RACING Tulloch, Winner Of $220,000, Dies

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32028, 1 July 1969, Page 4

RACING Tulloch, Winner Of $220,000, Dies

The New Zealand-bred horse, Tulloch, Australia’s greatest stake-winning galloper, is dead. A New Zealand Press Association report from Sydney yesterday said that Tulloch, aged 15, succumbed to an attack of colic at Mr P. Haley’s stud in northern New South Wales on Sunday.

Tulloch was bought by i his Sydney trainer, Mr iT. J. Smith, at Tretttham for 750gns. The horse did not attract much interest among patrons of the stable on his arrival in Sydney.

He was one of the last of the 11 horses bought by Mr Smith on that trip to be claimed by a client, and the lucky man was the elderly Mr E. A. Haley. In 53 starts for Mr Haley Tulloch won 36 races, was 12 times second, four times third and fourth once. His only unplaced run was in the 1960 Melbourne Cup, in which he carried 10-1 and was asked to give the leaders an impossible start in the last six furlongs. Tulloch’s stake earnings were $220,247. Bred by Mr D. H. Blackie, Tulloch was the first foal of the Salmagundi mare, Florida, winner of four races up to 11 furlongs.

Two Wins Tullochs’ sire, Khorassan, imported by Mr L. S. Otway for his Trelawney Stud near Cambridge, won two races in England before being brought' to New Zealand.

His sire was Big Game. His dam, Naishapur, was second, to Sun Stream in the Oaks and won at one mile and three-quarters. Udaipur, the grand-dam of Khorassan, won the Oaks and $15,047.

Tulloch started on his re-cord-breaking way early in

his career. He became the first two-year-old to win the V.R.C., the A.J.C., and the Queensland Sires Produce Stakes, and his total winnings at two years of £lB,OBB eclipsed the two-year-old figures of the brilliant Mollison, which earned $17,343 in 1927-28.

Tulloch’s performance to win the A.J.C. Derby in the spring of the next season established his greatness. He won untested by six lengths in the record Derby time of 2min 29 l-10th sec, and one Sydney writer, who was seeing his fortieth Derby, commented that there had “probably never been a better colt or a finer Derby success.” A few weeks later, Tulloch carrying weight-for-age of 7-8, won the Caulfield Cup by two lengths from Mac's Amber, which had previously beaten Redcraze at weight-for-age. 8.4 For Cup Although no three-year-old had won the Melbourne Cup with more than Newhaven’s 7-13 in 1896 it caused no surprise when the V.R.C. handicapper raised Tulloch’s weight to 84 in the second leg of the big cups double. Even before the receipt of the extra weight Mr Haley had announced that he was opposed to a start in the Melbourne Cup. Soon after he instructed Mr Smith to scratch the colt because it had always been his opinion that the two-mile race took too much out of a three-year-old. Tulloch then won the Victoria Derby by eight lengths, outciassed Sailor's Guide at

weight-for-age in the Fisher Plate, then was flown 1000 miles to Brisbane to become the first colt to carry off the Derby treble—the Sydney, Victoria and Queensland classics.

A year or so later Tulloch was right out of racing, the victim of a scouring complaint that almost cost him bis life. But be was back in 1960, completely dominating the weight-for-age situation. He established one more earnings record that year, replacing Redcraze as the foremost stake-earner on Australian tracks. Favourite He wintered in the kindly climate of Queensland and was the original favourite for the £25,000 Melbourne Centenary Cup. He would have had to be a machine to have finished any closer than seventh under his 10-1, for while the pace was slack a round from home he was being ridden close to the tailend group, giving away impossible starts to some top stayers. With careful placing later, and with the assistance of some racing clubs all too willing to find suitable races for the champion on their programmes, Tulloch eventually earned his £lOO,OOO. But a good many of his victories towards the end of his career showed more of the fighting qualities which had brought him through a severe illness and less of the great brilliance that made him the superb racing machine of his two and three-year-old racing.