Mr John Austin new C.J.C. chairman

Press, 25 July 1985, Page 38

Mr John Austin new C.J.C. chairman

By

J. J. BOYLE

Mr John Austin, aged 45, a farmer from Oxford, succeeds Dr Jeff Louisson as chairman of the Canterbury Jockey Club. He brings to that post a wealth of experience at administrative and other levels. He fulfilled one ambition in his twenties by taking out an amateur rider’s licence, and riding a jumper in a race over the big Riccarton fences. He finished fourth on Day’s Bay in a Westenra Cup riding at a stone overweight. This year he served with Mr Lloyd Brown Q.C. and Mr Bill Mackie on the committee of inquiry into the judicial system of racing in New Zealand. It would have been surprising if thoroughbred racing in one or more of its aspects had not captured Mr John Austin’s interests early in his life. His father, Colin, and his mother, Margaret, have had a long association with racing as owner-breeders and have raced several good winners including Ribaldo, which also went close to winning an Auckland Cup. Mr John Austin held an owner-trainer’s licence for six months and saddled one winner in that role. More recently he purchased the English-bred 01giata, the grandam of the brilliant race mare, La Mer. From Olgiata he bred the Taipan II filly La Figlia, which has produced a Beaufort Sea filly and is in foal to Balmerino. An immediate racing interest for the new C.J.C. chairman is the Vice Regal filly, Elope. He races that

youngster in partnership with his mother from Dave Kerr’s stable and will be at Riccarton to see her run in the first Haldon Plate at the Christchurch Hunt meeting on Saturday. Mr Austin, who has also served as an appeal judge for the New Zealand Racing Conference, and on C.J.C. judicial committees, said yesterday that he welcomed the challenge facing all rac-

ing club administrators — to help make racing staged by his club a lively competitor in the field of those providing leisure time activities. Successful candidates in an election for four places on the C.J.C. committee this year are Messrs J. B. Prendergast, C. W. McCall, G. H. C. Kain, and J. D. Gregan. The unsuccessful candidate was Mr C. J. Roll.