RaceCafe..#1...Tipsters Thread.... Share Your Fancies For Fun...Lets See Who The Best Tipsters Here Are.
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Found at Waimate Racecourse - blast from the past!

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33 minutes ago, Lynne Corbett said:

Getting back to Cappimore  -  the name rings bells for me being an ex West Coaster.  Was he ever ridden by Gene Killick?

Yes he was at Hoki one time.  In fact I think Gene won a race on him in the deep mud ( I know I said he hated it but on class alone he did win an early race or two in the bog). On the second day he failed to take the tight corner on the bend out of the straight and that was the end of Gene as his rider.  With all due respect he was not really a kid's horse.  Headstrong and accordingly difficult to control especially around the corners on the Coast.  He really loved Riccarton where he won five or six I think but where the corners suited his style.

Another day at Hoki in the mud Gary Stewart rode him.  Went no good and when he came back the verdict was 'didn't handle it a yard'.  I remember looking at the welts on his bum and thinking 'if he hits an old handicapper struggling in the ground that hard how hard does he belt Bonecrusher?'

As with all horses you are or were close too there are plenty of stories.

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Cappiemore incidentally come from the place in Ireland where the Doolan's came from.  The correct name is Cappamore I think but by mistake he got Cappiemore.  My sister Julie went there and the sign was something like Cheapach Mhor (in gaelic of course).  The Danny Doolan's Bar name came from Kevin Doolan's father Danny Doolan (grandfather of a couple of racecafe members myself included of course)

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1 hour ago, TOM(the other Molloy) said:

Yes he was at Hoki one time.  In fact I think Gene won a race on him in the deep mud ( I know I said he hated it but on class alone he did win an early race or two in the bog). On the second day he failed to take the tight corner on the bend out of the straight and that was the end of Gene as his rider.  With all due respect he was not really a kid's horse.  Headstrong and accordingly difficult to control especially around the corners on the Coast.  He really loved Riccarton where he won five or six I think but where the corners suited his style.

Another day at Hoki in the mud Gary Stewart rode him.  Went no good and when he came back the verdict was 'didn't handle it a yard'.  I remember looking at the welts on his bum and thinking 'if he hits an old handicapper struggling in the ground that hard how hard does he belt Bonecrusher?'

As with all horses you are or were close too there are plenty of stories.

Yes I well remember the tight corners of the Coast tracks especially Hokitika as well as the mud.  I think Gene rode a few winners on the Coast including 'Uncle Tom' for Ray Shields and 'Round Up' for the late Shirley Fauth.  Gene has in recent years made a name for himself as an owner/trainer in WA with a good mare 'Wild Ruby'.

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11 hours ago, Insider said:

Ross Simpson, now that’s a blast from the past. Was it his property near Templeton or Amberley?

 

 

11 hours ago, Insider said:

Ross Simpson, now that’s a blast from the past. Was it his property near Templeton or Amberley?

 

The day when my heart was broken and my life torn apart, Ross lived in Russley Rd and you are correct he moved out to a stud farm in Amberley

Ross's father was Noel Simpson, he was very successful in the Harness code.

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7 hours ago, Lynne Corbett said:

Yes I well remember the tight corners of the Coast tracks especially Hokitika as well as the mud.  I think Gene rode a few winners on the Coast including 'Uncle Tom' for Ray Shields and 'Round Up' for the late Shirley Fauth.  Gene has in recent years made a name for himself as an owner/trainer in WA with a good mare 'Wild Ruby'.

I think that horse was called the last round up, think james moffat rode Cappiemore early on in his career, and lance o'sullivan may have ridden him once, his trainer may have also had a horse by imperial guard, his name escapes me, the memory not as good as it once was, and it was a long time ago.

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20 minutes ago, Shad said:

I think that horse was called the last round up, think james moffat rode Cappiemore early on in his career, and lance o'sullivan may have ridden him once, his trainer may have also had a horse by imperial guard, his name escapes me, the memory not as good as it once was, and it was a long time ago.

Jimmy Moffat won about his first five on him and Lance O'Sullivan did ride him at Hoki one day though another bog track stopped him that time.  Hoki used to invite a top northern jockey to their meetings hence O'Sullivan and Stewart riding him on ocassion.  

