by Graham Fischer
A stainless-steel cutlery set, won in 1966 and unused, takes pride of pace in the home of former trainer-driver Marcus Hearl at Nuriootpa in the Barossa Valley.
The cutlery, resting in a handmade wooden showcase, is Hearl’s most prized possession from his family’s involvement in harness at the popular Wayville circuit.
Hearl, 74, and a group of six friends, have already booked seats in the grandstand for Harness Racing South Australia’s ‘Retro Night’ at Wayville on Friday, October 27.
“Fantastic,” said Hearl when describing the experience of driving around the ‘saucer under lights’.
“To go onto the track and see people lining the fence all the way around the track was incredible.
“And they loved to get involved, cheering during the race, then when you pulled up in the back straight.
“Cheering, booing and swearing, drivers copped the lot.
“We loved Wayville and even went when we didn’t have runners. Hartley and Gordon Boehm, my uncle Rex (Hearl), dad and myself would all go down. We would order a crayfish for the trip home. That was part of everyone’s ritual – it seemed everyone would grab a cray for after the trots.”
Hearl said it was the win of Dusty Meadow in the Equinex Final over 11 furlongs and 140 yards on February 26, 1966 that gave him his best memory of Wayville.
“We won the heat, then in the final I was able to straight to the front from barrier four and he won easily.
“It was special with Mum (Dorothy) and Dad (Alick) there and on track for the presentation.
“The race was sponsored by Tip Top Dry Cleaners and the owner Frank Nemer presented us with this wonderful stainless-steel cutlery set in a beautiful wooden box. It has never been used.
“Dusty Meadow was a wonderful horse for me as I had just been married and he paid for the lounge suite, bedroom suite and kitchen appliances.”
Hearl’s fondness for the horse has seen him name his Nuriootpa home in honour of Dusty Meadow.
One of his other strong memories from Wayville was the bank of lights across the track by the winning post.
“With races taking anywhere between four to six laps, the lights signified how many more laps there were to race – you don’t need them these days on the bigger tracks with just one or two laps.”
The Hearl family had some wonderful horses at Wayville including the star trotter Atlantic Star as well as pacers such as Bute Boy, Old Rocky, Boston Miss and Bute Miss.
Hearl admitted he was a tough driver giving his drives plenty of work to do.
“They were tough and could do it,” Hearl said. “They weren’t the types to sit and try to sprint. I’d come three wide and get them to the front of the field.
“I remember Bill Adams (well-known administrator) saying often he told me to stay on the paint and when I came back he said the inside paint, not the outside fence.
“My style of driving didn’t please the stewards headed by Mr Butler and I copped a few suspensions for pushing out or cutting other drivers off.
“In fact, I held a record at the old Harold Park track in Sydney. I won at my first drive there on Atlantic Star and also copped a 30-day suspension.
“I often copped it from the patrons if I didn’t drive well, but it was nothing like the response I got from Dad when I got back to the stables.”
Hearl, who was in his 20s, didn’t lack confidence and didn’t mind a bit of sledging.
In one race, he drove Atlantic Star which raced past his rivals to win and Terry Martin came second on Aachen’s Hero.
“On pulling up I asked Terry if he was stuck to the fence when I went past. He didn’t appreciate my cockiness and told me to be quiet in no uncertain terms.”
Hearl said his family’s introduction to harness racing was in the 1940s.
“Dad went to a yearling sale in Adelaide and came home with a horse.
“Mum had no idea it was going to happen and wasn’t happy. Dad had to quickly put up a fence to keep the horse in a yard.
“It proved to me Pre Direct and won for us at Kapunda with Kevin Brook in the sulky and we were hooked on the sport.”
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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