Caduceus – by Jim Hogan
To some, Caduceus is a staff carried by the messengers of the Gods, to others it is a symbol of the medical profession, but to a harness enthusiast it means a horse of small stature with a gigantic heart. A horse who never gave up. A horse who won races from “impossible” handicaps. A horse who had the charisma of a movie star and the ability to match.
It is now almost 60 years since “The Mighty Atom”, as he was affectionately known, began his racing career. Unlike the other NZ legend he is most often compared to, Cardigan Bay, there has been no book written about his deeds, so I will, briefly, try to convey just SOME of the magic that was Caduceus.
Caduceus was an “accident” of breeding. His owners, brothers Denis and Dudley Moore, sent their mare, Little Ada, to Light Brigade but he failed to get her in foal so they settled for “second best”. Their second choice was U.Scott who, at the time, was the greatest sire AND broodmare sire in NZ standardbred history. His dam, Little Ada, was a full sister to Queen Ayesha, the dam of Highland Fling, also by U.Scott, making Caduceus and Highland Fling cousins, stepbrothers, or just plain brothers-in-blood, I’m not quite sure which! Nevertheless he had royal blood flowing through his veins and it became more obvious the older he became.
Only a “pony”, he was just 14.1 hands when he had his first, and only, 2yo start on 14-3-53 at Timaru, running 5th. He then won first up as a 3yo on 3-10-53 and won again 2 days later. As a 3yo Caduceus had 15 starts for 6 wins, including the Christchurch Derby Stakes, 3yo Champion Stakes and 3yo Futurity.
As a 4yo he had 14 starts for 6 wins. He won at Christchurch and New Brighton before winning an open class event at Ashburton on 2-10-54. In this race he gave Johnny Globe and Tactician 30 yards start and a beating. A month later he won the Challenge Stakes, in track record time, from 24 yards, and on the 28-12-54 won the Auckland Cup. Six weeks later he competed in his first Inter Dominion Carnival. He won heat two on the first day by 2 lengths in 2.5.4/5, the fastest time of the day, beating Recent chance and Laureldale, with the Australian champion, Ribands, tailed off after breaking badly at the start, something he did far too often. On the second day he finished 3rd to Tactician and Laureldale. In the Final he began like a ‘bullet’ from his 6 yd handicap and went straight to the lead where he stayed most of the way. He was joined on the home turn by, first, Laureldale and then Tactician and then, for no apparent reason, broke! “I think he would have
won” his driver, Doug Watts said after the race. He battled on to finish 5th.
Resuming in October as a 5yo he won a FFA at Addington, in world record time, before running third, from 48 yards, in the Dunedin Cup. Travelling across the Tasman for the first time he competed in the 1956 HP ID Carnival from 36 yards. On the first night he ran 6th behind the ultimate Grand Final winner, Gentleman John. Wide all the way from his back mark, Caduceus still finished 2nd to Mineral Spring on the second night and on the last night of heats came from 10th at the bell to finish 3rd behind the beautiful grey pacer, Active Ayr. In the Final he was well back early, wide the entire last lap but still managed to finish 3rd, beaten only a length and a quarter.
Five nights later he won a FFA beating Mineral Spring and Frosty Nelson and five nights after that won his first major race on Australian soil, the Lord Mayor’s Cup, off 36 yards beating Frosty Nelson and General Grattan. His 5yo season wasn’t his best with just 3 wins in 16 starts.
Back home as a 6yo he won, off 18 yards, at Ashburton beating a horse that was to challenge him for the rest of his career, False Step. A week later he won off 30 yards at Christchurch, before winning the first of his three NZ FFA’s beating Johnny Globe and Thelma Globe. He won again at Addington off 36 yards before traveling to Perth for the 1957 ID Carnival. Winning a FFA first up he was installed PP favourite for the Grand Final. He ran third on the first night before winning his next two heats, all off 36 yards. First he beat Radiant Venture in very fast time then Magic flute and Beau Don. In the Final he received a check in running and could only finish 4th to Radiant Venture. He then began to “work” his way home via the major Australian Metro tracks.
First up, two weeks after the ID Final, was Wayville where he won a FFA in track record time. Nine days later he did the same thing in Melbourne, once again in track record time. Then it was up to Sydney for his second Lord Mayor’s Cup carnival. Winning first up from 24 yards in a S/S flying mile, he was then beaten the following week by the highly underrated Sky High with Radiant Venture 3rd in another FFA. A week later he won his second Lord Mayor’s Cup, once again from 36 yards, beating Radiant Venture and First variety. He then ran 2nd, from 48 yards, in an invitation before returning home. His 6yo season saw 23 starts for 11 wins.
His 7yo season wasn’t as productive with just 4 wins in 18 starts. The first of these was at Addington on 24-8-57, and then on the 23-11-57 he won twice on the same day. First he won the NZ Pacing Championship beating Lookaway and Tactician, and then later in the day he set an Australasian record winning the NZ Flying Stakes, a S/S FFA over one mile, pacing 2.0 from the ‘stand’ and beating False step by 20 yards. This was one of the most sensational races ever run in NZ where two drivers, Jack Litten on False step and Cecil Devine driving Don Hall, engaged in a ‘whip fight’ all the way down the Addington straight. Both lost their licence’s for 6 months.
He was placed twice more before travelling to Melbourne, on his way to the S.A. ID Carnival, and competed in three FFA’s, but was beaten each time by Crown Law. Arriving in S.A. he won a FFA first up beating False Step and Fettle before running 5th, from 36 yards, on the first night of ID heats. He suffered a leg injury, perhaps due to the tight Wayville “saucer” track, and did not race for the rest of the carnival. On his way home he was again beaten, in Melbourne, by Crown Law.
