I continue with my resume of the denouement of the Scone Race Club during the latter part of the 20th century. This article has appeared in several iterations; all under my signature. I include it here for ‘completeness’.

The Featured Image is of absolute legend Lester Pigott on ‘Windeyer’, 7 April 1995. This was just a few months after the opening of the new track. I doubt he would have ridden at White Park? Lester spent some time with Hilton Cope and myself in the Judge’s Box.

The Exodus, the Genesis and “A Dream That Could Be Realised”:

The Evolution of a New Racecourse

 

On one of his frequent visits to the Upper Hunter Valley, Emeritus Professor Rex Butterfield, President of the Australian Equine Research Foundation and Keeneland (USA) representative in Australia, remarked on the similarity of events at that time to the genesis of the “Keeneland Concept” in Kentucky in 1936. The date was sometime in the early 1980’s and the Upper Hunter was witness to a flurry of activity in the development of thoroughbred racing and breeding in the district, possibly unprecedented, even in the benchmark industries so important historically to the locality.

 

In his concluding remarks addressed to a mass meeting of breeders and others interested in racing at the Lafayette Hotel on Wednesday afternoon March 20, 1935 Major Louie A. Beard said: “This may seem like a dream, but I believe it is a dream that can be realised.” (‘The Thoroughbred Record ‘(USA) October 10 1936).

 

The meeting witnessed by Professor Butterfield was held at the Scone Bowling Club. It was a gathering of like-minded people representing the fledgling Hunter Valley Bloodhorse Breeders Association (HVBHBA) and inevitably the local racing industry. The significance of the astute Professor’s observations as we approach the closing of White Park Racecourse (22/10/94 and 24/10/94) and the opening date (18/11/94) of the new course at Satur can now be placed in true perspective. Actually the rebirth of the new track is in fact a return after a lapse of around100 years, to racing in the Satur locality. As detailed in Daniel Morgan’s excellent thesis The Reality of the Turf (Scone’s Colonial Horse Racing, 1842 – 1900), first class racing was held at Mr. Frederick Augustus Parbury’s property from 1892 – 1915 under the auspices of the Scone Jockey Club.

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Golden Slipper Princess 1969

The featured image shows Jean McPherson with all time great Golden Slipper Winner “Vain” at Rosehill Race Track in 1969. Vain went on to be a Champion Sire based at ‘Widden Stud’ in the Widden Valley

A seminal event occurred in 1969 which I believe represented the apotheosis of overarching convivial community approval in my fifty years in Scone. It occurred in 1969. I recall totemic accountant Don Scott remarking this was the high point in his period of stewardship which embraced all creeds and castes. The RSL club was an exclusively male bastion still populated by a majority of veterans over auxiliaries. Men like George McLaughlin and Ernie Cone were treated with reverence and respect. Governor of NSW Sir Roden Cutler VC was a special guest during the year. ‘Everyone’ was there. The Scone Race Club Committee was populated by racing men, stud masters, farmers and graziers, businessmen, tradesmen and covering every ilk. Jock Robertson, David Macintyre and Arthur Bragg doubled on the Sone Polo Club Committee.

I refer to the competition for the inaugural Golden Slipper Princess promulgated and promoted by the Sydney Turf Club (STC) and supreme entrepreneurial Director George Ryder. George was the inspirational stud master of ‘Woodlands’ near Denman. Harley Walden has written most enthusiastically of the event in his appositely named treatise: ‘The Spirit Within’.

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I’m continuing my treatise on the evolution of the Scone Race Club. Rightly or wrongly this has featured powerfully in my lifetime. There have been many changes. This article by Craig Young in the Sydney Morning Herald marks a high point.