The Imperial Guard horse was Border Guard - plenty of ability but not too inclined to show it raceday. He met a nasty end - they leased/gave him to a bloke in Westport.  One day they were walking past an empty house that had been wired incorrectly and he dropped dead on the spot! Something about horses hearts beating in different rhythms to humans I believe.  Shocking (if you will pardon the pun) but they got some money out of the Power Board at least. Wasn't a great loss to NZ racing.

And the Shirley Fauth horse was Round Up not Last Round Up.  Shirley herself died tragically. She was riding in a bike race, got to the turning point and, despite people frantically waving and trying to stop her, turned straight into the path of an oncoming truck.  RIP

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Another amusing little Kevin Doolan anecdote.  That horse Union Chief that CWJ won then lost on at Nelson that time.  Earlier on about 1978 or 79 one Kevin William Morton rode him one day at Reefton.  After another superb display of horsemanship from the south's premier hoop the little man sat up nicely for the winning photo (always liked a nice pose at the line did Morty).  

Now Reefton, as has been previously discussed, had a shocking finishing angle in those days and down the outside came a horse called Little Dan ridden by Tommy Cowan. Despite it looking like Morty had half a length on him the other horse was so wide in the track he actually got up to nab Union Chief.  I wasn't there to witness it personally but I understand the little man turned on quite a performance of not accepting the result and demanding to see the photo.

Although he rode plenty of winners there our beloved Midget has the odd sour memory of the Reefton racecourse.

Anyway all was well - three days later at Kumara the wee chap redeemed himself winning indisputably on the same horse and breaking the track record for 1600m.  Something like 1.42 as I remember. Kumara was always a bog in those times and they usually went closer to 2min for 1600 than 1.36. That track record stood for absolute years until they renovated the track.

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7 hours ago, TOM(the other Molloy) said:

Another amusing little Kevin Doolan anecdote.  That horse Union Chief that CWJ won then lost on at Nelson that time.  Earlier on about 1978 or 79 one Kevin William Morton rode him one day at Reefton.  After another superb display of horsemanship from the south's premier hoop the little man sat up nicely for the winning photo (always liked a nice pose at the line did Morty).  

Now Reefton, as has been previously discussed, had a shocking finishing angle in those days and down the outside came a horse called Little Dan ridden by Tommy Cowan. Despite it looking like Morty had half a length on him the other horse was so wide in the track he actually got up to nab Union Chief.  I wasn't there to witness it personally but I understand the little man turned on quite a performance of not accepting the result and demanding to see the photo.

Although he rode plenty of winners there our beloved Midget has the odd sour memory of the Reefton racecourse.

Anyway all was well - three days later at Kumara the wee chap redeemed himself winning indisputably on the same horse and breaking the track record for 1600m.  Something like 1.42 as I remember. Kumara was always a bog in those times and they usually went closer to 2min for 1600 than 1.36. That track record stood for absolute years until they renovated the track.

Don't remember the Reefton race but for reasons that should be obvious, i remember the Kumara race.

Your uncle was a hard bastard and he asked me to ge a good apprentice for an apprentice race, so i got him G N Davison who was in my view a top rider in the making,he gave it every show and ran in the placings . Kevin Dolan told me that Grant would never make it as a rider, I was talking to Kevin many years later and told him that Grant  did make it and had just ridden his 1000th winner,the gruff reply was he must have  improved

Another good story and i believe it is true was that  Kevin had brought a horse at the sales and.it  was hard to break in and would continually buck, this was ok as Kevin's son would ride him, but one day he had to go on a rugby trip, so Kevin decided to ride the horse himself, he would have been around 65 years old then, well he got dropped when the horse starting bucking, .. I cannot say what happened to the horse but Kevin did win the battle, You didn't get a second chance with Kevin, one hard bastard.

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1 hour ago, Midget said:

Don't remember the Reefton race but for reasons that should be obvious, i remember the Kumara race.

