THE LATE R. McKAY

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 123, 20 November 1935, Page 8

THE LATE R. McKAY

(Special to the "Evenina Post.") DUNEDIN, November 19. When assistance was lent to have the late R. ("Bob") McKay removed to a car to be taken to a doctor after his accident at Wingatui last Saturday morning, it was not thought that the injuries he had received were so serious that they would prove fatal. The late Mr. McKay came out on the track on Master Anomaly in order to bring another horse (Danen) trained by him home over the last three furlongs of a gallop. But, while waitmff for his companion, Master Anomaly behaved badly, and in one of the plunges he made he came down on his knees and rolled on McKay, injuring (and as turned out fracturing) his back. The horse galloped away without the saddle, which, when picked up. showed a broken girth. Whether this gave way beforehand it is impossible to know, but the deceased came down heavily.

Mr. McKay had trained gallopers for about 35 years, one of his first being St. Dennis. He started in Dunedin, then went to Oamaru, where he trained for Sir John Buckley. Later he transferred to Invercargill. but about 15 months ago returned to Wingatui. Radial won a lot of races for him in his early training days. At the last Dunedin Cup Meeting in February one of his team, Pala Melba, paid over a score on the win machine when she won the Novice Handicap. The last success he enjoyed was with Dissemble on the second day of the WinRatui Meeting in October. The deceased was a brother of A. McKay Riverton. better known as the trainer of the Dunedin Cup winner Tauramai and of A. S. McKay, who trains at Wingatui. He had gathered quite a fair-sized team together since his return to Wingatui and his untimely end is very deeply to be regretted. He had a chummy nature, which earned for him a host of friends.