Centre of Excellence

Craig Young lit the fuse in his seminal article in the Sydney Morning Herald (17/05/10) ‘Scone presents excellent opportunity to produce something special’. Young wrote: “Now thoroughbred racing has a strategic plan, why not start at Scone? Do at least one job properly. Turn the track in the centre of Australian racing’s equine heartland into something to behold: a racing and training facility the envy of the rest of the country. England has Newmarket, France has Deauville, the US has Kentucky and Ireland has the famous Curragh,” Scone Race Club chairman Noel Leckie said on Friday when told the Hunter Valley team was set to create history again. ”All those places are major breeding centres that enjoy their own internationally famous racing carnivals. Scone’s internationally recognised thoroughbred breeding industry can join this world-leading racing group and provide great opportunities for our region with a carnival program that compares favourably with our international counterparts. So Scone can lead the way for racing. The time is right. Why doesn’t the racing industry rally behind this opportunity like never before? Self-interest – racing’s one certainty – will likely again intervene but there is hope. Well, Scone is ripe for a rebuild. We’re not talking about erecting an architectural-award-winning grandstand (it has one) that will cost a fortune, but putting in training tracks, stables, walking machine, pools, etc. Scone equine hospital is already there. Then there is Inglis Bloodstock, the equine auction house. Remember, this historic mob is selling up at Kensington, around the corner from Randwick racetrack in Sydney, and moving out west to Warwick Farm. With it the much-neglected Warwick Farm may well become a centre of excellence the envy of all. What an opportunity awaits at Scone. That strategic plan (Racing NSW) talks about funding such developments, for it ‘is a crucial element of the investment in infrastructure to be undertaken by Racing NSW’. Racing NSW expects to pump in $70m over the next five years to make these centres a reality. Anyway, what better time to strike than now? The Scone Race Club certainly isn’t sitting still. It has turned its annual Scone Cup meeting into a celebration of racing. Last Friday’s (14/05/10) was yet another striking example. The surrounding studs – too many to mention – are the most influential in thoroughbred racing and they’ve jumped on board with the SRC. That’s excellent”.

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Featured Image

Andrew Murray Bain among the thoroughbreds he loved. He started the idea of the horse boxes.

Murray was the owner/breeder of ‘Todmaid’, ‘Obelia’, ‘Little Gum Nut’ and posthumously ‘Dark Eclipse’ (Golden Slipper 1980)

White Park Horse Boxes & Sales

Historical Perspective

Since 1947 Thoroughbred Sales had been conducted at White Park, Scone under the auspices of Scone Agency Pitt Son & Keene Pty Ltd and William Inglis & Sons of Sydney. According to local intelligence this was driven by agent Stan Keene. Simultaneously the recently constituted Scone Race Club held its first cup meeting on Wednesday 7^th May 1947. Doug Robertson of historic ‘Turanville’ was the inaugural chairman. Mr Reg Inglis of William Inglis & Sons donated £50 towards the building and construction of the Judge’s Tower. The transaction was handled by SRC Committeeman Laurie Morgan of ‘Redbank’.

The annual May Thoroughbred Sales were established as a pivotal component of what was to emerge as Scone Thoroughbred Week held during the second week of the month every year. Traditionally the sales were conducted over two days on Monday/Tuesday with the Cup Races following on Wednesday/Thursday.  The carnival rapidly built momentum in the 25 years 1947 – 1972. It was firmly established as one of the leading country racing festivals in the State. Initial patronage was richly fuelled by the massive transient workforce imported for the construction of Glenbawn Dam. This created a tradition which still exists today (although much diminished) of cadres of original workers returning to the fray for a ‘good time’.  The sons of the original proponents now in their 60s book the Golden Fleece Hotel for convivial reunion each year.

Horse Box Construction

Track Redevelopment and construction of the Horse Boxes at White Park gathered more momentum in the early 1970s. The original concept was the brainchild of the fertile mind of local veterinarian Murray Bain. Thoroughbred sales peaked in the late 60s with some very lucrative dispersal sales conducted at White Park. The original component of about 70 tie-up stalls, parade ring and yards was inadequate to accommodate the growing consignments to both races and sales.

Murray Bain composed personal letters to most if not all the stud masters in the area to secure funding for the new concept of horse box construction. Murray Bain and Associates contributed the first $1000:00 to establish the embryonic fund. Douglas Alger Staff QC of Baerami House Stud quickly followed up with $100:00. This was matched by John Kelso (Timor Creek), Frank Thompson (Widden) Vivian Bath (Bhima), Alec Terry (Tarwyn Park), James Mitchell (Yarraman Park), Lionel Israel (Segenhoe), Carl Powell )Brooklyn Lodge), Stanley Wootton and many others. The Scone Shire Council as trustees of White Park was a strong supporter vigorously backed by then extant Scone Shire President David Macintyre (Kayuga).

