Bisman correct with tally

Press, 10 January 1986, Page 17

Bisman correct with tally

PA Auckland Peter Wolfenden broke Maurice Holmes’s record for the most winning drives in New Zealand earlier than generally believed. A spokesman for the New Zealand Trotting Conference said from Christchurch that a further check had substantiated the claim of Mr Ron Bisman that Wolfenden passed Holmes’s total of 1666 when he won with Midnight Special on October 4, It was thought Wolfenden needed one win at an Alexandra Park meeting on December 30 to break the record. He had two wins that evening. The conference subsequently announced that Wolfenden’s tally before the dual success was 1675. Mr Bisman, who is promotions officer of the Auckland Trotting Club, maintained Wolfenden had had five more wins. The conference .spokesman said the confusion had obviously occurred at the time Wolfenden drove his 1000th winner. “We carried on from there but, indeed, he had reached the 1000 mark earlier.” Mr Bisman said that the “Trotting Register” and year books carrying official statistics had traditionaUy included only the drivers of three or more winners in the season. „ “Adding the totals attributed to Wolfenden in these publications,” he said, “gives the aggregate the conference credited ‘Wolfie’ with. “He had his first two wins in the 1951-52 season, another two in 1952-53 and one in 1956-57 and thus his tally is five more than the conference figure.” Wolfenden had one win at Cambridge on Thursday, bringing his grand total to 1683. He has had 26 sue- • cesses this season. Aged 50, Wolfenden has won the national premiership 14 times.