The Huey Awards for Excellence in Thoroughbred Racing.

[Chief Stipe]

Fill ya boots @Huey !

 

[Murray Fish]

Ken & Bev Kelso

[Murray Fish]

Robbie Patterson

[Murray Fish]

The Brown Nose Pollyanna Award: @TAB For Ever

[Chief Stipe]

3 hours ago, Murray Fish said:

Ken & Bev Kelso

I'm not sure they'd count using @Huey criteria.  They've won awards before and wasn't it last year that their employee Megan Winters won the ENTAIN Stablehand of the Year award?

[Gammalite]

I'm Nominating 'Free Holmes' .

in the Huey category of 'Greatest NZ horseman  Ever'  . this bloke could head off Sir Mark Todd even🤔. 

*Won the NZ Cup as a jockey riding Manton.

* Won the Great Northern Hurdles and the Great Northern Steeple riding 'Liberator' .

* Won the biggest harness race going,  NZ Trotting Cup 1919 +  2 Auckland Trotting Cups training and driving

* Won driving in the Very First INTERDOMINION ever run , the Inaugural race between Nz and Oz in 1936.

  (well technically he placed 2nd in the race . His own NZ horse got scratched from the Grand Final. So FREE got the call up to drive EVICUS , a Tasmanian mare. She ran 2nd in all her heats.  and also 2nd in the Grand Final to another fine Tasmanian in Logan Derby . But she was declared the WINNER of the Series on Points 20 -17 ahead of Logan Derby ( as she had started off a handicap) so took home the Gold trophy and spoils. as did Free  )   Logan Derby declared the winner of the race itself many years later . going undefeated for his 4 races during the series.  

* Raced and bred many fine thoroughbreds and Standardbred across his years.

*  FREE Holmes himself a fine sire! 😁 Sired Maurice Holmes ( The Maestro ) who across 50 years became the greatest NZ harness driver ever. A lasting Legacy compliments from Free 😋. (descendant young Robbie Holmes still competes in the South Island these very days) 

* known as 'Old Free' by the gallops folk, and 'The Old Man of Trotting' by the Trots blokes . No One will EVER achieve What that bloke did in thoroughbreds and harness. 

Don't think he got an OBE for services to racing like his own son Maurice 'the Maestro' did .

So Maybe a 'HUEY award'  could be his ?  . Free Holmes (1871-1967)  NZ legend. 

 

 

 

[Huey]

Disappointing to see you both mocking the hardworking people in the industry!

[Chief Stipe]

1 hour ago, Huey said:

Disappointing to see you both mocking the hardworking people in the industry!

Not at all @Huey but you've inferred that some are more deserving than others just because of who employs them.

[Murray Fish]

2 hours ago, Gammalite said:

Sired Maurice Holmes ( The Maestro )

Back in the early 70's had a bit to do with MH son Paul, he really didn't have much of a interest with racing! later got a PhD, struggle with poor eyesight if I recall correctly? 

[TAB For Ever]

10 hours ago, Chief Stipe said:

I'm not sure they'd count using @Huey criteria.  They've won awards before and wasn't it last year that their employee Megan Winters won the ENTAIN Stablehand of the Year award?

Whitebait has no idea  !

 

8 hours ago, Gammalite said:

I'm Nominating 'Free Holmes' .

in the Huey category of 'Greatest NZ horseman  Ever'  . this bloke could head off Sir Mark Todd even🤔. 

*Won the NZ Cup as a jockey riding Manton.

* Won the Great Northern Hurdles and the Great Northern Steeple riding 'Liberator' .

* Won the biggest harness race going,  NZ Trotting Cup 1919 +  2 Auckland Trotting Cups training and driving

* Won driving in the Very First INTERDOMINION ever run , the Inaugural race between Nz and Oz in 1936.

  (well technically he placed 2nd in the race . His own NZ horse got scratched from the Grand Final. So FREE got the call up to drive EVICUS , a Tasmanian mare. She ran 2nd in all her heats.  and also 2nd in the Grand Final to another fine Tasmanian in Logan Derby . But she was declared the WINNER of the Series on Points 20 -17 ahead of Logan Derby ( as she had started off a handicap) so took home the Gold trophy and spoils. as did Free  )   Logan Derby declared the winner of the race itself many years later . going undefeated for his 4 races during the series.  

