This is fifteenth in a series of articles covering the Interdominion (ID) Trotters Championships conducted over the period 1948 – 2012. These articles will be presented on a track by track basis as opposed to a chronological order with the exception of the first (background and first championship) and last two articles (final championship and statistical analysis).
1993 AUCKLAND – NIGHT ALLOWANCE
The 1993 Interdominions held at Auckland’s Alexandra Park were for the trotters only (Pacing ID’s held at Albion Park, Brisbane). The all mobile series consisted of two rounds of two heats, a Grand Final and consolation. Eight Australian trotters were nominated for the series but only two, Lenin (SA) and Dashing Chief (VIC) made the trip across the Tasman to compete.
It is worthwhile noting that champion pacer Chokin was an impressive winner of the NZ Messenger 4yo Championship on opening night.
Saturday 5 March, 2200mM : first round of heats
Heat One – LENIN, tr John Justice, dr Lisa Justice, T2:47.7/T2:02.6; Flakey Jake (dr Wayne Hughes) 2nd; Game Paul (dr Ricky May) 3rd
The carnival opened in spectacular fashion when 33/1 shot Lenin in the hands of Lisa Justice (wife of leading South Australian trainer John Justice) got up to beat Flakey Jake by a neck. Placed on the unruly Lenin began safely to position himself at the back of the leading bunch of ten with only early breakers Night Allowance, Pride Of Petite, Directorship and Gorbachev behind him. Lenin joined pacemaker Happy Tom who had maintained a good clip and Flakey Jake parked throughout turning for home, having been sent forward three wide from the 600m mark. A straight length battle was waged between Lenin and Flakey Jake with the former just prevailing. Game Paul was 2¼l away third after being handy on the outer throughout with David Moss a head back in fourth place with Light Buffy who had trailed Happy Tom next home. Favourite Night Allowance finished eighth after breaking at the start.
This was not Lenin’s first outing at Alexandra Park. The half-brother to well performed pacer Laser Lad (GN Derby) had set a solid pace in Fraggle Rock’s 1991 Grand Final victory (won in NZ record time) before folding in the home straight to finish second last. Lenin was a very well performed trotter, initially for the Cranbourne stable of Ray Mathews before moving to John Justice’s South Australian and later Victorian stables. Lenin was the winner of forty one races, including two Dullard and Cochran Cups
Heat Two – FRAGGLE ROCK tr/dr Carl Middleton, T2:48.4/T2:03.1; Gee Du Jour (dr David Butcher) 2nd; Great Oaks (dr Mike Nicholas) 3rd
Fraggle Rock the Trotters Grand Final winner from Auckland in 1991 and runner up from Melbourne in 1992, started his 1993 ID campaign with another all the way win. This followed a similar effort in his last start win at Wellington’s Hutt Park in a track record time for 2900m over follow ID contestants Gee Du Jour and Game Paul. Fraggle Rock took the lead shortly after the start from barrier six with breeder/owner/trainer/driver Carl Middleton dictating terms with a final 800m run in 59.6 to hold off Gee Du Jour who improved from midfield to sit parked over the final lap going under by a neck. Great Oaks who had been third last early but improved to sit wide not far off the leaders over the last lap was a further half-length away third with Diamond Field a neck back fourth. Faith In Fashion was next home followed in by Aspiring Lass who had trailed winner Fraggle Rock throughout next.
Friday 12 March, 2700mM : second round of heats
A wet and miserable nights racing was conducted on a slushy track with Chokin again winning easily in the Group Two Burlington Air Express Flying Mile in 1:57.3.
Heat Three – NIGHT ALLOWANCE, tr Roy & Barry Purdon, dr Barry Purdon, T3:27.4/T2:03.5; Fraggle Rock (dr Carl Middleton); Great Oaks (dr Mike Nicholas)
First night favourite Night Allowance needed points to assure himself of a place in the Grand Final and he made no bones about it by completely dominating heat three, the first of two run on the second night of the championships. Slow but safely away, Night Allowance made ground with cover before taking the lead with 1300m to run. Night Allowance had 2l to spare from Fraggle Rock who had again led early before giving way to Night Allowance. Great Oaks finished third for the second night running just a neck in arrears of Fraggle Rock after being well back and then in the death from the 1500m. David Moss was best of the rest a further half-length back fourth as per opening night after coming from way back in the field.
