The breeding and racing of thoroughbred horses in New Zealand is as much a part of the history of the growth of this Dominion as a pastoral country as is the evolution and development of the flocks and herds that produce the export wealth of the community from wool, meat, and dairy produce. Just as temperate climate, rich pastures, plentiful sunshine, and even rainfall have improved the conformation and quality of imported sheep and cattle strains in New Zealand, so the Dominion's range of soil constituents and pastures and its great diversity of scene and surroundings have made it possible for studmasters to improve on the original thoroughbred strains which they began to import into the colony as far back as the pioneering era. For instance, horse races were held on Petone Beach as part of the celebration of the first anniversary of the founding of Wellington. And this was also the case with other settlements.
But even with skies here a little brighter, the air a little warmer, the soil a little richer, and with no extremes of heat or cold, the New Zealand thorough-bred would not have reached its world eminence without the vigorous, courageous, and sustained policy adopted by breeders of drawing on the best overseas blood lines. From the outset studmasters concentrated on winning sire families in England, Ireland, and France, and the extent to which this continual infusion of new blood is relied upon is indicated by the fact that, in the past 20 years, more than 60 representatives of proved strains in these countries have been brought to New Zealand. Today there are more than 200 thoroughbred sires and over 5,000 brood mares in the Dominion, producing an average of about 3,000 yearlings annually. The racing side of the picture is indicated by an annual training list of between 1,700 and 1,800 horses competing for racing-club stakes in excess of £1,500,000 a year.
The earliest foundations of New Zealand's bloodstock resources were laid in the forties of the last century by such imported sires as Riddlesworth, Figaro, and Aether which were brought out in 1843, and the process was continued in the decades that followed by an enthusiastic company of fanciers, among whom such men as Henry Petre (Otago), Henry Redwood ( q.v. ) (“the father of the New Zealand turf”), G. G. Stead (Canterbury), T. H. Lowry (Hawke's Bay), Sir George Clifford (Canterbury), and the Hazletts and Chisholms of Southland, deserve to be remembered. In 1861 came Traducer, the sire of Sir Modred, one of Canterbury's great horses, and Mermaid, a brood mare of distinction, both of whom left their mark on New Zealand strains. Then followed Musket, the sire of Carbine (1866), St. Leger (1881), Steppe (1886), and Soult (1892).
The rise of the world standard of the New Zealand thoroughbred goes back to the royal stud at Hampton Court which was re-established about 1855 by Queen Victoria and the Prince Consort. From Hampton Court came the brood mare Mersey, the dam of Carbine, who made New Zealand the first country to return to the homeland a strain of blood that was to prove the most significant in the world of the thoroughbred. Carbine's sire was Musket, who arrived in New Zealand in 1866, and influenced the bloodstock of half the world. His progeny included such names as Maxim, Martini-Henry, Nordenfeldt, Hotchkiss, Carbine, and Trenton. Carbine in his day was the greatest horse in the world, and when he was purchased by the Duke of Cumberland, for his English stud, he dominated the world bloodstock scene for generations. His son, Spearmint, his grandson, Spion Kop, and his great-grandson, Felstead, were all Derby winners. The blood of Carbine, like that of his half-brother by Musket, Trenton, is still to be traced today in winning lines everywhere.
With the turn of the century the ranks both of breeders and of bloodstock increased. Martian was the first of the great twentieth century sires, heading the winning sires' list for six years in succession (1913–19) after a brilliant racing career. He was followed by Demosthenes, Solferino, Kilbroney (1915), Lucullus (1915), All Black, the sire of Desert Gold, Absurd, Limond, and Paper Money, all of whom flourished before the twenties and boasted formidable winning progeny records. There was a brief halt in the progress of the thoroughbred industry in the dismal depression atmosphere of the early twenties, but then came Lord Quex (1926–27), sire of Melbourne Cup winner, Catalogue, Chief Ruler (1927–28), sire of Royal Chief, Hunting Song (1932–33), who sired those magnificent steeplechasers, Clarion Call and Brookby Song, Salmagundi, Night Raid, the father of the incomparable Phar Lap, Foxbridge, 11 times at the top of the winning sires list, whose offspring won £725,000, a British Empire and world record, the prolific Balloch, two Derby winners in Coronach and Midday Sun and, of recent years, in alphabetical order, Boissier, Count Rendered, Dogger Bank, Faux Tirage, Gabador, Khorassan, Lucky Bag, Marco Polo II, Oman, Panair, Pride of Kildare, Red Mars, Rolled Gold, Summertime, and Targui.
Throughout the hundred or more years during which horse races have been run in New Zealand, many thousands have flashed past the judge's box first, second, or third (today about 2,000 races are run every year). All have had their day, and their public, but it is doubtful whether any agreement could be reached anywhere as to the names of the best two dozen performers in the history of New Zealand racing. For many the yardstick is stake winnings, for others speed, and for others again, appearance and conformation. To list the great racehorses of the New Zealand turf would be impossible, but a few names have endured and promise to do so as long as the lure of the thoroughbred and the thrill of a few shillings each way on the winner continue to be numbered among the national enthusiasms.
