SC Rewind: Argyel Grattan, Part 2

In this week's Rewind, Robert Smith concludes the two part story about the memorable horse Argyel Grattan and his owners, the noted Duncan Campbell family of Ailsa Craig, Ont.

When the 1953 season rolled around, some great things were hoped for and expected from Argyel Grattan, voted as Canada's Horse of the Year in 1952. Following his winter training at the Campbell farm track with a few "tighteners" at the nearby Strathroy fairgrounds, the 1953 season started for the Campbell stable on May 27th at Seaforth in the Free For All. To no one's surprise, he overpowered the opposition and went on a win streak that continued for weeks.

After making several early season starts at places like Parkhill, Goderich and Hanover, and a double heat victory at the Strathroy Dominion Day Picnic races, the big horse seemed to get better with each start. He even set new track records at both Parkhill and Hanover. Fans who followed the horses from town to town were amazed week after week as they gathered in ever increasing numbers to watch him win. He brought a lot of people to their feet. It finally took a broken wheel at Dresden to stop his winning ways.

In all of his years of racing horses dating back to 1923, Duncan Campbell had literally never strayed from home. He had always raced within a fairly short distance of the family farm, most often less than a two hour drive away. This year a major decision was made, all to do with Argyel Grattan. With far away Thorncliffe Park in Toronto staging their fourth season of summer racing, it was time to "take the show on the road". With the six week meeting scheduled to open on Saturday, July 4th, quite a few plans had to be made.

In addition to having the top horse in the country in his small outfit, the senior Mr. Campbell had another "trick up his sleeve “. Two of his daughters -- Margaret, 16 and Pat, 14 -- were pretty skilled caretakers, both excellent workers and undoubtedly within his 'price' range . A small house trailer was borrowed from a friend near their home and towed to Toronto. Duncan and his two industrious daughters took up residence in a small trailer park on the grounds. They joined a number of horse people who were also resident there. With the girls somewhat inexperienced in cooking and housekeeping, they vividly remember folks like Erma Ramsey (wife of horseman Gordon) helping them with grocery shopping and laundry chores and general "hints" .

While it was work it was also a lot of fun. Their mobile home must have been pretty 'posh' as it even included an ice box! The presence of two young girls working on the backstretch was not a common occurrence back then. Margaret recalls how well they were treated by everyone. Pat, while only 14, used the opportunity to learn to drive by using a Jeep-type vehicle which was the property of Bill and Jack Herbert. Margaret recently reminisced, "It was certainly a good summer for Pat and I to bond as sisters. Our Dad took good care of us and we enjoyed our time with him especially when we did things the way he told us -- like cleaning harness, rolling bandages and cleaning stalls."

Once the racing started at the Toronto oval Argyel Grattan was an immediate success. He was clearly the best horse on the grounds, making his first start on July 8th. In exactly one month he was entered in seven races and won them all taking a record of 2:03.2 in a July outing. The biggest victory of all came on August 8th in the Canada Cup Pace, the meet's biggest single event which carried a purse of $5,000. With the entire family cheering him on, Argyel Grattan was a double heat winner, pacing the final heat in 2:06.3. It was indeed the biggest day ever for the family.

Margaret recently related what an exciting day it was and how happy she was to have all of the family present, except for brother Ray who stayed home to tend to farm duties. She said as they loudly cheered for ‘Joe’, people standing near them kept looking at their programs with a dazed look as there was no "Joe" in the race! To a few thousand in attendance there may not have been one, but to one family "Joe" was having a fantastic day.

Over time, one of the great parts of Argyel Grattan's successful campaign in 1953 went almost unnoticed, and certainly not officially recorded. Because of the horse's phenomenal success throughout the Thorncliffe meeting, he was first barred from the betting and then not allowed to race at all, as the track could not find enough competitors to stage a race for him. So instead of shipping to race elsewhere, an ingenious promotional event was hastily organized. At the helm was Mr. Jim Brown, the Raceway's GM and father of Dr. Glen Brown, in co-operation with Duncan.

One Saturday afternoon in front of a huge Thorncliffe crowd, a very young 16 year old Margaret Campbell drove Argyel Grattan in an exhibition mile which also served as a time trial. Her goal that day was to establish a new record for female drivers in Canada. The record at that time was held by none other than Mildred Williams. Although the young Miss Campbell had never driven before, she was no stranger to handling a horse and for that matter knew all about the work end of tending to horses.

