TROTTING Mr J. H. Mackenzie Has Seen Running Of All N.Z. Cups

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32072, 21 August 1969, Page 5

TROTTING Mr J. H. Mackenzie Has Seen Running Of All N.Z. Cups

A man whose memory goes back to the days of the “slush-lamp” (a basin of fat with a wick in it) and home-made candles, will be the guest of Mr G. W. Blaxall, president of the New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club, on the second day of the national meeting at Addington Raceway on Saturday.

He is Mr J. H. Mackenzie, of Christchurch, whose association with trotting in Canterbury Over many years has given him a record which few, if any, could equal.

Mr Mackenzie, who will celebrate his eighty-fifth birthday this month, has seen every New Zealand Cup since the inaugural contest in 1904. Although he never raced a horse and, because of business commitments had no real desire to do so, it was natural that Mr Mackenzie should be interested in horses. From the time he Could toddle be was more or less surrounded by horses His father was the proprietor pf the Tai Tapu Hotel, an establishment which catered for the many over-night travellers by carriage or coach, and the drovers who passed through on the way to market with herds of cattle. t “There were' times when We had as many as 20 stallions at a time in the hotel loose boxes overnight,” said JMr Mackenzie. “There was nothing I loved better than to •look after good horses, j “The topic was always the ■same,” said Mr Mackenzie ’'"The only thing I ever list--ened to before going to bed each night was talk about ■'horses.”

:■ Club Treasurer » In addition to being the -proprietor of the Tai Tapu -Hotel, which he took over in ,1883, Mr Mackenzie’s father was treasurer of the Banks Peninsula Racing Club in the Nearly days.

• “Nothing much has changed 'there over the years except ‘the name,” said Mr Mackenzie. “The course as it is known today was originally called Rabbit Island. It was never an island, of course, but the natural grandstand—- ' that hill to the east of the raa* ll stand and behind the

| horse stalls—was, probably at the time, infested with rabbits.” I Mr Mackenzie remembers T. Sheehan, one of the top 'trainers and riders of the I early days. “His horses were stabled at the Tai Tapu Hotel and he used to train them on what is now known as the Tai Tapu Domain,” said Mr Mackenzie. “I can remember him and the late Free Holmes—who later turned to trotting—riding winners at Motukarara.”

Cheered Winner Mr Mackenzie was 17 when he saw his first New Zealand Cup. In fact the race in those days was known as the New Zealand Handicap—but the name was of little account—for he still cheered home the winner, Monte Carlo, which was owned by Mr Tom Yarr, proprietor of the Lincoln Hotel. Mr Mackenzie was under the impression that Monte Carlo had won two New Zealand Cups. That was not strictly correct, but he is still in the records as the first New Zealand Cup winner for he won again in the inaurural contest in 1904.

In the year that Monte Carlo won the first cup Mr Mackenzie had his first experience of motor transport A prominent Tai Tapu resident had bought his first car. Mr Mackenzie was not very impressed. “It was a single-banger (one cylinder) car and when it got head on into one of those real Canterbury nor’westers it made no progress at all,” he said.

Soft Spot Mr Mackenzie recalls no particular favourite although he has a “soft spot” for Harold Logan. “This was probably because I knew R. J. (Dick) Humphries, who trained and drove Harold Logan to win the first of his two New Zealand Cups, so well,” said Mr Mackenzie. “As boys we went to school together.” I "Things have changed since the old days,” he said. “I can remember when clubs all over the province ran ladies' bracelets—the prizes they gave were real lady’s bracelets—and they were prizes everyone wanted to win. Of course they were all amateurs in those times.”

“Probably many will disagree with me when I say that in my estimation Henry Mace was “the father of trotting in Canterbury’,” said Mr MacMr Mace, a close friend of Mr Mackenzie’s father, had several business interests, among them the importing and breeding of good trotting stock. Mr Mace was a manufacturer of aerated waters and cordials, owned a property at New Brighton which was later to become the New Brighton Trotting Club’s course, and is now Queen Elizabeth II Park. In Mr Mackenzie's opinion the man who gave trotting its biggest boost, in relation to the professional trainer, was the late J. Bryce.

“When he came here from Scotland he brought with him the knowledge of how to condition and feed a horse,” said Mr Mackenzie. “I remember the 1925 and 1926 cups which he won with Ahuriri for Mr R. M. Morton, who owned Ahuriri Station, which was about four miles on the Motukarara side of Tai Tapu.” As well as his record regarding New Zealand Trotting Cups, Mr Mackenzie is equally proud of the family association with the Tai Tapu Hotel. When his father died in 1932 he took over the business, which he ran until his retirement in 1954.

Hotel Hours During his life-time Mr Mackenzie has seen many changes in hotel regulations. When he was a youth trading hours were 6 a.m, until 10 p.m. An extra hour’s trading could be obtained every day, but Sunday, for a payment of £5 a year. “My father paid this fee all the time,” said Mr Mackenzie. “A change in trading hours came during the lirst World War—official trading hours became 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. —and these remained in force until the recent change to 10 pm. closing.” Mr Mackenzie caught his interviewer napping when he was questioned about his activities since his retirement. “I joined the L.A.P. Society,” he said. “What do they do?” “As iittle as possible,” was the reply. Mr Mackenzie and nis wife should have plenty to occupy their time. They have three sons and a daughter, ail living 'in Canterbury, 10 grandchild-

ren and three great-grand-children. Until the last few years Mr Mackenzie was a fairly ardent follower of trotting, but more recently he has restricted his activities to one day’s racing a year and that is New Zealand Cup Day, every November.