The concept of horse boxes marched in tandem with the redevelopment of the White Park Race Track. This was all made possible by the donation of three-and-a-half acres of adjacent land in two blocks by Mr & Mrs A M Bain (‘Chivers’) and Sir Alister & Lady Thelma McMullin (St Aubins). The former was Vice-President of the Scone Race Club and Sir Alister the Patron. A new 1400 metre (7 furlong) chute was constructed on the new acquisition. This allowed for construction of horse boxes on land which had been the original 7 furlong chute and start right next to the public enclosure.

The Scone Advocate, Tuesday 19^th March 1974: Front Page Lead Article

Plans drawn up for “Horse Hotel”

The project to build 220 high standard loose boxes for the stabling of horses at White Park is now underway. Plans for the boxes have been drawn up by Mr John Kirshaw and were shown to Scone Shire Council by Deputy Shire President Cr T V Bowd on Wednesday (13^th March 1974).

The total number of boxes built will eventually be 220, but Stage I of the project, for which plans have been drawn up, will see the building of 110 loose boxes and the relocation of the present exercise ring to allow for positioning of the horse boxes.

The plans have already been approved by the committee in charge of the project and tenders for construction of the boxes will close on Monday 8^th April.

Cr D Macintyre, seconded by Cr E Barton, moved that Council approve the plans and the motion was carried unanimously.

Cr Bowd told councillors that a recommendation on the letting of the tender would be presented to the April meeting of Council.

Iron and Timber

The plans for the boxes envisage construction of timber and corrugated iron, with concrete floors and bitumen lanes between each row of boxes.

Cr Bowd added, however, that there was provision for tenderers to submit a tender based on the cost of concrete block construction of boxes.

The boxes will be of 10 feet x 10 feet, with six 12 feet x 12 feet.

Stage 2

Stage 2 of the project will see the old horse stables at White Park demolished to allow construction of another 110 modern boxes and added car parking space.

Cr Bowd said there was no time limit on Stage I because of the expected shortages in the building industry.

Apart from donations of $26,000 the venture will be financed by a Council loan of $30,000 repayable over 10 years from a levy of 1 per cent of all horse sales in White Park.

Donations so far have been $20,000 from William Inglis & Sons and $6,000 from local stud owners making a total of $26,000.

Cost of both stages of the project is currently estimated at $102,000.

The first sales where the 1 per cent levy will be paid are expected to be the thoroughbred sales in May.

The minutes of the Scone Shire Council of 10 April 1974 record the tender of Concast Pty Ltd for the construction of 110 boxes costing $69,771:00 was accepted “subject to satisfactory arrangements being made to the provide additional finance of $14,000:00”. The first series of 90 boxes were built at a cost of $60,000:00 solicited through donations from industry secured by the Murray Bain inspired fund with the Scone Shire Council as trustee. $10,000:00 each from Pitt Son & Keene and William Inglis and Sons added enormous impetus to the project. I think it is fair to claim it would not have proceeded without? The caveat was a binding guarantee from Scone Shire Council that the combined agents had exclusive rights to sell Thoroughbred Horses in the local government area covered by Scone Shire Council for 20 years from November 1974 to November 1994. This was agreed with celerity and alacrity. Armed with this backing the Scone Shire Council raised a loan of $40,000:00. The boxes were first used for the 1975 May sales.

The second stage of the three-stage program to build a further 80 boxes were completed by December the same year at a cost of $87,800:00. Further donations were received from William Inglis & Sons ($1000:00), Scone Shire Council ($10,000:00) plus a grant of $73,574:00 from Gough Whitlam’s Labour Government Rural Employment Development (RED) Scheme. This came at just the right time.

By 1980 further improvements were made to both the race track and the horse boxes. $58,000:00 was spent on the grandstand plus amenities block and a further $10,000:00 on the horse boxes.

