Verner joins elite group

Press, 7 December 1988, Page 61

Verner joins elite group

PA Auckland A racing milestone was reached, unknown it seems to anyone, when Shugar won at Ruakaka some three and a half months ago.

His achievement, to collect a maiden 1400 m, seemed of little moment, but it has taken on a new importance as it provided Takanini’s Ray Verner with his one thousandth training success in New Zealand.

Verner thus joins Ted Winsloe, Rex Cochrane, Dave O’Sullivan and the late Bill Sanders and Eric Temperton. In light-harness racing the late Ces Donald was the first trainer of 1000 winners and Roy Purdon became the second two seasons ago. Verner secured his

trainer’s licence at the beginning of the 1954-55 season to partner his father, Tom Verner, who has since died, at Longford Park, just along the road from the Takanini course. In 1960 he began training on his own account and continued to do so until 1986-87 when he took into partnership a son, Kerry. The first family partnership brought in 146 winners, one of them Arawa in the 1954 Auckland Cup, and the second already has a tally of 43. Verner had some lean seasons in his first 10 or so on his own, then a string of golden ones in the 19705. In successive years from 1973 he prepared 62, 43, 60, 55 and 54 winners which got him

second, fifth, second, fourth then first on the trainers’ premiership. Each time he came second it was behind Bill Sanders, a friend of many years. In 1977-78 he managed to beat Sanders 54 to 53. Verner won the Wellington Cup in 1977 with Good Lord, and the next year took the Wellington Cup and the Sydney Cup. He has won 11 races in Australia, three with Good Lord, two with Gold Hope, five with Prince Majestic and one with Millionaire. That takes his total wins to 1016, the stable having prepared nine winners this season. The Gentry’s win at Ellerslie the other week brought the New Zealand tally to 1005.