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INTERNATIONAL HISTORY

May 6 - The Hindenberg airship explodes as it was docking at Lakehurst, New Jersey, USA, killing 35.

Nylon is invented in the USA.

LOCAL HISTORY

June 9 - Citizens War Memorial unveiled in Cathedral Square.

Credit: Ch-Ch City Libraries

RACING HISTORY

As in the previous year's Cup, George Barton owned three starters in the race, Tempest was his best performer finishing 2nd some four lengths from the winner Lucky Jack. Cloudy Range starting from the 12 yard mark beat one home and that was his stablemate Indianapolis which stared off 72 yards and finished a long last.

RACING HISTORY INTERDOMINIONS

ADELAIDE - DAN'S SON
Adelaide, celebrating South Australia's centenary, hosted the second Inter Dominion Series in 1937. On its 2.5 furlong Wayville Saucer, right in town, a drama packed carnival unfolded before crowds of up to 25,000 as Melbourne 7yo Dan's Son (bought for 11gns as a 3yo) emerged victorious.

RACING HISTORY HORSES

JACK POTTS

How do you go about paying tribute to a sire who achieved as much as Jack Potts?

His record almost comes into the category of awe inspiring. Nine times leading sire, all in succession from 1937 until 1945, is a record achievment, for U Scott who equalled the nine premierships had them spread much further apart. Jack Potts was also leading broodmare sire six times. Altogether he sired 271 individual winners of over $900,000 and his daughters produced over 320 winners, some of them great horses. At one time Jack Potts were sought after in much the same way as gold in the 1860s and when you examined what they achieved this is not surprising.

Foaled in 1920 Jack Potts was imported to this country as a 2 year old by Alex Anderson of Christchurch through Robert A Smith who had a hand in bringing out a number of stallions in those days. Jack Potts was a good racehorse if not a great one though a leg injury he suffered as a young horse always made him a dicky proposition. However from Ces Donald's stable he won nine races and $10,000. He was pipped on the post in the Auckland Cup and was twice placed in the NZ Cup. A very handsome horse and a fine mover Jack Potts's main track victories were the NZMTC Metropolitan, Victoria, Advance, Hagley and Mid-Summer Handicaps and two major handicaps at Auckland.

Jack Potts was 12 years old before his progeny first appeared in 1933-34 winning only $568 that season. By 1935-36 he was third on the sires' list and remained in the top three for 13 seasons. His list of winners has some impressive names. Among them were Emulous who won $45,000 and an Inter-Dominion, dual Cup winner Lucky Jack who won 14 races, Marlene an Auckland and NZ Cup winner, the juvenile champions Pacing Power and Horsepower who won 30 races between them with the former placed in the Cup, Inter-Dominion champion of 1938 in Pot Luck ($17,000), Fine Art winner of 15 races, King Potts winner of 12 including the Easter Cup, Auckland Cup winner Betty Boop, Cup placegetters and major winners in Plunder Bar, Knave of Diamonds and Countless.

Lightning Lady the winner of 14 races, Ingle Belmer winner of 12, Clockwork the 1½ mile national record holder for some years and winner of 12 races, Checkmate (11 wins), free-for-all winner Indian Clipper (12 wins), Ferry Post (unsound, but still the winner of 14 races), Brucus, County Antrim and Accountant were other big winners for Jack Potts but by no means were they finished yet. Jack Potts produced a big number of top juveniles including the Derby winner Gamble and Sapling Stakes winner in Two's Loose, other Sapling winners in Frisco Lady and Sir Julien and G N Derby winner Free Again. Any number of his offspring reached tight assessments including Realm Again, Molly Direct, On Approval, Jack Peterson, Mighty Fine and War Guard. The stock of Jack Potts won four NZ Derbies and three NZ Cups. His offspring favoured the pacing gait and very few trotters by him ever appeared.