The ‘new’ grandstand was completed early during my (W P Howey) term of Office as President of Scone Race Club. We had received a grant of $40,000:00 from the Race Course Development Fund of the TAB of NSW. Unfortunately we were about $30,000:00 short. With some others I/we managed to cajole sufficient funds from Studs and individuals to allow construction to begin. We used the original Murray Bain approach with the addition of debentures (250:00) which could be multiple, redeemable or interminable in perpetuity. Included in donations and debentures were significant amounts from Morgan Howey Fraser (Veterinarians), Widden Stud (Bim Thompson), Bhima Stud (David Bath), Gyarran Stud (Jack Sheppard), Rosehill Stud (Boyd Gageler), Bill Howey (Hepple Farm), Yarramolong Stud (David Casben), Kelvinside (Hilton Cope), Peter Morris (Derby King Ranch, Woodlands). The stand was opened by Mr Ron W Auswild OBE Chairman of the NSW TAB on 1^st December 1979.

Summary

It would be accurate to claim that the history of both racing and thoroughbred horse sales at White Park 1947-to-date represented a working symbiosis between like-minded people throughout the industry. Progress and development marched in unity. Partners included the Scone Race Club, Scone Shire Council, Thoroughbred Stud Masters and Breeders, Hunter Valley Thoroughbred Breeders Association, William Inglis & Sons, Pitt Son & Keene Pty Ltd, local businesses, individuals and the whole Scone community. There was clarity of vision and unity of purpose; mostly!

Bibliography:

‘The Spirit Within’: Scone’s Racing History                       Harley Walden                  HVP

‘Scone Shire’: A Centenary of Local Government’             Audrey Entwisle               HVP

‘The Infinitive History of Veterinary Practice in Scone’:   W P Howey                         HVP

W. P. Howey

Scone 15/05/17

Bruce Lowe (1845 – 1894)

“The Gentle Giant from Clarencetown’

Charles Bruce Lowe was born in ‘Clarencetown’ NSW in 1845. This is not quite the Upper Hunter but we’ll claim him nonetheless. Bruce Lowe attained fame and to some extent notoriety from a scholarly treatise. The Family Numbers commonly used to designate the various Thoroughbred female families were popularized by Bruce Lowe. Lowe’s seminal work, ‘Breeding Horses by the Figure System’ was published posthumously in 1895 by his friend and editor, William Allison. He had traced back the pedigrees of the complete list of winners of the oldest English classics, the St. Leger Stakes, Epsom Derby Stakes and Epsom Oaks, grouping them by direct lines of tail female descent, from dam to granddam and on back until the family was no longer traceable in the General Stud Book. There were 34 taproot mares listed in the first volume of Weatherby’s General Stud Book.  A further 9 non-winning families were also given numbers, making 43 in all.

He then tallied the number of classic winners produced by each family and listed them in declining order. The family with the most classic winners, the one descending from Tregonwell’s Natural Barb Mare, was designated Family #1, the Burton Barb Mare second, designated Family #2, and so on. The resulting forty-three numbered families became the core of his study, and while few actually adhere to Lowe’s resulting theory, many still use his family numbers as a convenient way to categorize Thoroughbred families. Herman Goos, who had first published a comprehensive collection of pedigree tables in 1885, expanded the number of Lowe families to fifty.

Lowe’s theory went far beyond identifying female strains. Of these families, he found that nine in particular appeared to be indispensable in the breeding of top racehorses, and he divided these into two classes, running(family #s 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5) and sire (family #s 3, 8, 11, 12, and 14) or as Lowe preceived them, feminine and masculine. His theory, too complex to relate here, was based on balancing the “feminine and masculine factors” by using these two classes of families as core to good matings.

“The Bruce Lowe Figure System”

Commentary by Mr R H Dangar of ‘Neotsfield’, Singleton on his friend Bruce Lowe as quoted in ‘Racehorses in Australia’ edited by Dr W H Lang, Ken Austin and Dr Stewart McKay. R H Dangar also knew Frank Reynolds; they were virtually neighbours.