Your uncle was a hard bastard and he asked me to ge a good apprentice for an apprentice race, so i got him G N Davison who was in my view a top rider in the making,he gave it every show and ran in the placings . Kevin Dolan told me that Grant would never make it as a rider, I was talking to Kevin many years later and told him that Grant  did make it and had just ridden his 1000th winner,the gruff reply was he must have  improved

Another good story and i believe it is true was that  Kevin had brought a horse at the sales and.it  was hard to break in and would continually buck, this was ok as Kevin's son would ride him, but one day he had to go on a rugby trip, so Kevin decided to ride the horse himself, he would have been around 65 years old then, well he got dropped when the horse starting bucking, .. I cannot say what happened to the horse but Kevin did win the battle, You didn't get a second chance with Kevin, one hard bastard.

Essentially correct - it was a son riding him but not the usual one.  We chased the prick for ten minutes then the old boy said very quietly 'go and get the gun'.  The bastard thought he knew every trick in the book but there was one he didn't.  All the old boy cared about was 'don't hit the saddle or the bridle. Kill him'.

Prior to that the trick had been to work the mongrel in a ploughed paddock.  He could buck but not for long before he got tired. Once that happened they had him but from the day he got him you could never catch the prick.

You could write a book on Kevin Doolan and his escapades both in racing and in general life.  He never left you in much doubt what he was thinking put it that way.

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28 minutes ago, TOM(the other Molloy) said:

Essentially correct - it was a son riding him but not the usual one.  We chased the prick for ten minutes then the old boy said very quietly 'go and get the gun'.  The bastard thought he knew every trick in the book but there was one he didn't.  All the old boy cared about was 'don't hit the saddle or the bridle. Kill him'.

Prior to that the trick had been to work the mongrel in a ploughed paddock.  He could buck but not for long before he got tired. Once that happened they had him but from the day he got him you could never catch the prick.

You could write a book on Kevin Doolan and his escapades both in racing and in general life.  He never left you in much doubt what he was thinking put it that way.

I may have been at that sales, if it was the horse i saw, he was an outstanding son of Beaufort sea, do stand to be corrected as it was many years ago.  

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1 hour ago, Shad said:

I may have been at that sales, if it was the horse i saw, he was an outstanding son of Beaufort sea, do stand to be corrected as it was many years ago.  

He might have been good looking but he was a low mongrel. And if you knew Kevin Doolan you would know when he made a call he would not back down. As I said and Morty would agree you were very rarely in doubt about what he thought in any given situation. He also didn't give an eff who you were be it horse jockey trainer stipe journalist or nephew - if you stepped out of line you copped it. Not saying he was always right or some sort of God but he was always decisive.

Having said that the horse can not have been that outstanding.  He didn't pay huge money for him 

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13 hours ago, Midget said:

 

The day when my heart was broken and my life torn apart, Ross lived in Russley Rd and you are correct he moved out to a stud farm in Amberley

Ross's father was Noel Simpson, he was very successful in the Harness code.

oops... should have read on before posting. Wasn't the Amberley joint prior to Russley Road?

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23 minutes ago, TOM(the other Molloy) said:

He might have been good looking but he was a low mongrel. And if you knew Kevin Doolan you would know when he made a call he would not back down. As I said and Morty would agree you were very rarely in doubt about what he thought in any given situation. He also didn't give an eff who you were be it horse jockey trainer stipe journalist or nephew - if you stepped out of line you copped it. Not saying he was always right or some sort of God but he was always decisive.

Having said that the horse can not have been that outstanding.  He didn't pay huge money for him 

There was a few beaufort seas over the years at the sales, i'm probably recalling the wrong one by the sound of it.

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On 2/23/2018 at 0:25 PM, Midget said:

Brillant bit of humor,but i mean,it has taken me 25 minutes to get Karen{my wife] off the floor suffering from a laughing spasm and have just done that and she has been in the toilet for another 10 minutes, presumably changing her pants.

I will get my own box for the day and as always happens i will end up with the 7 girls from your box,as they will be a bored and depressed as any person that has to suffer your hospitality and tips from your good self,you can keep the other 3 for reasons for reasons that will be clear to Cafers 

Would you please extend me a discounted invite to your box. I don't intend to arrive until the seven from Leo's joint have turned up.