Three names stand out above all others and are almost household words wherever racing is discussed – Desert Gold, Gloaming, and Phar Lap. Desert Gold (by All Black) and Gloaming (by The Welkin) were the great rivals of the years of the First World War and after. Year after year they carried the Lowry and Greenwood colours to victory to the applause of thousands, and completely dominated the classic sphere in contemporary racing. Each won the King's Plate at Ellerslie three times between 1915 and 1920, and each numbered among innumerable trophies such classics as the C.J.C. Derby Stakes, the C.J.C. Challenge Stakes, the Oaks, the Canterbury Cup, and the North Island Challenge Stakes. In their day they were invincible.
The third of the triumvirate was the almost legendary Phar Lap, the son of Night Raid, who in the late twenties and early thirties beat all comers, and carried the fame of New Zealand bloodstock abroad. In Australia he numbered the Melbourne Cup among his successes, and in America he held his own against the best America could produce at the famous Agua Caliente racetrack. Phar Lap's fantastic career was cut short by an early death, but his memory is preserved by the last resting place which has been accorded him in the Melbourne Museum.
Sasanof was another brilliant star of the second decade of the present century, but his quality and worth were overshadowed by the magnificence of his incredible contemporaries. He beat Gloaming on one occasion, and by winning the New Zealand Cup, in 1918, he joined a celebrated company of good performers which included Cuddle (also twice winner of the Auckland Cup), Vagabond, Oratress, Night-march, Beau Le Havre, Serenata, and Conclusion.
The Auckland Cup, the richest race in New Zealand, recalls such names as Beau Vite, Howe, Kindergarten, Beaumaris, Yeman, and Froth, and a consistent runner of the eighties, Nelson, who greeted the judge at the head of the field three times in four years. The Winter Cup of 1 mile at Riccarton is another event that has produced some great performances. Vladimir and Chortle in 1903 and 1914 registered very fast times, and well known winners include four who were successful twice in succession: Catalogue (1937–38), a Melbourne Cup winner, Soneri (1946–47), Julius Caesar (1948–49), and Royal Warrant (1955–56).
Big names in the classic field have been many, apart from Desert Gold and Gloaming. Among them are — New Zealand Derby Stakes: Nightmarch, Royal Chief, Beaumaris, and Dalray. C.J.C. Challenge Stakes: Reremoana, Cricket Bat, Royal Chief, and Defaulter. North Island Challenge Stakes: Reremoana, Kindergarten (three times), Mainbrace, Coleridge (twice), and Yahabeebee. Mainbrace, by Admiral's Luck, was one of the brightest stars of the early fifties and was scarcely ever beaten in his meteoric career. He attracted an offer of £50,000 from an American owner but could not pass the veterinary test.
The Wellington Cup at Trentham was won three times in succession by Cynical in the nineties, and other well known winners were Surveyor, Kindergarten, Golden Souvenir, Bruce, and Beaumaris. The best performers in the Dunedin Cup belong to the long-past heyday of the Wingatui meeting. They include Sir Modred (1881), Liberator (1894), Stepdancer (1906 and 1907), and Rorke's Drift (1916 and 1919).
Steeplechasers, too, have their place among the memorable performers of the turf in New Zealand. Great stayers who won the Grand National Steeplechase more than once included such gallant sorts as Agent (1879–80), Mutiny (1895–96), Wiltshire (1928–29), Valpeen (1934–35), and Clarion Call (1938–40).
Among the New Zealand horses that have won the famous Melbourne Cup are such champions as Martini-Henry (1883), Carbine (1890), Sasanof (1916), Nightmarch (1929), Phar Lap (1930), Wotan (1936), Hiraji (1947), Foxzami (1949), Dalray (1952), and, more recently, Toporoa and Hi Jinx.
The best of the sprint recordholders in New Zealand are Gloaming, Blue Trout, Pastel, Irish Note, Fountainhead, and Yahabeebee, and the 2 mile record-holder is Great Sensation. Gloaming and Blue Trout also registered Australasian records.
The harness sport of trotting and pacing is more popular in New Zealand than anywhere else in the world, with the possible exception of America, and many notable names are associated with it. Peter Bingen won the New Zealand Trotting Cup, the blue riband of the sport, both in 1928 and in 1929, and was followed by some other great multiple winners in the idolised Harold Logan (1931–32), the great long-striding Indianapolis (1934–35–36), the speedy Haughty (1942–43), the brilliant Highland Fling (1947–48), and False Step (1958–59–60), who had distinguished performances also in both Australia and America. Johnny Globe, another winner of the Trotting Cup, holds the world pacing record for 2 miles – 4 min 7.6 sec.
by Ronald Jones, Journalist and Script Writer, New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation, Wellington.