“I do not know much of Bruce Lowe’s earlier history, but understand he commenced making out his figures in his spare time when inspector of Government lands out back in Queensland. Later, he and Frank Reynolds worked together, or perhaps it would be more correct to say compared notes, as I think they worked independently, and discussed the question together afterwards.

“On appearance he was very tall and thin, with brownish grey hair, a very gentle nature, with a quiet voice, and altogether, as I knew him, a most lovable man. He had indifferent health for some years latterly in his life, and eventually died in London, whither he had gone to finish his book and get it published. He had a small connection as a stud stock agent in Sydney, and we, among others used to send him our yearlings, and it was a treat to hear him reel off yards of stuff for T S Clibborn to repeat from the box. Lowe had no voice for selling, and he told me once he did not think he could get up and harangue the crowd – so he got Mr Clibborn to sell for him, and used to prompt him as if he were reading out of a book, with never a note to help him – and catalogues in those days were not the elaborate productions of today. As to his character – well, I cannot believe he knew how to do a dirty action, and I would simply not believe anyone who might say anything against him.”

Dr W H Lang, Ken Austin and Dr Stewart McKay:

‘So you have here an authentic sketch of this quiet, upright, gentle man, whom you may have misjudged somewhat from his writings, and from the acrimonious discussions which his antagonist, and his disciples have raised over his grave, from time to time’.

“If the shattered world falls, the wreck may crush him, but still undismayed.”

“The gentlest are always the bravest; the bravest are always the best.”

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Lizard Strike

I referred in an earlier ‘Blog’ on ‘What About Winx’ to our mature male camarilla of country which meets in a Scone café every Wednesday morning. Mysteriously one of our number was inexplicably absent for a few weeks. He is otherwise both an avid and regular attendee. The explanation which emerged later stretches the very borders of credibility. The main protagonist is from a scion pastoral family with a record of excellence in his contribution to Agriculture. He has been decorated by the Governor General at the highest level. The principal antagonist was a local Goanna resident in his garden. The story is roughly as follows.

The Goanna represented a threat to the chickens, chooks, eggs, small dogs and resident native birds. The spouse of the house wanted it removed. In hindsight it was unwise to approach the Goanna in coloured stockings across the lawn without any foot cover. The Goanna started out ‘at about 6ft from head to the tip of its tail’; more on this later. Grabbing a 6ft Goanna by the tail can be done if you are tall enough. However the mouth and fangs of the suspended reptile will be at about lawn level. Under the circumstances the coloured-stocking-covered big toe of the right foot of the human assailant must have seemed an irresistible morsel; either as foodstuff or aggressive protective instinct. It was; and did. The denouement would have been amusing if it wasn’t so painful and irksome. There aren’t many references to Goanna strike in the medical text books. Suffice it to say that the jaws of a large Goanna locked onto its target are extremely difficult to prise apart. Protestation and administration by a willing and able spouse at last contrived a release from lizard lockjaw using the appropriate farm weaponry. Both protagonist and antagonist escaped. However this was not the end of the story. The mouth and fangs of a mature Goanna harbour a rich multiflora of pathogenic bacteria. Infection set in; it took a lot of post-strike medical treatment to effect a full recovery. Fortunately the eventual outcome was entirely favourable with both honour and savaged-toe intact. The Goanna is still at large and has grown to 8ft with retelling. It’s proud custodian of one large severely traumatized multi-coloured sock much to the chagrin of the original owner who now only has one! ‘Wallaby’ enquired rather unkindly if the Goanna Hunter would wear steel-capped boots in future?

As is usual in the bush the telegraph works. The embellished story did the rounds. Some relatives on the dam’s side ostensibly from establishment Victoria excelled with exceptional poetry in response. Apposite artwork accompanied the exquisite prose. I acknowledge all the contributors although I indefatigably deny absolute identity of any? There are three components to the anthology:

1. Persecution
2. Retribution
3. Opportunity

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John Inglis … was his unit’s SP bookie during the war.
Photo: Barry Chapman

John Inglis aka “The Boss”

Former highly valued Inglis employee and Scone Bloodstock Agent Kieran Moore has just reminded me (‘The Bar’, Scone 15/11/18) that John was always known as ‘The Boss’; no argument and everyone knew who! Kieran’s tales from ‘behind the gavel’ are legendary! I will try to catch up sometime. There was a secret ‘language’ between John and Ossie Roberts which you could not detect from under the Morton Bay Fig Tree. I did perceive it on the few occasions when I occupied in the vendors box. You had to be an ‘insider’ to interpret the signs! Suffice it to say that there were ‘favoured’ vendors and buyers; and then there were others! It was a very serious contest.

