Avondale Cup History

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 211, 6 September 1941, Page 4 (Supplement)

Avondale Cup History

First Race Was Run In 1890 On Left-Handed Course— Many Of The Winners Were High-Class Gallopers

By J.S.

A week ago all was set for the Avondale Cup of 1941 to be run at Ellerslie. Now because the buildings on the course are required as a temporary auxiliary military hospital the intention to race at Ellerslie cannot be carried out, and the Cup on Saturday next will be decided as usual on the club's course at Avondale. JT was in 1890 that the first Avondale Cup was run, and the history of the race, which covers just over the half-century, shows that some great gallopers are included among the winners. But the Cup hasn't always been run on the suburban course—three times the race was decided at being necessary because of extensive alterations to the Avondale Club's course,

Originally, the track was a lefthanded one, and the grandstand was then opposite to where it is now, and was near the present six furlongs starting post. Gales of wind and heavy rain—and the Avondale Club was not over-fortunate in the matter of weather—frequently blew straight in on the stand, and on cold, bleak days conditions were about as bad as they could be. Four Horses—Nine Cups

Eleven Avondale Cups were run before the club decided to make a change, and in those 11 cups the results were remarkable. Ingorina won the first, then Tulloch stepped in and won the following three in a row, racing in a different owner's interest each time. Next it was Annabelle's turn, arid she won two

on end. Thus three horses had shared in the winning of the first six cups. But that was not all.

St. Paul, considered by many oldtimers to be one of the best horses to race in the Dominion, took a hand and won the cup three times on end, on the last occasion carrying 10 8 Nine cups had then been run and the record read: Tulloch 3, St. Paul 3, Annabelle 2, and Ingorina 1. Strangely enough, since St. Paul's last win, in 1898, no horse has succeeded in winning the race more than once.

Two more Avondale Cups were won on the left-handed track— Record Reign in 1899 and Toroa in 1900—and it was after Toroa's cup that the club decided on a change.

A big scheme of improvements was planned and soon placed under way. The grandstand was removed to the opposite side of the course— to its present site—and the track underwent alterations which brought about right-handed racing, which has continued there since.

It was while the alterations were being carried out on the club's own property that the Avondale Cup was run for the first time at Ellerslie. This was in 1901, and the winner was Nonette, owned by Mr. J. T. Ryan, and trained by Mr. F. J. McManemin, now a handicapper. Nonette was then a three-year-old, and proved a

great handicap horse, setting a record which stood until it was equalled by Kindergarten last April. This was in carrying 9.11 to victor}' in the A.R.C. Easter Handicap as a three-year-old. On the second day of that Easter meeting Nonette won the Century Stakes, a weight-for-age event, which does not now figure on the programme of the A.R.C. Unnsnal Performance Back to the club's own course the next year, the cup has been responsible for many exciting contests on the suburban track. An unusual performance was recorded in 1904 when Marshal Soult, owned by Mr. A. Hughes, carried off the double, cup and Flying, something few owners would consider attempting nowadays with one horse.

In 1926 more alterations were made to the Avondale course, and again the cup was run at Ellerslie. Also in the following year, the respective winners being Beacon Light, owned by the Dunedin sportsman, Mr. W. T. Hazlett, and Te Kara, owned by the Waikato sportsman, Mr. M. H. Tims. Beacon Light was ridden by Jack Barry, and an interesting event on the second day of the meeting was the dead-heat recorded between Lysander and Commendation in the Avondale Guineas. Te Kara was ridden in his cup win by R. McTavish, who still kicks a winner home in his turn.

As guide to the more important Auckland Cup later, the Avondale Cup has not given much assistance, the only horses to win the two cups being Putty and Te Kara. Still, the list of winners includes a number of horses who were rated highly in their best years, and among the number might be mentioned St. Paul. Record Reign, Nonette. Gladstone. California. Bleriot, King Soult Chortle, Mullingar, Gold Light, Te Kara, Historic and Prodice.

From 1921 to 1928 inclusive, the Avondale Cup was run over a distance of a mile and a half, but on all other occasions at a mile and a quarter. The time record for the race is 2.7, registered by Historic in 1929.