“He will have to achieve the impossible to give Vanderford 54 yards start today,” declared a seasoned racegoer after examining the track, the favourite, and the backmarker during the New Zealand Cup preliminary at Addington on Tuesday. And the totalisator investments affirmed that our seasoned racegoer was not alone in his dictum. But nothing tickles the palate of the dedicated racegoer – any brand or vintage of racegoer – more than the achievement of the ‘impossible’ and the warm ovation for Cardigan Bay had already broken out when he took command with two furlongs to go.
Cardigan Bay performed the ‘impossible’ in irreproachable style – he even exceeded all the highest estimates of his ability and duribility in the fourth fastest Cup in history – Johnny Globe 4:07.6, False Step 4:09, Highland Fling 4:10.6, Cardigan Bay 4:11.2. He reduced all his opponents of any consequence to a struggling, straggling band with surprising rapidity, even for him. This phase of his and Peter Wolfenden’s strategy occurred suddenly and unexpectedly – with three furlongs to go. One moment Vanderford was still striding confidently out in front; the next was a complete metamorphosis, with Cardigan Bay taking every advantage of a trail behind the streaking Oreti on the outer, and Vanderford rapidly losing his grip of the situation down on the hub rail. The race was as good as won from that stage. Cardigan Bay, doing it the hard way, nearly three wide, got his head in front at the two furlongs, and his only effective challenger, Robin Dundee, came no closer than two lengths and a half to him in the race from the home turn.
Vanderford’s first mile in 2:11.2 was not sensational, due to his slowing down the pace from a 2:07 clip to a 2:15 clip in the second half-mile. Neither was the time for the first mile and a half, 3:17, out of the way for horses of Cup class, and this no doubt was a life-saver for Cardigan Bay, already at least 24 yards closer to the leaders than at the outset. Cardigan Bay was privately timed from post to post in 4:09.6, his first half in 61, mile in 2:06.2, mile and a quarter in 2:38.8, and mile and a half in 3:10.6. So it will be readily gleaned that he tramped his last half mile in 59.6 secs and the last mile in 2.03.4.
A rather surprising third favourite, Sun Chief beat only two horses home – his youthful spring excellence has given way to autumn mediocrity. He is only a shadow of the horse who finished second in the NZ Cup of 1960. Robin Dundee was produced in rare fettle by veteran trainer J Walsh – nothing looked better – and she came home much more resolutely than any of the minor place-fillers. It was a brave showing on the part of this pocket-edition pacer.
Doctor Dan, Grouse, Oreti and King Hal were all a little slow away, and Dandy Briar broke. Vanderford tangled for a few strides but lost very little ground. Blue Prince was first to show out from Sun Chief, Urrall, Master Alan, Vanderford and Robin Dundee, with two lengths to King Hal, Doctor Dan, Oreti and Cardigan Bay last. At the end of two furlongs Vanderford had taken over, and he was followed past the stands by Blue Prince, Sun Chief, Urrall, Robin Dundee, Master Alan, King Hal, Doctor Dan, Oreti, Dandy Briar and Cardigan Bay, still at the rear. Most of the field were racing in pairs by now. There was little change till approached the three furlongs, where Oreti moved up to Vanderford, and Cardigan Bay was beginning to improve from the back in the direct path of Oreti.
Soon after, Vanderford gave way to Oreti, and Cardigan Bay, continuing his run, was in front at the two furlongs. He led into the straight and, shaken up, held his advantage to beat Robin Dundee by two lengths and a half. Robin Dundee finished strongly to beat Master Alan by a head. Two lengths back came Oreti, followed by Doctor Dan, the weakening Vanderford, King Hal, Urrall, Dandy Briar, Sun Chief, Blue Prince and Grouse last.
Cardigan Bay has now won 35 races and £48,447 in stakes and trophies. He shares with War Buoy the best winning sequence for a harness horse in the Dominion – 10. He is the first horse ever to win a New Zealand Cup and an Inter-Dominion Championship, a ‘double’ that eluded such greats as Highland Fling, Caduceus, Johnny Globe and False Step – one way or the other. He holds the New Zealand and Australian mile record, 1:57.6, jointly with Caduceus. He is one of the most perfect pacing ‘machines’ ever seen in this country – reliable, brilliant, and a renowned stayer or unflinching courage. Only two horses have won the Cup from longer marks than Cardigan Bay’s 54 yards: Harold Logan and Highland Fling both won from 60 yards.
An odds-on favourite, Vanderford carried £3697 for a win on-course and £8976 off-course; for a place he carried £3580 10s on-course and £4003 off-course. Cardigan Bay, second favourite, earned £1488 10s for a win on-course and £3197 off-course; his place totals were £1666 10s on-course and £3681 off-course. The betting totals on the Cup were slightly down on last year: on-course total was £24,147 10s, compared with £24,828 10s last year; and the off-course figure was £35,930, against £36,176 last year. The on-course total for the day was £192,254, a substantial increase on the £183,633 10s handled last year; but the off-course figures showed a corresponding decrease – this year’s total was £180,714 15s, against £188,535 last year. The attendance this year, 18,500, was almost the same as last year.
The result was a triumph for the Southland sire Hal Tryax (imp), who sired the first and second horses, Cardigan Bay and Robin Dundee. Colwyn Bay, the dam of Cardigan Bay, recently produced a filly foal, a full sister to the Cup winner, and there is also an older filly of the same breeding. Colwyn Bay was a brilliant pacer herself, but unsoundness cut short her racing career. She is by Josedale Dictator (imp) from Pleasure Bay, by Quite Sure (imp) from Helen’s Bay, by Guy Parrish (imp) from Gold Patch, by Geo M Patchen.
Cardigan Bay was bred was developed by the Mataura trainer, D Todd. He was raced by D Todd’s brother, Mr A Todd, of Mataura, who sold him to Mrs Deans. Mrs Deans related how she had decided to buy a pacer and that she and her husband had followed closely the newspaper comments made on the form and performances of Cardigan Bay. “We were quite certain that Cardigan Bay would be the horse we would buy – we had never seen him – and when we read there were some northern inquiries for him, we decided there and then to buy him before anyone else did,” she said. The champion cost Mrs Dean £2500 after contingencies had been met.
Cardigan Bay’s mixed fortune at the 1962 Inter-Dominion Championship in Perth is too widely known to require repetition here. His recovery will always rank as a miracle of racing. He made no mistakes about the 1963 series – his form was ‘bang on’ and he outclassed the opposition he met in Suoth Australia.
Describing the race as “one of the great Cups, and one of the best fields for many years” the president of the NZ Metropolitan Trotting Club, Mr J K Davidson, congratulated the owner and trainer-driver on a “magnificent performance in which the result was under control some distance from home.” After Mrs Davidson decorated Cardigan Bay with a garland of flowers, Mrs Dean replied. She paid a warm tribute to P T Wolfenden for his “careful training and skilful driving” and also thanked “Noel Bennett, who has so capably looked after the horse.
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