I was going to call this blog ‘The Rock’. I should have done; it would have been apposite. Almost 50 years ago Harold Baldwin told me the reason he stayed in the thoroughbred breeding industry was one man: John Inglis. Harold was a business man well used to the vagaries and vicissitudes of everyday business and barter transactions; occasionally encountering the recusant, rebarbative, fraudulent and serially mendacious. John Inglis represented the very pinnacle of integrity, honour, honesty, decency and reliability. He was an immutable constant in a cabal with few others. Harold trusted him implicitly. I quickly learned to do the same. The industry does no always engender such implicit trust.

In the encomium reproduced below there is reference to ‘hoaxers’. I was once the unwitting victim of a serious hoax. John was my salvation. I had just sold a yearling by ‘Bletchingly’ for the then enormous sum of $105,000:00 in about 1980 knocked down to champion trainer T J Smith. My brown colt out of ‘Beyond All’ was lot number 13 in the Easter Catalogue. ‘Beyond All’ was a sister-in-blood to champion mare ‘Lowland’. ‘Kingston Town’ was at his peak and ‘Bletchingly’ was champion sire. Angus Armanasco had inspected him and declared “he was the most like ‘Bletchingly’ he had seen”. The planets were aligned. I was floating on air as I descended from the vendor’s box.  I almost knocked over cold, grey-eyed George Freeman who had the next lot in the ring. From there things started to go awry. The supposed purchaser, a Mr. Prosser, came back to the stables with us and discussed possible names. The same buyer also bought a Biscay colt from Sir Tristan Antico’s ‘Baramul Stud’ for $80,000:00. I conducted an interview with a commercial TV station. The portents were excellent; until Mr. Prosser turned out to be a complete fraud! John Inglis tried to chase him down including through a local Synagogue but the man was a charlatan without any money, capacity or intent to pay! John came to see me. He looked me in the eye and said: ‘Don’t worry Bill; Tommy (T J Smith) and I have been doing business for 50 years. You’ll get your money’. He was as good as his word. My colt raced as ‘Norseman’ and won a midweek race at Rosehill for c-owner Mrs. Darby Munro. Sir Tristan’s Biscay colt was more successful racing as ‘The Challenge’.

When I accompanied the Baramul horses to the USA in 1970 my immediate boss was Jack Flood. Jack worked for ‘Mr. Inglis’. He always called him that and was full of lavish praise. On another occasion Hugh Munro from ‘Keira’, Bingara turned up late one winter Sunday afternoon with a float-load of cull broodmares for sale. Who helped him unload and provide stabling; none other than J. A. Inglis ‘as soon as he’d finished feeding the pigeons’. Racing pigeons were his relaxing passion. We used to host release for his club at our Scone Cup Race Meeting. It was a very popular feature. The winning pigeon used to take little over an hour reaching its loft in Randwick. As always John and the firm William Inglis & Sons were the best friends we had in Scone. They sponsored races and invested significantly in building sales boxes at White Park. There were myriad other courtesies and kindnesses. Not many are recorded.

Cliff Ellis and I attended Tom Flynn’s (Oakleigh Stud) Memorial Service in the beautiful Heber Chapel in Cobbitty. John delivered the eulogy but was overcome with emotion. He was an extremely sensitive man. On another occasion a close family member had passed away. I wrote to Mr. and Mrs. Inglis. The next time I saw John he took my hand in his and held it firmly. Tears poured down his cheeks. No words were necessary. Mrs. Inglis had been a close school friend of my late mother-in-law. It always felt like ‘family’. With John Inglis his word was his bond. There aren’t many who can justifiably claim this honour.

