Obituary Mr Gordon Barr

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31633, 20 March 1968, Page 4

Obituary Mr Gordon Barr

Riccarton lost a member of one of its best-known racing families with the sudden death yesterday of Gordon Stewart Barr.

He collapsed and died in the jockey's room at the Ashburton racecourse minutes after he saw his stable runner, Conway Stewart, win the first division of the Tria) Stakes.

He had just been discussing the closeness of the finish of Conway Stewart’s event with the successful jockey, W. D. Skelton, when he collapsed. Besides training Conway Stewart he was also part-owner of the three-year-old.

The best winner developed and raced from his Riccarton stable was Ray Ribbon. After winning two races, including the Wellington Stakes at two years, Ray Ribbon developed into one of the best three-year-olds of this year. In his second season he won the Dunedin Cup, James Hazlett Gold Cup, and the Canterbury Jockey Club’s Great Autumn Handicap. On a spring campaign in Australia in 1955 he won the Williamstown Cup and the Rosehill Handicap. In his next season Ray Ribbon won the Cox Plate and Underwood Stakes in Melbourne.

Burgos won a New Zealand

Derby and other races from Mr Barr’s stable.

More recently the best winners for the stable were Seminole and Kalimera. Earlier Mr Barr met with some success as a jumping rider. He was a son of the late Mr S. Barr, a trainer at Riccarton for many years, and his brother, J. L. Barr, at present trains one of the biggest teams at Riccarton.

Mr Barr is survived by his widow and a son.