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Biggest Win Ever in a Feature Race

Harness & Greyhounds
MarkovinaMarkovina    3,326 posts
Harness & Greyhounds
My vote goes to Provocative in the 1988 NSW Oaks - with Andrew Peace in the cart

The racecaller Ray Hadley said its the biggest win ever at Harold Park and i agree 

The race is on You Tube and well worth a watch 
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Comments

  • savethegamesavethegame    3,216 posts
    edited December 2025
    Marko -- No doubt big win , The horse that ran 4th  Jamcaro won the Western Australian Oaks also performed at Kalgoorlie Round  club we tried points allocation, for a final the next meeting after round so it would be successful meeting ,she nearly got cleaned up at release point but still won the final,

    Markovina likes this post.

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  • JayJayJayJay    8,623 posts
    edited December 2025
    Mount Eden won a 3 year old race at GP, lost about 100 yards after failing to find his gait, caught them, circled them, won by about 120m. The others were just entering the straight as he went over the line. Either a heat of the Sires Produce or the Final, can't remember which. Red Vicar also won a Qualie around the same time, beat Brunette, by at least 70 metres, the night of the first ever test at the WACA. Quite well supported he was, 12/1 into 7/4 in a very strong ring. Not a feature race for the Vicar but a huge win.

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  • ChariotsonfireChariotsonfire    3,025 posts
    Mount Eden's Miracle Mile win for me.

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  • ChariotsonfireChariotsonfire    3,025 posts
    And that was after deducting considerable points for excessive whip use.

    JayJay likes this post.

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  • warrenrobinsonwarrenrobinson    590 posts
    Talking about use of whip i see Voak received another fine for whip use. I don't  have the actual number of times he's been fined but it has to be well into the  double digits. Maybe the stewards should look at suspending and downgrade drivers who continue to flaunt the rule.

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  • sonnysonny    1,552 posts
    Hi warren, There are worse rules flaunted ..

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  • JayJayJayJay    8,623 posts
    Not in the eyes of the public Sonny......the court of public opinion votes very strongly against whip abuse. The use of the whip rule "in only a flicking of the wrist motion'  is breached in every race by many drivers. Fining them has not tempered its abuse.

    warrenrobinson likes this post.

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  • warrenrobinsonwarrenrobinson    590 posts
    Racing WA are big promotors of animal welfare but allow whip abuse, smoke and mirrors.
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  • JayJayJayJay    8,623 posts

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  • ArapahoArapaho    394 posts
    Chariotsonfire said:

    And that was after deducting considerable points for excessive whip use.

    The whip use in that era was a terrible stain on our industry, even later Gammalite etc copped it .

    JayJay likes this post.

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  • JayJayJayJay    8,623 posts
    Agree.....have a look at last night's Auckland Cup won by Republican Party and young Carter Dalgetty. They actually apply the whip rule in NZ, reining up and urging but no flogging. 

    Also take note of how well the young fellow presented in interview, polite, circumspect, on point, no vaudeville act, not trying to be funny or trade jokes, just played a straight bat. Excellent.

    The treatment that Gammalite copped, and Steelo over east, and Hondo Grattan, was a disgrace, and a stark comparison as to how they were driven over here. And they went just as good if not better.

    But the wrist only flicking rule is paid scant regard by many drivers and officials. Bad, bad look.

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  • MarkovinaMarkovina    3,326 posts
    This Thread title unfortunately has been totally hijacked 
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  • JayJayJayJay    8,623 posts
    I know the feeling.....in a Status Of the Industry Thread that I started,  someone hijacked it talking about magazines from 1972 which would have sat very nicely on the History Channel thread.

    VillageKid, watchingu, TimmyBee likes this post.

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  • JasperJasper    59 posts
    I can’t seperate these two:

    Preux Chevalier’s Hunter Cup win (or just about any win by this great horse). This in had a touch of Secreteriat about it.
    Imthemightyquinn’s Fremantle Cup win (when he circled three quarters of the field in about 200 metres down the back straight)
    Special mention for Elsu who sat three deep for about the last mile in the Hunter Cup and won.

    Pinballwizard, Ridersonthestorm33 likes this post.

