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.
Tulloch was mesmerised by something in the distance and wasn’t going to budge until he was good and ready. The champion colt had just begun his three year old campaign with wins in the Warwick Stakes and the Rosehill Guineas.
A few days later he destroyed his old rival Prince Darius by 6 lengths in the AJC Derby. He then went to Melbourne where he was to put together an astonishing sequence of wins.
He won the Caulfield Guineas by 8 lengths, the Caulfield Cup by 2 lengths in Australian record time, the Victoria Derby by 8 lengths and the C.B Fisher Plate by 5 lengths.
It’s now racing folklore that Tulloch didn’t start in the 1957 Melbourne Cup because of owner Peter Haley’s great reluctance to run three year olds over 2 miles. Despite the protestations of trainer Tommy Smith, Peter Haley stood firm.
Prince Darius is clearly the best yardstick of what Tulloch’s chances would have been had he started in that long ago Melbourne Cup.
Tulloch had beaten “The Prince” by 4 lengths in the Rosehill Guineas, by 6 lengths in the AJC Derby and by 8 lengths in the Victoria Derby. In a weaker than normal Melbourne Cup Prince Darius finished second, only a neck behind Straight Draw.
Mr. Haley’s decision is to be respected. Here was a man who put his horse’s welfare ahead of a whopping 11,000 pounds winning purse.
It’s possible he didn’t realise just how much Tulloch had on the opposition.
As Tommy Smith said at the time “It can’t hurt him, he’ll just canter around and beat these horses”. It was one of very few times when an owner failed to bow to the wishes of the legendary trainer.