MERMAN SCORED IN ENGLAND 103 YEARS BEFORE CHOISIR - CHAMP KNIGHT PISTOL PASSES AWAY - HARNESS RACING NSW ADVISE DRUG PENALTIES

Although Choisir became the first Australian bred, owned and trained performer to star at England’s historic Royal Ascot carnival, one which began at this London perimeter located course back in 1711, when successful in a space of five days in June 2003 in the King’s Stand (five furlongs) and Golden Jubilee, he was not the first Australian to succeed there.

Way back in the year 1900 Merman, an 8-year-old Australian stallion who had been a mid road performer back home, winning the Williamstown Cup in Melbourne, confirmed that he was one of Europe’s best stayers of the time by taking the region’s premier staying test, the Royal Ascot Gold Cup over 4000m.

Cheering him on, no doubt, was his England owner Lillie Langtry, a sweetheart of the theatre revered as Jersey Lily, and also her Royal lover, the then Prince of Wales and later King Edward V11. Very much into racing, Lilli enjoyed her best success with Merman, earlier winner in England of the Goodwood Cup (two mile), Newmarket Jockey Club Cup (two mile) and the Newmarket Cesarewitch (two mile, two furlongs).

Used at stud with modest success in England and then Germany, Merman was one of a number of Australians campaigned by Lillie, all in the ownership of ‘Mr Jersey.’ Another, Aurum, a son of the Musket champion performer Trenton, was one of the best horses to leave here, winning the VRC Ascot Vale Stakes, Sires’ Produce Stakes, C.B. Fisher Plate, VATC Caulfield Guineas and AJC Champagne.

In addition, Aurum finished third to the W. Forrester owned and trained brothers Gaulus (6yo, the winner) and The Grafter (a half head second) in the 1897 Melbourne Cup and then at the same carnival won a Flying Stakes on the third day and was successful twice on the fourth, including the C.B. Fisher over two mile. Half his Melbourne Cup carnival earnings were remitted to Lillie Langtry.

Aurum suffered feet trouble on the voyage to England that restricted his racing, but his trainer, the same one that had Merman, claimed him the best horse in his stable.

Also in England at the same time as Merman was The Grafter, a horse who went within a half head of two Melbourne Cup wins, following his second placing in 1897 with victory the next year. A gelding, he won a number of races, including then high quality City and Suburban Handicap (10 furlongs) on Epsom, the home of the Derby. 

Another Australian bred horse to win a good race at Royal Ascot a century plus ago was the mare Mons Meg, annexer of the Ascot Gold Vase (two mile), but she was foaled to northern hemisphere time. She was by 1883 Melbourne Cup winner Martini-Henry, a son of Musket, sire also of Carbine (first and second Melbourne Cup) and Trenton (second and third Melbourne Cups), two top Australian sires sent to England in mid age and in the background in thousands of pedigrees around the world today.

The passing of top line Victorian trotter of the 1990s Knight Pistol last week would no doubt have stirred the memories of older fans of the diagonal gait."Trigger" as his immediate connections fondly knew him, was the horse responsible for making the bulk of the Australian population aware that trotting/harness racing existed in other parts of the northern hemisphere than Canada and the USA. In Knight Pistol's golden year, 1997, owner Russell Edwards sent the four legged Ambassador to campaign in Scandanavia under the care rising star driver Kerryn Manning. The "tough as teak" squaregaiter did not let the side down finding the winning post first in the Group One event, the "Harley Davidson Classic". Australia was on the "real" world map and more importantly, the win drew attention to the fact that Europe had never catered for the pacers, and, as a result, had developed (mainly in France) a somewhat superior breed of trotters. Currently the door to Sweden is open with their major race the "Elitloppet" having attracted an Aussie runner, Sundons Gift, in recent years. The "Elitloppet" is now covered on Sky Channel and the TABs operate on the heat and final event. It has started a bushfire of interest in Victoria, always known as the home of the trotter. Now the desire to own or breed a trotter is almost universal and new prestige races are being developed aimed at attracting international competition. It is a shame that other States are content to watch this rebirth. They run the risk of missing a very fast train. So we owe a lot to Knight Pistol, a pacing bred exponent of the trotting gait. He faced the starter on 181 occasions and was first home 55 times with 27 seconds and 12 thirds for earnings of $612,203. His contribution cannot just be measured in dollars for in racing terms he did on four legs what Marco Polo did on two.

It seems that Harness Racing NSW, currently frustrated in its attempts to make a nine month penalty for the administration of an anabolic steroid stick to leading trainer/driver, Luke McCarthy, have decided to take serious forward steps to produce a drug free racing product. Minimum penalties have been announced for persons found guilty of presenting horses to race with prohibited substances present in their systems. These substances - and there are many - have been divided into three classes. Class (1) are those drugs with the "highest potential" to affect performance and which have no generally accepted medical use in the racing horse. First offence in this group brings a disqualification of 5 years and second offence a minimum of 10 years. Class (2) are drugs rated as having "high" potential to affect performance and includes our old familiar friend, the over the limit TCO2 reading. First offence attracts 12 months disqualification, second 2 years, third 5 years and fourth infringement gets 10 years. Class (3) covers all therapeutic substances and carries the same scale of penalties as Class (2). Offences under Class (3) will no doubt be heavily focussed on breaches of withholding times and possession of therapeutic substances without relevant veterinary prescription. Whatever, it is positive step to eradication of a serious problem. No doubt there will be people who describe the penalties as "draconian" and not reflecting natural justice. Maybe they don't, but natural justice is only OK when you are dealing with natural people. Recidivists deserve no such consideration.

A very poorly attended BOTRA meeting at Albion Park last Monday night was able to come to agreement on a broad policy for restoration of the Q-bred bonus scheme. The draft may yet have to be re-presented to participants for fine tuning of the dollars involved so at this point there is no real news. While all the people who own, train and drive horses fail to attend these meetings they may be doing themselves irreparable damage now and in the future. Apathy is an ugly word and it can be the forerunner to an even uglier situation.

At the end of a week in which only eight winners came from the Ipswich footprint. Pete McMullen headed the drivers list, getting the chocolates on five occasions and Graham Harriott and John McMullen dead-heated in the trainers division on two winners each.