25 October 2018 | Alan Parker
On the eve of his return to racing in New Zealand Chicago Bull’s managing owner Beth Richardson was last night awarded Life Membership of the WA Trotting Association at the 2018 Annual General Meeting.
Chicago Bull is scheduled to start at Auckland’s Alexandra Park tomorrow night on his way to next month’s New Zealand Cup in Christchurch.
Chicago Bull’s last start in New Zealand was on 30th May 2015 when he finished seventh in the Group One 2yo Emerald won by Lazarus.
Mrs Richardson has raced horses since the mid 1960’s and Beth has now owned or part-owned 971 winners (127 individual horses).
To date 702 of those winners have been in Perth at Gloucester Park and Richmond Raceway with 107 individual horses involved and Mrs Richardson owned her first Gloucester Park winner some 54 years ago courtesy of Pukka Sahib.
Mrs Richardson has had 30 individual trainers of her 971 winners with Gary Hall training 855 of them. The first winner Hall trained for Mrs Richardson was Wilby Rich at Northam on 23rd May 1987.
Wilby Rich was bred by Mrs Richardson in partnership with her husband John.
The 855 winners trained by Gary Hall for Beth Richardson includes a remarkable 26 at Group One level, 32 at Group Two level and 19 at Group Three level,
The first of those Group One winners was Tealsby Karita which won the WA Pacing Cup on 23rd March 2007 which means the 26 Group One wins have come in just 11 years.
The balance of Mrs Richardson’s Group One winners comprises three-time Inter Dominion winner Im Themightyquinn, Chicago Bull, Beaudiene Boaz, Alta Christiano and the 2018 WA Derby winner King Of Swing.
An emotional Mrs Richardson, in accepting her Life Member’s badge from Gloucester Park President John Burt, described the great joy her and her husband have got from harness racing and the thrills of racing Im Themightyquinn.
Mrs Richardson is just the second woman to be made a Life Member of the WA Trotting Association which was formed in 1910 and currently trades under the name of Gloucester Park Harness Racing.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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