Tribute to thoroughbred racing history triumph for authors

Press, 23 November 1988, Page 57

Tribute to thoroughbred racing history triumph for authors

Undertaking the task of compiling a history of the New Zealand turf is a daunting one but only half of the triumph which belongs to John Costello anad Pat Finnegan coauthors of “Tapestry of Turf.” Henry Ford’s contention that “history is bunk” may be well wide of the mark but it is a test for any writer to make it interesting as well as informative and Costello and Finnegan have scored above average marks in that field. “Tapestry of Turf” is part of a series by Moa Publications, the standardbred version, "A Salute to Trotting,” having appeared some years ago.

The racing hsitory is naturally much more comprehensive, standardbred racing being amateurish, and not a little controversial, until well into the present century, but “Tapestry of Turf” does follow the same general format. This divides the book into decades with statistical data for each at the end of the chapter. Besides its convenience for the researcher the format is suited to the casual reader not wishing to get bogged down with too many facts and figures. Costello, a talented veteran of several publications and with a gift for entertaining while he is

informing, and Finnegan, the indefatigable researcher, combine well to retain reader interest.

The research is particularly impressive in the early years of racing on which information can be diffficult to obtain without long hours spent poring over newspaper files in spite of several previous attempts to record the history of the racing industry. The book covers the history of individual clubs, careers of leading administrators and horsemen, and naturally enough, the careers of famous horses. As is the case so often with books having an historical theme the photographs are a large part of its appeal.

There are two versions of “Tapestry of Turf.” One, for the racing buff or the committee room, is a book large enough to test most coffee tables and with hundreds of outstanding illustrations priced at $l2OO. 1200 copies of this were published and have proved popular enough in that less than 100 remain and continue to sell steadily. The extra size and depth given to the photographs, many of which have not previously been published, make this version a must for the racing fan in the happy position of being able to afford it.

The smaller version, priced at just under $7O, contains all the text of the larger book but fewer photographs. There are 250 though, an average of better than two a page and colour plates of champion horses are included.

John Costello records that it took about 70,000 words, the average number which fills a Moa “Racing Annual,” doing photo captions alone for the publication. Given that huge task there are few errors, the one most likely to be commented on in Canterbury being an error of identification in a Grey Way photograph, which does not in fact feature Pat Corboy, and a reference to Snooky Cowan as a Wingatui rider. Few errors in. the text will be found though the authors may have been confused by claims in earlier publications over the first £lOOO race in New Zealand. That was the trans-Tas-man clash in the Champion Race at Forbury, in 1864 followed by the Canterbury Cup two years later. “Tapestry of Turf” states this refutes claims that the 1880 Wanganui Cup was in fact the first such race without perhaps realising the latter was a handicap. A £lOOO handicap in 1880, open to all owners, big and small, was a mile-

stone in New Zealand racing. Until then races such as the Canterbury Cup, dominated by a few wealthy owners who bred or bought all the best horses, was not of special interest to the man in the street, as indeed weight-for-age racing has never become in New Zealand. Costello and Finnegan were aided by other researchers as the time factor in preparing such a publication became more pressing and this has helped to provide a comprehensive and readable progression through until the present time. The index, such a vital part of any historical publication, is a full one.

It would be fair to say that less than 20 years ago the New Zealand turf was poorly served in the historical sense, many publications simply repeating material compiled in a very few books early in the century. In the last decade the historians have been much more active but none with more success than this tribute to the thoroughbred horse and the men who have promoted it.

It is competitively priced and should prove popular with all racing minded people from the amateur historian, to the statistician, to the admirer of champions or one simply looking for a good read.