Sporting & General Medals, Badges & Awards - Horses &

Lot 1981    SESSION 7 (2.30PM TUESDAY 12TH SEPTEMBER)    Sporting & General Medals, Badges & Awards - Horses & H

Estimate $30,000
Bid at live.noble.com.au
SOLD $27,000

AUCKLAND TROTTING CLUB, 1921 cup, handcrafted in gold (15ct, 540g, 250mm tall x 240mm handle to handle x 125mm across base), no maker, inscribed 'Won By/J.R.C.Corrigan's/Man o' War/Driver A.Bryce'. Very fine.

The following courtesy of Harnesslink, January 11, 2005:

"Man o' War launched the Australian onslaught on New Zealand's feature races through the 1920s, when in the skilled hands of James Bryce he won the 1920 and 1921 Auckland Cups for J.R. (James) Corrigan.
Man o' War proved a great performer in New Zealand over several seasons.

In his first Auckland Cup win he came from 84 yards to score decisively in 4:29 2/5.

The following season, after easily winning the National Cup at Addington in August, he failed in New Zealand Cup.

He started second favourite, but found the task of conceding six seconds to his 11 rivals too much after being 'off' in his work leading up to the meeting, and was not raced again at the carnival.

James Randle Corrigan moved from Canterbury to settle at Hawera in 1893. Aged 28, he was already imbued with a love for trotting.

He regularly acquired horses from Canterbury, Auckland, Hawke's Bay and even Australia for breeding and racing from his Taranaki base.

Corrigan's good mare Joan of Arc won the first Hawera Cup at Hawera Trotting Club's one-day meeting Easter 1914, and on that day his son A.J. (Alex) Corrigan had his first ride in a trotting race when he competed in the Farmers' Plate.

Joan of Arc was later sent to Christchurch to be trained by James Bryce and gave James Bryce jun. one of his earliest wins.

While Alex served in the First World War his father built up his trotting interests, and was amongst the first to transport horses by road.

In 1918 his mare Queen Chimes, trained by James Bryce, won the Champion Stakes for three-year-olds at Addington on Easter Saturday, was shipped to Wellington on the inter-island ferry that night and was slung out of the hold on to a Thornycroft lorry waiting at the wharf on the Sunday morning.

Because of a breakdown, the lorry did not arrive in Hawera until the Monday morning.

Against the bookmakers' predictions that afternoon she won the Waimate Plains Taranaki Stakes, the first classic race held at a country meeting in the North Island.

She became the dam of Worthy Queen.

Continuing to expand his trotting interests, J.R.Corrigan was the nation's leading owner in 1921/22 and 1922/23.

As well as Bryce, Andy Pringle trained for him, and Eugene McDermott was often called on to drive his horses.

With the Australian-bred Whisht he won the first Rowe Cup Handicap in 1918 and the eighth edition of the Dominion Handicap in 1919.

The Australian-bred pacer Man o' War won him the Auckland Cup in 1920 from 84 yards behind, driven by James Bryce, and in 1921 from 96 yards, driven by Andrew Bryce.

Another of his horses First Carbine, driven by James Bryce jun., was runner-up to Man o' War in the second of those wins.

Great Hope was acquired by 'J.R.' after winning the 1921 Great Northern Derby for Robert McMillan and won the 1922 New Brighton Derby.

Corrigan sold him and he went on to win the 1923 New Zealand Cup and many other fine accomplishments.

Not long after his good performer Alto Chimes had won the 1923 National Cup Handicap from the Bryce stable, James Corrigan brought his horses from the South Island to train them at his Hawera stable, where Alex supervised them.

From the time he was a lad Alex had competed successfully with ponies and horses in ring events at the various Taranaki A & P shows, and he rode as whip with the Egmont-Wanganui Hunt Club.

He began driving as an amateur in the early 1920s, and his first win came with his father's Ivy Audubon, a smart pacer whose wins included a Wanganui Cup and Manawatu Trotting Club Cup.

His second win came with Rose Bingen who after being subsequently sold by his father won the 1925 Rowe Cup for C.Johnstone.

