Dr Stewart McKay rated Martin Stainforth’s painting of the finish of the AJC Craven Plate at Randwick in 1918 as just about the apogee of his unique ability to capture racehorses in action in art. He was rightly famous for his depictions of horses and dogs in portraits.

The featured image shows the finish of the AJC Craven late at Randwick in 1918. Reading from the rails: Cetigne (A. Wood) first, Desert Gold (fourth), Wolaroi (second), Estland (third). The painting was then in the possession of Mr W. A. Crowle.

Possibly because of this painting the AJC Craven Plate in 1918 has become a tributary totem to racing in this era before the advent of photography of the finishes and certainly photo finish cameras.

The winner ‘Cetigne’ later retired to Mr T A Stirton’s Dunlop Stud at Merriwa. Mr Stirton was on the AJC Committee. The AJC Judge at this time was J A K Shaw from Scone who lived at ‘Geraldton’; now my and my  spouse Sarah’s home.