Dashing Chief, a lengthy last in the third heat after galloping and losing all chance on the first night was withdrawn from the series by his Kingston trainer/driver Stephen Martin.
Heat Four – GEE DU JOUR, tr John Lischner, dr David Butcher, T3:30.4/T2:05.3; Pride of Petite (dr John Langdon) 2nd; Diamond Field (dr Tony Herlihy) 3rd
Ashburton trained trotting mare Gee Du Jour was favourite leading for the final 1600m in taking out the fourth heat in an overall time three seconds slower than that recorded by Night Allowance. Future ID Grand Final winners Pride Of Petite (1996, 1997) finished second three quarters of a length in arrears while Night Allowance’s stablemate Diamond Field (1994) was a further nose away third for the “Iceman” Tony Herlihy. Carl Middleton’s other open class trotter, speedy all American bred Lilly The Pink (grand dam of Enghien) was 1½ lengths away fourth with Game Paul a close-up fifth. First night winner Lenin galloped 1100m out and was deemed to have interfered with Light Buffy for which driver Lisa Justice was relieved of $500 by stewards.
Saturday 20 March, 1993 TROTTERS GRAND FINAL, 2700mM, $125,000
Maurice McKendry who had driven both David Moss and Aspiring Lass (sixth in both her heats) opted to drive David Moss in the final. For the famed father and son training partnership of Roy and Barry Purdon, Night Allowance’s victory represented their first ever ID Trotters Grand Final success (Barry Purdon trained Diamond Field to win 1994 Sydney final). Further success came for the pair with Hitchcock’s win in the Great Northern Derby on ID Trotters Grand Final night.
NIGHT ALLOWANCE (1986 Knowing Bret/Lorraine Direct, family of Regina N10), owner Billy Heads, Ross Cleland, Robert Tosh, trainer Roy & Barry Purdon, driver Barry Purdon, T3:24.3/T2:01.7, nk, 3½l, ¾l, favourite [T2:01.7, $177,905]
David Moss, tr John Cox, dr Maurice McKendry, 2nd
Lenin, tr John Justice, dr Lisa Justice, 3rd
(also in finishing order) : Diamond Field, Breton Abbe, Aspiring Lass, Great Oaks, Happy Tom, Flakey Jake, Game Paul, Gee Du Jour, Light Buffy, Fraggle Rock, Pride Of Petite
Consolation : 2700mM, $15,000
STAKA PRIDE, tr Keith Coutts, dr Leo O’Reilly, T3:27.2/T2:03.4; Faith In Fashion (dr Stewart Cruickshank) 2nd; Directorship (dr Tony Herlihy) 3rd
Together with Game Paul, Night Allowance started from the unruly position in the full finals field of fourteen. At the rear of the field early on, hot favourite Night Allowance travelled three wide with cover improving around the field to attack leader Lenin at the 500m mark. In command soon after turning for home, Night Allowance had to repel the strong late finish of David Moss getting home by the barest of margins a short neck.
David Moss well positioned throughout on the outer was three and a half lengths clear of pace making third place getter Lenin with Diamond Field finishing on from deep on the rails for fourth three quarters of a length further back. The other Purdon representative four year old Breton Abbe was best of the rest. Night Allowance’s time of T3:24.3/T2:01.7 was just 0.1 second outside Fraggle Rock’s NZ record set in the 1991 Trotters Grand Final, a record that stood for nearly fifteen years before Delft bettered it in December 2005 (T3:23.4).
Carl Middleton’s defending Auckland champion from 1991 Fraggle Rock was badly interfered with down the back straight the final time when about to mount his challenge and galloped out of contention to finish second last. Middleton tasted success on the night however when Scottish Hostess (owned by the author) won the fillies and mares event off 30m beating home a field that included Tigerish, Smooth Gretna and Evamay. The race produced a trifecta for ill-fated BGs Bunny stallion Butler BG. In addition, Middleton drove Fancy Richie into third in the Great Northern Derby for his father owner/trainer Gordon Middleton.
Rakaia horseman Leo O’Reilly recorded his first Alexandra Park victory with six year old trotting mare Staka Pride for Waimate owner trainer Keith Coutts and wife Lorraine. Last early on the inner, O’Reilly improved her along the rails to be handy turning for home. Managing a last stride head victory over Faith In Fashion with Directorship a battling third a half-length back with a length and a quarter to Jennys Rocket in fourth position.