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  • warrenrobinsonwarrenrobinson    590 posts
    Arapaho said:

    Chariotsonfire said:

    And that was after deducting considerable points for excessive whip use.

    The whip use in that era was a terrible stain on our industry, even later Gammalite etc copped it .
    The whip rule has never been policed correctly by former steward panels and I was as guilty as anyone.HRA keep all the stats on whip fines and suspensions and will use this one day in   removing the whip from drivers.
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  • savethegamesavethegame    3,216 posts
    edited January 2
    To be fair few of the participants have no respect for officialdom or the rules, Head Steward Des Jones had ongoing battles with Kersley with his whip action don't know how many times in West Australian Kersley whip fines made headlines he refused to adapt.

    Its got serious with Voak with what cause of action is left. 2016 Collie trots high ranking union officials and their families witnessed one trailing the field received unnecessary whipping, Then next race one was copping it in preliminary prior, so a direct complaint was made two fines resulted one of 200, then 1000. then in 2020 another, 1000, now ten years on.

    Would like to think a decent percentage of   passionate participants are not happy with trotting, happenings in last 40 years.
    1988 was on a trotting committee same year there was 762 drivers 1057 drivers. the most important component the punter. long gone   Now  37 drivers  259 trainers,

    Gammalite  was australian horse of the year 82,& 84 he endured two  drivers  1oos of strikes apart  Clarke, Coulson.

    JayJay likes this post.

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  • savethegamesavethegame    3,216 posts
    Smithdale Lad with Sleepy  Bill won after setting three wide the trip,, Mount Aretha  was herculean to win kalgoorlie.

    But Mount Eden  M,M, Win  is the top of the tree purely to recover over a mile plus his opponents were the best of the best.
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  • MarkovinaMarkovina    3,326 posts
    Well seeing Mount Eden has been mentioned several times in this thread - and at my doorstep  just got home ive received the May 1979 edition of Harness Horse fantastic magazine , even got a big crossword puzzle, and someone has half filled it in - hah

    And Ken Casellas , feature article and in big and i mean big Capital letters " Ozvarin Proves He Should Have been in Miracle Mile " - One hour and 50 minutes after  The Scotsman had won the Miracle Mile , Ozvarin gave a magnificent performance at GP to win the Mount Eden Mile in 1.59.6 . Trainer driver Phil Coulson dissappointed that Ozvarin was overlooked for the MM , said thank goodness hes small , thats what enabled him to get through such a small gap . 

    The Mighty Mount Eden back in WA after several years in America led the 10 runners on to the track and then slowly paced two circuits of the track to the plaudits of the crowd 

    And just a couple of tit bits of information , each state has got a correspondent and there is a picture of that person plus 5-6 pages on each state which is great . Victorias man is Danny Power , remember him i had forgotten all about him , quote " Geelong are averaging  5000 per meeting through the gate " boy today like any club they would be lucky to get 50 through the gate 

    And South Australia , there is a picture of him , but see if you can guess who the South Australian correspondent is ( with all his stories/pictures/comments etc ) of the 1979 Australasian Harness Horse monthly magazine .

    Ridersonthestorm33 likes this post.

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  • VillageKidVillageKid    2,358 posts
    Bruce McAvaney?

    Markovina, savethegame likes this post.

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  • ChariotsonfireChariotsonfire    3,025 posts
    If my memory serves me correctly Danny Power was escorted from Globe Derby Park at the opening meeting of an Inter Dominion due to a disparaging article he wrote about the controlling body is SA.
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  • savethegamesavethegame    3,216 posts
    Alot big names cut their teeth on harness racing. Danny Power was racing manager for Freedmans in 90s  --Probably IMO one of  best dual code callers was Wayne Wilson he wrote Queensland articles for Harness Horse.

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  • JayJayJayJay    8,623 posts
    And no one has been back since.

    It is almost impossible to believe that they were once a torchlight of the Industry, the best and biggest yearling sales in Australia. Ben Geerson told me many times that if you wanted a nice yearling, their sale was the place to go.  

    And he and owner Bill Bury backed up their opinion with many successful and astute purchases. No better man to inspect, purchase, break in and race a youngster with Aachen blood in its pedigree.

