Steve Hart keeps coming up with these wonderful “blasts from the past “. Here’s one in the Randwick birdcage in the Spring of 1990 shortly before Stargazer’s win in the Frank Packer Plate.
Shadea didn’t turn too many heads as Wayne Harris brought her back to scale after winning the 1991 Sweet Embrace Stakes at Rosehill - one of only two wins for the plain, lightly framed filly.
The late Ernie McQuillan was always on the lookout for the right shot. He snapped this one at Randwick trackwork early one morning in 1957, shortly before the October long weekend.
I never saw Shannon in action, but several veteran horsemen told me over the years that his second placing in the 1946 Epsom was the greatest performance ever seen over the Randwick mile.
Ever wondered what a 500/1 winner looks like? Steve Hart plucked this one from his archives and was kind enough to send it to me for Friday Flashback. It’s a gelding called Pablo’s Pulse parading before the 1987 Chelmsford Stakes at Randwick with Jamie De Belin in the saddle.
This one will touch a few heart strings. Steve Hart located this lovely picture of the late John Marshall with one of his all time favourites, Campaign King. John rode Campaign King fourteen times for eight wins.
Steve Hart can pull a rabbit out of a hat, when it comes to old photos. Somehow he came up with this classic shot of Tommy Woodcock and jockey Pat Trotter shortly before Reckless contested the 1977 Melbourne Cup.
Bradley Photographers snapped this one of W.A. “Billy” Smith at Randwick in May of 1965. Bill was one of the most popular jockeys of his era, and one of the lightest. He rode at a featherweight for his entire career, which brought him many opportunities in big races.
There’s nothing like a stirring two horse duel. The 1990 Villiers Stakes at Randwick provided a thriller between two visiting Queenslanders, and Steve Hart was there to capture the moment.
Saturday September 5th 1998 saw the introduction of Sky Channel’s long awaited home service. We sought the reaction of many racing personalities on the day and as always Gai Waterhouse was happy to talk to us.
Bart Cummings was 37 years of age and still training exclusively out of Adelaide. He opened his Flemington stables in 1968, but it wasn’t until 1975 that he established a Randwick operation to be known as “Leilani Lodge”.
Twenty six years after this photo was taken I’m delighted to report the featured horse is still alive at the remarkable age of 31. Yes it’s Subzero, who only this week has overcome a life threatening illness.
It’s a complete mystery how this photo finished up on Mark Bradley’s database, but he found it recently and was kind enough to pass it on. We believe the picture was taken at Randwick in the late 19th century, featuring the leading trainers and jockeys of the day.
It’s a Tattersall’s Club meeting at Randwick on Sat.13th September 1952. The infield “Flat” enclosure was enormously popular in those days and greatly enhanced the atmosphere.
Veteran racing people will recognize Doug Weir, a jockey who struggled in the early part of his career before linking up with trainer Jack Denham who took him to another level.
Champion jockey Neville Sellwood made one of his rare country excursions to win the 1960 Grafton Cup on Castle Burn for Sydney trainer Morrie Anderson.