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On ‎02‎/‎22‎/‎2018 at 1:35 PM, TOM(the other Molloy) said:

A lot of bloody good horses came out of Ikamatua and a lot of credit goes to the brilliant training track on the property of Bill Kennedy(who trained plenty of them himself).  Unfortunately now turned into cow paddocks but Roger Hampton, the O'Malleys, Kevin Doolan and the Kennedy's themselves all produced plenty of winners from there.  It was a six furlong plough and grass track and only ceased usage a year or so ago when the O'Malleys gave up training themselves (when Peter went dairy farming).

While Cappiemore was from 'Atarau' Kevin Doolan's farm was only a couple of miles down the road from Kennedy's which in turn was only a couple of miles from Ikamatua

Re the winningest horse in NZ at the time Cappiemore was in a ding dong battle with Ocean Guard another from those great southern families and trained by Rex Cochrane.  Every time Cappiemore would get one ahead Ocean Guard would catch up (or vice versa).  I think Ocean Guard won a National Hurdles - he was a bit more adept in bad ground that was Cappiemore.  They raced one another on several occasions.  Pretty much even results. Ocean Guard might have ended up with 20 wins maybe versus Cappiemore's 18(it would have been more I am sure but a crook batch of feed badly affected him and when he dropped his rider in a hurdle race at Riccarton on his comeback Kevin Doolan pulled the pin) .

He wasn't the classiest horse ever but you knew when he went to the races on a decent track you would get his very very best effort.  Won a highweight at Riccarton one day under 69 when the minimum was 57.  the Old Boy could hardly carry the saddle with all the lead.

 

Ocean Guard won 23 and Cappiemore 18 

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8 minutes ago, rdytdy said:

Ocean Guard won 23 and Cappiemore 18 

Yes I was aware Ocean Guard won more Ted. And have said so.  We can all go to the NZTR website and find out the facts so I can only assume you are being a smart arse.   In defence of the Coast horse he didn't handle the shit which Ocean Guard did and second Ocean Guard's trainer was a full timer who didn't have to worry about the farm during the winter.  Lambing for instance took August preference when a professional trainer might have been at the National.

Neither was a champion but they were both good.  Again as I have said Grey Way's achievements put them both into perspective.

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Firstly, I thought you would be interested seeing you were discussing it but I guess I'm wrong.

Secondly even though it is on the NZTR website it is also on list of the most NZ wins by gallopers that I have here.   

I gather seeing you are so irritable that it must be well past your bedtime. Tuck yourself in tight old son. :)   

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In all fairness, they were good horses of their time, not to many 18 win horse racing around at the present, especially in the south island, and we are probably unlikely to see any in the future, i think that puts their achievements in prospective.

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1 minute ago, poundforpound said:

Different handicapping model now.

Sadly those abusing that handicapping job cannot see that they’re driving type of honest male horse out of the game.

True, something i hadn't considered.

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6 hours ago, rdytdy said:

Firstly, I thought you would be interested seeing you were discussing it but I guess I'm wrong.

Secondly even though it is on the NZTR website it is also on list of the most NZ wins by gallopers that I have here.   

I gather seeing you are so irritable that it must be well past your bedtime. Tuck yourself in tight old son. :)   

Thought I'd be interested? Way back in this thread Jape mentioned 3ZB having a quiz one Saturday about who the 'winningest' horse in NZ racing that day was. In response I brought up Ocean Guard and pointed out he won more. I work straight off my memory - I don't need the NZTR website or a book. Clearly Ocean Guard wasn't running that day.

You then join in a couple of days later like a tattle tale ' Ocean Guard won 23 Cappiemore 18' as if I have been misleading everyone and trying to build the Coast horse up. I made it clear all along Ocean Guard won more. I reiterate they were both good genuine hardy character horses but neither was a WFA star in the Grey Way mould and neither will be inducted into the hall of fame.

You are like a certain Sunday morning Trackside radio presenter who likes to makes out his knowledge is encyclopedic.   When someone brings up the 1953 Taumaranui Cup he delays enough to dive into that racing history book(I'e got a copy if it too) then comes up with 'oh yes it was so and so ridden by Johnny Riordan' as if he knew it all along.

 

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Perhaps you better go back to bed Tom. You obviously still haven't had enough sleep (or you are getting out the wrong side).  

You will give yourself an ulcer. 

Note to one's self. Just ignore Tom's posts in future. :rolleyes: 

 

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