Indholdsfortegnelse for January 2022 i Turf Monthly

George Meddick, the jockey who rode Kingsburgh to victory, said that he weighed 5 st 1 lb (32kg). It is not heavy weight but looking at him one was forced to the conclusion that he is surely the smallest boy who ever raced home in front of the field in the Melbourne Cup. He said "I come from Mr Kelso’s stable. I was born in Newcastle, New South Wales, and am 18 years of age. I have won about 22 races. I think the most important were the Canterbury Park Cup and the Waverley Handicap, both this year. I had only ridden Kingsburgh three times." Coming to the race, Meddick said "I got away well, and I think I was about fifth. Then I dropped back a bit, but I…

 Billy McLachlan will ever remember his association with the great New Zealand mare Desert Gold, bred, owned and raced by Mr TH Lowry, as fine a sportsman as ever lived. In all, McLachlan rode Desert Gold in six of her races here. He won the St George Stakes and the Governor’s Plate on her in Victoria, and the Autumn Stakes and the All-Aged Stakes at Randwick. He was second on her to Wedge in the Futurity, and second to Wallace Isinglass in the King’s Plate. She went down to Wedge in the Futurity, but McLachlan told Mr Lowry afterwards that if the race were re-run she would win. She drew a bad position at the start and was never favorably positioned. Still, Wedge was one of the fastest horses ever raced…

Lady Mostyn was sent to the stallion Wallace in the 1901 season. The subsequent foal was a filly that was retained by McDonald and named Lady Wallace who was a remarkable racehorse. She had her first race in November of her 2yo season, finishing fourth. A third at Rosehill followed and then she had her first win over 1000m on 28 December at Randwick. Three days later she won over the same course and distance, and completed a treble only two days later, this time over 1100m. After a quick let up, Lady Wallace ran second to Binnia who she had previously beaten, in the AJC Sires Produce over 1200m before winning the Easter Stakes over 1400m. She rounded off the carnival, and her 2yo season, by running third to…

We have already touched on some of the great daughters of Wallace at stud. Even then we have missed some absolute champions that trace back to a daughter of the legendary stallion. Braw Lassie by Wallace was responsible for a horse called Bengalla Lad who was a Qld favourite in the early 1970’s. Bengalla Lad won six stakes races in Brisbane including two editions of the Hopeful Stakes and the short lived Doomben Dollars as a 2yo, and later the Doomben 10,000 in 1972 while still a 3yo. He won a total of 16 races from his 60 starts which also included wins in the QTC Toorak and Ascot Handicaps and two BTC Newmarkets. He is best remembered for his epic battles with Charlton Boy with the pair being placed…

Wallace is rightly renowned as one of the greatest sires that Australia has ever seen. But this chestnut son of Carbine, and in fact the very first foal ever produced by that stallion, was a top quality racehorse. Trained by Hugh Munro, the father of jockeys Jim and Darby Munro, Wallace first faced the starter on 20 October 1894 where he ran fourth behind Blue Cap in the 900m Nursery Handicap at Caulfield. Next up at Flemington over the 1000m of the Maribyrnong Plate, he ran third on the day that Patron won the Melbourne Cup. On the Saturday, he won his first race, the 1400m Flying at Flemington before heading for a break. Wallace returned on 23 February 1895 to finish unplaced in the Oakleigh Plate at Caulfield before…

Much regret was expressed at Caulfield races on Saturday when it was learned that Mr Colin Leslie Macdonald was dying. Early that morning he had been found lying unconscious in a room in his flat at Cliveden Mansions, East Melbourne. Near him was a revolver. Mr. Macdonald, who had been in ill-health for a long time, died in a private hospital on Saturday afternoon of a bullet wound in the head. He was aged 73 years. For half a century Mr Macdonald had taken a leading part in racing affairs, first in South Australia and later in Victoria and New South Wales. Beginning his career in South Australia he was a very young man when he won the South Australian Derby with Pawnbroker in 1879. Later that season he won…

