SC Rewind: A Friendly 'Invasion'

In this week's Rewind Robert Smith travels back to the decade of the 1960's as he recalls what might have been then termed an Invasion, although that term might be a bit misleading.  Read on to see what he has in store for readers this week. 

Back about the early to mid-1960's North American harness racing experienced what might be called "an invasion" or perhaps a lot of other words like infusion.  At the time a fairly large number of horses made their way north from New Zealand,  a country rich in harness racing history. It was also home to a lot of horses,  and many were apparently for sale.  

I'm not about to write a history of who was first or most successful in importing horses from "Down Under" as the term was often used. My story today touches on a small sampling of importing New Zealand horses by a gentleman who did just about everything else in his nearly 100 years involving harness racing.  Why not be involved in such a novel adventure as this to add to his resume?  

Perhaps around 1961 or maybe a year or two later Keith Waples made a trip to the "Antipodes",  a term people of the Northern hemisphere use to describe Australia and New Zealand.  I believe the story goes that he had a slight injury (maybe a wrist or ankle ailment) that would curtail his busy driving routine for a short time so he decided to diversify and take a little trip.  Where did he choose?  Well, NEW ZEALAND, of course!  

Note: About how far is it from Canada to New Zealand?  A Google check reveals the following answer: 13,056 kilometres, or maybe about 8,000 miles.  Not quite just around the corner!  

Accompanied by his close friend and sometimes business partner Jim Keeling,  the twosome set sail to New Zealand.  The end result of the trip was the purchase of a number of horses of varying pedigree,  age and past history.  Keith's son Gord relayed in a recent conversation a few of the details of the then very unusual purchase.  I did ask him about a horse named Admit, perhaps the best of the lot and maybe even one that at least a few people might still remember.  

"Yes, Admit was one of the better ones Dad got on his New Zealand shopping trip in 1961. He bought 12 down there as I recall. The horses were put on a ship and sailed to California.  They were transferred to a truck and ended up in Coldwater, Ontario!! Quite a hike back then. I remember him saying he only gave about 1,000 bucks apiece for them, and obviously some didn’t turn out." 

By the fall of 1966 quite a bit had happened with a number of the New Zealand imports.  One which seemingly stood out from the rest was an aged pacing gelding named simply Admit.  It seems that this horse had become quite popular on the Ontario Jockey Club circuit and a rather intense yet friendly rivalry ensued between Admit and a horse called Clandeboye,  owned, trained and driven by legendary horseman Clint Hodgins.  

The routine of training and racing horses in New Zealand, at least at that period in time, differed quite a bit from what we are familiar with in North America.  They did not always break their horses at a young age and also many did not start their racing careers until they were at or near the "aged" category.  

By this time Admit was 11 years old but obviously with still "lots left in the tank" as the saying goes.  As a spry 11-year-old he recorded his lifetime record of 2:03.4 and in the process ended the season with 11 victories, two second-place finishes and two thirds in 20 starts.  His season's earnings amounted to $12,396,  certainly a respectable sum almost 60 years ago.  

Clandeboye, also a gelding, and the other horse in the much anticipated race at this time, was just five years old.  The presence of the two drivers undoubtedly went a long way in creating the matchup.  The statement made near the end of the program writeup tells a lot about this rivalry.  

It read: "The presence of Waples and Hodgins in this all-star lineup promises to produce the race of the year on the Golden Horseshoe Circuit."  That was a pretty bold statement that this could be "The Race Of The Year." 

Excerpt from Mohawk race program November 1966 

The "showdown" described in the above write-up did take place.  On the evening of November 25, 1966, the eighth race on that night's Mohawk program was listed as a Junior - Invitation Pace for a purse of $3,000.  A field of seven went postward and the mile time of 2:04.3 was flashed on the infield teletimer at the finish.   The result is shown below: 

Admit (Keith Waples) - 1
Clandeboye (Clint Hodgins) - 2 
J J Wann (Rejean Boily) - 3
Lynden Almer (Brian Webster) - 4
Earlylakes John (Earl Lake) - 5 
Gentry Yates (Wm. Wellwood) - 6
Intrigue N (Not identified) - 7 

Note: At some point after a rather large number of horses made their way from New Zealand to Canada and the U.S., the practice of showing "N" after their name was established.  Somehow Admit did not have that designation while Intrigue N did.  Undoubtedly a matter of timing.  

Closing Note: While many horses were imported from New Zealand in the 1960s and later, this was Keith Waples' one and only trip to that far away land. It apparently is quite an exhausting experience travelling that far and might explain why the horses were also very tired when they arrived here. In a recent conversation with Ron Waples he stated that it took quite some time for the horses to adjust to their "new world" after the very long trip. He recalled training a number of the imports including Admit but did not think he ever drove him in a race.

A Bonus From 1966 

The preparation of this week's Rewind required quite a bit of research involving the beloved old U.S.T. A. Yearbook.  These trusty old black covered books are an indispensable resource in researching old race records.  While leafing through a few "oldies" I decided to jot down a list of winning drivers at Mohawk during the week of November 21, 1966.  They are shown below listed in alphabetical order.  I hope they revive at least a few old memories. 

Clure Archdekin, Ralph Babbin, Rejean Boily, L. Callacott, Ken Carmichael, Wm. Carroll, Pat Crowe, Brent Davies, Dale Dufty,  Ivan Farr, Ron Feagan, Renald Filion, Russ Furness, Barry Galbraith, Lloyd Gilmour, Art Hansen, Jimmy Holmes, Harry Ingles, Jack Kopas, Guy Larush, Ken McElroy, Jim McIntyre, Phil Laframboise, Marcel L'Heureux, Wm. Habkirk, Carman Hie, Wm. Madill, Stan Maguire, Bill Megens, Harold McKinley,  M. Poulin, Percy Robillard, Gerald Robinson, Ivan Sugg, Harold Varcoe, Robert Walker, Allan Waddell, Keith Waples, Harold Wellwood Sr., Wm. Wellwood, George Zirnis.  This list was truly from A to Z. 

Quote For The Week: "Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I may remember. Involve me and I will understand for a lifetime." Chinese Proverb - Used in a TROT article about Sue and Darryl Swain, Feb. 2009 

Who Is It?  

Can you identify the two gents shown in the above photo?  

Who Else Is It?  

Can you identify the above two folks in this rather old photo taken in California about 1950?  The lady was just 22 at the time and nationally known in her chosen sport. 

An Ad From The Past 

This ad was found in a 1984 issue of The Standardbred magazine.  It would indicate that horses from New Zealand were still quite in demand.  Longtime editor and founder of this magazine was Barbara (Waples) Lennox.