* Raced and bred many fine thoroughbreds and Standardbred across his years.

*  FREE Holmes himself a fine sire! 😁 Sired Maurice Holmes ( The Maestro ) who across 50 years became the greatest NZ harness driver ever. A lasting Legacy compliments from Free 😋. (descendant young Robbie Holmes still competes in the South Island these very days) 

* known as 'Old Free' by the gallops folk, and 'The Old Man of Trotting' by the Trots blokes . No One will EVER achieve What that bloke did in thoroughbreds and harness. 

Don't think he got an OBE for services to racing like his own son Maurice 'the Maestro' did .

So Maybe a 'HUEY award'  could be his ?  . Free Holmes (1871-1967)  NZ legend. 

 

 

 

Indeed  Gamma , not likely to be matched ...the Parsons , Nolans and maybe Mark Purdon have achieved and /or tried to achieve big success in both Codes but unlikely any will start to ride jumpers !

Graeme Rogerson has a CV which covers a lot of things in Harness/Gallops including riding ...over a log period.

Michael House is another , currently still a contender for leading Harness Trainer and many will forget that only a few years ago he won the "Emerging  Trainers ' award at the Annual Gallops Awards.

Well known harness trainer/driver Robbie Holmes a descendant of Maurice and Freeman Holmes dabbles in gallops too......certainly still rides work as he appears in this weeks "Unhinged' Beach report video on FB. Check it out !

[curious]

5 hours ago, TAB For Ever said:

Whitebait has no idea  !

 

Indeed  Gamma , not likely to be matched ...the Parsons , Nolans and maybe Mark Purdon have achieved and /or tried to achieve big success in both Codes but unlikely any will start to ride jumpers !

Not now maybe, but I remember riding against John Parsons in a point to point steeplechase at Waimate many moons ago. He won the race too.

Edited 11 hours ago by curious

[Gammalite]

6 hours ago, curious said:

Not now maybe, but I remember riding against John Parsons in a point to point steeplechase at Waimate many moons ago. He won the race too.

wow ! . I'm nominating Curious for a 'Huey Award' too then 👍🏆. anyone that goes over those fences, or any obstacle in a full gallop in front of them,  deserves a medal for skillful horsemanship . they are the top of the tree to me , as getting horses to do these things is like Kenny Browne type Amazing Stuff.   (i'd fall off if the horse stepped off the kerb lol 😆)

Ann Browne kept some of their horses going , after the passing of Ken . The famous colours Winning here on Who Can Tell , trained by Kevin Myers for her, and being ridden by Toni Moki. 

 

 

[Chief Stipe]

4 hours ago, Gammalite said:

wow ! . I'm nominating Curious for a 'Huey Award' too then 👍🏆. anyone that goes over those fences, or any obstacle in a full gallop in front of them

I've driven a few harness horses in work and at pace.

Ridden bare back as a youngster herding Herefords out of the bush in South Westland.

The fastest I've galloped a horse was a Molesworth Brumbie named Blue.  It was during a wine trail on horse back with a progressive dinner.  We all lined up in lines in the vineyard after desert to race each other to the end of the lane.  My girlfriend had the fastest horse - had more thoroughbred in it than any of the others.  She said she had ridden lots when asked at the start of the day when horses were being allocated.

Having an eye for a horse I could see she was on the best so I lied about my experience and got the second best.

As the gallop progressed I got more and more confident and I was a cross between Lester Piggott and Chris Johnson - knees bent and back level - high off the saddle.  

The first thing I noticed was as I got more confident Blue put in more and more.  Great fun and I was only about a length off the girlfriend when I noticed the upcoming boundary fence.

"Oh shit" - I said.  But Blue had it under control and planted all four and pivoted.  Of course I was slow to react and my velocity was heading me off Blue towards the fence but I hung in and heart pumping trotted toward the stabling area.

Needless to say the slip marks caused any further racing to be abandoned for the day and all bets were refunded.

What I did learn though is how agile a horse can be.

Wouldn't happen today - too many rules!!!  I'm surprised point to point hasn't been banned.