As a sire of broodmares Jack Potts was even more successful. Among the major winners his daughters produced were Tactician, our first two-minute racehorse who won 20 races including an Inter-Dominion and $40,000; Van Dieman winner of 18 and $42,000; Merval winner of 11 and holder for a time of a world's race record for a mare over a mile; the great Rupee winner of 14; Thelma Globe who won 17 races and also held a world mark over 1¼ miles; Globe Direct another record holder and winner of 14; Young Charles who won 11 races and would have won more if fully sound and a champion juvenile horse; Excelsa (10 wins) who ironically prevented Rupee from winning 10 successive tote races; Auditor, Lady Rowan, Trueco, Gough's Pride, Wayward Peter and Whipster who between them won nearly 70 races and Starbeam, Signal Light, Court Martial, Gay Knight (13 wins) were other big winners from Jack Potts mares.

Lottie Location an unraced daughter produced Local Gold who won nine and produced Arania (1:57, 12 wins) and Local Light, Sure Potts produced Florita who won nine. The unraced Anita Patch produced Patchwork (12 wins, Easter Cup) and Aladdin who won 8. Ingle Belmer, a Jack Potts-Purple Patch mare was the dam of Lady Belmer winner of 13. Lightning Lady produced six winners including Dresden Lady who won 10 and Ladyship the dam of Lordship. Kaulala, a daughter of Horotane produced Great Wonder winner of 10 while another daughter of that mare in Nightbeam (6 wins herself) produced the Broodmare of the Year in Nancy Lee in addition to those mentioned. Joan Potts produced the good racehorse and broodmare in La Fey while Aurie's Star in addition to Young Charles produced Ohio who won seven for Sir John McKenzie. Windermere produced Johnny Guitar who won nine including the Wellington Cup, Santa Anita produced eight winners and a daughter of the Jack Potts mare Suda Bay produced the grandam of Nigel Craig in addition to others. Kublai Khan, Genghis Khan, Impressario and Maharajah were some of the good winners produced from Jack Potts mares

In all the direct offspring of Jack Potts won more than 1200 races. For a number of years the stallion was a showring champion as well and he died in 1948 at 28 years of age. He was buried close to the Donald homestead. Apart from his first two seasons when he stood at M B (Dil) Edwards's Yaldhurst establishment he spent all his stud career at Donald's. His initial fee was seven guineas which seem ludicrous today. At the height of his career he stood at 25 guineas and later 50 guineas in his last year. Perhaps then it is not surprising that Ces Donald was quoted in later years as saying that the stud side of his operation did not make a significant profit. In his early years Jack Potts was not rushed by breeders either though he was fortunate to have the fine juvenile pacer Gamble from his first crop.

A number of Jack Potts sons were stood at stud including Gamble, Emulous, Lucky Jack, Pacing Power, Globe Direct, Realm Again (as a colt), Colossal and Tsana. Some of his sons including Gamble and Pacing Power did well in Australia and his daughters which went to that country also did well producing among others the West Australian champion Mark David.

Even though it was inevitablethat it would be superseded Jack Potts achieved a magnificent feat in siring the winners of nearly a million dollars, particularly as during the war years when he was king of the walk, racing was severely curtailed. His place in trotting is secure as one of the three greatest sires ever to have stood in this country.

Credit: David McCarthy writing in NZ Trotguide 19Jan77

RACING HISTORY FEATURE RACE COMMENT

Viscount Galway presents the Cup to Bill Lowe

1937 NEW ZEALAND TROTTING CUP

With Indianapolis back on 72 yards in a 16-horse field and given no chance the next year, particularly when his preparation was badly affected by a stone bruise, the Cup was a relatively tame affair as Lucky Jack won easily from fellow frontmarkers Gamble and Tempest.

Owned by his breeder Bill Lowe and driven by trainer Roy Berry, Lucky Jack was however a fine stayer in his own right and repeated two years later in a close and exciting finish over the stablemates Cantata and Blair Athol. He was unlucky not to match Indianapolis' feat, finishing a fine second in 1938 from 48 yards.

Roy Berry had ridden Sinapis to win the New Zealand Galloping Cup at Riccarton in 1913, equalling Free Holmes feat in that respect, and would win another Trotting Cup with Bronze Eagle in 1944, while the Lowe family had further success with Cairnbrae and Humphrey in the 60s.

Lucky Jack's second triumph was overshadowed though by the death of Eugene McDermott after leading with Colonel Grattan just two furlongs from home in the Cup. The popular horseman had shot clear in the backstraight, but fell from the sulky soon after and died on his way to hospital from the heart attack.

Credit: New Zealand HRWeekly 8Oct03