In the late 1920s Alex drove his father's Nelson Bingen trotting mare Sister Beatrice to numerous wins including the Wiretap Trotting Cup and the Hawke's Bay Cup.

She beat good pacers on several occasions.

In 1921 Man o' War came from 96 yards behind to complete his Auckland Cup double, taking the race by a head from his stablemate First Carbine, raced also by J.R.Corrigan and driven by J.Bryce jun.

With a win also in the Canterbury Park King George Handicap in June, Man o' War headed the stake-earners' list that term with ?2935.

Racing in New Zealand from age six to 12, Man o' War proved a great performer. Later in life he was prepared by J.S.(Jack) Shaw, who considered him the greatest stayer he handled.

In his interview with Karl Scott for Pillars of Harness Horsedom, Shaw speaking of Man o' War, said:
He was so clean-winded that he would race on less work than any other horse I ever trained. In addition, he had a splendid disposition and was most intelligent. I only had him for about 12 months.

The last time I drove Man o' War was a very memorable occasion. It was at Addington, when a special day's racing was put on in honour of the American fleet. Man o' War rose to the occasion and won the HMS Hood Handicap, the leading event of the day.

This was the worst day that I have ever experienced on a racetrack. There was hail and sleet all day, and the races could not be postponed, as this was the only day the fleet could be in Christchurch. Of this particular race I saw only about half. Man o' War came from the back mark and did the job himself. I was absolutely blinded with the slush that was flying everywhere.

This may sound incredible, but there are many of the old drivers who will vividly remember it. Some of our mounts had to be led back to the birdcage, as we were driving blind. The morning after the races I woke up in daylight but everything was still black. It was hours before my eyesight returned to normal.

As was the lot of many home-bred and, particularly, Australian-bred sires in New Zealand, Man o' War did not get much patronage at the stud, yet he sired outstanding pacing sons, unfortunately all of them being gelded.

Through his daughters however, Man o' War made a splendid name for himself in New Zealand's breeding history.

So much so that, despite the early apathy towards this great pacer of unfashionable ancestry, New Zealand breeders came to regard the daughters of Man o' War with great favour.

Of the 65 daughters of Man o' War bred from in New Zealand, 45 produced winners.

These included some of New Zealand's top pacers and Man o' War was close to the top of the New Zealand broodmares sires' list several times, despite the great broodmare sires Jack Potts (248), Rey de Oro (210) and Wrack (155) enjoying so many more mares at the stud.

Among the best of Man o' War's sons were War Buoy and Happy Man.

War Buoy set age records winning the 1933 Sapling Stakes and New Zealand Derby, and won 10 races on end.

That record sequence stood until equalled by Cardigan Bay (1961) and Young Quinn (1975) and bettered by Noodlum (who ended 15 straight wins in 1974).

War Buoy carried on this good form finishing second to the invincible Indianapolis in the 1935 New Zealand Cup.

Happy Man won many New Zealand races including the 1945 New Zealand Premier Sprint Championship (the name used for the New Zealand Free-for-all from 1942 to 1948).

Sold to Western Australia when considered to be over the hill, Happy Man kept beating the best there until well advanced in years.

Man o' War's most famous producing daughter Navy Blue was a grand race-mare and won the 1938 Auckland Trotting Cup.

Lady Milne was another fine race-mare sired by Man o' War and she produced the Cup-class mare Trixie Milne, also a noted stud matron, who took a 4:12 1/5 two-mile mark and became the grand-dam of one of the greatest race-mares New Zealand has seen - the 1981 New Zealand Cup winner Armalight.

Loyal Nurse, winner of the 1946 Auckland cup and 1949 New Zealand Cup, was from a Man o' War mare, and her family had bred on.

Other good produce from Man o' Wars' daughters included Soangetaha (winner of the 1951 and 1952 Auckland Cups), Acropolis (who beat Highland Fling in the 1948 Dunedin Centennial Cup), 1950 Auckland Cup winner Victory Globe, New Zealand Free-for-all winner Parawa Derby and Otahuhu Cup winner Heliopolis."