Resuming on 24-10-58, he was 2nd from 54 yards before being beaten a head, by False Step, after giving the winner 30 yards start. He then won from 48 yards before placing from 36 yards. He then ran 2nd in the NZ Cup, from 48 yards, to False Step, before winning his 2nd NZ FFA. After one more unplaced run he was off across the Tasman. Once again, he had 2 starts in Sydney on his way to the Melbourne ID Carnival. First up he won the Summer Cup in track record time, from 36 yards beating Fettle and Diabolo Don, before running 4th, from 24 yards in an invitation event, behind Fettle. Down to Melb. he won a FFA and then all three heats of the ID from 36 yards, no easy feat on the small 3 furlong Melb. showgrounds track. In the final he was well back early and struck much ‘traffic’ when trying to get a clear run, finishing 5th out very wide. He had 4 more runs in Australia, being placed every time. His 8yo season produced 7 wins from 20 starts. After he won
his first ID heat, on 21-2-59, he was the highest prizemoney earner in A’sia for Trotting AND Galloping.
Back as a 9yo, on 15-8-59, he was 5th from 36 yards, then won from 36 yards, won again from 48 yards in track record time, and won again from 36 yards. Running 3rd in the NZ Cup, from 48 yards, to, once again, False Step, he came out 3 days later and raced twice on the same day. First running 3rd from 48 yards before winning his 3rd NZ FFA beating Gentry and False Step. A week later he equalled the world record for 13 furlongs, winning from 48 yards and rating 2.4 from the ‘stand’. Seven days later was sent against the clock at Addington, setting a new Australasian MAT record of 1.57 3/5. On the 6th January 1960 he had his last start in NZ, winning the (appropriately named) Adieu Handicap, from 66 yards behind in word record time. He rated 2.1 2/5 for the standing start 10 furlong event. He might have been 9 years old but he was HOT! Sixteen days later he won first up at HP, before being beaten, by Fettle, in a Menangle Park FFA. Four days later he began
his 6th, and final, ID campaign.
Off 36 yards throughout the series, he ran 3rd on the first night behind Apmat, won in track record time on the second night, and was 5th in the final set of heats. It is, of course, now history that he came out on Grand Final night, in front of 50,346 screaming fans, and FINALLY won the title, surviving a protest AND an attempt to have him run “dead”. There was never a more deserving winner. After this race he was invited to compete in America.
In America, as a 9yo, he had 6 starts for 1 win. The following season, as a 10yo, he had 24 starts for 2 wins. Resuming on 5-8-61, as an 11yo, he had 18 starts for 4 wins, recording his lifetime best of 1-57 2/5 on 7-4-62 and equalling the track record. He did a brief stud career in America before returning home. Eighteen months later, in Oct. 1964, he died after sustaining an injury in his paddock. It was a sad ending to such an illustrious horse.
Nowadays we hear drivers complaining about their horse’s “bad draws”. They’ve drawn 7 or 8 or, worst of all, the second line! I wonder what their comments would be if they had to start from 36, 48, 54 and 66 yards behind, against the very best horses on two continents. That Caduceus could do this, and win, is testament to his courage, determination and ability. He won 3 NZ FFA’s, an Auckland Cup, 3 major cups at HP off 36 yards, seven ID heats and an ID final, also from 36 yards, against a field of superstars. He held multiple world records, over all distances, and the Australasian mile record. There really wasn’t much else left for him to win.
My most endearing memory of Caduceus occurred on the final night of ID heats at HP on 6-2-60. The heats this night were over 13 furlongs and 98 yards, and races from this distance were started directly in front of the old St. Leger area. I chose to go back to the 36 yard start point and just watch the champ in action. As soon as the barrier strand was pulled across he calmly walked up to it and stood perfectly still. While the horses ahead of him shuffled about, impatiently waiting to be let go, he stood there as quiet as a church mouse. Then he did an incredible thing. He half raised his right front foot and held it there, frozen in the air! If you had taken a photo of him right then you would have thought that he had been “caught” in mid pace! When the straps released that foot came down and he was in a perfect pace immediately and accelerating. While the “front markers” were still scrambling into their gear he was past the 24 yards markers and on the
tail of his 12 yard competitors. I have used many words to describe Caduceus, in this article, but I must add one more. He was the most PROFESSIONAL pacer I have ever seen.
So the next time you hear someone mention Caduceus don’t think of that “funny” badge that doctors put on their car’s, and don’t think of the staff carried by Zeus, think of a pint sized dynamo, a ball of muscle with a heart as big as Addington raceway, a champion, no MORE than a champion, a legend. A legend from the “shaky isles” known as Caduceus, the mighty atom.
Author’s note (1). About 50 years ago when I was putting together the race history of Caduceus I found that I had a few “gaps” in my records which I could not fill, despite my extensive resources at the time. So I did the only other thing possible and wrote to the owners asking for their help. About four weeks later I received a reply from Dudley Moore who was delighted in my interest in his horse. He filled in as many gaps as he could, with the help of his family and the trainer, but had to admit that they had not kept totally accurate records early in his career. The statistics quoted here are the most accurate I could obtain, at the time, with the assistance of the owners. The race starts, and wins, are believed to be correct, however the dates and locations of some of his early unplaced runs may, forever, remain a mystery.
Author’s note (2) Two publications have credited Caduceus with winning 36 races in the USA. This is incorrect, he only won 7. My own personal records show this, the USTA year books of the era show this, the owners have indicated to me that this is correct and the Trotguide did an extensive search in 1977 and came to the same conclusion.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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