted Memorial Avenue when it was 59 Burnside Rd - remains the only memorial to what also was the first stud of any code in New Zealand and the place many harness fans angled to get an invite to visit during carnival week in Christchurch.
Coldstream had been established and named by Ernest Jerningham Wakefield on whose motion the Canterbury Jockey Club was formed in 1855. He stood The Peer there (Peer St is still close by) but Ronald and Mabel Duncan would enlarge and transform it at great expense into a showplace hosting four of the most famous standardbreds of their time.
Horse-mad Mabel Duncan, an accomplished show rider in her youth, was the youngest daughter of A J White whose furniture store was Christchurch's largest. Her Husband, an accountant, successful real estate agent and land speculator, was the sixth son of the former Mayor of Christchurch, Andrew Duncan (there were seven in all) and a dashing "man about town" in the land agency business. They had been married in Sydney in 1905, chiefly to avoid embarrassment to family. The Whites were the high profile Catholic family in the city and the Duncans leaders of the Presbyterian church - not a popular quinella at any religious ceremony in those far off times. The doomsayers would have the last laugh.
Ronald Duncan acted as judge, timekeeper and stipendiary steward at several Canterbury racing clubs and later on the executive of the NZ Trotting Association and King Cole (for a time) was the only horse he raced. He added 10 ha to Coldstream and built a luxurious stable complex and trainer's quarters which included, a reporter marvelled, a hot shower. Mabel was loosening the purse strings as well.
She bought Norice, the most famous racemare in the country, for a hefty sum from the popular Bower Hotel (New Brighton) owner, James Pettie, who had imported Norice from California (accompanied on the trip by Dave Price who brought back the first spreaders used here) but was now moving to the outskirts of Gisborne. Mabel also bought the promising King Cole from Nelson Price as well as his dam. Mabel's trainer, Dave Price, had already given her his half share in King Cole as a foal.
King Cole was one of only 17 foals left here by Price's champion, Ribbonwood. 15 raced and 12 won. Another notable and expensive purchase, before her marriage, had been the champion Sal Tasker, the fastest mare in Australasia, with a sensational official time at Addington in 2:20. She was named after Sarah Tasker the wife of her prominent breeder James Tasker - though Nelson Price first raced the mare and landed a betting plunge first up at Sockburn with her before selling.
At the outbreak of World War One Coldstream boasted both the fastest mare and stallion in Australasia (King Cole having broken his sire Ribbonwood's mile record in a special morning trial at Addington) as well as Norice, the most commercial broodmare. Mabel often used Sal Tasker when driving to town (Ronald played a big role in the tramway being extended to Clyde Road later) safe in the knowledge no challenger could possibly beat her down Fendalton Road.
Mabel also sent mares to be bred in Australia to Abbey Bells and horses to race there including Sal Tasker and her son Coldstream Bells, which was cruelly robbed of the biggest prize in Australasia, the Melbourne Thousand, when another driver deliberately crashed into him and Price at the start. Coldstream Bells still ran second and was later a sire of some note. Mabel Duncan seemed jinxed at times with her horses yet Norice was always there to give Coldstream its status. She also had a champion pony stallion which went years without defeat in Christchurch show rings.
Norice had six generations of recorded pedigree when most local mares, Sal Tasker included, rarely had more than two. She was by Charles Derby (ancester of Johnny Globe, Lordship etc) and after she was bought a half-brother became one of the fastest juveniles in America. Black, fast, sometimes erratic, Norice was the leading stake earner of 1904 winning six of her first seven starts here. She would have won the first NZ Cup that year too but she had problems which prevented Price from training her sufficiently for the race. Even so she led clearly most of the way and as she was eased when passed by Monte Carlo in the straight the big margin was misleading. The veteran never beat her in shorter races.
Norice made history again when disqualified from first in a Flying Handicap at Addington for galloping near the finish. In a landmark decision the race was restored to her because the committee had not taken evidence from her driver, Price, which would have established that a hopple had broken. From then on committees could not make decisions without hearing evidence from the drivers. Later in the day she won the Champion Free-For-All. Norice had also caused Pettie some grief because he had to lodge another cheque "under strong protest" with the NZTA before Norice could race here. Her previous owner was apparently in forfeit to the American Trotting Association and that body had just agreed to share it's rulings with this country.