The success of Aurous did not stop at Desert Gold. Another daughter of the mare in Aureity by Grafton produced another quality galloper in Tangalooma. By Linacre, that stallion won six stakes races in Victoria in the Herbert Power, Williamstown Cup, CB Fisher Plate, Governor’s Plate and two October Stakes. The influence of Aurous has continued in Australia racing and one of the best to trace to that mare was the remarkable filly in Eye Liner by Smokey Eyes, a Qld champion who we have discussed in a previous edition. The list of descendants is long and includes horses like Breakfast Creek by Lunchtime who won three stakes races and went on to become a good sire leaving the excellent Sir Breakfast. Another son of Lunchtime from the family that…

At the same St Albans sale that Les Macdonald had purchases Kinglike and Wakeful, John McDonald purchased a mare called Bonnie Rosette with her second Wallace foal at foot and having been served by the same stallion again. John McDonald was forced to go to 700 guineas to secure the rising 14-year-old broodmare and her accompanying foal. He agreed also to lease the attractive chestnut colt to Les Macdonald. He was to be named Scottish King and went on to win three stakes races in the VRC St George, St Helier and St Leger Stakes. He was later to have a moderate career at stud. The filly that was born was an upstanding black filly, subsequently registered as Bonnie Crest. The filly was unraced after dislocating one of her hind…

Wallace was to go on to become one of the most important sires of his day, although rather oddly he won the Australian Sires’ Title only once, in the 1915-16 season. This success came largely on the back of the performances of Patrobas, a stallion that we have written about extensively in the past. He won the Caulfield Guineas, VRC Derby and Melbourne Cup that season to put Wallace on the way to success. It must also be noted that Wallace stood at a bumper time for Australian stallions and competed alongside such legendary sires as Maltster, Grafton, Linacre and The Welkin. Wallace was a daughter of the Goldsborough mare, Melodius. The mare was to produce two other stakes winners in Meli by Newminster who won the 1892 AJC First…

DESERT GOLD, one of the most brilliant and spectacular mares ever to grace the Australasian Turf, died in New Zealand last week. She was a venerable old lady at the time of her death, as she was foaled in 1912, so was rising 30 years when she died. It is not often mares live as long as Desert Gold did, but Circle, the last daughter of Carbine at the stud in Australia, who bred the Newmarket winner Blague, was about the same age as Desert Gold when she died. As a performer Desert Gold was not the equal of Wakeful, as she did not stay as well as the peerless daughter of Trenton, but she probably had as much speed. Mr Leslie Macdonald owned Wakeful during her racing career, and…

Trafalgar was out of the Splendor mare, Grand Canary. The imported British horse, Splendor by Speculum had proven a very good sire. Splendor was bred in England by Mr Crowther Harrison, and as a yearling was sold to Mr GG Stead of NZ, who was in England at the time buying mares for the Stud Company. Stead paid 420 guineas for Splendor and left him in England with Matt Dawson to train. As a 2yo, Dawson must have thought something of Splendor, as the colt made his debut the Middle Park Plate but he finished unplaced. His only other start at that age was in the Cheveley Stakes at Newmarket, running third. His first start as a 3yo in the Payne Stakes at Newmarket saw him win impressively from Ladislas,…

Eurythmic is the horse that finally took Carbine’s crown of Australasia’s highest ever stakes winner. It is fitting that we mention him here when looking at the influence of Carbine’s greatest Australian son in Wallace. Eurythmic was a son of Eudorus who was brought to Australia by JE Brewer on behalf of owners, Messrs Robinson and Clarke. He won eight races from 31 starts in the UK before coming to Australia, although none had been past 1800m. Despite being nominated for the Caulfield Cup, Eudorus proved a quality sprinter later winning the Futurity Stakes and VRC All-Aged Stakes. At stud he had moderate success outside of Eurythmic with his best being Eusebius who won the Caulfield Guineas and VRC Derby. Eurythmic was out of a Bobadil mare called Bob Cherry…