by Michael Howard
The oldest trainer to hold a Harness Racing Victoria trainers’ licence, Arthur Fullwood, has passed away a little over a fortnight shy of his 97th birthday.
Platitudes have poured in to honour Arthur, who owned, trained and bred trots horses in Victoria for more than 30 years, in which time he trained 1461 starters for 162 victories and $829,558 in stakes.
Arthur’s son, Barry, said the sport “meant everything to Dad”.
“That was his life. He loved it so much,” Barry said. “He and mum (Clarice) had horses on the farm at Narre Warren for all these years and it’s kept him going.”
Originally from South Australia, Arthur’s interaction with horses was initially more about trade than trots.
“Dad had a greengrocer horse-and-cart business in Adelaide, so horse was Dad’s mode of transport. He would also work a part-time job after school herding cows.”
Arthur entered the competitive scene with Admirers Gem in the late 1940s.
“He would strap hurricane lights on the front of the kart, walk the horse to Wayville, race it and then strap the light back on and walk the horse home again,” Barry said.
The effort was rewarded when he put Dick Webster in the sulky of Admirers Gem on April 11, 1950, at Kapunda, South Australia, which produced Arthur’s first victory.
But the trots would be on the backburner as Arthur focused more on business, with a move to Victoria in 1966 preceding the establishment of a car parts business in Dandenong.
When it came time to wind down from work Arthur returned to his sporting passion and the trots were soon well established at the family’s Narre Warren North farm.
Not only did his ownership accelerate, beginning with Rampion, but he was soon training winners and burst on to the scene when Ted Demmler drove Ladyzain to win, who produced not only the first win of his training resumption but soon after won the Victoria Sires Stakes final for four-year-old mares. The $50,000 prize for April 19, 1986, triumph would be the greatest of Arthur’s career.
“That was his initiation back into training in Melbourne and he has kept going ever since,” Barry said. “It meant everything to him. He had quite a few good horses. Probably Veranjee was the one he thought the most of. He was the first foal that dad bred from Nyanjee, and she was a really good horse.”
A winner of 26 of his 138 starts, Veranjee amassed $235,039 in stakes, including saluting in the Yeomans Slate and Stone Pacers Handicap at Tabcorp Park Melton on April 23, 2010, which came just days after his 90th birthday.
“I might be 90 but I don’t feel it and that’s probably thanks to the horses,” Arthur said at the time. “It keeps me busy and I think that’s important.”
Barry said friendship and a competitive spirit fuelled Arthur’s passion for the sport.
“He was always very determined and keen to be competitive in harness racing and it meant a lot to him when he could beat the best trainers around,” Barry said. “When he did that he got a great sense of achievement and accomplishment.
“When Vic Frost won the Inter Dominion final with Westburn Grant he was based here (at the family’s farm) and he enjoyed a fantastic friendship with Dad. He continued to base his horses here and Dad was really proud and honoured that he did. Those friendships that he made kept him going in the industry.”
They are friendships that continue to bring support to Arthur’s family.
“On behalf of the family I would like to thank all of the people in the harness racing industry for their kind messages and thoughts,” Barry said. “We are hoping to have a horse or two in the future to continue to race and to carry dad’s colours.”
A private funeral will be held to honour Arthur Fullwood.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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