RaceCafe..#1...Tipsters Thread.... Share Your Fancies For Fun...Lets See Who The Best Tipsters Here Are.
Right first time

Blast from My Past

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Found this old photo from 1967 or 1968 - Stabling area - Alexandra Park. I'm the little fella on the far right -  most school holidays I was at the Auckland Showgrounds where my father Frank Atkinson worked, and each day we popped in to Alexandra Park alongside. Dad went on to be a Life Member of the Auckland Trotting Club. For a long time horses were stabled at the Auckland Showgrounds. Indeed the Showgrounds caretaker Harry Wattam himself trained horses. Some Racecafers may recognise people in the photo. 

AlexPark1.jpg

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A few names who would have been either training or at workouts around this time

Dan Wingrove

Barney Repia

Ron Smith

Noel Taylor

John Llewellyn

John MacQuibban

Jack Cooney

Nat Mackenzie (? on the right)

Colin Dodds

 

Other names escape my elderly brain at the moment.    

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and how could I forget P.T. Wolfenden and Ted Edwards

Also the Kumeu contingent who visited the park 

Don Hayes

George Cole

Jack Bassett

Des Botica

Fred Wigg

Ron Wigg

Jack Longville

Arthur Gibbons

Ray Norton

Tony Milina

Frank Parsons

Phew - many many more!!

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Bloke in front could be Charlie or Barney Repia.   In the early 80's he had a horse he trained there called Abbot's Way. Unusual in that it had pale blue eyes and hated the lights, only time he would ever perform according to Barney was day meetings.   I think Barney died some time back ?

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48 minutes ago, Belinda said:

Looks like Wolfie. I "worked Transmitter Sound for all the wins that he had in the north. He never went in the cart, I used to ride him instead.

Belinda , Where was he worked ?

I know Bruce Stennings lived out Howick way in fact didn't he build the golf course on land he owned ?

I remember Transmitter Sound winning with Morrie Holmes that night ,apart from the history being made I backed it.

It's trotting action had me with my heart in my mouth the whole trip......... wasn't a fliud trotter like most was he. ?

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He was an awful trotter,lol. used to hit himself badly and couldnt go left-handed. He was a black horse and had a hogged mane, lovely boy, Timmy was his paddock name. I worked him at Taupaki, near Kumeu. I believe Bruce died fairly recently, could be wrong on that though

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I had always understood the gentleman on the left to be Peter Wolfenden. When I went to post the photo I started to doubt myself so I kept quiet to see what others thought. My father and I used to lead horses for PTW from the Showgrounds to Alexandra Park alongside, to do their early morning workouts. Then we'd lead them back again afterwards. Horses at the time whose names I recall were Single Cash ( a Wolfie trotter), Bonnie Rachael and Park's Delight  (neither of those two may have been trained by PTW). There were two Peters, PTW, and a guy we called young Peter who worked for PTW and who was Peter Young later to be of Rondel fame. And of course Charlie Faulkner also identified in the photo. I recall from the Alexandra Park stables Bill Halloran and his trotter Anonymous. And Jim Donaldson a regular visitor up from the South Island and his fine pacer James who won an Auckland Cup I think, driven by PTW.

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27 minutes ago, Right first time said:

I had always understood the gentleman on the left to be Peter Wolfenden. When I went to post the photo I started to doubt myself so I kept quiet to see what others thought. My father and I used to lead horses for PTW from the Showgrounds to Alexandra Park alongside, to do their early morning workouts. Then we'd lead them back again afterwards. Horses at the time whose names I recall were Single Cash ( a Wolfie trotter), Bonnie Rachael and Park's Delight  (neither of those two may have been trained by PTW). There were two Peters, PTW, and a guy we called young Peter who worked for PTW and who was Peter Young later to be of Rondel fame. And of course Charlie Faulkner also identified in the photo. I recall from the Alexandra Park stables Bill Halloran and his trotter Anonymous. And Jim Donaldson a regular visitor up from the South Island and his fine pacer James who won an Auckland Cup I think, driven by PTW.

James didn't win an Auckland Cup, I've just checked, James won the 1970 New Zealand Cup beating Stella Frost by a neck with a head back to Manaroa. The win was Peter Wolfenden's third NZ Cup win, the first being the legendary Cardigan Bay.

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