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Why Horses Thrive in the Hunter Valley

(Acknowledgment: Dr Stuart McKay ‘How to Breed an Australian Horse’)

This is one of the most frequent questions put to me for over 50 years. I offer the following explanation from an industry leader, author and expert scientist of a century ago.

Featured Image:

Trafalgar (4*):

Chestnut Horse, 1905, by Wallace-Grand Canary; Winner of £22,111 and a high class stayer.;Now at the stud in NSW. Sire of Visibility, Heart of Oak, Annexit, etc.; Owned by the Executors of the late Walter Mitchell, NSW; from a painting of the horse, at the age of 7 years, in the possession of Dr Stewart McKay.

Australia contains magnificent country, and portions of it are blessed with a climate which is ideal for the purpose of breeding and rearing horseflesh. This is especially true of the Upper Hunter Valley. There is abundant procurable land at not too extravagant a price. It can be obtained in comparatively large areas. The soil is suitable in many localities for the purpose. The climate is excellent.

There are three major components essential to achieve the greatest amount of success in rearing horses:

1. Sufficient area of suitable land. There is an abundance of feed in favourable seasons and plenty of limestone in the soil. The contour of the land varies and the soil is not too rich. The feet of young horses are fashioned by the country they run on. Horses require frequent change. As far as possible on comparatively large areas everything can be left to Nature which is the reverse of Cato’s maxim: “Laudito ingentia rura. Exiguum colito” (“Praise up big areas. Use small ones”).
2. Every paddock must have efficient shelters. ‘The cold winds of winter blow mournfully here’. Plantations of suitable trees and artificial sheds make effective wind breaks. Shade in summer is equally necessary. Control of the bush fly menace has been largely alleviated by the introduction of South African Dung Beetles by the CSIRO.
3. Artificial Supplementary Feeding. In the average season mares carrying their foals require nothing in the way of artificial food once the winter has passed away. The grass supplies them with an abundance of good milk and their offspring are better for the natural sustenance unaffected by over-stimulation of oats or chaff. Some mares have a tendency to wax over gross and produce little milk. Supplementation with good quality sweet oaten chaff, well crushed oats and some course bran are all that is required until late autumn. Appetite stimulants such as brown sugar or equivalent may be added. These amounts can be increased with encroaching winter with the addition of boiled barley as an extra ‘caloric’. Many alternative quality supplementary feeds are readily available in the Upper Hunter Valley. Observation vigilance is required at all times to monitor minute changes in the general condition of maternal and growing horses.

The Upper Hunter Valley NSW Australia meets all the criteria for successful horse production and has emerged as one of the three greatest global centres for this enterprise along with Newmarket UK and Kentucky USA.

James White Story

I have written elsewhere about the Honourable James White from the famous pioneer ‘Belltrees’ family here in the Upper Hunter. My very good friend Sam North wrote this for me at the time of our Melbourne Cup extravaganza at Scone in October 2010. I called this a ‘Colloquium of Cups’ and it appears earlier in my ‘blog’. I thought it was worth repeating here as a ‘stand-alone’ feature. It is a remarkable story about a remarkable man. Read on!

See also:

See also: https://kingsoftheturf.com/1887-the-king-of-kirkham/

See also: https://kingsoftheturf.com/1877-the-defeat-of-chester/

See also: https://kingsoftheturf.com/1889-the-end-of-an-era/

See also: https://kingsoftheturf.com/1883-le-grand-and-martini-henry/

See also: https://kingsoftheturf.com/1884-newmarket-and-the-hon-james-white/

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Mecca of Racing

 

I rediscovered this article when I was searching for some information on Herbie Eveleigh. It reminded me of the loss of Harley Walden; commemorated so well in the ‘Thoroughbred’ reiteration. I acknowledge the source in www.scone.com. The commentary is both classically and quintessentially Harley. He retained a lifelong love of the Scone Race Club in particular and racing in Scone in general. I cannot recall a more devoted patron who wrote so passionately on his favourite topic for so long. Vale Harley.

It also fits very well with Bert Lillye story reported earlier

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