At stud Norice left a series of smart colts who were in strong demand in Australia as sire but her most famous son was Nelson Derby, a striking colt from birth bought from Mabel by George Craw of Palmerston North for a record £750. He won the Great Northern Derby and the Auckland Cup though not sound, according to trainer Bill Tomkinson, and sired Haughty the first mare outside America to break two minutes. Therein lay quite a story.
The racing dream which seemed to belong to Ronald and Mabel Duncan started to fall apart around 1916 when Duncan took the extraordinary step then of suing his wife for £325 through the courts, presumably for Coldstream costs. Coldstream was sold with Mabel retaining the home block. Ronald Duncan bought and moved to the famous homestead block in North Canterbury. He later moved to Australia where he died in 1942 having remarried after Mabel's death.
Mabel had to cut numbers and sell virtually all her young stock. Watching Nelson Derby, the horse she had been aiming to breed for so long walk out the gate must have been heartbreaking. Selling Norice and Sal Tasker (whose descendants are still competitive today) was never an option. She still clung to part of Coldstream when she died in 1936 the once wealthy heiress having been adjudged bankrupt the previous year. Her parents had a strong social conscience and spent much of their wealth on community projects including building and supporting the large St Joseph's orphanage in Halswell. Norice had her last foal in 1931.
Among the horses sold was Queen Cole (King Cole-Norice) to John Grice of Tinwald whose son Ben inherited her first foal Colene Pointer (Methven and Timaru Cups) a fine stayer and dam of Queen's Treasure and Kingcraft. Ben had another foundation mare, Logan Princess, dam of the high class Regal Voyage. When that mare retired, down the road at Walter Gudsell's Pluto Lodge Stud in Tinwald was a poorly patronised Nelson Derby and so history in the form of Haughty was made. Crossing the two families and doubling up on Norice blood through Nelson Derby by Ben Grice to reinforce the family speed factor has ensured the survival of the Norice character through every generation since. Native King was another Norice colt successful at stud. Kingcraft, by the obscure Quincey who also happened to stand locally (Colene Pointer had broken down so badly she could not travel far) was almost a great horse, competing in the NZ Cup after just eight starts, but like his granddam was erratic at times.
Norice's essential qualities of high speed and waywardness combined with soundness problems have suvived to a remarkable extent through almost a century of breeding. At crucial times her tribe produces fast fillies like herself, like Single Star, Riviera and Petro Star for Grice. Perhaps the best example of the potency of the mare was the amazing Mount Eden. He was the essence of her pacing power and like her highly strung yet his performances were so stunning no less a commentator than Ron Bisman claimed he was to him the fastest horse the world had seen.
The Norice line has actually thrived on the superior breeding performance of relatively few mares, and largely just three breeders - Mabel Duncan, Grice and the Cummings family of Tuapeka whose mare Sakuntala has been the springboard of much of the family's recent success. The New Zealand Cup winners Iraklis and Monkey King, both from this source, were noted for extreme acceleration. Their ancestress Hindu Star, dam of Sakuntala, carried a close up (3x3) Norice masterminded by Grice. Holmes D G came from a more obscure branch of the Norice tribe but still had the essential double cross of Nelson Derby.
In earlier eras stars like Nicotine Prince, Chief Command and Indecision; the speedy Maurice Holmes 2yos like Strauss, Violetta and company; Hardy Oak, Single Star, Ardstraw, Canis Minor, Tuapeka Star, Ruling Lobell etc, etc kept the Norice name to the fore. O Baby is her current Horse of the Year poll winner.
The Norice legacy can be character building for those seeking to extend it. Lightning does not strike as consistently as with some families - but when its stars align it sends an electric charge through the pacing world that no other family can match.
Mabel Duncan and Ben Grice knew what they had to work with. Their work was not in vain.
Credit: David McCarthy writing in HRWeekly 10Apr13