For the occasion, she wore her father's silk cap but his jacket was much too large. To solve this problem, she borrowed the silks of their good friend and stable neighbour Jimmy "Red" Holmes. No starting gate was used nor was a prompter. The mile seemed so routine that Argyel Grattan probably thought it was just another work mile.

With stopwatch and whip in hand (both new adventures for Margaret) the mile started off a bit slower than planned, reaching the half in 1:06 3/5. With her father watching from near the wire, he shouted out a bit of encouragement and also a suggestion: "Go On With Him ! "

From that point the horse switched into a higher gear and breezed home with a second half in 1:01 2/5, the mile in 2:08. It was a NEW Canadian record! There are pictures elsewhere that capture that day now 61 years ago. At the conclusion of the mile Margaret was presented with a cheque for $50 by GM James Brown. She recently recalled, "That was a lot of money back then! "

Despite her great ability in handling horses, this was Margaret's only public appearance in the sulky. Although she recently related that she would have liked to have entered a few "Powder Puff" events, her father always feared for her safety so she declined further driving assignments . In the fall of 1954 she entered Teachers College and subsequently became a teacher. Marg married, and she and her husband Bev Bowra (also an educator) raised two sons. She now enjoys her seven grandchildren but unfortunately lost her husband in recent years. Her sister Pat married the noted horseman George Gilmour and they raised a family, living mainly in the U.S.. George passed away a few years ago.

Argyel Grattan continued his successful 1953 campaign after Thorncliffe and journeyed across the border where he won several more races at Batavia Downs. He also went to Vernon Downs -- then in its first year -- for one race and went one of his best trips of the year finishing second to Egan Grattan, a Canadian-bred horse. At the conclusion of the 1953 season, this amazing horse had faced the starter a total of 38 times. He was the winner in 24 of those along with four seconds and two thirds. His bankroll was a hefty $14,105. Little wonder he was again given the sport's top honour for the second year in a row. Not to be overlooked was an additional 16 wins by just two other Campbell stable members Patsy C Lee (6) and Argyel Lee (10). A season of 40 wins by just three horses, all family owned and cared for, was quite a feat.

In 1954 Argyel Grattan took his lifetime mark of 2:02.2 at Old Woodbine with Duncan driving of course . Although plagued by lameness and other ailments in later years, he continued to race until the age of 13; he was still winning but not like the old days. He went into retirement at the Campbell farm and unfortunately a few years later a serious virus claimed his life. He was buried at the farm where he was foaled. His career which spanned parts of three decades created a lot of special memories, especially for the Campbells. At the peak of his career during a three-year span, Argyel Grattan started in a total of 128 heats, and returned to the winner's circle a phenomenal 83 times. That was a lot of winning!

As a youngster John Campbell honed his writing skills and also fulfilled a homework assignment while visiting his grandparents who lived just down the road. Based on an evening long and I'm sure interesting discussion with his grandfather, he wrote what was then called a "composition" about Argyel Grattan and presented it to his class. I actually had a copy of his essay given to me some 30 years ago but unfortunately I must have misplaced it.

Harness racing by its very nature is most often a family affair. While this is still true today it was even more so in days gone by. In times of "tight" budgets and limited money availability, family members did a lot of work without actual compensation. I guess you could say it was part of their familial responsibility. For families like the Campbells, much of their joy came from seeing their work turn into success, and not just in dollars and cents.

Well beyond the facts and figures of how fast horses go and how much money they earn, there are usually numerous interesting stories; some not often told. I am personally taken by family tales and have appreciated knowing the Campbells for so many years and my father before me. I have been lucky to meet a lot of nice people in our sport; not too many more likable than The Campbell clan.

Margaret Campbell shares a moment with her father as they take in the races during the memorable 1953 season

Sisters Pat and Margaret Campbell are shown in this 1953 photo taken at Thorncliffe Park with their favourite horse Argyel Grattan

A smile of satisfaction says a lot as 16 year old driver Miss Margaret Campbell pauses after her record mile behind the family owned Argyel Grattan

Argyel Grattan (Margaret Campbell) in full flight at the conclusion of his exhibition mile