    You could now hold the SA Yearling sale in your lounge room. A fantastic standardbred nursery has been reduced to nothing. Stakemoney remains at subsistence levels, Globe Derby been sold off for apartment development per favor K.Seymour.

    Clueless administrators scrambling to do anything remotely effective in reprising the industry. Sound familiar? Sound very, very familiar? The camels are descending from the Western Dunes surrounding Hasler Drive and Gloucester Park, lots of them, and they have been on the horizon for ages.

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  • MarkovinaMarkovina    3,326 posts
    savethegame said:

    Alot big names cut their teeth on harness racing. Danny Power was racing manager for Freedmans in 90s  --Probably IMO one of  best dual code callers was Wayne Wilson he wrote Queensland articles for Harness Horse.


    Yes Save The Game alot of big names cutting their teeth on harness racing and no bigger name than Muhammed Ali !!!

    In this May 1979 Harness horse magazine , and there is a picture of the great man at presentation receiving the trophy by Charles Schmidt chairman of Illinois Racing Board 

    Quote , "  World Heavyweight Boxing champ Muhammed Ali proved himself the greatest in a new sport recently . He donned colours and drove in a harness race for charity at Maywood Park in Chicago . The champ was a real knock-out in the sulky , steering pacer Boozer Beau to a 1-57 victory in the seven furlong race - an unofficial world record for that distance "

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  • JayJayJayJay    8,623 posts
    A lot of that "odd distance" world record celebrity stuff took place going back. Ron Barassie set a "world record" over 1400m or 7 furlongs or similar at Gloucester Park in the 1970's?

    savethegame likes this post.

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  • LightningJakeLightningJake    46 posts
    warrenrobinson said:

    Racing WA are big promotors of animal welfare...


    But we are not allowed to offer molass flavoured water to our horses when they arrive on course after a 3+hr float trip on a 42°C day, having been stopped by every traffic light en route to GP once we hit the city limits! For those that don't now, there is no airflow in a float when it is stationary at traffic lights.

    It doesn't matter whether the trainer has a horse in the 1st & last race, either horse can only be offered freshly drawn, highly chlorinated water from a tap on-course prior to it racing. Not even allowed to bring familiar, plain water from home. If those horses are only used to dam or rain water they often won't drink any of this water unless the taste is disguised by something like molasses. Dehydration is not good for enzymes used in energy production, not good for cooling, not good for electrolyte balance, etc. Not good at all. Not good for animal welfare.

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  • warrenrobinsonwarrenrobinson    590 posts
    The respect for the horse today is certainly not to the standard of the past, fact.
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  • Ridersonthestorm33Ridersonthestorm33    10,939 posts
    edited January 4
    At GP two excellent wins remember was when Justaboyden took off in a Pacing Cup woooosh never seen a pacer sprint like that.

    And can’t recall it’s name now eastern states horse won the Golden Nugget coming from an impossible position top of the straight. Amazing effort.

    Chariotsonfire likes this post.

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  • savethegamesavethegame    3,216 posts
    Riders that was electrifying when Justaboyden let rip, --Im the mightyquinn was capable of regular similar efforts, but one i remember was Riverlea Jack when at gp  coming in for the bell  it was something else.. Gavin lang said point to point speed 200-300m the quickest he had driven,
    Kilmore Cup  1988 replay (you tube)  watch what he does to two interdominion winners when saved up.

    Ridersonthestorm33 likes this post.

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  • licklick    366 posts
    It wasn't a feature win but have a search on Youtube for New World Order at Gloucester Park - many believe biggest run since Mount Eden - was nine years ago. I was a part owner.

    Ridersonthestorm33 likes this post.

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  • ChariotsonfireChariotsonfire    3,025 posts
    Ridersonthestorm33 said:

    At GP two excellent wins remember was when Justaboyden took off in a Pacing Cup woooosh never seen a pacer sprint like that.

    And can’t recall it’s name now eastern states horse won the Golden Nugget coming from an impossible position top of the straight. Amazing effort.

    Beefy Tee?

    Ridersonthestorm33 likes this post.

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