SC Rewind: Argyel Grattan, Part 1

In this week's Rewind Robert Smith starts the first of a two-part story about Argyel Grattan, a once famous horse owned by the Campbell family of Ailsa Craig, Ontario. It is also a story of one of the great racing families in our sport's earlier years that continues to this day.

The second edition will appear in an upcoming Rewind.

Turning the clock back to 1953, Canada's Horse Of The Year was Argyel Grattan. Back then there were no gala events, no O'Brien award nights and typical of the times, nothing was too 'splashy'. No one had to go out and rent a tuxedo or buy a string of pearls. The then five-year-old gelding had held this same honour in 1952 as well, so he was no "flash in the pan" as the old saying goes.

Unlike most horses of today Argyel Grattan was not born of royalty, nor did he come from posh and stately surroundings. He had not been sold at auction for a high price or for that matter even a low price. He was a homebred if ever there was one. Bred, owned, trained and driven by Duncan Campbell of Ailsa Craig, Ont., Argyel Grattan was truly the things that dreams are made of. After 30 or so years of racing horses, this equine fellow was a wonderful find, not only for his owner but for the entire Campbell family. The Campbell children were five in number; daughters Mary, Margaret and Patricia. The two boys were Ray and John, always known as "Jack". Everybody was involved in one way or another.

Foaled at the family farm on March 6, 1948, he was the result of a "Double Grattan" mating. His dam was Babe Grattan by then an 18-year-old broodmare who had performed admirably on the track and was now the farm's foundation mare. His sire was Steinway Grattan, an unraced but well-bred horse just starting out his career as a sire. I would doubt his service fee was much above $50. An early edition of The Sires & Dams book showed ‘Steinway’ as the sire of just one performer by 1950. Even that was abbreviated as it showed just Argyel 2, 2:14 2/5.

The original plan was to name the young fellow Joe Grattan. However, along about this time Mr. Campbell conceived the idea of naming his farm foals with the prefix "Argyle". It was a reference to his deep-rooted Scottish heritage and also coincided with a nickname that described the rural road where the Campbell farm stood near Nairn, "The Argyle Line". The Canadian Agricultural Department in its wisdom disallowed the name as it was already in use for a herd of shorthorn cattle. Hence a slightly varied and 'mispelled' substitute was chosen. ARGYEL it would be. Thus Joe Grattan was registered as Argyel Grattan, but was always referred to as "Joe" by the family.

His first lifetime start was at London in 1950 and 19-year-old Jack Campbell, the owner's son, did the driving. He finished 5-6 in a two-heat race won by Carter Hy driven by Marshall Moore. In later years I can recall Jack telling me that he was "pretty ordinary" at the start. He won just one race at two but earned over $1200 thanks to a stakes placing and also took a record of 2:14 2/5. At three he raced a very full season, winning exactly half or 21 of his 42 starts and earning almost $3,500. His sophomore record of 2:11 was among the best of his class.

At age four, Argyel Grattan started to show some real promise on the track and began to draw the attention of a much wider audience. Racing entirely on Ontario tracks for relatively small purses, he was the winningest horse in Canada in 1952. He faced the starter 48 times and won 39 heats, finishing second once and third four times. He was never worse than fifth. To top it off he paced 23 miles in 2:10 or better taking his season's record of 2:07 in September at the Western Fair meeting. A nice jump in earnings resulted with $ 4,000 more to his credit.

Much more about Argyel Grattan's magical year of 1953 will appear in the next episode.

In 1961 when night time racing first came to Ontario, the first such extended meeting was held at London's Western Fair Raceway, beginning in mid-May. The Campbells had often raced there during fair time and of course were thrilled to have night racing so close to their home. Despite his age (which was 61), Duncan Campbell was among the busiest and most successful drivers that spring. When the meeting closed, he was crowned the leading driver. Three of his wins came behind a 13-year-old Argyel Grattan, back at the races after a long time on the sidelines.

Early in that first season, a couple of special events were held at the London oval and the Campbells were participants in both. One involved the inviting of many local horsemen who had gone further afield in their careers but had all started in the London area. A number of them returned for the Ken MacDonald Memorial Race. Duncan was among the honoured group and won one heat of the Invitational Three-Year-Old event with his own Argyel Albert.

In the other special event which was an exhibition appearance, three members of the Campbell clan appeared; two human and one equine. They paraded the horses for a special race. Little did anyone know at the time just what a future celebrity was present that evening. As Jack Campbell, Duncan's son then at age 30, paraded the 31-year-old mare Babe Grattan, he had a special passenger with him on the jog cart. A very young John Duncan Campbell at the tender age of just 6, made his first public track appearance sitting on Jack's lap! He was dressed in a cute little set of silks fashioned by his mother Florence.

Not all that many years later John scored his first ever lifetime victory at London behind the family owned Noble Will, then trained by his Uncle Ray. John was just 17 but knew exactly what he wanted to do with his life. Now over 40 years later he is still winning races and enjoying what he does best. Despite his career accomplishments, John's greatest attribute is that he is still John Campbell. In many ways, the same young boy as when he launched his career, but now a husband, a father, a grandfather and a man of consummate class on and off the track.

Almost 30 years ago, in the fall of 1985, it was my pleasure to spend a wonderful afternoon at the Campbell farm visiting with a then 85 –year-old Duncan Rowlatt Campbell. My wife and I were welcomed into his stately yet humble home, so beautiful and warm. We visited away the few hours, chatting and looking at old pictures; the time went by so quickly. He spoke with great pride pride about his family and his lifelong involvement in harness racing. He took us back to the day in 1923 when he raced his first horse Teddy Mac in a half-mile dash at Mitchell, Ont. He won his first race with the $55 purchase and then sold him a few days later. Perhaps his greatest tale involved how he had started with just one broodmare some 60 years earlier and proudly proclaimed "I've never bought another horse since."

It was one of my most memorable times spent in preparing a story and one I shall never forget. I am pleased that a few excerpts from the story of that day are on display at the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame as part of Mr. Campbell's biography.

Pictures & Captions

Left: Duncan Campbell, the proud owner of Argyel Grattan is shown with his champion pacer in this 1953 photo taken by the noted photographer Michael Burns, Sr. Right: A very young John Campbell sports his first set of silks, specially made for him by his mother Florence.

Duncan Campbell's Argyel Farm barn where Argyel Grattan and scores more bearing the "Argyel" tag were foaled over the years. The large red structure was a landmark for many years and stood behind the stately Campbell home

Jack Campbell with sons Jim (left) and John in the Mohawk paddock. This family photo was displayed on the front cover of The Canadian Sportsman in 2005 as part of a Father's Day special.