Mr Spyro

Saddest part was owner Ossie Marr having a heart attack at presentation and later dying in hospital. All too much for him.

What hacked me off was having a good bet on him in the lead up race . If you remember Keith Haub's commentary he remarked Robert Caddigan was almost out of the saddle restraining Kotare Chief,,,,,, then a few days later in Cup totally different tactics and we know what happened. Didn't follow up on the bet like a dipstick.......

Maybe straying off topic a little bit , but warning in above for all of us in tjhose last sentences. My GP was telling me his friends wife who was physical fitness fanatic and a pathologist herself, she dropped dead at 36 while out jogging with just a simple cold. He said it is far from uncommon to happen to otherwise fit people with everyday colds let alone more complex viruses as even a cold can cause changes withing the heart. Sorry to slightly digress, but something maybe we should be aware of for our future health.

Sounds like my wife, can remember laughing at her theory of combining similar themed names , until she quinelled Walt's Task and Minnie's Magic, and it paid over $ 200. First date we had was at the races and she used combination of numbers like 1 and 13 and linking names as above. You wouldn't believe it I was backing on the nose and eight races in a row she won and I got second. Finally in frustration, I sneaked in behind and heard what she took, so backed that. Well the ******* ran second and I said to her well your number combinations didn't work for once, she said oh yes it did, I went back later and backed 13 and won again.

Mike Dillon's top pick, might blow out more yet.

Okay $ 140,00 paid in wages 2016 , realising many would be race day staff just called in on the day but maybe a couple not volunteers ? They also now have a paid development manger , although not full time.

But the question was all volunteer so whatever hours contributed would be paid for. So throw in one or two track staff. I did see the figures for last season's wage bill, but can't recall what they were, I know of course they included tote staff, bar staff race day.

Well there is a secretary manager, I think Mr. Fitness is there all the time and just presumed he wasn't doing the complete track maintenance without some assistance. I would have assumed Counties and Avondale were on similar lines but stand to be corrected.

Well, they do have full time paid staff like the other clubs.

Wonder where he worked them. The paddock Thunder Royal was in is now the lookout in Methuen Rd for that new motorway extension.

Thank you for added information. I think it would have been the same year he won the Cup he went on his escapade, so he still had all his speed.

Avondale

They also had Thunder Royal the 1967 Wellington Cup winner. Back in those days they kept him in a paddock over the road from our house. One day he got out and galloped down the road with whole gang of stay at home mums ( back then no mother's worked ) attempting to catch him, the faster they ran , the faster he went. Came to a stop in a garden and proceeded to chew one mum's prize roses. They also owned the local garage in Mt Albert.

Thank you for that, much appreciated and shows a modicum of my aging brain cells must be issuing some spark, no matter how weak.