Night Allowance’s breeder was Kevin Bungard. He was by pacing stallion Knowing Bret, a son of Bret Hanover and unraced James Direct mare Lorraine Direct. Bret Hanover sired 247 winners in NZ (eight in Australia) and apart from Night Allowance these included Josephine Bret (NZ Oaks), Light Buffy (two SA Trotters Cups), Tuapeka Star (Tatlow Memorial, Ladyship Mile, NZ Broodmare of Year, dam of Iraklis, Ermis, grand dam of Lavros Star, 3rd dam of O Baby) and was dam sire of 309 in NZ (46 in Australia) including Kiwi Supreme, Matthew Lee in addition to Ermis and Iraklis.
Night Allowance was Lorraine Direct’s second foal of three and only race starter and winner. Her sire James Direct (Express Direct by Billy Direct) won six races from ten starts all as a four year old pacer. Night Allowance’s grand dam was unraced Just Us by leading pacer Waitaki Hanover (GN Derby, Auckland Cup, NZFFA, Hunter Cup, sire of trotter Waitaki Gamble) from Justurina, a modest pacing winner by My Chief from Black Globe (Globe Derby horse) mare Rosehaven. Rosehaven was dam of Black Watch, a leading pacing mare and founder of a leading branch of the family of Regina (N10). Justurina was thus a half-sister to Black Watch. Night Allowance therefore originates from an almost completely pacing only family.
The family of Regina is notable for few trotters apart from Night Allowance; Bravado Vale (ID Consolation), Dark Hazard, Musgrove, Flying Hardwick, Tinmine (Aust Trotters Championship).
Night Allowance had a number of ownership changes during his career. First he was sold to Invercargill railwayman Robert Tosh for $50; leased by Ross Cleland a Gore truck driver whose brother Joh broke him in as a pacer before being sent to Billy Heads for his initial training although it was trainer Brian Norman who managed to get him trotting prior to qualifying for John Cleland. Night Allowance had his first start for owners Ross (WR) Cleland and Billy (WR) Heads with Stephen and Billy Heads as trainers at Winton in November 1989. After this he was sent to Patrick O’Reilly jnr at Ashburton where he had a further seven starts as a three year old for a win at Forbury Park (beating Staka Pride) and two seconds.
As a four year old, Billy Heads took over Night Allowance’s training again and with Brendan (Snow) McLellan as his driver recorded eight wins from twelve starts – two sets of four consecutive victories and being named four year old Trotter of Year. These wins came at Invercargill (three), Wyndham (two), Addington (two) and Forbury Park, several being off back marks. A far less successful season ensued as a five year old (1991/2) when his thirteen starts produced just the one victory. After a half dozen starts for Billy Heads culminating in a sixth in the Dominion Hcp, Roy and Barry Purdon took over his training during a five start Auckland campaign which included a win at Alexandra Park over the Christmas period together with a fifth in the National Trot. Returned south, his final two seasonal performances were unproductive before being put aside.
With his lease extended to 2000, Robert Tosh joined partners Billy Heads and Ross Cleland in the racing ownership of Night Allowance. The current season (1992/3) was by far his most successful where apart from his Interdominion successes recounted above (heat and Grand Final), he was to win on a further four occasions from seventeen starts. These included the opening race on NZ Cup Day (3200m) for Billy Heads and following failures in NZ Trotting FFA and Dominion Hcp he was sent north again to the Purdon’s for whom he gained two Christmas meeting wins at Alexandra Park and another in a FFA in mid-February, a month prior to the ID’s. Significant placings during his six year old career came with a second in the National Trot and thirds in the NZ Trotting Championship and season ending Rowe Cup. Night Allowance was leading trotting stake earner for 1993 (David Moss was Trotter of the Year).
Night Allowance’s remaining two seasons were impacted by injuries, sarting on just one occasion at seven for a second in the Challenge Stakes at Alexandra Park. Off the scene then for fifteen months, he reappeared in January 1995 aged eight where his final five starts included two thirds for the Purdon’s, one at Alexandra Park, the other at Addington before his final race start for Billy Heads in the 1995 Rowe Cup finishing eleventh. From his fifty six starts Night Allowance won on sixteen occasions with five seconds and thirds for stakes of $177,905, T2:01.7 (ID Grand Final).
Peter Craig
18 July 2018
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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